coca cola brand development

Brand Analysis of Coca-Cola

1. Introduction:

1.1. Origin of the report:

This report is prepared with the respect to the course of Brand Management. We are

assigned to prepare a term paper by our honorable course instructor Shobodh Deba Nath.

Our task is to make an in-depth analysis on brand performance of Coca-Cola and

complete a study that covers all-important factors of Brand Management.

1.2 Objective of the Report:

This report has been prepared considering a number of objectives. The objectives are:

To apply our knowledge that we have gathered from ‘Brand Management’ course into

the report

To provide the overview of Coca-Cola.

To measure the business value of Coca-Cola.

To analyze and find out the performance of Coca-Cola.

Brand promotional activities and relevance of them.

To get knowledge and apply it into the real world.

1.3 Scope:

The term paper is made on the basis of what people think about and the brand

performance of Coca-Cola. For this we searched in the internet and several articles to get

the actual information. This is focused on Brand performance, positioning, marketing mis

of Coca-Cola and in depth analysis on the brand.

1.4 Sources:

Secondary information was collected from books and the web site of Coca-Cola.

Statistical techniques were used to analyze the collected information and this information

was presented in the graphical form. Also several internet articles and the marketing

knowledge of the group members are also applied.

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Background of the Company

The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and

manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The

company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist

John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia Besides its namesake Coca-Cola beverage,

Coca-Cola currently offers more than 500 brands in over 200 countries or territories and

serves over 1.7 billion servings each day. The company operates a franchised distribution

system dating from 1889 where The Coca-Cola Company only produces syrup concentrate

which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold an exclusive territory.

The Coca-Cola Company owns its anchor bottler in North America, Coca-Cola

Refreshments.

According to the 2005 Annual Report, the company sells beverage products in more than 200

countries. The report further states that of the more than 50 billion beverage servings of all

types consumed worldwide every day, beverages bearing the trademarks owned by or

licensed to Coca-Cola account for approximately 1.5 billion (the latest figure in 2010 shows

that now they serve 1.6 billion drinks every day). Of these, beverages bearing the trademark

"Coca-Cola" or "Coke" accounted for approximately 78% of the Company's total gallon

sales. In 2010 it was announced that Coca-Cola had become the first brand to top £1 billion in

annual UK grocery sales.

Also according to the 2007 Annual Report, Coca-Cola had gallon sales distributed as follows:

42% in the United States

37% in Mexico, India, Brazil, Japan and the People's Republic of China

20% spread throughout the rest of the world

In 2009, the company generated revenues of $31 billion with $6.8 billion net income. Coca-

Cola Company will take control of the bottler's North America operations, giving the

company control over 90% of the total North America volume. In return, Coca-Cola

enterprises will take over Coke's bottling operations in Norway and Sweden, becoming a

European-focused producer and distributor.

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Company Profile:

Basic Information

Company Name : The Coca-Cola Company

Company type : Public corporation

Industry : Beverage

Company Founded : 1892

Company Founder : Asa Candler

Area Served : More than 200 countries

Number of brands : More than 500 brands

Headquarters : Coca-Cola headquarters, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.

Chairman& CEO : Muhtar Kent

Website : www.thecoca-colacompany.com

Financial Information

Revenue : US$ 35.119 billion (2010)

Operating Income : US$ 08.449 billion (2010)

Net Income : US$ 11.809 billion (2010)

Total assets : US$ 72.921 billion (2010)

Total Equity : US$ 31.317 billion (2010)

Employees : 139,600 (2010)

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Brand Profile: Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in

more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and

is often referred to simply as Coke (a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company in the

United States since March 27, 1944). Originally intended as a patent medicine when it was

invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton, Coca-Cola was bought out by

businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coke to its dominance of the

world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century. The Coca-Cola Company has, on

occasion, introduced other cola drinks under the Coke brand name. The most common of

these is Diet Coke, with others including Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, Diet Coke Caffeine-Free,

Coca-Cola Cherry, Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola Vanilla, and special versions with lemon,

lime or coffee.

Mission:

The official website of Coca-Cola states in its mission statement: “At the Coca-Cola

Company we strive to refresh the world, inspire moments of optimism and happiness, create

value and make a difference”.

Coca-Cola Roadmap starts with a mission, which is enduring. It declares the purpose as a

company and serves as the standard against which we weigh our actions and decisions.

To refresh the world

To inspire moments of optimism and happiness.

To create value and make a difference.

Vision:

Coca-Cola’s vision serves as the framework for the Roadmap and guides every aspect of its

business by describing what they need to accomplish in order to continue achieving

sustainable, quality growth.

People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be.

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Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate

and satisfy people's desires and needs.

Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create

mutual, enduring value.

Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support

sustainable communities.

Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall

responsibilities.

Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization.

Winning Culture of Coca-Cola:

Coca-Cola’s winning Culture defines the attitudes and behaviors that will be required to

make its 2020 Vision a reality. Coca-Cola promotes some cultures as:

Live Our Values:

Our values serve as a compass for our actions and describe how we behave in the world.

