Diet Coke has remained one of the most successful new product launches in corporate history. It generated tons – billions upon billions – of dollars in fresh cash for Coca-Cola shareholders and increased the strength of the firm’s core brand. Working with his cadre of fantastic generals, chief among which is Donald Keough, the brilliant Omaha native who effectively served as the marketing genius and, indeed, embodiment of Coca-Cola itself throughout his career, Goizueta was able to launch a product that brought an entire new segment of consumers under the corporation’s umbrella.
Yet, it wasn’t a no-brainer decision. The launch was backed by a $250 million initial research budget and then, later, a $100 million first-year marketing campaign; an unprecedented figure at the time. Even in the hallowed halls of “Fortress Coke” as the author called it, this was not chump change and failure would have been a very public embarrassment, both personally and professionally.
