‘New Coke’ and the marketing blunder of the century
Nudge11 Aug 2025

‘New Coke’ and the marketing blunder of the century

In 1985, Coca-Cola changed its flavour. You probably know that this was a complete failure. ‘New Coke’ was discontinued after just 79 days. But you probably don’t know the true reason why New Coke failed. Many claim it was due to poor market research, but today’s guest on Nudge, leading consumer behaviour expert Philip Graves, disagrees. Philip says New Coke failed not because the research was poor, but because market research is inherently flawed. Want to understand the biggest marketing blunder of the century? Listen to today’s Nudge. --- Phil’s book: https://shorturl.at/kzAta Phil’s consultancy: https://www.philipgraves.net/consultancy/ Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ --- Today’s sources: Dutton, D. G., & Aron, A. P. (1974). Some evidence for heightened sexual attraction under conditions of high anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30(4), 510–517. Graves, P. (2010). Consumer.ology: The market research myth, the truth about consumers and the psychology of shopping. Nicholas Brealey. Hasel, L.E. & Kassin, S.M. (2009). On the presumption of evidentiary independence: Can confessions corrupt eyewitness identifications? Psychological Science, 20(1), 122. McClure, S. M., Li, J., Tomlin, D., Cypert, K. S., Montague, L. M., & Montague, P. R. (2004). Neural correlates of behavioral preference for culturally familiar drinks. Neuron, 44(2), 379–387. Nisbett, R. E., & Wilson, T. D. (1977). Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological Review, 84(3), 231–259.

Avsnitt(290)

#10: Time to stop targeting “millennials”

#10: Time to stop targeting “millennials”

Marketers are constantly told stories about how a brand targeted millennials with great success. But is it a smart tactic? In this episode I chat to best selling author Richard Shotton who explains th...

28 Aug 201919min

#9: How to nudge people into voting, buying and recycling

#9: How to nudge people into voting, buying and recycling

“How do you plan to get to the polling booth?”. This phrase can swing voter turnout by 9% and ultimately change the outcome of an election. To figure out why I chatted to bestselling author Steve Mart...

13 Aug 201917min

#8: The power of scarcity and why less is more

#8: The power of scarcity and why less is more

You’re influenced by scarcity, even if you don’t notice it. In this podcast Richard Shotton explains why marketers love scarcity, why so many Airbnbs contain pianos, and why cookies taste better when ...

29 Juli 201919min

#7: How the UK government nudges British people

#7: How the UK government nudges British people

The UK governments contains a team of 60+ behaviour scientists in charge of nudging the country. They tweak HMRC letters, JobCenter scripts and road signs on the M6 all to nudge British people in the ...

9 Juli 201916min

#6: The psychology behind effective pricing

#6: The psychology behind effective pricing

Did you know that removing a $ sign from a menu increases the amount consumers buy? In this episode I chat to Sybil Yang who explains the psychology behind pricing, how to organise the most effective ...

22 Juni 201922min

#5: The science behind distinctive advertising

#5: The science behind distinctive advertising

There are simple rules that make brands stand out, but most marketers and advertisers dismiss them. In this episode Richard Shotton will explain the science behind distinctive marketing and why so man...

2 Juni 201923min

#4: How social proof reduces theft and doubles sales

#4: How social proof reduces theft and doubles sales

One line of text has helped the UK government save billions in unpaid tax, helped pubs sell 2x more beer and stopped hikers stealing endangered petrified wood. In this episode Steve Martin explains ho...

15 Maj 201917min

#3: Why marketers want to know your habits

#3: Why marketers want to know your habits

Did you know that companies spend millions trying to discover when customers have kids? In this episode I chat to best-selling author Richard Shotton about the power of habit. He explains how life eve...

30 Apr 201923min

Populärt inom Business & ekonomi

framgangspodden
varvet
rss-jossan-nina
rss-borsens-finest
rss-svart-marknad
badfluence
avanzapodden
uppgang-och-fall
svd-tech-brief
rss-kort-lang-analyspodden-fran-di
fill-or-kill
rss-dagen-med-di
lastbilspodden
tabberaset
bathina-en-podcast
24fragor
kapitalet-en-podd-om-ekonomi
rss-inga-dumma-fragor-om-pengar
rikatillsammans-om-privatekonomi-rikedom-i-livet
dynastin