Marketing Plan - Coca Cola

1) Executive summary:

The Coca-Cola Company was first established in 1886 by Dr John Styth Pemberton.
Today, the company is the world's leading manufacturer in the beverage industry,
operating globally in more than 200 countries with its head office located in Atlanta,
USA. It produces more than 300 beverage brands and over 1.06 billion drinks are
consumed per day around the world.

Mission Statement

The Coca-Cola Company's mission statement is: `Remind Coca-Cola is the read
thing' but their motto now has changed to `To benefit and refresh everyone who is
touched by our business.'
Also Coca-Cola would hope to provide the best quality drink for everyone, all the
employees working for them being at their top and fulliest.

2) Situational Analysis
The Coca-Cola Company has been operating for over a century and is highly
successful. It is currently in the renewal level of the post-maturity stage in the
business life cycle.

 Market summary
Market Analysis:

The market analysis investigates both the internal and external business environment.
It is vital that Coca cola carefully monitor both the internal and external aspects
regarding it’s business as both the internal and external environment and their
respective influences will be decisive traits in relation to Coke’s success and survival
in the soft drink industry.

Targeting

Coca Cola Company tries to satisfy the needs of a whole line of different people.
They have drinks that target different, age groups, ethnic groups, sexes, lifestyles, etc.
Segmentation enables Brands to define the appropriate products for different kind of
customers. Coca Cola doesn’t target a specific segment but adapt its marketing
strategy by developing new products.

Age:
Generally, Coke does not have a specific target and is addressed to everyone.
But the main consumers are 12-30 years old people; even if there is no specific
product or communication for less than 12 or more than 30, the brand succeed in
reaching them, through partnerships for example (restaurants, fast foods such as
McDonald’s…), or thanks to its value among consumers. So, the core target audience
of Coca Cola is youngster or youth. Their targeting is not based on gender but the
results show that both genders like this product and use it (almost 50/50).
Finally, Coca Cola consider each customer as a target and a potential consumer. All
age groups are being targeted but the most potential is the age group from 18-25 that
covers around 40% of total age segments.

Life style:
no life style targeted but more and more busy life style and mobile generation (youth)
are considered to be the most important part of Coke’s consumers.

Occupation:
no occupation targeted but consumers are mainly students and family oriented people
Nature: fun, joy, entertainment loving…
Customer’s Media Habits
There are some habits which are given as follow:
· The young target audience of the brand loves media exposure
· Mobile generation & social media is part of daily life
· Connected people; they like innovations, they like being surprised.

Market demographics:

DEMOGRAPHICS:

Coca Cola is the second most used word in the world today. It is recognized in every
known language in the world.

Coca Cola Demographics

It’s not just consumers that drink their products that Coca Cola counts as customers.
Bottling operators, distributors, canning specialists, and wholesalers all do business
with this brand. Unlike its competition, however, Coca Cola is sticking to their sweet
sodas and carbonated beverages. More than 60% of Americans might be actively
avoiding soda, but worldwide consumption of fizzy drinks in red cans with white
lettering is actually increasing.

Total sales increased by 1% in 2013 over 2012 numbers when measured in total sales
volume.
More than 100 million cases of classic Coca Cola were sold in 2013 over the 2012
numbers.
Although case volume declined in North America by 2% and by 1% in Europe, it has
increased by 3% in Latin America and the APCA region.
US sales of Coca Cola account for only 19% of its total worldwide sales when
measured by unit case volume.
The key markets for Coca Cola are China, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico.
Latin American growth for Coca Cola is expected to exceed 17% from 2013-2018.
Although sales volume is down in the US, all sales are expected to exceed $70 billion
annually through 2018.
Middle-class teens are Coke’s core consumers around the world and there is expected
to be a 50% increase in this demographic by 2020.
 Geographics

Geographic calls for dividing the market into different geographical units such as
regions, cities, or neighborhood. Coca-Cola has a countrywide network of product
distribution but the company segments more in urban and suburban areas as compared
to rural areas.

 Market growth:

Over the years, Coca-Cola Pakistan has become one of the Company’s high

priority markets, with the business doubling in four years.
Owing to this exponential growth, the company has continuously expanded its brand
portfolio in the country.

Coca-Cola has now been in business in Pakistan for over 60 years, and it intends to
keep its business growing and sharing the benefits with all its stakeholders and the
civil society at large.

The future outlook for all beverage manufacturers, whether local or multinational, is
quite bright, with a growing population and changing lifestyles that demand
refreshment on the move; and Coca-Cola Pakistan is ever ready to provide its
consumers with a diverse beverage portfolio. 

