Welcome to Marketing – Why Taste Isn't Always Enough

What can the Coca-Cola versus Pepsi Challenge teach us about marketing? In this welcome episode of Marketing That Moves People, Dr. Derek and Emily Carter introduce students to the power of marketing through a blind cola taste test and the famous rivalry between Coke and Pepsi. The episode explores why Pepsi often performed well in blind taste tests, why Coca-Cola's brand power remained so strong, and how real customer decisions are shaped by more than product features alone. Students are introduced to marketing as the study of customer value, perception, branding, experience, context, and meaning—and are invited to begin seeing the business world differently.