"Never Touch The Coke Stock"

While old money in the Northeast used to tell their offspring "never touch the principal and live off your interest", old Southern money used to say, "never touch the Coke stock and live off dividends". For years this stock, sold out of the teller window at The Trust Company (SunTrust), was the Southern family's most important and growing asset. Generations were supported by it's growth to become a world brand from a tiny drugstore in downtown Atlanta.

Today, as these families have grown and the stock has been split between relatives you rarely see a family living off the KO symbol. But they are still out there and it's because the brand itself is as strong as ever. The July 2009 results from "The Checkout" reveal that Kraft, Coke and Tide are the least likely brands to be traded down on the grocery shelf.

We have to hand it to our fellow marketers on North Avenue. To maintain a brand of caramel flavored sugar water for this length of time is impressive. Did you know that the goodwill value of coke is 19 times the value of the coke assets. This is a powerful brand that will continue to keep little old ladies in the dividends for years to come.

Thanks Mr. Woodruff for instilling the power of a brand before anyone knew what the word was.