Geometry matters in marketing.

It’s funny how the Marketing guru Philip Kotler talks about marketing is providing value for customers. In reality, most of the customers are actually dumb! Don’t believe me? Let me talk about a “Geometrical” strategy that shows how dumb consumers are.

The word “Strategy”

Before we start, let me enlighten you about the word “Strategy”. A word that we commonly use in our day to day lives, associating the word with a plan, an action or counteractivity for a given situation. Interestingly, the word itself was a “bad” word in the earlier times (pretty much before the 19th century). Strategy meant a deceptive approach undertaken by a coward. It wasn’t considered manly to adopt Strategy. Strategy and Tactics thus differed in terms of societal acceptance.

For example, in a head-to-head war, the plans taken to beat the opposition was a Tactic, but hitting the leader from the back in the dark when the war was paused was Strategy. This is the same reason; Guerrilla Warfare was previously considered an act of cowardice. Very interestingly, Guerrilla Warfare was never an offensive maneuver, instead it was a defensive act performed by the side who has minimal resources to win a war.

Reference: Strategy: A History written by Lawrence Freedman.

Cap diameter strategy

In late 2021, Coca-Cola was suffering to penetrate the rural market of Bangladesh. The challenge was simple, Coca-Cola was priced BDT 20 for a 250mL plastic bottle and 200 mL Glass bottle, but its rivals (Pepsi, and Mojo) were priced the same amount BDT 15. Now, Coke couldn’t reduce the price as it would result in a price discrimination effect and face criticism which would hamper the brand. But the rural market was big and important for the company’s growth in the country. So, what did the brand do?

Reshape bottling.

But it wasn’t such a simple decision. Coke researched the market and realized that:

(1) The rural consumers prefer glass bottles over plastic bottles.
(2) Glass bottles sales of Coke are significantly larger than plastic bottles.
(3) Noone reads the labels.

So, Coke launched a 175mL Glass bottle for the rural market that had a deceptive shape. Not only that the bottle was taller, it also had a thicker glass layer allowing the bottle to have less amount of coke. By providing lesser amount, Coke was able to reduce the price to BDT 15 and offer the rural market.

But wouldn’t the consumer understand that they are drinking less coke?

No. Because, none read the label. To add on it, Coke reduced the diameter of the cap. As a result, less amount of coke got out of the bottle in every sip, and it took longer time to finish drinking it. So, the consumers felt the “Value for Money” by associating it with the time taken to finish it.

Result? Success in the rural market.

Image: 175 mL Bottle (Left) and 200 mL bottle (Right)

The opposite strategy is often practiced triggering greater consumption. Brands like Amul Cool and FarmFresh by Akij increases the diameter of the cap. Due to their distinct taste and customer demand, more beverage is drunk at every sip, making the beverage to get finished early on. So, to get satisfaction, customers tend to purchase the higher volume instead of the lower volume beverage bottle and feel the value of money spent.

This strategy is often applied to Toothpaste brands as well. Users typically press the toothpaste at a constant pressure each morning. Slightly increasing the diameter of the toothpaste cap allows more paste to come out while pressing at the same pressure – ultimately increasing consumption.