An example that not only shows the value of research but the importance of conducting the research correctly and asking the "right questions" is the failure of New Coke.
Coca-Cola was concerned with the fact that Pepsi was advertising the fact that consumers preferred them to Coke in taste tests. They decided to develop a new formula, eventually called New Coke.
They conducted research that included focus groups as well as taste tests. While comparing the original Coke formula to Pepsi, consumers preferred Pepsi. However, those participants were only sipping the drinks, which is not the whole experience of drinking a soft drink. Those that did drink the whole cans disliked Pepsi, saying it was too sweet.
Consumers reacted favorably to the new formula, which excited executives at Coke. However, they were not told that Coke planned to replace the old Coke with this newer version. When the product launched, people were outraged that they could no longer buy the Coke they were used to.
This lasted three months before Coca-Cola scrapped the idea and relaunched Coca-Cola Classic.
Source:
Henning, J. (2009, February 3). Coke, New Coke & the Angry Focus Group. Retrieved from http://blog.vovici.com/blog/bid/18094/Coke-New-Coke-the-Angry-Focus-Group. (2010, September 27).
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