Coca-Cola is hoping a contest it has launched to give a lucky winner a year off from work and $100,000 will help raise the visibility of Gold Peak Tea.
The brand, which the Atlanta-based company created in 2006, has seen strong sales in the past year — Coca-Cola says it drove more than a third of the national growth in the tea category in 2011. However, the tea, which comes in four flavors and a diet version, still suffers from low consumer awareness.
Unlike some of the company’s megabrands — Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta — Gold Peak has up to now staked its growth strategy on one-on-one marketing: giving away samples at festivals, in stores and through local promotions. That’s instead of utilizing Coca-Cola’s enormous advertising muscle that propels most of its better-known brands.
That changed last month when Gold Peak, using its Facebook page, went for a more widespread campaign by asking fans how they would spend a year off if they had the money to do so. The top five candidates (entries must be made by July 13) will be chosen by Gold Peak. The winner, who will be announced on Labor Day, will be picked by the brand’s Facebook fans.
“The key to this brand is patience,” said Chris Johnston, director of Tea for Coca-Cola North America. “The reason we have used trials is to build a core user base, but we have come to an inflection point where we need both grass-roots and a broader mass appeal.”
The numbers back this up. While Gold Peak has made strides in gaining market share since its inception, it has not helped to push Coca-Cola in the top position among teas. Coca-Cola is significantly behind leaders Arizona and Pepsi, which have about a 40 percent and 35 percent share of the market respectively, according to statistics compiled by Beverage Digest, an industry publication.
Coca-Cola, which also operates Honest Tea, Fuze and Nestea under a distribution agreement, has an almost 7 percent share of the market.
“Coke lags way behind Arizona and Pepsi in ready-to-drink teas,” said John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest. “It is important that Coke focus on this category, as tea could generate a great deal of beverage industry growth over the next decade.”
Sicher noted that Coca-Cola is investing more in the category with a planned extension of Fuze teas this summer.