Leadership: The courage to shape a better future

Collaboration: Leverage collective genius

Integrity: Be real

Accountability: If it is to be, it's up to me

Passion: Committed in heart and mind

Diversity: As inclusive as our brands

Quality: What we do, we do well

Focus on the Market:

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Focus on needs of our consumers, customers and franchise partners

Get out into the market and listen, observe and learn

Possess a world view

Focus on execution in the marketplace every day

Be insatiably curious

Work Smart:

Act with urgency

Remain responsive to change

Have the courage to change course when needed

Remain constructively discontent

Work efficiently

Act like Owners:

Be accountable for our actions and inactions

Steward system assets and focus on building value

Reward our people for taking risks and finding better ways to solve problems

Learn from our outcomes -- what worked and what didn’t

Be the Brand:

Inspire creativity, passion, optimism and fun

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Market Analysis Coca Cola

Market Size:

Coca Cola is one of the leading beverage companies in the whole world. It covers the large

market segment. From the facts it is revealed that the market for coca cola as mentioned in

the SWOT analysis segment is encouraging. Still it has a great potential in world market. It

focusers on it deficiencies and try to over come it than it will definitely grow more than any

other beverage company in the world. So it has a large margin for growth.

Growth rate of Coca Cola:

In Asian market the growth rate is 22% which is a significant rate. According to Fortune 500

magazine, the brand has earned 13% more revenues from 2009 to 2011, and the profit has

been jumped up to 73% from 2009 to 2011. Profits have grown 34% of total revenues, 16%

of total assets and 38% of shareholders’ equity.

Market share of Coca-Cola:

As of 2004, Coca-Cola reached a market share of 60.9% in India, and in 2010, Coca-Cola

reached 22% in Pakistan where it is the second largest beverage consumed by customers.

Coke's soft-drink market share slid to 42.9% from 43.1% in 2005 in USA, while PepsiCo's

fell to 31.2% from 31.4%. The share of British rival Cadbury Schweppes, which markets Dr.

Pepper and 7Up, gained 0.3 percentage points to 14.9%.

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Products of Coca-Cola

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Target Market of Coca Cola

Coca Cola takes every customer as target and potential customer who is thirsty. All age

groups are being target but the most potential is the age group from 18-25 that covers around

40% of total age segments. And since the urge of enjoyment rest more on this age segment,

this is very vital for Coca-Cola.

Age: The target market for the Coca Cola is based on age. The target audience of

Coca Cola is youngster or youth. It is a wide range for targeting. It ranges from the

age of 15-25 and also reaches to 40 plus, as they are serving this age group also.

Gender: Coca-Cola Zero or Coke Zero was specifically marketed to males, who were

shown to associate 'diet' drinks with women. It is primarily marketed towards young

adult males and has even been nicknamed "Bloke Coke". Diet Coke is also focused

on females to have diet drinks with males who like Coke Zero.

Life style: Busy life style and mobile generation who like to enjoy much are targeted

since the slogan always promotes happiness, and joy of life.

Family: There is segmentation based on family since the Coca-Cola family pack is

designed to serve the whole family to enjoy in occasions or without any occasions.

Customer’s Media Habits

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There are some habits which are given as follows’

The target audience of the Coca Cola brand love to have exposure to media.

They are the mobile generation and spend lot of time on MMS and SMS chatting.

They spend most of the time on enjoying music.

They spend their home time on watching TVs. They like innovations in TV ads. Etc.

Consumer behavior of Coca-Cola

The company's beverages are generally for all consumers. However, specifically of coca cola

regular customer’s buying behavior and characteristics are given in the following section.

Factors stimulate demand

There are large numbers of factors that are affecting the demand of the Coca Cola but most

out of them are the competitors’ price and promotional activities and the life style attached

with the brand.

Criteria for alternatives

Now-a-days the personality attached, taste, freshness and other factors like marketing theme

are set standards for alternatives to be selected. Pepsi provides the best alternative to Coca

Cola brand users. This strong factor changes the consumer behavior.

Use of product

Basic purpose of using Coca Cola is to quench the thirst. But now days it has become a life-

style status symbol. The use of the product is also very simple with out any complexities in

usage and also is available for drinking.

Competitors

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Pepsi, the flagship product of PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company's main rival in the soft drink

industry, is usually second to Coke in sales, and outsells Coca-Cola in some markets. RC

Cola, now owned by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, the third largest soft drink manufacturer,

is also widely available.

In 1893, Pepsi Cola was established in North Carolina by pharmacist Caleb Bradham and

Pepsi had imitated the franchise bottling system of coke. In 1910, Pepsi build a network of

270 bottlers. In 1923 and 1932 Pepsi was declared bankrupt but still then it focuses on

marketing strategy and sold its 12 oz bottle for only a nickel----the same price that coke

charged for 6.5 oz bottle. In 1938, coke first suit against Pepsi by claiming that Pepsi cola

brand was an infringement on the coca cola trade mark. In 1941, Pepsi won the law suit

claimed by coca cola and counter suits between two companies. From 1938-1941, Pepsi not

only faced the competitor ship of coca cola but also surpasses royal crown and Dr. Pepper

and in 1940 it became the largest selling CSD brand. And in 1950, coke share of U.S market

was 47% and Pepsi was 10%.

