Brand Image Development - Essay Example

Abstract In an extremely competitive world full of many products, branding and marketing is necessary in every company. Every company needs to develop a brand image that will fascinate the consumers. Business is about attracting customers and making profits. A brand is what is familiar to customers and what they are exposed to every day. Introduction The world of business is changing every day because customers have different demands and this makes businesses to compete against each other over who will satisfy the customer more. The biggest issue is how to elevate the significance of products to customers. They have to be more creative than their competitors; this will be reviewed with reference to a successful brand in the world. Part 1 Competitor Selection Coca-cola Company has been a successful company over the years and is the leading group in the beverage industry. It is known for the production of brands which include coke, Fanta, coke classic and Diet coke. It is a company that ensures that the demands of all consumers are met by their production of a wide variety of drinks. The company is devoted to offering secure and high quality beverages (The coca-cola company, 2012). They have gained the trust from customers because they provide honest and correct data especially on the nutritional information. This explains why it has a large market cover all over the world. The products offered are of different sizes so that the consumer can choose from a variety. It recognizes the fact that the world is dynamic, and changes every day, therefore, they develop their products accordingly. The competitors have a low representation as Coca-Cola has the biggest percent, 70% of consumers as compared to Pepsi’s 20% and Schweppes’s, 10%. Analysis of Price The prices are reasonable and are developed depending on the market. They also vary depending on the size of the bottle and seasons. (The coca-cola company, 2012) Some seasons such as summer have the prices of the products elevated. Research shows that 13% of consumers buy products in relation to price. Analysis of Distribution Distribution is offered to middle men and retailers, and this way, the products are sold extensively. This incentive is taken to reduce the costs associated with individual distribution. They have one main distribution point whereby the middle men obtain the products. Coca-cola products are well distributed with only 3% who do not have some of the products available. Analysis of Promotion The coca-cola company promotes their products by conducting sales events, and develops competitions with prizes to be won. Promotions are aimed to persuade the customer and make them purchase the goods. Advertising is also a form of promotion in which Coca-cola is known for their catchy advertisements. This is done through newspapers, television, posters and billboards. They also offer scholarships to students and also sponsor events such as games (The ‘coca-cola’ brand & sponsorship, 2000). Coca-cola has been successful because of their uniqueness around the world. It maintains to be the most trusted beverage brand and is the most preferred brand in relation to the research. This shows that they promote their products in the right manner. Part 2 Brand Background Founded in 1886, coca-cola has continued to develop extensively throughout the world. (The Coca-Cola Company, 2012). Coca-Cola has kept on implementing brand strategies that involve renewing policies and systems to keep up with the changing world. Coca-cola believes in responsible marketing of their products. This is explained by the fact that they target different customers including children. The company, therefore, has a policy that covers responsible marketing all over the world. Coca-Cola mainly targets the young people, and that is why most of advertising on media is done by young people. Coca-Cola has been the leading brand because the company keeps on reinventing their products. They have understood how the brand has created value for the company and, therefore, have maintained their commitment to the market. The business name is the one that people know and, therefore, it has to be strong. Brand development in Coca-Cola is developed on the basis of price value, preference and penetration. The fact that the company has maintained loyalty in their brand is the reason for maintaining brand image among the consumers. This explains for the 70% popularity among its competitors. Brand Elements The brand image is extremely relevant in marketing. Coca-Cola has created an image that lasts among the consumers. Packaging is one of the strategies of brand imaging (Meenaghan, 1995). Packaging has been changing as the years pass to keep up with the dynamic world. Packaging is also environmentally friendly, and the company has established a recycling plant in New Zealand (The coca-cola company, 2012). The prices of the products vary depending on the product type and are sold by retailers around the world. The company distributes soft drinks to help protect customers from an exploitive market. Coca-Cola uses a red and white logo which is also present in coke. The logo has changed over the years, but it still remains recognizable. Coke has used slogans such as, “Coke adds life”, “you can’t beat the real thing” and “always Coca-Cola” among many others. All these have had the purpose of attracting customer and advertising the brand. Major Competitors Coca-colas main competitor is Pepsi. Pepsi was founded in 1965 with a mission of competing with Coca-Cola which had been founded earlier. Pepsi Company is known for its products, which include foods and beverages. Pepsi has been forming business mergers with various companies since its inception. The company’s key products include Pepsi, Mirinda, mountain dew, 7up and Teem. Pepsi has grown to be the main competitor of coke because some customer always compares the two products