Not just the Cola War

For last 15 odd years, ever since the pepsi made an entry and coke made a comeback in India, the two companies have been involved in fierce price wars. Every summers they would bring down the price to as low as 3.50 paise and give out free gifts to woo the customers. They have roped in the best cricketers and the biggest bollywood stars in their camps.

They saw cricket as the biggest marketing opportunity in this cricket crazy nation. In 1996, Coca Cola became the official sponsor of the world cup, but pepsi very cleverly stole the lime light with its "Nothing official about it" campaign. Many stars and cricketers joined the camps, changed loyalties, but in the end made a lot of money thanks to the cola wars.

These summers a new trend is emerging. Pepsi and Coca Cola are spending a huge amount of money in promoting their subsidiary brands. This is something which they haven't done in the past, and may be they now realise the importance of having a bigger product portfolio. In India, where cold drinks are still referred to by their colours, promoting these drinks makes all the more sense.

The cola wars seem to have given way to the flavoured drinks wars. To ensure a successful summer business, these companies are leaving no stones turned. They have roped in the top bollywood personalities to promote these soft drinks. Katrina Kaif can be seen promoting Slice in the their Aamasutra campaign, where as the leading ladies from South India, Genelia and Asin are promoting the Orange flavoured Fanta and Mirinda respectively. The competition of the lemon flavoured drinks have gone one step ahead into the IPL, where Kolkata Knight Riders can be seen promoting Sprite while defending champions Rajasthan Royals are in the 7UP camp.

Well this just goes to show how important it is for even the largest companies to have a broad brand portfolio. It not only helps in increasing the volume but also helps in connecting with a larger audience with different tastes. Innovation is also as important as having a large number of proven products. This is where I feel the Pepsi camp has scored these summers with the introduction of 7UP Nimbooz. It is an amazing drink and contextual to Indian Market. It sure will go a long way in establishing the Pepsi brand amongst not so young Indians too..

Well the summers have just started, and a many more marketing gimmicks would come out of both the camps, but one thing is clear, that the Cola Wars is soon turning into a war of fruit drinks...