As a leading beverage company, Coca-Cola Pakistan has a high demand for its

beverage portfolio, which, partially due to capacity constraints they are not able to
meet fully. To meet its capacity constraints, Coca-Cola Pakistan announced to invest
heavily to bring about systemic improvements within its existing facilities, and also
building three new Greenfield production plants in Multan, Islamabad and Karachi. In
the next three years a total of US$380 million will be invested for these production
plants. Besides Coca-Cola is also investing to bring about systemic improvements to
our existing facilities in Karachi, Gujranwala, Multan, Lahore, Rahimyar Khan, and
Faisalabad.

Equally importantly, and based on its global commitment to the environment, Coca-

Cola Pakistan is replacing its coolers phase-wise by investing in new technology and
energy-efficient merchandising coolers.

Coca-Cola Pakistan’s future targets include a strategy to diversify its product portfolio
by launching new products that fulfill consumer needs, desires and preferences. Our
business is extremely consumer-centric and we remain dynamically responsive to
ever-evolving market conditions.

While Pakistan offers huge potential, it is important to note that doing business here is
not for the faint-hearted. Being one of the leading beverage companies here, Coca-
Cola Pakistan faces both industry-specific challenges and others that are
macroeconomic in nature that all businesses operating in the country face, but Coca-
Cola Pakistan is determined to grow its brands and business. 
SWOT Analysis

The framework SWOT analysis is taken into use to analyses the internal and external
environment of an organization. It is one of the common frameworks used by
organizations across the globe (Collier, 2014). It includes the internal environment
analysis using strengths and weaknesses of the organization and the external
environment analysis using opportunities and Threats.

Strengths

One of the key strength of Coca Cola is that it has the strongest brand value in the
international market. There are many customers in both international and local market
of Pakistan that prefer Coca Cola to Pepsi. Coca Cola has the ability to make
significant investments in Marketing to improve its market share in the Pakistan’s
market. The international leadership of Coca Cola is recognised across the globe. The
company has maintained strong relationship with the strategic partners (Nesheim et al,
2015). The company is offering wide range of products. As the revenue is being
generated from different regions of Pakistan, risk is diversified.

Weakness

Coca Cola does not have its own bottle manufacturing setup as it has in the
international market. Therefore, the reliance on the strategic partners is high. There
have been times where Coke was not available in the market which was mainly
because the Mehran Bottlers in Pakistan could not provide sufficient supplies of
bottles to the company. Coca Cola’s supply chain management is not as effective as
the supply chain of Pepsi co in the region of Pakistan (Ismail et al, 2013).

Opportunities

As the standard of living of Pakistan’s people is changing rapidly, it can be seen that
people are eating regularly in restaurants and other places where leisure time is being
spent. Coca Cola has the opportunity to create strategic alliance with hotels and
restaurants where the demand of beverages are high. Coca Cola can be found in many
of the restaurants of Pakistan (Mukhtar, 2013). Hence, it can further improve the
supply chain and marketing by creating strategic alliances. Coca Cola can take
advantage of various marketing platforms such as social media marketing to enhance
its sales.

Threats

The key threat, which is being faced, by both Coca Cola and Pepsi is that local
manufacturers are keen to enter the market and capture market share. Brands like
Gourmet are being introduced in the Pakistani market, which can be seen as the direct
competitors for the company (Asmine 2015). It has also been observed that the people
of Pakistan are becoming more health conscious due to which the consumption of
beverages might get decreased with the passage of time. The campaigns against soft
drinks are common in the international market, which can potentially impact the
operations of the company.
Competitor Analysis

Firstly company analyses the state of an industry, it determines important factor and
how to create a strategy to make a profit eventually. So the coca cola company is
focused on the beverage market of or soft drink industry competition, which is totally
different from other industry competition structure.so the coca cola company, is a
market leader and the first mover in the beverage industry and also has the best brand
image all over the worldwide. The main or primary competitor of coca cola is
PepsiCo; because The Coca Cola Company and PepsiCo range of products or
varieties they have almost similar products. Both of the companies have similar nature
of competition, so the targeted audiences and markets are same, so products are
similar. The Brand’s varieties range of the products of these two companies describes
in below in The table.

Critical issues:

Coca- Cola has some significant challenges in a nation like Pakistan. The primary
challenge would be to convince a nation that is foreign to it to embrace it. This is a
challenge faced by any company seeking to broaden its horizons, but more valid in a
nation like Pakistan. While there are a preponderance of young people in it, there is
also a strong element of traditionalist and orthodox society, which might not be as
open or receptive to the Western company as it might like. Along these lines,
individuals who are seeking to fight the cultural battle with the West might see the
Coca- Cola brand as representing a form of cultural imperialism or economic
imperialism, saddling the company with more baggage than they would want to face.

