War of the Colas - Fire in the hole for Mountain Dew

Who told it is easy to run a Cola company?


Coke and Pepsi are the DMK and ADMK of the Cola business. The war of brands between Pepsi and Coke is as old as the one between Tom and Jerry. Both are posting millions of dollars of profit every year. But, then have you read the first line? What makes it difficult to run a Cola company? Cola is served as the next best drink after water. 95% of Americans are Cola drinkers. Then where lies the risk?


Survival of every product is mainly based on the USP contribution to its consumer. Fact is that there is no basic USP attached with the Cola drinks. People could just go with the soda and breweries. Hence, the existence of a Cola company entirely depends on the brand management and advertising associated with it. Cola sales are directly proportional to the public mindset. They have to make the consumer believe that their drink is unique, which is not in fact! Downfall for the company, otherwise. As an added headache, when the chips are down, health activists will spread the awareness about the excess calories and potential hazards present in Cola. When the TRP rating is down and the people have nothing to chew, media will take the dusted issue of caffeine content present in Colas,  polish it and keep the shows going on. They will sponsor talk shows in which limelight guys will talk about the various side effects of Cola. Audience will end up comparing Cola with bleaching liquid. All such stuffs will be carried out till the commencement of the next important Cricket tour or the next polls and scams. Again, brand-angels like Aamir and MSD will repair the damage done by the media and the mentality of the people will change. Again. Oh wait. Who are these people? What makes them? Whatever offered to them makes them. And such an offer is decided mostly by the businessmen, not the activists.


In addition to the above mentioned foes, it is not so often we see one Cola company taking a dig at the other. Pepsi, the company which is named after the digestive enzyme Pepsin, is the first company to understand the potential risks associated with running a carbonated drinks company. They forayed into the FMCG sector long ago with products like Lays, Aquafina, Lipton and Quaker Oats. Coca Cola on the other hand has a wide portfolio of more than 3500 beverages in its pocket. 

Both are known for their long stand rivalry in advertising their products. One of the famous brand war has happened between Pepsi and Coke. I'll rate the one between Coke's Sprite and Pepsi's Mountain Dew as the second best. Mountain Dew appealed to the little adventurer hiding within every Indian. The brand projected itself as the contender of doing the impossible with no fear. In contrast, Sprite mocked the dare associated with Mountain Dew. It projected itself as the drink of people's clear senses. But, in the long run, it is the adventurer who will take over the Smart-Dude. Coke knew this so well. Hence, it decided to launch another cannon on its rival Mountain Dew. This time, it is not the Cool guy Sprite. But it opted for a rough and tough Thumps Up. Believe it or not, Thumps Up is the largest selling Cola drink in India. 

The difference between the themes of Mountain Dew and Thumps Up are so thin. In Mountain Dew, the adventure staged is projected as a result of their drink. In Thumps Up, the person is projected to go to any limits to possess their drink. Now, the latest move by Coke has diminished this thin difference. Now, Thumps Up joins the line of Mountain Dew, but with a little youth revolutionary flavor peppered all over it. Replacement of Akshay by Mahesh Babu and the drop of 'Taste the Thunder' slogan tells the whole story. Coke has got the strategy right in nailing the Mountain Dew's coffin. I feel, the double barreled pistol of Coke is enough to fire the PepsiCo. But Pepsi is not dumb either.


Health hazards. Media. People Mindset. Scorching rivals. Advertisements with costliest brand ambassadors. Brand dependency. 


Well, Who told it is easy to run a Cola company?

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Dear Steve, iSalute you.

When the whole world is get caught with the egotistic 'I', here is a man who selected an humble 'i' and used it to improve the living standards of egotistic 'I'.

Steve Jobs - The Man who digitized our lives forever. The Man who made the most successful business model after Benjamin Franklin. The Man who showed the world how a simple attire of Black Tee and blue denim is enough for a business presentation. The Man who changed the dimensions of sales and marketing. The Man who showed that 10 years is enough to build the most valuable company in the world.

Steve Jobs is the boon given to mankind. He is one of those rarest soothsayers with a great technological insight. It is an inevitable truth that Apple products has simplified our lives. They predefined the laws governing the user-experience. Steve, with Mac, you defined UI, with Pixar, you defined animation, with iPod you showed the bliss of music, with iPhone you re-invented the mobile phone and with iPad, you redefined the tablets.

A true contributor is one whose life has the profound effect on improving the lives of others. Steve, you are a true contributor. Due to your contributions, you have immortalized yourself among us. You wrote your own lament with the innovations you passed to your future  generations. You have made the world a better place to live in. 

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." - Steve Jobs.

Mr.Jobs is the Man who made every software engineer to raise their heads proudly. Being an engineer, today iSalute the greatest leader of digital era, with my head lowered, my heart full of gratitude, and my soul happy for sharing my life during your time frame. Steve, we vow you too much. May your soul rest in peace.

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me. My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.”

-Steve Jobs.

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Plastic pricing

Plastic covers are priced at all the FMCG and garment shops from past month. Though there are quite a number of customers feel oppressive and sulty against such a move, my personal conviction is that this is a very good move. As the economy of the Metropolitans changed in the past few decades, it brought many corresponding changes in the lifestyle of city dwellers. People started using disposable temporary items more than the long-life products. Their preference shifted largely towards the temporal things. Consumption of ephemeral goods increased rapidly which brought the social environmental welfare under scanner.

Plastic is one of those goods which are accounted for more than 40% of the land pollution. Regular use of plastic can cause stemcell cancer, In addition to that, thousands of cattles die every other day due to the unknown intake of plastic. Even the biodegradable plastics are not 100% recyclable.

Most of the people moved from wired bags to plastic covers mainly because of the fact that the latter is given for free. There are several steps taken by the Government in the past and present in order to curb the plastic usage. In addition, there are a few NGOs who actively participate in campaigns to remind people about the ill-effects caused from the usage of plastics. Since, Money is the primary stopcock for controlling our people's activities, such reduction control steps became a waste of space. Hence I hope that this plastic pricing will bear fruit to environment gradually.

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Demise of the Finnish Baron - Nokia

In a recent survey held in our Indian subcontinent, it has been conveyed that the brand name 'Nokia' is the most sought over brand by the people. Still 2007, Nokia led the mobile handset market single-handedly. They did their first mistake by not coping with the new technological arrivals in the market. e.g Android platform. Some of the smaller companies like Huawei and Micromax has largely eroded its market share in China and India respectively.  It didn't come as a surprise to many when the CEO of Nokia announced few days ago that their company is caught up with cash crunch. A recent study shows that the market share of Nokia is eaten up by Samsung, Apple and RIM. When we consider the profits gained for the corresponding market share, Silicon valley giant Apple is setting new records.
The following chart will speak volumes about the strong foothold of Apple which eventually led to the demise of the Finnish Baron.

 The only way of recovery for Nokia is to shakeup their management fundas and to adopt themselves to the changing technical innovations. They shouldn't forget that they are doing business in a world which is characterized by impermanence and move-on principles. Lets wait and watch, what Nokia has in its den to accomplish the much needed recovery.

Courtesy: Asymco

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