Around the world, many local brands compete with Coke. In Peru, Inca Kola outsells Coca-

Cola, which led The Coca-Cola Company to purchase the brand in 1999. In Sweden, Julmust

outsells Coca-Cola during the Christmas season. In Scotland, the locally produced Irn-Bru

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was more popular than Coca-Cola until 2005, when Coca-Cola and Diet Coke began to

outpace its sales. In India, Coca-Cola ranked third behind the leader, Pepsi-Cola, and local

drink Thums Up. The Coca-Cola Company purchased Thums Up in 1993. As of 2004, Coca-

Cola held a 60.9% market-share in India. Tropicola, a domestic drink, is served in Cuba

instead of Coca-Cola, due to a United States embargo. French brand Mecca Cola and British

brand Qibla Cola are competitors to Coca-Cola in the Middle East. In Turkey, Cola Turka, in

Iran and the Middle East, ZamZam Cola and Parsi Cola, in some parts of China, China Cola,

in Slovenia, Cockta and the inexpensive Mercator Cola, sold only in the country's biggest

supermarket chain, Mercator, are some of the brand's competitors. Classiko Cola, made by

Tiko Group, the largest manufacturing company in Madagascar, is a serious competitor to

Coca-Cola in many regions. Laranjada is the top-selling soft drink on Madeira.

Many of the brands available from the three largest soda producers, The Coca-Cola

Company, PepsiCo and the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, are intended as direct, equivalent

competitors. The following chart lists these competitors by type or flavor of drink.

Flavor/Type PepsiCo Coca-Cola Dr Pepper Snapple

Cola Pepsi Coca-Cola RC Cola

Diet Cola Diet Pepsi, Pepsi

Max

Diet Coke, Coca-

Cola Zero

Diet Rite, Diet RC

Cola

Cherry-flavored

Cola

Pepsi Wild Cherry Coca-Cola Cherry Cherry RC

Orange Mirinda, Tropicana

Twister, Slice

Coca-Cola Orange Crush, Sunkist

Lemon Lime Teem,

7 Up (in countries

other than US)

Coca-Cola Lemon

Light

7Up (in US)

Schweppes

Marketing Mix of Coca-Cola

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The 'Coca-Cola' brand has been adopted the strategy of global marketing. They are

considering the whole world as single market place and uniform marketing strategy was

being used Coca-cola for many years, but now the trend is changing and different marketing

campaigns are being designed for different regions of the world. . Business decisions are

made on a domestic basis to fit in with the culture and needs of the domestic community. In

1919 Coca-Cola decided it was time to go global. The Coca-Cola Company decided to take

its operations beyond national boundaries and marketing research was started in Central

America, china and many other countries of the world. Because of successful and efficient

marketing research Coca-cola was able to produce globally in different regions of the world.

Coca-cola has got such an intensive distribution and bottlers system that its products are

available everywhere in the world, starting from Middle East to Australia. You can find coca

cola product on every retail outlet

I. Product:

Coca-Cola has several differentiated products to help consumers with different tastes and

features. There are many reasons why Coca-Cola decided to sell its product in international

market. The prospect exists to sell Coca-Cola worldwide, because Coca-Cola is a product

which can be used by everyone irrespective of age and gender, all over the world. Marketing

globally demand the company to have a marketing team in line with a country's consumers so

effective sales can be made and good relations with the abroad key employees can be

maintained. Some of the popular products are:

i. Coca-Cola: The original version of Coca-Cola which was invented in 1886

and is being continued until now. People who like the cola flavor are great fan

of its taste and attributes. Coca-Cola is being packed into cans, family pack,

bottles and different other sizes.

ii. Coca-Cola Cherry: Cherry flavored cola which was available in Canada

starting in 1996. Called "Cherry Coca-Cola (Cherry Coke)" in North America

until 2006. People who like cherry or cherry flavor or the fragrance of cherry

were targeted for this product.

iii. Coca-Cola Lime: It was introduced in North America in the first quarter of

2005. The formula is the same as regular Coke but with added lime flavor. The

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decision to market the product was based on popular feedback from

consumers in 2004 with the release of Diet Coke with Lime.

iv. Coca-Cola Zero: Coca-Cola Zero or Coke Zero is a low-calorie (0.75 calories

per liter) variation of Coca-Cola specifically marketed to males, who were

shown to associate 'diet' drinks with women. Coke Zero is being distributed to

more than 90 countries in the world.

v. Diet Coke: Diet Coke (also known as 'Diet Coca-Cola', Coca-Cola light or

Coke light) is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-

Cola Company. It was first introduced in the United States on August 9, 1982

and distributed in 12 different flavors with 4 flavors being discontinued later.

vi. Coca-Cola Vanilla: Vanilla Coke is a vanilla flavored version of Coca-Cola

Classic. The marketing campaign for Vanilla Coke aimed to appeal across all

generations. It is available in Austria, Australia, China, Finland, Germany,

Hong Kong, New Zealand, Malaysia, Sweden, United Kingdom and United

States.

vii. Coca-Cola Blak: Coca-Cola BlāK was a coffee-flavored soft drink introduced

by Coca-Cola in 2006 and discontinued in 2008. The mid-calorie drink was

introduced first in France, before making its way to the United States and

other markets. It was available in the United States, France, Canada, Czech

Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Lithuania.

viii. Coca-Cola Orange: Coca-Cola Orange was a variation of Coca-Cola

available for a limited time that was flavored with orange. It was introduced in

June 2007 in the UK and Gibraltar only, following the success of the previous

year's Coke with Lime, for which 40% of the launch sales represented new

customers and increased purchasing. Coca-Cola Orange was designed to

appeal to regular Coca-Cola drinkers as well as those who prefer the more

citrus flavors of Coke with Lemon and Coke with Lime.

