What limitations of taste testing can be inferred from the experiential learning exercise in Chapter 9 where two samples of the same cola brand are tasted along with a third unidentified sample which is actually a different brand?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Taste is assessed here in this "taste test." However, because the samples were NOT labeled with their brand names, brand would not be assessed for most of the respondents. When a respondent associates a brand with a sample, all of the accompanying meanings the brand might have for the respondent are activated (at least partially) in the mind of the respondent. For a marketer of Coke, these meanings are likely to be positive ("This brand was served at all my birthday parties growing up", or "My favorite celebrity endorses Coke", etc.). In a blind taste test as described in the text, the focus is on the taste of the colas. However, taste is not the only consideration in choosing a cola drink. The 1984 introduction of New Coke illustrated this well. Despite the better ratings on taste given by consumers to New Coke in blind taste tests, most consumers preferred the original formula of Coke, which included all the positive meanings that had accrued in their minds for this formulation over the years.