COCA COLA’s MARKETING
Posted: December 11th, 2013
Introduction
Marketing is one of the key managerial functions in corporations, owing to the competitive nature of the current business world. It enables a company to safeguard its existing market share, sell its brand, and acts as a platform to expand its market segment (Stone & Desmond, 2007, p. 23). Coca Cola is a global entity, which sells countless processed drinks. It has a huge market segment, which it has to maintain, as well as expand. As such, this entity requires an elaborate marketing strategy that will maintain a suitable public relations, fosters the entity’s value, identify apposite distribution channels, and enact necessary product and customer policies that will enhance its competitive edge.
Product and Market Strategy
Currently, Coca Cola wants to expand its market segment while also providing its clientele with quality products. This will require a product strategy, which will expand its customer base. Therefore, the organization will continue to expand its product portfolio by differentiating its merchandise (Keegan & Green, 2005). This strategy aims at ensuring that the entity can capture the majority of the clients in the market. Coca Cola has also ventured into coffee, which is a strategic move for the entity. This ensures that the company’s sales do not dwindle in the winter when most clients prefer hot beverages. Such a strategic move has stabilized the entity’s earnings during winter.
Competitive Analysis
One of the key strategies of maintaining its position as a global leader in beverages and as a respected corporation with unparalleled distribution channels will entail maintaining its brand and quality of products. Some of the factors that make this entity stand out include the name “Coca Cola,” which means delicious happiness. Additionally, the Coca Cola brand is also widely recognized by the color red. Marketing entails leaving a lasting image or impression, which reminds clients of a certain product. Therefore, Coca Cola has to enact an appropriate marketing strategy, which will ensure that clients remember its product. Such marketing should be accompanied by branding, which gives the products a fresh appeal. Coca Cola faces numerous competitors on the global front. However, Pepsi is its major rival in North America. The entity has dealt with competitors in numerous ways such as acquisition or takeovers to consolidate its market segment and differentiate its products. Additionally, the entity has also acquired firms that complement its operations such as an Innocent juice and Coca-Cola-Huiyan. Coca-Cola has also adopted competitive pricing, which ensures clients benefit from its massive scale of operations (Gillespie, Jeannet & Hennessey, 2010, p. 128).
Promotion
Coca-Cola has to undertake massive promotions, which includes advertisements in various communication avenues such as television, newspapers, the internet, radio and road shows. The organization must also identify the most effective channel of communication in which they will invest more funds. Consumers encounter numerous advertisements, but they can only remember a few. Coca-Cola must ensure that their advertisements capture the clients’ attention and will be a constant reminder of their products (Russell, 2010, p. 57).
Promotional Activities
| Month | Promotional activities |
| January | Television advertisements on various channels such as CNN, FOX and CNBS. Due to the winter, coffee advertisements must be given a priority. Maintain the existing promotion across the internet and on Coca Cola’s websites. |
| February | Let the existing television and the Internet continue running while developing promotions for radio. |
| March | Special attention should be accorded to sports. This will entail seeking events that the corporation can sponsor. The company should be proactive in seeking such events as the summer approaches. The selected events will market Coca-Cola through billboards and the sporting attire. |
| April | At this time, the organization should review the success of its television adverts. If they have a positive effect on the sales level, then the promotions can continue for the next two months.
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| May | Coca-Cola should strategise on re-branding its product as the summer approaches when the entity make its highest amounts of sales for cold drinks. |
| June | The company should commence road shows in various cities where the entity feels that it is facing massive competition. |
| July | The company, by now, should have developed new advertisements that will air on television and radio stations. The new promotions should support the marketing of the re-branded products. |
| August | If the company wants to launch a product, it should commence by creating awareness earlier so that the customers anticipate the product. Other advertisement activities should be maintained across all networks |
| September | The company should evaluate the effectiveness of road shows with regard to its ambitions. |
| October | The organizations should look into programs that it can sponsor on television stations. |
| November | As the winter approaches, coffee advertisement should be intensified through the Internet, newspapers and other relevant communication channels. |
| December | The company should focus on advertisements that are suited for the Christmas festivities in which clients shop massively. |
For such a program to succeed, managers should identify their target population based on factors such as geographical location, income and preferences. Coca Cola can also market discriminately and develop products that will suit the different markets. Marketing also requires timely information, which will support decision making after analysis of market trends and customers’ tendencies (Smith & Albaum, 2005, p. 12).
Budget
Most of the funds will be spent on television advertisement and sponsorship of sporting events since they are the most effective means of luring clients. Coca-Cola has massive resources; consequently, it can invest heavily in promotion. However, the major concern for the entity will be the effectiveness of the advertisement on the measures enacted. The amounts allocated to various promotion approaches should depend on their effectiveness. Furthermore, the management must also respond to the emerging advertisement opportunities across the Internet.
Television advertisements- $ 50 million
Sponsoring sporting events- $ 45 million
Radio advertising- $ 20 million
Internet advertisement – $ 10 million
Road shows $ 5 million
Re-branding $ 5 million
The budget may be altered to address factors such as the variation in tastes in different places. In the north, where the winter is severe, coffee promotions should be elaborate and continous, except during summer when the organization should shift its focus to soft drinks. The entire promotional machinery should be flexible enabling adjustment depending on circumstances.
Conclusion
Marketing requires astute planning since it will affect the entity’s market segments in various ways. Poor promotion can result in loss of market segments and depreciation of a company’s brand. In the above case, the organization, Coca Cola, has massive resources and dominates the market; therefore, its marketing plan should aim at safeguarding its customer base. Furthermore, the entity seeks to differentiate its products to reduce the fluctuation of income levels. The adopted marketing strategy should complement an entity’s corporate ambition. Coca Cola aims aims at maintaining its dominance on the global front. As such, the marketing strategy should nurture its brand and propagate the values on which the entity was founded.
References
Gillespie, K., Jeannet, J., & Hennessey, D. (2010). Global Marketing. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Keegan, W., & Green, M. (2005). Global marketing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Russell, E. (2010). The fundamentals of marketing. Lausanne, CH: AVA Academia.
Smith, M., & Albaum, G. (2005). Fundamentals of Marketing Research. New York, NY: Sage Publication.
Stone, A., & Desmond, J. (2007). Fundamentals of marketing. London, UK: Routledge.
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1. Add an Executive Summary section to your plan, highlighting key points about the customer profile and your marketing differentiation strategy.
2. Also, add a brief section about moving the product into 1 other country. Explain why this is important for your specific country’s marketing plan.
3. Add the following details to your executive summary:
Explain your rationale for expanding market share in 1 other country.
What is 1 key difference and 1 key similarity in the customer profile?
What 1 media platform would you recommend for advertising to this global market?
Then, add the executive summary at the beginning of your company’s final strategic plan.
Organize the sections, edit them, and post the final draft of your plan.
Please submit your assignment.
***Objective: Identify the stage in a buyer decision process.
Describe the steps of target marketing.
Explain how marketing strategies change during the product’s life cycle.
Summarize the major channel alternatives open to a company.
Describe approaches to entering international markets.***
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