II. Price:

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The Coca-Cola products pricing are set around the same level as its competitors. Most of the

Coca-Cola products use this method of pricing. For example, for a pack of 250ml of Coca-

Cola it is priced at Rs.12 instead of Rs.10.00.This pricing strategy makes consumers perceive

the products to be affordable.

Like any company who has successfully endured a century of existence, Coca Cola has had to

remain tremendously fluent with their pricing strategy. They have had the privilege of a

worthy competitor constantly driving them to be smarter, faster, and better. A quote from

Pepsi Co's CEO:

"The more successful they are, the sharper we have to be. If the Coca Cola Company

didn't exist, we'd pray for someone to invent them."

The relationship between Coca Cola & Pepsi is a healthy one that each corporation has

learned to appreciate. Throughout the years Coca Cola has made many pricing decisions but

one might say that their ultimate goal has always been to maximize shareholder value. In

order to grab market share most of time Pepsi began to drop prices (even with summer

approaching). Shortly thereafter, Coca Cola decided to drop their prices slightly, but focused

on the reduced price point of their 200ml container. Coca Cola planned to use the lower price

point to penetrate new cities that were especially price sensitive. The carbonated soft drink

market in Pakistan is nearly 57% of the total beverage market there.

Coca Cola’s first used low-price strategy in the early 1990s. After annihilating the low price

store brands, Coke chose to reposition itself as a "Premium" brand and then raise prices. They

are sticking with this strategy as it is working. They are positioning themselves as premium

product for having fun in life.

Position support Pricing:

Coca Cola has been doing continuous focus on its price related positioned. With the help of

experience of over the years coca cola has finally emerged with the best marketing strategy of

its time and successfully maintained its position as an affordable enjoyment of life.

III. Place:

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A way of getting the product to the consumer and/or how easily accessible it is to consumers.

Coca-Cola products are available anywhere in the world. It is served more than 200 countries

in the world and in a very convenient way. Coca-Cola basically sells the syrup chemical to

the bottlers and then it is distributed across the whole world. Coca-Cola is available at

convenient places like retail stores, shopping mall, vending machines, confectionery stores,

convenient stores etc.

The World of Coca-Cola is the latest premiere location where you can experience Coca-Cola

Freestyle - the sleek and stylish fountain that offers 100+ beverage choices in one incredible

machine. Coca-Cola Freestyle machine is the newest innovation that brings you the ultimate

fountain experience from the company that has its roots in the fountain experience. Coca-

Cola Freestyle touch screens make it simple to select from more than 60 diet and low-calorie

beverage brands, and among Coca-Cola varieties that have never before been available in the

U.S. other than on Coca-Cola Freestyle.

Coca-Cola Freestyle machine is a new addition to our Taste It! beverage lounge and a great

complement to the more than 60 beverage choices from around the world we currently offer.

Availability of Coca-Cola Freestyle may vary depending on scheduled maintenance, updates

or during specialty beverage activations.

IV. Promotion

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By taking into consideration all the key elements involved in the Developing of an IMC

campaign strategy such as, deciding on the mix and level of different IMC ingredients as

advertising, sales promotion, publicity and direct marketing.

In Promotional plan there are three campaigns which would be carried for the whole year by

Coca-Cola. The Marketing strategy for Coca-Cola would depend on the nature of market and

focus on the social responsibility or societal marketing. Secondly, it will focus on the fun and

entertainment perspective in order to motivate youngsters to purchase Coca-Cola and

generate more sales. Whole marketing communication will be developed to communicate the

message to the target audience to raise funds to attract consumer’s attention and alter their

decision on the basis of its taste and quality. Following are the details of the whole IMC

including promotional mix for Coca-Cola.

Elements of IMC mix

This depends upon not only on the nature of the product and also on the objectives. In IMC

mix there are three different types of media that will be used like “TV advertising” and “Print

advertisement”, and “banners advertisement”. The various elements that are included in the

IMC mix must work together to deliver a consistent and persuasive message to the target

audience.

