Brand positioning

Something I’ve been thinking about. Every brand owns one word in your head.

Volvo → safety FedEx → overnight Google → search Red Bull → energy Rolex → status Ferrari → speed Harley → freedom Disney → magic Amazon → everything Tesla → electric Uber → a ride Duracell → long-lasting

It’s hard being stuck in no man’s land, and that’s exactly what happened to Coke.

Regular Coke has the classic red can, full sugar, the one we all grew up with. Diet Coke and Coke Zero were the complete opposite with no sugar and zero calories.

But then Coke released “Coke Life”. This was a version of Coke with a little bit of sugar, a little stevia, a green can instead of their red one. It sat right in the middle and so it did not have a clean slot in people’s minds. It wasn’t the real Coke and it wasn’t zero either.

The middle appeals to no one.