If you had put money on the fact that Coke Zero would have fallen flat by now, as so many other remakes of favorite colas have in the past, there is a good chance that you would have lost your bet. Coca-Cola is planning to give the zero-calorie brand a big push this year to raise its profile and to try and make the brand a standard choice for cola drinkers ("[build] it into the next mega-brand," according to a company memo), not just an alternative to Coca Cola Classic.
The first part o the strategy is to sink a lot of money into the advertising budget. Coke is planning to spend $13 million on advertising during, and at, NCAA games alone, since its target audience is men up to age 45 or so who want a zero-calorie drink without the perceived girliness of Diet Coke. The company is also planning black packaging, football sponsorships and TV ads on "24" and MTV. To show exacty how serious they are about the brand, Coke is also actively recruiting restaurants to make Coke Zero a part of their soda fountain lineup. Wendy's and White Castle are two that have already agreed.
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