before purchase. The coca cola company was offered a chance to purchase Pepsi, but it declined. In the early years, Pepsi used the young artists to advertise its products on media. Pepsi, however, has changed its logo inconsistently and uses blue, red and white colors in its logo and trademark. Pepsi is, however, common in Asian countries such as Pakistan. However, Coca-Cola has outshined Pepsi in terms of popularity and Coca-Cola is the most purchased soft drink in the world. It has achieved this because of taste and brand name which account for 47% and 20% consecutively. Its slogans include, “Every Pepsi Refreshes the World” and “Born in the Carolinas.” Coke has attempted to make their product different from Pepsi by use of numerous marketing strategies. For example, the use of freezers to make the coke cold and, therefore, differentiates it from Pepsi. The use of freezers by Pepsi is not as extensive as their use by Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola has also introduced product such as Dasani water and minute maid fruit juices (The coca-cola company, 2012). Another competitor of Coca-Cola, although minor is Schweppes. Schweppes is a beverage company which is established all over the globe. It was developed in the late 18th century. Some of its brands have been adopted by the Coca-Cola Company. This does not make it a large competitor. Part 3 Primary Research Primary data was obtained from the public to review the popularity of coke as compared to Pepsi and Schweppes. It targeted 30 individuals from different levels selected by randomly. Data Collection Data was collected by executing minimized interviews whereby an individual is supposed to mention their beverage of their choice. The survey was also carried out by use of short questionnaires, which were given to the respondents. The closed ended questions and matrix questions were used because they are easier to analyze and administer as well as being easy to complete in terms of use of space. The matrix questionnaires are easy to compare responses given to different items. The respondent is only required to mention which drink they prefer most among coke, Pepsi and Schweppes. The respondents are also supposed to give a short explanation about what they feel about their favorite brand and the other brands. Survey to Compare Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Schweppes This survey purposed to compare coke with Pepsi and Schweppes. Customers who have used the beverages noted that there was a significant difference. Consumers for coke (product A) were interviewed as well as for Pepsi (product B) and Schweppes (product C). 30 respondents were interviewed on the same and also given questionnaires to fill. According to the research, there is a significant difference between the usability of product A B and C. Assessments were made on the foundation of Gender of the respondents. Age group of the respondent. Occupation of the consumer. Number of people who buy soft drinks. The type of soft drinks they buy. Reason for buying the preferred drink. Primary Research Results The research examined a sample of 30 people both females and males and the response rate was reliable. The following results were obtained from the study. Respondents Gender Table 1 Gender Number Percentage Female 20 67 Male 10 33 Total 30 100 From the table above, majority of the respondents were female and comprised of 67% while 33% of the respondents were male. This indicates that women are always willing to provide information. Age Group of the Respondents The study also sought to establish the age level of the respondents for the research. The following are the results: Table 2 Age bracket(yrs) Frequency Percentage 10-15 12 40 16-26 9 30 27-37 6 20 37 and Above 3 10 Total 30 100 The largest number of individuals interviewed in relation to age was between 10-15 years, while minimum response came from individuals with 37 years and above. Occupation of the Consumer Table 3 Occupation Frequency Percentage (%) Businessperson 3 10 Professional 6 20 Casual laborer 1 3 Student 18 60 Other 2 7 Total 30 100 Results indicate that out of 30 respondents, 60% are students, 20% are professionals 10% are businesspeople, and 3% are casual laborers. 7% are not described to belong to any of the four groups. This indicates that students comprise of the largest number in this research. Number of People Who Buy Soft Drinks This targeted to know the number of individuals out of the 30 respondents who bought soft drinks. Table 4 Frequency Percentage (%) Buy 30 100 Do not buy 0 0 All the respondents purchased soft drinks accounting for 100 percent. The Type of Soft Drinks They Buy Three brands were compared in the survey, Coke, Pepsi and Schweppes. Table 5 Type Frequency Percentage (%) Coke (A) Pepsi (B) Schweppes (C) 21 6 3 70 20 10 Total 30 100 From the outcome above, it is designated that most respondents have coke has their preferred soft drink with a percentage of 70%. It is followed by Pepsi with a percentage of 20% while Schweppes products have popularity of 10%. Reason for Buying the Preferred Drink Respondents have various reasons for buying their preferred drink. The results are shown in the table below. Table 6 Reason Frequency Percentage (%) Brand name 6 20 Brand Taste 14 47 Packaging 2 7 Influence 3 10 Brand Availability 1 3 Brand price 4 13 Total 30 100 According to the results above 20% buy the soft drinks because of brand name 47% buy the soft drinks because of taste 7% buy the soft drinks because of packaging 10% buy the soft drinks because of influence 3% buy the soft drinks because of brand availability 13% buy the soft drinks because of brand price This indicates that most of the people buy soft drinks because of the taste followed by brand name. Analysis of the Research Results The intention of this study was to ascertain the soft drink preferred among a variety of consumers. It was found out from the study that