Promotional Activities for Each Target Segments

In IMC the target market of Coca-Cola is the whole nation especially teenagers, families and

all those people who consume Coca-Cola. So by using different types of media we will give a

message to our target customer that we are here to help the victims of earth quake.

i. Advertisement:

In order to reach the maximum target customers, newspapers are best media suited for

reaching to very large audiences. It is a cost effective way and it has more frequency

of distribution. Another media being selected for giving ads of Coca-Cola is using

television as a medium because young generation watches television very much. It

also reaches mass media, and it does so during a short period of time, so every one

can be reached in the very short time period by using the television media. It also

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covers a large number of people and delivers a good message to the customers more

effectively. Some Newspaper and Television ads are given below:

Similarly, another medium being selected for giving advertisement of Coca-Cola are

billboards. The reason of giving ad on billboards is that they are considered to have

high impact on the people passing through the highways and roads. Billboards create

more exposure towards the ad leaving an impact on the people. They are hard to

ignore and are use for the purpose of creating reminder in the minds of the people

about Coca-Cola existence. Some of the Television, print media and billboard

advertisements are given below:

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ii. Sales promotion:

Coca-Cola Co. is running a mobile campaign via the Cha-cha mobile answer service to

generate interest in its loyalty program and Coke Zero soft drink. The soft drinks giant is one

of Cha-cha’s first advertisers. Cha-cha has been charged with enabling a conversational

relationship between Coca-Cola and the millions of users of its answer service.

Firehouse Subs is launching Coca-Cola Freestyle fountains in all of its 437 restaurants. With

Coca-Cola Freestyle, visitors to Firehouse Subs will now have the ability to create their own

customized drinks. Robin Sorensen, co-founder of Firehouse Subs, said, “Coca-Cola

Freestyle has led to a substantial increase in beverage sales. We’re pumped to be the first

national chain to bring the fountain of the future to all our customers.

iii. Public relation

Coca Cola spent $4,890,000 on lobbying in 2010. $475,000 went to seven outside lobbying

firms. Everyone remembers those cute cuddly polar bears from the Coca-Cola Commercials.

In Coca-Cola's newest PR campaign they are ready to take action. Coca-Cola wants to reduce

human impact on global climate change! They are also socially responsible to the matter.

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Coca-Cola posts, "Polar bears need your help too. We created this web site so you can learn

about polar bears and what you can do to help the planet. Send a polar bear e-card to a friend,

make a donation to WWF or "adopt" a polar bear. Whether you do one thing or do them all,

you can make a difference." Coca-Cola has made several cans and bottles promoting to save

polar bears.

.

iv. Personal Selling:

Coca-Cola has vending machines in roadside and different stores to get coca-cola from the

machines to make it more easy and convenient for the customers. In 2009, Coca-Cola carried

out a mobile coupon campaign in the UK, powered by digital voucher company, i-movo.

Using the Pay point network, hundreds of thousands of bottles of Coca-Cola were distributed

free, using secure digital vouchers delivered to mobile phones. Selected Pay Point stores were

given eye-catching point-of-sale material, including door posters, shelf blazers and fridge-top

stands, which made clear the simple step required of customers to get their free drink. All

they had to do was send a text message with the word ‘YES’, followed by their date of birth.

Valid voucher requests received a text message reply within a few seconds that included a

unique voucher code that was validated by the retailer using the Pay Point terminal. By the

conclusion of the eight-week campaign, over 200,000 drinks had been given away to nearly

100,000 consumers across the UK, with the campaign delivering a redemption rate of 87%,

according to i-movo, leading the company to describe it as: “the most popular and effective

mobile coupon campaign the UK has ever seen”.

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V. Process

The Coca-Cola system is not a single entity from a legal or managerial perspective, and the

Company does not own or control all of its bottling partners. While many view the Company

as simply "Coca-Cola," the system operates through multiple local channels. The Company

manufactures and sells concentrates, beverage bases and syrups to bottling operations, owns

the brands and is responsible for consumer brand marketing initiatives. The bottling partners

manufacture, package, merchandise and distribute the final branded beverages to our

customers and vending partners, who then sell our products to consumers. Regarding the

manufacturing process, the company says:

“We take the environmental impact of our business very seriously. Within our

manufacturing process, these areas includes water, packaging, energy use and

emissions”

VI. People:

People are the most important element of marketing activities. Services tend to be produced

and consumed at the same moment, and aspects of the customer experience are altered to

meet the 'individual needs' of the person consuming it. Most of us can think of a situation

where the personal product/service offered by individuals has made or tainted a tour, vacation

or restaurant meal. Remember, people buy from people that they like, so the attitude, skills

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and appearance of all staff need to be first class. Some ways in which people add value to an

experience, as part of the marketing mix is, training, personal selling and customer service.

VII. Packaging:

Most consumer products goods depend on some form of packaging of transportation, display

and shopper convenience. In food and beverage products, packaging also provides important

safety benefits such as spoilage reduction and temper resistance.

The majority of Coca-Cola’s primary packaging is returnable bulk or made from commonly

recycled materials. They are developing packaging designs that use less material without

sacrificing quality, and investing in technologies in recovery systems that enables them to use

more recycled materials. Besides the shape of the bottles, cans and other packs are

determined by conducting mass amount of survey investing millions of dollars after every

certain period of time.

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SWOT Analysis:

As a market leader in beverage industry and the most valued brand in the world, Coca-Cola

has certain enormous strengths, weaknesses, huge opportunities and strong competitions. In

this section, an in depth SWOT analysis is given to measure a bit of the giant company’s total

situation.

Strengths:

Coca-Cola has been a complex part of world culture for a very long time. The

product's image is loaded with over-romanticizing, and this is an image many people

have taken deeply to heart.

