caught on. Candler also introduced the twelve ounce Coke can in 1960. The Coca-Cola contour bottle was patented in 1977. The two liter bottle was introduced in 1978, the same year the company also introduced plastic bottles(Coca-Cola multiple pages). Woodruff did have one dubious distinction, he raised the syrup prices for distributors. But he improved efficiency at every step of the manufacturing process. Woodruff also increased productivity by improving the sales department, emphasizing quality control, and beginning large-scale advertising and promotional campaigns. Woodruff made Coke available in every state of the Union through the soda fountain. For all of these achievements he earned the name, "The Boss"(Facts, Figures, and Features Multiple pages). In 1985, the Coca-Cola Company made what has been known as one of the biggest marketing blunder. The Coca-Cola company stumbled onto the new formula in efforts to produce diet Coke. They put forth 4 million dollars of research to come up with the new formula. The decision to change their formula and pull the old Coke off the market came about because taste tests showed a distinct preference for the new formula. The new formula was a sweeter variation with less tang, it was also slightly smoother(Demott 54). Robert Woodruff's death was a large contributor to the change because he stated that he would never change Coca-Cola's formula. Another factor that influenced the change was that Coke's market share fell 2.5 percent in four years. Each percentage point lost or gain meant 200 million dollars. A financial analyst said, "Coke's market share fell from 24.3 percent in 1980 to 21.8 percent in 1984"(Things go better with Coke 14). This was the first flavor change since the existence of the Coca- Cola company. The change was announced April 23, 1985 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at the Lincoln Center. Some two hundred TV and newspaper reporters attended this very glitzy announcement. It ...