the preferred soft drink was coke. There is a significance difference for consumers’ preferences in connection to soft drinks. This difference varies in different age groups, occupation and gender. Coke is the favorite among the respondents. A large number of the respondents were females who were students. This illustrates that the soft drink is particularly common among the young people. The study also sought to understand the reason for preferring a certain drink over others, in this case coke. Most of the respondents prefer coke because of its exceptional taste followed by the brand name. A brand name is built by proper marketing strategies which mean that coca-cola has an excellent brand and marketing strategy. Coca- cola products are not only preferred in this survey but are also preferred in the whole world (The ‘coca-cola’ brand & sponsorship, 2000). From table 1, it is evident that most of the respondents were female. This indicated their willingness to give information. Out of 30 people, 67% were females while the remaining 33% were males. Their ages differ to provide valid and unbiased results. Respondents in ages 10-15 years were the most. This information can be obtained in table 2. This explains why coca-cola company has utilized the young people in their advertisements and other marketing strategies. The company knows its market and its preferred consumers. The company, however, has a variety of drinks for people to select. Table 3 represents the occupation of the respondents. It was found out that a large number of respondents were students. This is also explained by the most represented age groups. Students are usually young people and have a percentage of 60%. Out of 30 people, 20 percent were professionals, 10% were businesspeople, and 3% were casual laborers while 7% of the respondents did not specify their occupation. All the respondents bought soft drinks, but this varied with the types. Some preferred coke others Pepsi while others preferred products from Schweppes. The most popular drink among the respondents was coke. Coke had 70% in comparison with Pepsi which had 20% and finally Schweppes which had 10%. Below is a chart displaying the results for the most preferred soft drink among the people. Chart 1 People had various reasons why they chose their preferred drink. A high percentage preferred a certain drink because of the taste, this comprised of 47%. This means that the preferred drink coke has a pleasant taste as compared to the other brands. The results also show that 20% bought the drinks because of the brand name. The brand names represented in this research are coca-cola, Pepsi and Schweppes. 13% considered the price when buying a soft drink. This indicates that taste or brand names do not matter to them, what matters is the price of the soft drink. It also indicates that the cheaper the drink is the better. 10% of the respondents bought the drinks because of influence from their friends. This can as well be used to demonstrate that those respondents were mostly young. It is hard for old people to influence each other. 7% bought them because of packaging while 3% bought them because of brand availability. This is an indication that almost all brands are available to the people. They are unavailable to a small number of people. According to recent research findings many of consumers are male while a less percentage comprises of women. This differs with the research above whereby many of the respondents were women. In relation to age, the maximum numbers of those surveyed were below 15 years of age. Most of them were students followed by servicemen and then professionals. This differs slightly with the fact that servicemen are not included in my survey. In both researches, students have the highest numbers. In relation to the most preferred drink, Thumsup was the most preferred according to study with a 23% against coke which had 19% popularity. 12% preferred Pepsi. Thumsup was not included in the study, in this paper. The results also differed because of the number of sample. The sample in this research was quite small as compared to other studies on the same. Recent research also indicates that most of people buy their preferred drinks because of the taste followed by the brand name (Meenaghan, 1995). Both the results show a lot of similarity indicating that the findings are almost true. A significant distinction in usability among the products was observed in all the 30 people surveyed and the 6 items evaluated, this includes gender of the respondents, age group of the respondent, occupation of the consumer, number of people who buy soft drinks, the soft drinks they buy, and the reason for buying the preferred drink. The people tend to prefer coke as the most appropriate brand. The findings in this survey indicate that people tend to prefer the brand that they have known for a long duration. Coke has been existent for an exceptionally long duration and during all this time; they have preserved the trust of the people. The company was recently rated as the top brand in the whole world (The coca-cola company, 2012). From the study, we can establish that coke has an extraordinary taste, and this makes it a favorite among individuals in the whole world. Conclusion From the analysis of the data collected, coke is extremely popular amongst the consumers. This is because of its fascinating taste and brand name. Coca-cola should, therefore, continue to establish the brand name and improve the taste of its products. They should also focus on how they can maintain their profile among the consumers. References Meenaghan, T. (1995) "The role of advertising in brand image development", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 4: 4. The coca-cola company. (2012). United States. Retrieved on 25th April 2012 from: The ‘coca-cola’ brand & sponsorship. The Irish times Business 2000. 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