The Coca-Cola image is displayed on T-shirts, hats, and collectible memorabilia. This

extremely recognizable branding is one of Coca-Cola's greatest strengths. "Enjoyed

more than 685 million times a day around the world Coca-Cola stands as a simple, yet

powerful symbol of quality and enjoyment" (Allen, 1995).

Additionally, Coca-Cola's bottling system is one of their greatest strengths. It allows

them to conduct business on a global scale while at the same time maintain a local

approach. The bottling companies are locally owned and operated by independent

business people who are authorized to sell products of the Coca-Cola Company.

Because Coke does not have outright ownership of its bottling network, its main

source of revenue is the sale of concentrate to its bottlers.

The Coca Cola sells beverages in around 200 countries. And it has a huge variety in

the product line.

Coca Cola was the first commercial sponsor of Olympic Games and it has been

sponsoring the FIFA and cricket world cup events.

People like the taste and quality of Coca Cola around the world.

Strong Financial reserves and returns

Huge range of brands and variety of product line to a huge extent

Weaknesses:

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Weaknesses for any business need to be both minimized and monitored in order to

effectively. Achieve productivity and efficiency in their business’s activities, Coke is no

exception. Although domestic business as well as many international markets are thriving

(volumes in Latin America were up 12%), Coca-Cola has recently reported some "declines in

unit case volumes in Indonesia and Thailand due to reduced consumer purchasing power."

According to an article in Fortune magazine, "In Japan, unit case sales fell 3% in the second

quarter [of 1998] scary because while Japan generates around 5% of worldwide volume, it

contributes three times as much to profits.

Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Japan account for about 35% of Coke's volume

and none of these markets are performing to expectation.

Coca-Cola on the other side has effects on the teeth which is an issue for health care.

It also has got sugar by which continuous drinking of Coca-Cola may cause health

problems. Being addicted to Coca-Cola also is a health problem, because drinking of

Coca-Cola daily has an effect on your body after few years.

Customers are not being able to differentiate among few brands such as Coca Cola

Zero and Diet.

It high relies on Coca Cola drink only.

Most of the beverages supply is restricted to few countries.

Lack of innovation.

Opportunities:

Brand recognition is the significant factor affecting Coke's competitive position.

Coca-Cola's brand name is known well throughout 94% of the world today. The

primary concern over the past few years has been to get this name brand to be even

better known.

Packaging changes have also affected sales and industry positioning, but in general,

the public has tended not to be affected by new products.

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Coca-Cola's bottling system also allows the company to take advantage of infinite

growth opportunities around the world. This strategy gives Coke the opportunity to

service a large geographic, diverse area.

Making more innovations and overtaking competitors. Also there are huge

opportunities in acquiring firms which they have been doing for a long time. In India,

Coca-Cola acquired Thumbs-up cola and is doing a great job.

Launch healthy drinks

Increase mineral water sales

Increase Awareness programs

Launch other coca cola variants in the untapped countries.

Threats:

Currently, the threat of new viable competitors in the carbonated soft drink industry is not

very substantial. The threat of substitutes, however, is a very real threat. The soft drink

industry is very strong, but consumers are not necessarily married to it. Possible substitutes

that continuously put pressure on both Pepsi and Coke include tea, coffee, juices, milk, and

hot chocolate. Even though Coca-Cola and Pepsi control nearly 40% of the entire beverage

market, the changing health-consciousness of the market could have a serious affect. Of

course, both Coke and Pepsi have already diversified into these markets, allowing them to

have further significant market shares and offset any losses incurred due to fluctuations in the

market.

Consumer buying power also represents a key threat in the industry. The rivalry

between Pepsi.

Coke has produce a very slow moving industry in which management must

continuously respond to the changing attitudes and demands of their consumers or

face losing market share to the competition.

Consumers can easily switch to other beverages with little cost or consequence.

New entrants are gaining market share. Competitions from local firms.

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It has some negative health effect.

Ongoing recession

Economy instability in third world countries and also in the European countries.

Political instability in Middle East and third world country. Some of the events like

Arab Spring and others.

Product Life Cycle:

To be able to market its product properly, a business must be aware of the product life cycle

of its product. The standard product life cycle tends to have five phases: Development,

Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. Coca-Cola is currently in the maturity stage,

which is evidenced primarily by the fact that they have a large, loyal group of stable

customers. Furthermore, cost management, product differentiation and marketing have

become more important as growth slows and market share becomes the key determinant of

profitability. In foreign markets the product life cycle is in more of a growth trend Coke's

advantage in this area is mainly due to its establishment strong branding and it is now able to

use this area of stable profitability to subsidize the domestic Cola Wars.

Brand elements of Coca-Cola

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Logo: Logo means the visual trademark that identifies the brand. The coca-cola

company has their own popular logo which helps to distinguish the coca-cola product

from others. The company never made any major change to their logo, the perception

that people have of their logo is one of consistency. But coca-cola has managed to

update the logo so that it looks more modern and ready for the future.

Packaging: All products of the Coca-Cola are committed to strict environmental

guidelines, and to ensuring their packaging has as little impact as possible on the

environment. For this, a recycling project was introduced in New Zealand

during 2001.which ensures their PET bottles contain an average of 10% recycled

material.

