Coke, Pepsi dance the garba in Gujarat  ( October '6,2000, HBL)

FOR Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the calendar year is as good as over in Gujarat barring the final hurrah. Billed to be the second high season after summer, both Pepsi and Coke look at some 20-odd days during Navratri to push up sales before hitting the planning board for the next season's marketing initiatives. As against the summer high that lasts 70-75 days, during which time over 50 per cent of the year's fizz is consumed across the country, the second high lasts only about 25 days.

Though the media hype is far less during the festive season and it does not have a pan-India character, the two soft drink giants are going hammer and tongs in the form of dandiya sticks et al in Gujarat and in certain pockets of Mumbai where there is a significant Gujarati population. ``As part of the `think local-act local' business plan, we have tried to involve the masses in Gujarat with Thums Up Toofani Ramjhat with 20,000 free passes issued; one per Thums Up bottle.

There are a number of on-site activities too such as the buy one-get one free scheme and lucky draws where one can win a free trip to Goa. We would be sponsoring 30 venues across the state,'' said Mr Sunil Kapoor, Regional Marketing Manager, Coca-Cola India. Just as Coke has gone in forNavratri sponsorships on a massive scale, Pepsico India Holdings has decided to concentrate on select venues and generate mass scale participation by way of garba competitions.

With some seven venues across the city being sponsored by Pepsi, the company has decided to bring selected participants together for a final round on 6 October, where the winners would waltz away with a number of prizes.

``For the first time, Pepsi has tied up with the Gujarati channel Zee Alpha to telecast Navratri Utsav 2000 at Mumbai on all nine nights. Then there is the mega offer for the people of Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat and Rajkot where every refill of a case of Pepsi 300 ml bottle will fetch one kilo basmati rice free,'' said Mr Deepak Jolly, Executive Vice-President, Pepsico India. With freebies galore from Pepsi -- one Kit Kat with every 1.5 litre bottle and a Polo with each Pepsi and Mirinda 500 ml bottle -- and an equal number of freebies from Coke, the rhythm of the season comes with the beat of the Dandiya.

With Diwali, which marks the onset of the winter, likely to ring the curtains for the season in Gujarat, the cola war will have to wait till the summer of 2001, small skirmishes in other parts of the county notwithstanding.