Coca Cola Marketing Mix

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By Bilaras

Coca Cola

Coca-Cola is one of the most widely used soft drink in the world. The company has very
efficient and extensive distribution system in the world. There is a great variety of brands
offered by Coca-cola throughout the world like Diet coke, sprite, Fanta, Rc cola, Minute
made etc. you can find the Coca-cola soft drinks anywhere in every country of the world.

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

There are many reasons why company 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.

If we look on advertising perspective of Coca-cola, advertising has created a demand for

In addition, according to Bettman, et. al, Coca-Cola’s bottling system is one of their greatest
strengths. It permits them to do their business on a global scale while at the same time
maintain a national approach. The bottling companies are domestically owned and operated
by independent business people who are authorized to sell products of the Coca-Cola
Company. Because Coke does not have complete ownership of its bottling network, its main
source of revenue is the sale of concentrate to its bottlers (Bettman, et. al, 1998).

.Brand image is the significant factor affecting Coke’s sale. Coca-Cola’s brand name is very
well known all over the world. Packaging changes have also affected sales and industry
positioning, but in general, the public has tended not to be affected by new products. 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. (Arthur A. Thompson Jr., A. J, 2005)

Now there is the threat of new vital competitors in the carbonated soft drink industry is not
very extensive. 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-awareness 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.

The increasing health consciousness and emphasis of healthy lifestyle not only in developed
nations, but also in developing nations, have slowed down the sales of Coca-Cola’s
carbonated soft drinks. In response to this health consciousness issue, the company
introduced Diet Coke in 1982. Such change of consumer life style had also led to the
introduction of its bottled purified water. (Murden, Terry, 2005)

‘Coca-Cola’s’ brand personality reflects the positioning of its brand. The process of
positioning a brand or product is a complex managerial task and must be done over time
using all the elements of the marketing mix. 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. The purpose of this is to develop a character statement. This can ensure that
consumers have a clear view of the brand values that make up the brand personality, just like
the values and beliefs that make up a person. Many people see ‘Coca-Cola’ as a part of their
daily life. This similarity between the brand and the consumer leads to a high degree of
loyalty and makes the purchasing decision easier.

It is of a lot importance to create the right brand image that closely in lines with the
consumers’ life experiences and feelings. Sponsorship is one way of building these
associations (Arthur A. Thompson Jr., A. J, 2005). Through events such as ‘Coca-Cola’s’
Form and Fusion Design Awards and sporting events a brand manager can ensure that its
product image is made relevant to the target audience. An element of the marketing mix that
involves making aware the customers. The promotional mix will often include sales
promotion, advertising, direct selling and public relations elements

The progress and advancement in the field of technology in the fields of soft drink raw
material, production, manufacturing, information and communication technology and
logistics have great positive impacts on the operations and sales of Coca-Cola. The
availability of new soft drink ingredients enables Coca-Cola to introduce new variety of its
products to its existing consumers, not forgetting to attract the new consumer groups. The use
of the latest information technology has made able the company to attract the new generation
of soft drink consumers with the latest features of song downloading. Also the existence of
company website has enabled the world to be in touch with the latest progress, promotions
and offers of Coca-Cola.