Shapes: The distinctive shapes of the Coca-Cola bottle are trademarked elements of

those brands.

Graphics: The dynamic ribbon is also a trademarked part of Coca-Cola's brand.

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Slogan: Slogans are short phrases that communicate descriptive information about

the brand. Coca-Cola practices different slogans to communicate with their customer

since 1886. Here r some slogans in USA:

1886 - Drink Coca-Cola.

1942 - The only thing like Coca-Cola is Coca-Cola itself.

1986 - Red White & You (for Coca-Cola Classic)

2003 - Real.

2005 - Make It Real.

2006 - The Coke Side of Life (used also in the UK)

2007 - Live on the Coke Side of Life (also used in the UK)

2009 - Open Happiness

2010 - Twist The Cap To Refreshment

2011 - Life Begins Here

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Criteria for choosing Brand elements:

Some of the criteria for choosing brand elements are Memorability, Adaptability, likability,

transferability, Protectability etc. Coca-Cola has maintained a good correlation for maintain

these criteria and so a good job in the market. A further discussion is given below:

Memorability: Memorability of Coca-Cola is pretty high in the consumers’ mind. From the

very beginning, Coca-Cola has maintained huge promotions to make it memorable to the

consumers’ mind. The slogan “joy of happiness”, or “open happiness” were quite popular and

referable to the brand.

Adaptability: Our Company moved up five spots to the No. 2 position in this year's "Top of

Mind" ranking of Argentina's most admired companies. The annual study is conducted by El

Clarín, the country's leading newspaper.

Out of the 10 attributes measured, Coca-Cola leads "Quality of Products and Services,"

"Creativity" and "Track Record," and runs second in "Quality of Management," "Adaptability

to Changing Environment," "Strategic Vision" and "Corporate Social Responsibility."

Measurability: Promotions and actions of Coca-Cola are measurable in the way they have

been doing for 1886. All the ads, TVCs, and differentiation are measured in perfect manner

so that consumers can get the idea of what the brand is and how it works.

Likability: Brand elements should be selected in a way so that it is liked by the target

customers. Coca-cola is very popular among the customers and consumers for which they

have been doing successful business in the beverage industry. Most effective likeliness of the

brand is new and diversified packaging after certain times. Coca-Cola spends millions of

dollars to survey and to determine the packaging which might be attracted to the target

customers. And the packaging and advertisements are quite popular on an average scenario.

Transferability: Coca-Cola has always been following the transferability criteria while

choosing their promotions or introduction of their brand. Slogans are always transferable and

also the brand mission and vision. They have maintained this feature in packaging,

introducing new item like Coca-Cola Zero, Diet Coke, Vanilla and other products. The brand

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has introduced sub-brands and transferred and adjusted their current values and ways of

promoting to the new brands.

Protectability: Coca-Cola has protected their image, brand value and any chance of

imitation or process that might confuse consumers with other brands. When Pepsico named

the company as Pepsi Cola, Coca-Cola filed a lawsuit against the company stating that the

company name is too much similar to Coca-Cola brand name. PepsiCola lost the case and

then changed into Pepsico. Also there are some other incidents where Coca-Cola has filed

cases to protect their own identity.

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Leveraging Brand Equity by secondary association:

I. Celebrity endorsement:

When a celebrity is paid to allow his or her name to advertise a product, fans of that celebrity

display a heightened level of interest in the product being offered. Some of the image of the

celebrity is 'transferred' to the product, offering a connection to the celebrity's fans. Coca-

Cola's current celebrity endorser is former England football captain Davi. In India, Amir

Khan, Imran khan are promoting Coca-Cola in different ads and programs. Famous

footballer of the club Manchester United, Wayne Rooney has also been endorsed to promote

Coca-Cola in different times d Beckham. 'Brand' Beckham and Beckham the man are two

different entities the former exists in our heads, and the latter in real life. The image plus the

product creates a powerful selling machine. Sad but true, Beckham doesn't drink Coca-Cola.

Some of the Celebrity endorsement is given below:

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II. Co-Branding:

Axe deodorant (a.k.a. Lynx in many parts of the world) and Coke Zero have joined in a

promotional partnership in 2008. It was an effective way of achieving product sampling with

the added benefit of association with a cool brand. In 2011, Coca-cola has also co-branded

with the Red Monkey. The challenge was to create a complex visual identity for Coca-Cola

and Red Monkey Group - a leading gastronomy company in the CEE region. The website

states:

“We have found a way of cleverly incorporating the identity of Coca-Cola and

implementing into the existing identity of Red Monkey Group that has been updated

during the process. The result is a smooth and clean design with easy adaptability.”

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Coca Cola Brand Positioning

'Coca-Cola's' brand personality reflects the positioning of its brand. Positioning is in the mind

of the consumer and can be described as how the product is considered by that consumer.

When researching the positioning of a product, consumers are often asked how they would

describe that product if it were a person. Coca cola has positioned itself as a part of their daily

life. This affinity between the brand and the consumer leads to a high degree of loyalty and

makes the purchasing decision easier. Coca Cola has been successful by using Unique Selling

preposition as “Live the coke side of life”.