3) MARKETING STRATEGY:

Our local marketing strategy enables Coke to listen to all the voices around the world
asking for beverages that span the entire spectrum of tastes and occasions. What
people want in a beverage is a reflection of who they are, where they live, how they
work and play, and how they relax and recharge. Whether you’re a student in the
United States enjoying a refreshing Coca-Cola, a woman in Italy taking a tea break, a
child in Peru asking for a juice drink, or a couple in Korea buying bottled water after a
run together, we’re there for you. We are determined not only to make great drinks,
but also to contribute to communities around the world through our commitments to
education, health, wellness, and diversity. Coke strives to be a good neighbor,
consistently shaping our business decisions to improve the quality of life in the
communities in which we do business. It’s a special thing to have billions of friends
around the world, and we never forget it.

MISSION:

The Coca Cola Company Mission

Our mission is:

 To refresh the world in mind, body and spirit

 To inspire moments of optimism and happiness through our brands and actions
 To create value and make a difference.

MARKETING OBJECTIVES;

Objectives give a sense of direction, unity, and purpose. They play a big role in
forming the foundation for companies in the decision making process. Objectives can
be communicated through mission statements.

The main objectives for the Coca-Cola Company are to be globally known as a
business that conducts business responsibility and ethically and to accelerate
sustainable growth to operate in tomorrow's world. By having these objectives, it
forms the foundation for companies in the decision making process.

https://thecocacolacompany-sabrinayang.weebly.com/objectives.html
Sources:
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/mission_vision_values.html

http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/sustainability_roadmap.html

FINANCIAL OBJECTIVES:

Similar to other multi-national companies, Coca-Cola aims to maximise their profits

while maintaining a long-term sustainable growth within the beverage industry.
Coca Cola targeting and positioning

Targeting

Segmentation enables Brands to define the appropriate products for different kind of
customers. Coca Cola doesn’t target a specific segment but adapt its marketing
strategy by developing new products.

Age: Generally, Coke does not have a specific target and is addressed to everyone.
But the main consumers are 12-30 years old people; even if there is no specific
product or communication for less than 12 or more than 30, the brand succeed in
reaching them, through partnerships for example (restaurants, fast foods such as
McDonald’s…), or thanks to its value among consumers. So, the core target audience
of Coca Cola is youngster or youth. Their targeting is not based on gender but the
results show that both genders like this product and use it (almost 50/50).

Finally, Coca Cola consider each customer as a target and a potential consumer. All
age groups are being targeted but the most potential is the age group from 18-25 that
covers around 40% of total age segments.

Life style: no life style targeted but more and more busy life style and mobile
generation (youth) are considered to be the most important part of Coke’s consumers.
Occupation: no occupation targeted but consumers are mainly students and family
oriented people
Nature: fun, joy, entertainment loving…
Customer’s Media Habits
There are some habits which are given as follow:
· The young target audience of the brand loves media exposure
· Mobile generation & social media is part of daily life
· Connected people; they like innovations, they like being surprised.

Positioning

Coca Cola has strategically positioned itself within the world soft drink market. It
faces a vital question: does it have to keep the same positioning or to adapt according
to the 200 countries where the brand sells its products. The brand has understood this
principle while ago: “think global, act local”. Coca is thus willing to keep the same
core product which is coke, but it adapts the offer to local needs. They use strategic
positioning in order to have the same image all around the world, which is a success
because it is perceived today as a part of daily life everywhere. This perception of the
brand by the consumer leads to a high degree of loyalty and makes the purchasing
decision more automatic. Coca Cola has been successful by using Unique Selling
preposition as “Live the coke side of life”, related to joy and happiness.

Consumers basically associate this brand with these emotions. When the name of
Coke is mentioned, the first thing that comes into mind is fun and entertainment.
Conclusion
In order to survive and perform successfully within a highly competitive industry,
Coca Cola has been able to utilize various corporate and business strategies to align
each business unit’s objective and goals and act as one whole company. By doing so,
the company is able to combine and employ their resources in a more efficient
manner.

It is not due to serendipity that Coca Cola has become the world’s largest producer
and manufacturer within the beverage market. It is obvious that the management of
the company has articulately positioned the company within the beverage industry.
This can only be done through extensive market research on its customers, its supply
chain as well as the company itself.