The reintroduction is due, in part, to a passionate and persistent community of brand loyalists who have been lobbying The Coca-Cola Company to bring back their favourite drink over the last few years. Surge is Coke’s first discontinued brand to return to the market.
The Surge relaunch represents two additional firsts for Coke:
“If expectations are met, this may be only the first of a variety of efforts we explore to launch niche products through ecommerce relationships,” said Wendy Clark, president of sparkling and strategic marketing, Coca-Cola North America. “This will be a great learning experience for us and a refreshing opportunity for fans.”
Teaming up with Amazon enables Coke to launch a brand online and closely monitor sales and inventory without taxing its distribution network.
“In this new era of marketing, we’re exploring segmented delivery of our portfolio to consumers,” said Racquel Mason, associate vice president of sparkling flavours, Coca-Cola North America. “Previously, a smaller brand would never have had a realistic shot at commercialisation. Now with Amazon, consumers can order a product like Surge and have it delivered directly to their doorstep. It’s the democratisation of demand.”
Surge amassed a cult-like following in the 90s and early 2000s, and since it was discontinued, the fans have been busy asking for its return. Ceative online fan groups include ‘The Surge Movement’, which has amassed more than 128,000 Facebook fans in just a few years.
The Surge Movement raised nearly $4,000 in 2013 to buy a billboard about a half-mile from Coke’s Atlanta headquarters. The copy read: Dear Coke, we couldn’t buy Surge, so we bought this billboard instead, and directed people to visit the movement’s Facebook page.
The group also organised ‘Surge-ing days’, where members called Coke’s consumer affairs hotline en masse to lobby for their beloved beverage’s return. In addition, they sent handwritten holiday cards to Coke asking to bring back Surge for Christmas, created their own commercials on YouTube, and even landed a story on CNN Money. Eventually, their creativity and passionate pleas caught the company’s attention.
“They’ve inspired us,” said Mason. “More than 128,000 people a dozen years after a brand left the market saying, ‘Please bring it back!’ – that’s the best compliment any brand could hope for.”
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