Positioning
New Coke, then Coca-Cola Classic
The formula change is reversed after 79 days. The brand learns who owns it.
Coca-Cola
Food & Beverage
A pharmacy tonic that became the world’s best known script, run by bottlers it does not own.
- Inventor
- John Pemberton
- Owner
- The Coca-Cola Company, listed on NYSE
- CEO
- Henrique Braun
- Known for
- Coke, Sprite, Fanta, Costa
The Brand in Brief
Coca-Cola was first sold at a pharmacy counter in 1886. Its bookkeeper wrote the name in the script still used today, and a 1915 bottle made the brand recognisable by touch. The company sells concentrate and the brand, while independent bottlers make and deliver most of the drinks. Advertising built the rest: Santa in 1931, the Hilltop song in 1971, polar bears in 1993, names on bottles in 2011. Its biggest lesson came in 1985, when New Coke was pulled after 79 days.
Recent Brand Moves
- 2026Henrique Braun becomes CEO
A 30-year insider takes over. Watching for brand effect.
- 2021Real Magic
A new global platform for the master brand.
- 2016One Brand strategy
Coke, Diet Coke, Zero and Life brought under one red identity.
- 2011Share a Coke
Names on bottles turn the label into a social object.
Turning points
The Decisions that Made the Brand
Campaign
Haddon Sundblom’s Santa
Coca-Cola fixes the image of a red-suited Santa in popular culture.
1915Identity
The contour bottle
A bottle you could know in the dark, later registered as a trademark itself.
Positioning
Bottling rights sold for $1
The franchise system that still runs Coca-Cola today.
Timeline
Every Brand Decision
Braun era2026 to now
Total beverage company2017 to 2026
Portfolio years1997 to 2017
Goizueta years1981 to 1997
Woodruff era1923 to 1981
Pharmacy to brand1886 to 1923
2026
Henrique Braun becomes CEO
A 30-year insider takes over. Watching for brand effect.
2021
Real Magic
A new global platform for the master brand.
2016
One Brand strategy
Coke, Diet Coke, Zero and Life brought under one red identity.
2011
Share a Coke
Names on bottles turn the label into a social object.
1993
Polar bears, “Always Coca-Cola”
A character campaign built for global TV.
1985
New Coke, then Coca-Cola Classic
The formula change is reversed after 79 days. The brand learns who owns it.
1982
Diet Coke
The first extension to carry the Coke name.
1971
“I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”
The Hilltop ad makes the brand a symbol of togetherness.
1955
McDonald’s partnership begins
A partner that puts Coke next to every burger for decades.
1931
Haddon Sundblom’s Santa
Coca-Cola fixes the image of a red-suited Santa in popular culture.
1915
The contour bottle
A bottle you could know in the dark, later registered as a trademark itself.
1899
Bottling rights sold for $1
The franchise system that still runs Coca-Cola today.
1886
First sold at Jacobs’ Pharmacy
A tonic with a rhyming name and a handwritten script.
Braun era2026 to now · 1 moment
A company veteran takes over.
- 2026Henrique Braun becomes CEO
A 30-year insider takes over. Watching for brand effect.
Total beverage company2017 to 2026 · 1 moment
Many brands, one Coca-Cola.
- 2021Real Magic
A new global platform for the master brand.
Portfolio years1997 to 2017 · 2 moments
Global growth, Share a Coke.
- 2016One Brand strategy
Coke, Diet Coke, Zero and Life brought under one red identity. - 2011Share a Coke
Names on bottles turn the label into a social object.
Goizueta years1981 to 1997 · 3 moments
New Coke, Diet Coke, bottler reform.
- 1993Polar bears, “Always Coca-Cola”
A character campaign built for global TV. - 1985New Coke, then Coca-Cola Classic
The formula change is reversed after 79 days. The brand learns who owns it. - 1982Diet Coke
The first extension to carry the Coke name.
Woodruff era1923 to 1981 · 3 moments
Everywhere, within arm’s reach.
- 1971“I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”
The Hilltop ad makes the brand a symbol of togetherness. - 1955McDonald’s partnership begins
A partner that puts Coke next to every burger for decades. - 1931Haddon Sundblom’s Santa
Coca-Cola fixes the image of a red-suited Santa in popular culture.
