- Sergio Zyman
Sergio Zyman's work experience includes tenures with Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble. He is best known as the marketer behind
New Coke , labeled "the most disastrous product launch since the Edsel" by Forbes Magazine (1). As per his book " The End of Advertising as We Know It" the New Coke flavor scored higher with customers in blind taste tests. However Zyman and the marketing team at Coke did not adequately consider consumer loyalty to " Classic Coke" resulting in a major public relations failure and a product re-call. This was the high-light of the Cola wars and enabled Pepsi to establish itself as an equivalent player -at the cost of Coke's marketing mis-steps.Since then Zyman launched a consulting firm called the Zyman Group that he sold to MDC Partners Inc. a Canadian investment company for around $ 60 million.( 3) He was replaced there as Chairman by Scott Miller formerly with McCann Erickson and the Sawyer/Miller Group and is no longer part of the Zyman Group's management team - though he is listed as the founder of the company. He is currently listed as the Vice Chairman of Broadchoice ( 4) a marketing firm focused on behavioural analytics and can be seen in a video-clip on Youtube promoting the firm. He has written 4 books to date on his experiences in marketing and advertising. He is also a professional public speaker charging rates of around $ 25,000 to $ 30,000 for an appearance. He can be booked through the Premiere Speakers Bureau, Washington Speakers Bureau, and Speakers.com ( 5)
Sergio Zyman is orignally a native of Mexico City and maintains residences in Atlanta and Miami. He attended the executive MBA program at Harvard sponsored by Coke and attended various other graduate schools without graduating.
Sources :1) Forbes Magazine 2) The End of Advertising as we Know it by Segio Zyman3) MDC Partners Press Release4) Broadchoice - Press Release and Youtube Video5) Online listings with Premiere Speakers Bureau, Washington Speakers Bureau, and Speakers.com
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