What's in a name? Higher sales, some soft drink makers hope

Diet, schmiet. Soft-drink makers are racing to replace or play lown the word "diet" in brand names in favor of alternative terms that they hope will help fatten sales.

The Coca-Cola Co. kicked off the trend in September by renaming the diet version of its Sprite lemon-lime soda Diet Sprite Zero. That name will probably be changed before long to Sprite Zero, as the soda is called in more than 20 markets overseas.

The Pepsi-Cola Co. division of PepsiCo. last month changed the name of the diet version of its lemon-lime soda, Sierra Mist, to Sierra Mist Free. Both Sierra Mist Free and Diet Sprite Zero are being promoted in multimillion-dollar campaigns on television, in print, on posters and in stores.

The rebrandings come as marketers are struggling to inject some effervescence into sales of carbonated soft drinks, which have been losing luster— particularly among younger consumers — to products like water, tea and energy beverages. About the only sodas gaining sales are those without sugar, so the renamings are intended to capitalize on that momentum.

"Diet and sugar-free soft drinks are what's driving all the growth in carbonated soft drinks right now," said Steve Sears, vice president for marketing for flavored soft drinks at the Pepsi-Cola North America division of Pepsi-Cola in Purchase, N.Y. "This is one opportunity we saw for Sierra Mist."

The terms "free" and "zero" are intended mainly to help update perceptions of sugarlesc soft drinks, because research shows the word "diet" — which emerged in the '60s and '70s as a more modern way to say "dietetic" — can carry unwanted baggage, particularly among younger men.

"There's a language of 'diet' that's very unappealing," said Rony Zibara, executive creative director for North America at FutureBrand in New York, an agency owned by the Interpublic Group of Cos. that specializes in corporate and brand identities.

"The cues and signs of 'diet' say 'dated,' " Zibara said. "No one wants to be seen walking down the street with a diet beverage in hand."

In addition to evoking a bygone era replete with brands like Metrecal, Patio Diet Cola, Sugar Twin and Tab, the word "diet" can have unpleasant connotations, said John Diefenbach, a partner at TrueBrand in San Francisco, also a corporate and brand identity consultant.

"It's a word that represents somepling that doesn't taste good, a punishment, and people don't want to be punished," Diefenbach said. "They want something that tastes good."