Pharmacy to brand1886 to 1923 · 3 moments
Script, bottle, bottlers.
- 1915The contour bottle
A bottle you could know in the dark, later registered as a trademark itself. - 1899Bottling rights sold for $1
The franchise system that still runs Coca-Cola today. - 1886First sold at Jacobs’ Pharmacy
A tonic with a rhyming name and a handwritten script.
Moves like this
The Same Decision, Other Brands
A system others run
3 other brandsThe reversal
Also NikeA character carries itAlso McDonald’sSelling a belief
2 other brandsSport as the stage
2 other brands
The brand is run day to day by bottlers, franchisees or licensees.
3 other brandsThe reversalA big change is undone after customers push back.
Also NikeA character carries itA mascot or recurring figure becomes the brand's face.
Also McDonald’sSelling a beliefA campaign sells what the brand stands for, not what it makes.
2 other brandsSport as the stageLong sponsorships make the brand part of a sport's identity.
2 other brandsName & identity
How It Got Its Name and Its Look
The Name
Pemberton’s bookkeeper Frank Robinson suggested the name from two ingredients, coca leaves and kola nuts, and liked how the two Cs would look in advertising. He wrote it out in Spencerian script, the handwriting style of the time.
What the Name DidThe script made the name a picture. It has barely changed in more than a century.
Logo
1886Robinson’s script in early ads
ArabicArabic script version- NowSpencerian script, current
Colour
- NowCoca-Cola Red with white script
- 1900Red barrels to tell Coke apart for tax inspectors, as the company tells it
Words & Type
Real Magic.
2021Taste the Feeling.
2016Always Coca-Cola.
1993I’d like to buy the world a Coke.
1971The pause that refreshes.
1929
- TCCC Unity type family2017
- Spencerian script for the name1886
Ownership & architecture
Who Owns It, and How Its Brands Fit Together
Owned byThe Coca-Cola Company
ThroughListed on NYSE; Berkshire Hathaway is the largest shareholder
Coca-ColaMaster brand plus a house of brandsBrands it owns
- Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade
- Costa Coffeebought 2019
- BodyArmorbought 2021
- Fairlifefull ownership 2020
Run in the region by
- UAECoca-Cola Al Ahlia Beverages bottles and distributes
Products
- Coca-Cola
- Coca-Cola Zero Sugar
- Diet Coke
Services
- Sprite
- Fanta
- Costa
- smartwater
- Schweppes (some markets)
Retired names
- New Coke
- Tab
- Coca-Cola Life
How the names are built · Master brand plus a house of brands
2016 onwardOne Brand: all Coke variants share one identity
1982 onwardCoke name extended to Diet Coke and later Zero
Most drinks are made and delivered by separate bottling companies, such as Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Coca-Cola HBC and Coca-Cola FEMSA.
Leadership
Who Leads It, and Who Shaped It
HB
Henrique BraunChief Executive Officer
JQ
James QuinceyExecutive Chairman
Chief Executives
2026 to now
Henrique BraunCompany veteran, COO before
2017 to 2026
James QuinceyTotal beverage company
2008 to 2017
Muhtar KentShare a Coke, One Brand
2004 to 2008
Neville IsdellOpen Happiness
1981 to 1997
Roberto GoizuetaNew Coke and its reversal, Diet Coke
Brand Builders
FR
Frank RobinsonBookkeeper, 1886
Named it and wrote the script.
HS
Haddon SundblomIllustrator, 1931 to 1964
Painted the Coca-Cola Santa.
BB
Bill BackerMcCann Erickson
Wrote the Hilltop song.
SZ
Sergio ZymanChief marketing officer
Led New Coke, then “Always Coca-Cola”.
Campaigns
The Work that Carried the Brand
Trademarks
Naming Fights
1920US Supreme Court protects Coca-Cola against the “Koke” name.
Did you know?
Less Known Facts
Founding1886
Coca-Cola sold about nine drinks a day in its first year.
Identity1915
The bottle brief asked for a shape you could recognise in the dark, or broken on the ground.
Identity1886
The script logo was written by the company bookkeeper, not a designer.
Words1886
The first newspaper ad promised “Delicious! Refreshing! Exhilarating! Invigorating!”
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Compiled by the BrandTheChange editors from company records, filings, archives and press. Suggest a correction · Image credits