Brand gurus are always rattling about the true nature of brands: “There not just logos and colors.” Yes, yes, we get it by now! You don’t have to keep repeating it. We understand that the core of your brand is that gut feeling customers have about it. It’s the culmination of their entire experience and satisfaction with your product, services, and the brand you craft around that experience, which includes such things as logos, colors, taglines, etc.

But then again…maybe there are times when the colors and logos are the real essence of the brand. Such was the case with Coke’s most recent polar bear Christmas campaign. Every holiday season, Coke rolls out can designs featuring Santa and polar bears. That combination has been brand association gold in past years. This year, Coke engaged in a noble cause marketing effort by placing attention squarely on the plight of the polar bear in its native snowy white habitat. The Coke can design, called “Arctic Home,” followed this creative direction by designing an essentially all-white can.

 The problem is that the all-white can created brand confusion among many customers. Among those customers looking for their Coke Classic, Coke’s ubiquitous red was largely missing from the design. Worse yet, for those drinkers of Diet Coke, the white polar bear can yielded an unpleasant sugary surprise.

 There were even reports among Classic Coke drinkers that the product tasted “different” from their regular product. Talk about a psychosomatic response. Even drinking from a can whose color signifies a diet product can impact the brand experience.

Only weeks into the campaign, Coke recognized their mistake and pulled the polar bear cans from retail outlets, replacing it a newly redesigned red can with white polar bears. But the damage is done. Like we stated in the beginning, your brand is the culmination of experiences and the satisfaction your customers have with your products and services. While a simple design misstep like this won’t be felt long, it has left a bad taste in the mouth of the consumer. There’s little question that Coke’s branding is second to none and equaled by few. But this episode points out that even brand giants like Coke can make mistakes.

 Now, if you have one of the all-white polar bear Coke cans, you have a real piece of brand history. Hang on to it as a friendly reminder of the importance of staying true to your brand visuals as you engage in new and different marketing efforts. At C2 Creative, we never lose sight of how your brand is perceived by customers, and we’re always evaluating its health and ways we can help you improve your customers’ experience of it. If you have questions about your brand’s current health, call C2 today for a brand evaluation.