For Coke, Challenge Is Staying Relevant - NYTimes.com: “Coca-Cola is the mother brand,” Martin Lindstrom, a brand and marketing consultant and the author of six books, including “Buyology” and “Brandwashed,” told me this week in a visit to New York from his home base in Denmark. “The whole company is affected. Coke has to stop the erosion in the United States or it will cascade elsewhere.”
This week, I consulted several prominent branding and marketing experts for insights into Coke’s problems and what the company could do. The very idea that the Coke brand may be in trouble is startling, given that Coca-Cola has thrived for 127 years and has survived countless passing health fads, in part because its flagship product contains both caffeine and sugar, which can be addictive.