Coke Modifies Coke Zero Ads.
Knauss Says Brand Is Ahead of Expectations.
Predicts 1.0+ Market Share.
But Acknowledges First Ads 'Didn't Explain.'

Coke recently makes several modifications to Coke Zero advertising, and Coke North America chief Don Knauss tells BD product will hold 1.0+ share in a year. Zero was introduced with ads bearing tagline, "Everybody Chill." Flagship ad, called "Chilltop," is remake of famous Hilltop ad used for Coke in 1970s (BD 6/10/05). However, Zero ads did not precisely tell consumers what product is, and some Coke bottlers told BD that consumers don't understand product proposition (BD 7/15/05). Coke recently added explanatory line to Chilltop ad: "Real Coca-Cola Taste Plus Nothing." Additionally, Coke is releasing new 15-second spot which shows bottle of Coca-Cola morphing into bottle of Coke Zero. Voice-over declares taste of Coca-Cola is "in Coke Zero," and on-screen message states: "Real Coca-Cola Taste, Zero Calories, No Compromise." New ad starts running week of Aug. 15.

Interview with Coke North America chief. BD talks to Knauss: What is Coke Zero's share? Is that above, below or in-line with your expectations? In a year? Knauss: "(Coke Zero's) share is clearly ahead of our expectations at this point in time. Going into the launch, the modeling assumptions indicated we would achieve 0.6 share in take-home channels after eight weeks. It's delivered an 0.8 share. As we look out 12 months, I'd expect the brand to continue to build from this level (to) I'd say a little bit north of a 1.0 share."

Some consumers don't know what Coke Zero is and you've tweaked the ads. What is thinking here? "We need to stay focused on explaining the product-based reason why for Coke Zero. The reason it exists is to provide the great taste of Coca-Cola with zero calories. The new 15-second spot highlights strictly (that) product story."

Did first ads focus too much on brand intrinsics? "I think Chilltop did a good job of delivering enjoyment for all consumer segments and clearly the zero calorie message got out. But it didn't explain the product-based reason why as simply and concisely as we could have. That's what this new 15-second spot will do."

How has trial been? Why trial discounting not as deep as some recent launches? "Trial has been strong and met our expectations, and repeat has been particularly robust. That goes to the great taste of the product. Repeat at some retailers is as high as 42% ... Getting the consumer coming back to the product following trial is key to building the brand over time." Pricing. "As far as national trial pricing goes, we had national trial pricing on this launch. It may have been less aggressive in some areas, but it allowed us to get national retailer support on some key packages."

Is volume incremental? How much this year? "We're in the 40+% range for incrementality to our overall CSD portfolio." C2 did 25 mil cases in 2004. How big will Coke Zero be? "The plan we put together was more aggressive than C2 for this point in time, and we don't see any reason why we wouldn't achieve our goal for 2005. We're committed to the brand for the long term."