COKE VS. PEPSIHYPOTHESIS TEST PREP

BA 319

By: Stephen Exeter

Introduction

Two articles were based off individual blind taste tests of Pepsi and Coca-cola.

They wanted to see if people base their consumption off taste or how well they can relate to the product.

How presentation or commercials alter your selection.

I will prepare a hypothesis test answering whether half of the individuals prefer Pepsi over coke.

Article #1

Coke or Pepsi? In Fact it’s all in the mind by: Mark Henderson

This article shows how taste is as much a mental thing as it is a taste-bud thing.

People have clear preferences when it comes to Pepsi or Coke, but when it’s a “blind” test situation, the results are different.

Brain-scanning technology shows how easily cultural influences can affect perceptions, rather the senses.

Article #1 Cont.

The test consisted of 67 volunteers who were blindly tested while having their brains monitored.

Coca-cola is doing a better job of appealing to customers.

Samuel McClure, who led the research at Baylor College said “Coca-Cola and Pepsi are nearly identical in chemical composition, yet humans routinely display a strong subjective preference for one or another.”

Article #2

Coke vs. Pepsi: The Taste Test They Don't Want You to Know About. By: Andy goldsmith, VP creative and brand strategy, American cancer society.

Coke was preferred by 75% to 25% during the straight test, Coke is more related to memory & cognition. Pepsi was not.

The brain studies suggest that Coke’s iconic brand and stronger cultural connection may be the difference in preference. And preference is linked not just to taste.

Article #2 cont.

Through the brain scanning it was discovered that Cultural cues an imagery that Coke has created can indeed have a bias on preference.

One man said after 16 years of drinking strictly diet coke he said he would definitely be able to tell the difference in a taste test, but failed horribly.

However, one girl who doesn’t drink soda at all deciphered the difference between the two in the 2 out of 3 test.

Sample Preferences

My data file compared Coke to Pepsi on preference with a total of 635 individuals participating in the study.

There was 446 females and 189 males.

Interesting ratio of 2.4 females to each male.

Age & Gender of Sample

Between 20 and

40

Between 40 and

60

Less than 20

Over 600

50

100

150

200

250

FM

Male vs. Female Preferences(*My Hypothesis)

Coke Pepsi0

50

100

150

200

250

FM

Hypothesis Test Resultssample proportion 46%

population proportion 51%

std error 0.01983793

sample size 635

test statistic (obs) -2.77

critical measure 1.64

p-value 0.00283

a-level 5%

Do more than half the participants prefer Pepsi?

NULL: <= 50%p

More then half do not prefer pepsi

ALTERNATIVE: > 50%pMore then half do prefer pepsi

one-tailed or two-tailed? 1

obs > critical? yes

p-value < a-level? yes

Accept the Null Statement : More then half do not

prefer Pepsi.

Recomendatiions

Based off this study alone I would make a recommendation to both Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

Pepsi- They should revise their overall advertisement and display strategies. This study shows that people clearly connect better with the coca-cola image.

Coca-Cola – Continue on the same path to success. They have won a blind taste test against their rivals, and have a better connection cognitively with their customers.

Conclusion

This study has clearly shown how people do make consumption decisions based off social perceptions or design rather than on taste alone.

It is interesting that many soda drinkers struggled when it came down to making a decision on their favorite brand.

Over the years people can recall a fond memory of a coke commercial over a Pepsi advertisement.

Conclusion

More companies may want to take a page out of Coke’s book, and vamp up their advertising and image. It has been shown that on those two factors alone, you can increase sales.

It is more than likely we all are effected the same way by decisions like these, rather than on taste alone.

Questions ?