Cole basically associates this brand with emotions and joy. We name of Coke comes into

mind the first thing comes into mind is fun and entertainment.

Perceptual Mapping of Coca-Cola:

Perceptual mapping is a graphics technique used by asset marketers that attempts to visually

display the perceptions of customers or potential customers. Below is the perceptual mapping

of coca-cola in relevance to the ideal points are given. A company considering introducing a

new product will look for areas with a high density of ideal points. They will also look for

areas without competitive rivals. This is best done by placing both the ideal points and the

competing products on the same map. The map shows the value proposition of Coca-Cola in

relevance to the price and the strength of flavor that it contains in the drink. The map also

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shows that it is not much appropriate for a good health or healthy diet, Perceptual mapping of

Coca-Cola is given below:

Fig: Perceptual Mapping of Coca-Cola (Ideal points and clusters)

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Differentiation Strategy, POD & POP: Coca Cola

POP of Coca-Cola simply refers to a soft drink with good taste which will serve thirst. POD

or a differentiation strategy calls for the development of a product or service that offers

unique attributes that are valued by customers and that customers perceive to be better than or

different from the products of the competition. The value added by the uniqueness of the

product may allow the firm to charge a premium price for it. The firm hopes that the higher

price will more than cover the extra costs incurred in offering the unique product. Because of

the product's unique attributes, if suppliers increase their prices the firm may be able to pass

along the costs to its customers who cannot find substitute products easily.

Coca Cola Company spends round about 20% of their total advertisement budget for

maintaining its differentiation strategy. Similarly coca cola has created its differentiation by

utilizing soft sell approach. Company has successfully positioned itself on the following

standards;

· Corporate reputation for quality and innovation.

· Successful communication of perceived strengths of the product.

· Symbol of fun and enjoy

Why this definition, Coca-Cola has unquestionably chosen a differentiation strategy. This

has always been Coca-Cola’s strategy since the early days of the company’s life as evident by

Woodruff refusing to match Pepsi’s 6 cent 12 ounce bottle. (Pendergrass, 2000) Coca-Cola

hopes to isolate their competition away from the market by creating a strong, brand loyal

customer base. They have dropped in market share lately and thus they need to create

stronger advertisements that will once again provide a sturdy customer base. This strategy is

a good choice for Coca-Cola; however it can be detrimental if they are not careful. A couple

more years of slipping market share may take Coca-Cola into the Stuck-in-the-Middle

category of which it can be very hard to climb out. There is a fine line between being

confident in a company and being content. Coca-Cola better be careful that they do not

mistake confidence with being content as their overwhelming success over the past century

could and very well may lead to ignorance of their current situation. Therefore if Coca-Cola

wishes to not only exist but also prosper in the future, a much stronger concentrated effort

toward a differentiation strategy will prove to be highly beneficial.

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Limitations of the study:

This report is not free from limitations. Moreover the topic is so much vast, so we faced

some problems while preparing this report. The limitations acquainted with this report are as

the following.

Collecting previous information was little bit tough.

Information might be 100% perfect.

All the internet sources might not be reliable.

Decisions only based on this report might not be appropriate always

Technical Problems

Time shortage

Conclusion

This study lets the reader know about the huge entity of Coca-Cola, besides it creates brand

awareness and might lead to likeliness of the products. Surely, Coca-Cola brand is giant in

size. This term paper is aimed at revealing the brand performance of Coca-Cola and an in-

depth analysis of the marketing programs of the brand. Coca-Cola currently offers more than

500 brands in over 200 countries or territories and serves over 1.7 billion servings each day.

The company operates a franchised distribution system dating from 1889 where The Coca-

Cola Company only produces syrup concentrate which is then sold to various bottlers

throughout the world who hold an exclusive territory. Coca Cola has been successful by

using Unique Selling preposition as “Live the coke side of life”. Cole basically associates this

brand with emotions and joy. We name of Coke comes into mind the first thing comes into

mind is fun and entertainment. POP of Coca-Cola simply refers to a soft drink with good

taste which will serve thirst. POD or a differentiation strategy calls for the development of a

product or service that offers unique attributes that are valued by customers and that

customers perceive to be better than or different from the products of the competition. The

value added by the uniqueness of the product may allow the firm to charge a premium price

for it. The firm hopes that the higher price will more than cover the extra costs incurred in

offering the unique product.

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Reference:

1. Kevin Lane Keller, “Strategic Brand Management”, 3rd Edition, prentice

Hall ,Inc. 2008

2. Wikipedia, “Cola Wars”, retrieve date:11/12/11,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cola_Wars

3. Knowledge Inn, “Pricing Strategy Coke”, retrieve date: 11/12/11.

http://kninn.blogspot.com/2010/06/pricing-strategy-coke.html

4. The Coca-Cola Company official Website, “Our Manufacturing Process”,

retrieve date: 11/12/11.

5. Fortune 500, “Annual Ranking of America’s Large Corporations”, retrieve date:

11/12/1,1 http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/fortune/compare_2011.jsp?id=100

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coca cola brand development

Documents

cole basically

extra costs

unique selling

produces syrup

red monkey

differentiation

offers unique

soft drink