Coke, on the sidelines, saw the results and heard from their own research that a newer, better tasting brand would take the market by storm. In the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Ries and Trout made what I believe to be the most powerful notion ever conceived in the world of business, in that marketing is not a battle of products but a battle of perceptions. For instance, a large airline company recently conducted a survey among its passengers in order to perform some marketing research.
Marketing is all about perception.
The greater portion of my business development career has been in cosmetic surgery and medical practices. For example, a particular hair transplant doctor is one of the first surgeons in Canada to perform this type of surgery and has been instrumental in the popularization of hair transplantation. But you see, when people perceive you to be the best, it is much more powerful than being the best in the first place. If you have a product or service that is the best or that you perceive as being the best, it may not be a shared perception among your target market. However, whether your product or service is better than your competition or not, if people perceive you as a leader in your field or category, they'll automatically assume that you're the best.