BANGKOK – The cola wars are heating up in Thailand, as three major players plan to spend billions in the next few years convincing Thais that cola does something, and that their specific colas do something specific.
With the recent split between Pepsi and local bottling partner Serm Suk making headlines, Pepsi-Cola (Thai) Trading has aggressively countered any rumors of difficulty, announcing the acquisition of a new bottling plant in Rayong and the injection of up to ฿18 billion into its marketing budgets.
“Our separation from Serm Suk has no effect on Pepsi or what it stands for to our millions of consumers,” said Jagrut Kotecha, general manager for beverages at Pepsi-Cola (Thai) Trading. “We are prepared to spend whatever it takes to make sure those consumers never stop to think otherwise.”
Citing Pepsi’s sponsorship of Grammy’s “Big Mountain Music Festival 4,” Jagrut reminded those present that the Pepsi experience was all about the enjoyment of being young, especially as it related to Pepsi properties in music and sport.
“The Pepsi experience is completely unique,” he explained, though he declined to follow up with any specific examples. When questioned as to what Pepsi actually did, he told reporters he would get back to them soon with an answer.
“We have Toon Bodyslam,” he insisted, referring to the Thai superstar band Pepsi paid for sponsorship in 2011. “Thais love Toon Bodyslam.”
Meanwhile Coca-Cola (Thailand) plans to take advantage of the Pepsi-Serm Suk split with an ambitious ฿200 million marketing campaign this year.
Communications manager Archawat Chareonsilp said Coke’s totally unique proposition of refreshment and social confidence was what made it truly appealing to Thais, especially young people.
“Our ‘C Day’ campaign has been a huge success, leveraging off the ‘C’ gesture global campaign that allows people to order a Coke just by making a cool sign with their hands,” he explained. “No other cola lets you have that kind of fun.”
Archawat also told reporters that Coke was ramping up its point-of-sale locations through more vending machines and aggressive pushes for shelf space in the modern trade sector. Additionally, the ‘C Day’ sampling campaign would be giving away a million Cokes in a single day.
“A million free Cokes, in one day,” he said. “Now that’s brand awareness.”
Asked about the actual attributes of the product itself, which is a patented mix of carbonated water, sugar, caramel coloring, and various chemical preservatives and emulsifiers, Archawat look confused.
“Coca-cola is a beloved brand that represents the spirit of life,” he said. “Um, can you repeat the question?”
The question was repeated, but Archawat still was unable to answer.
“What do you mean, what does it do?” he asked. “It’s Coke.”
Despite the powerful brand establishment of the two big players, local bottler Serm Suk launched its “est” cola this week and plans to spend ฿1.2 billion between now and the end of 2013 to aggressively establish itself as a serious third player in the Thai cola market.
According to president Dhitivute Bulsook, third place is not their ultimate goal.
“We aim to be number one in the entire beverage category, with our full portfolio of fruit-based drinks and lemon-flavored carbonated beverages,” he said. “But our lead product will be est cola, which we plan to show to Thais as a home-grown alternative to the big two.”
Dhitivute likened est cola to other products that had a strong Thai identity. “Thais love Thailand and want to show their love to their kingdom,’ he said. “Only est cola can claim to represent our country, as well as an experience of fun and youthfulness. It’s totally unique.”
When asked to describe the physical function of est cola, Dhitivute paused, and then referred reporters to the product division.
