In the UK Lilt was a popular drink for 50 years, particularly popular in my generation (90’s baby) with its totally tropical taste.
Coca-Cola announced Lilt was being moved under Fanta brand umbrella and being renamed Fanta Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit.
Marketing Beat got in touch and asked me to let them know my thoughts from a Marketing leadership & coach perspective.
The Three Questions:
Following decades of consistent under-investment and its resulting loss of relevance with the under 30s, was the death of the Lilt brand inevitable?
Yes, it was somewhat inevitable, unless Coca-Cola engineered continued viral moments for the brand and invested in the Lilt brand extension the writing was on the wall.
Interestingly I think with Coca Cola’s brand psychology of killing off underperforming brands (what they dub zombie brands) it could be seen as a little surprising they kept Lilt, but it’s a smart move to place it under the Fanta brand.
Fanta is clearly a brand on the up, registering £282 million in UK sales last year and with an ever-expanding portfolio – is it the next global soft drink powerhouse?
Fanta has always been a beloved local and international brand, it’s following the right brand trajectory, however, becoming a powerhouse soft drink requires huge and continued investment, and I don’t see that investment being made.
Right now large powerhouse brands are typically energy and “hydration drinks”, they easily gain a lot of press and they sell through. Coca-Cola has struggled in the energy space and needs to overly invest to compete.
Coca-Cola’s creations are a great experimental approach to collaboration and limited drops of new flavours. If I were at Coca Cola I would be pushing for a series of Fanta creations in the very near future.
Lilt has strong brand legacy among certain age groups in the UK, and is somewhat of a cultural icon – do you believe that this was the right move by Coke to protect its portfolio?
Coca-Cola has to make hard brand decisions multiple times a year, especially with so many brands and SKUs. Although Lilt is an iconic brand for my generation, we typically aren’t going to be able to prop up the brand without the long-term marketing and placement investment, ultimately it’s a smart way to save the flavour.
We have seen Coca-Cola revive older brands and there’s likely an easy nostalgia play with relaunching Lilt or having its new Lilt (new coke) moment.
Coachable Moment
What Coca-Cola has done is prioritise its brand hierarchy and the house of brands approach by consolidating a less popular brand into a brand they are openly investing in.
If you like to understand the approach a little better here is a good way to think about the house of brands and the hierarchical approach to brands:
- Level 0 – Company
- Level 1 – Brands
- Level 2 – Sub Brands
- Level 3 – Product Lines
- Level 4 – Products
- Level 5 – Product Variations (SKU’s)
Struggling with why brands do this? Or how to make smart decisions with your Marketing Department?
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