Coca-Cola Company's Situation Analysis and the Association of the Company with Olympics - Research Proposal Example

Coca Cola Marketing Proposal The company to be examined in this business proposal is the Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola Company has just launched its Global 2012 Olympic marketing campaign on 29th September 2011. The marketing campaign is titled “Move to the Beat” and it is led by Mark Ronson, a British Grammy award-winning music producer. This paper analyzes this move made by Coca-Cola with the aim of finding out whether it is good for the company or not. It further identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the Coca-Cola Company after taking this move so as to determine opportunities for further growth in future. The paper analyzes the Coca-Cola Company with the aim of further understanding whether the marketing campaign is good for the company or not. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction………………………………………………………………………. 4 2.0 Situation Analysis………………………………………………………………… 5 2.1 The Coca-Cola Company………………………………………………… 5 2.2 The association of Coca-Cola with Olympics……………………………. 6 3.0 Background Information…………………………………………………………. 7 4.0 Business Topic……………………………………………………………………. 8 5.0 Proposed Data Resources………………………………………………………… 8 6.0 SWOT analysis…………………………………………………………………… 9 7.0 Findings and Recommendations…………………………………………………. 11 8.0 References……………………………………………………………………….. 13 9.0 Appendix………………………………………………………………………… 15 1.0 Introduction The Olympic Games are major intercontinental sporting events that feature both winter and summer sports involving the participation of thousands of athletes from all over the world in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are regarded the world’s most popular sports competition. Currently, the games are held every two years because the winter and summer Olympic Games keep alternating, but in real sense, they occur after every four years of their respective seasonal games (Buchanan 2001). The Olympic Games are known to attract worldwide attention through various forms of media and millions of spectators who turn up to the host cities to witness them. The Olympic Games have therefore proven to be one of the most effective platforms for international marketing in the world. This is because of the worldwide recognition and appreciation that they have, reaching billions and billions of people, in more than 200 territories and countries throughout the world. From the five rings symbol of the Olympics, it is evident that the Olympic movement aims to unite the five inhabited continents of the world, namely Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe. The Coca-Cola Company realized the effectiveness of the Olympic Games in bringing people together and in attracting and retaining the attention of billions of people throughout the world. The Company has therefore decided to launch a marketing campaign for the London Olympics expected in 2012. The campaign is aimed at bringing sport, music and the youth together and also create popularity for the Coca-Cola Company among sport lovers, the youth, music lovers and the rest of the world. The Coca-Cola Company aims to make this marketing campaign different from the other campaigns that it has been using in the previous Olympic Games. The Coca-Cola Company operates in a highly competitive business environment and has decided to use the 2012 London Olympics as a platform to market itself (Coca-Cola 2011). 2.0 Situation Analysis 2.1 The Coca-Cola Company In 1886, John Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist, began selling a new caramel-colored carbonated drink. It was through Pemberton’s initiative that the world today has one of the most famous beverages (Pendergrast 2000). Innovative businessmen such as Robert Woodruff and Asa Griggs Candler helped Pembroke to give this beverage the status that it has today. The drink came to be known as Coca-Cola, or simply Coke. The trio developed the beverage business and started the Coca-Cola Company (Elliott 2002). The company has grown to be the world’s largest beverage company. It boasts of over 500 international still and sparkling brands and has more than 15 billion dollar brands in its portfolio (Coca-Cola 2011). The Coca-Cola Company operates in over 200 countries and serves more than 1.7 billion customers per day. It has more than 3500 different products including sparkling beverages, still beverages, juices and juice drinks, coffees, teas, waters, energy drinks, sport drinks, soy-based beverages and milk-based beverages among others. The mission of the Coca-Cola Company is to refresh the world, inspire moments of optimism and create value while making a difference. The company is committed to sustainability through protecting the environment, respecting the people, offering safe and quality products and supporting communities. The company has been facing stiff competition from other key players in the market such as the Pepsi Company. To continue thriving in the market, Coca-Cola therefore needs to put in effective marketing strategies and measures that will keep it a notch above its competitors. Supporting the 2012 London Olympics is one strategy taken by Coca-Cola with the aim of creating a competitive edge above its competitors. The company seeks to maintain its image as a powerful international brand and also as a personalized local business. 2.2 The association of Coca-Cola with Olympics This is not the first time the Coca-Cola Company is supporting the Olympic Games. The Company has in fact been associated with the Olympic Games for very many decades now. The Coca-Cola Company supported the last Olympic Games of 2008 in Beijing with the aim of marketing itself just as it has been doing with the previous Olympic Games over the years. The Company’s Olympic marketing director, Claudia Navarro, said that the 2012 London campaigns are expected to be very different from what the company did in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This is because the company aims at telling stories to the people, using different media like the mobile, so as to create an interface with their stories anywhere and anytime (Chopra 2009). Coca-Cola has mostly been associated with sponsoring the Olympic Games because it seeks to create a competitive edge over its competitors. One of Coca-Cola’s greatest competitors is the Pepsi Co. The Pepsi Company produces colas and drinks that give the products from the Coca-Cola Company very stiff competition. The Pepsi Company is also a force to reckon with in the soft drink business. It also uses effective marketing strategies such as strategic advertising and use of appropriate pricing policies to beat its competitors. It has a wide range and variety of products that make it a threat to other soft drink producers (Gulick & Urwick 2001). For this reason, the legacy of the Coca-Cola Company has not been easy to maintain. That is why the company engages in extensive advertising strategies that entail sponsoring of great events such as the Olympics. This is one sure way of reaching and connecting to the customers. The Company has in fact selected a very appropriate event that will ensure the sale of its products in very large amounts just as experienced in previous Olympic Games that it has been sponsoring (Klein 2008). The company hopes to attract and retain new customers at the events and through the events. It has to ensure that these campaigns are different from the rest (Zhang 2008) 3.0 Background Information The situation at the Coca-Cola Company is further described in this section. It is now clear that despite the company being the world leader in the soft drink business, it cannot afford to sit back and boast of this glory. This is because there are other businesses in the market that are giving the company very stiff competition to such an extent that it has to constantly look for strategies to continue thriving in the market. For this reason, the Coca-Cola Company has realized the importance of connecting with its customers and the rest of the world (Zhang 2008). The 2012 London Olympic Games is one platform that the Coca-Cola Company plans to use to market itself and connect with its customers with the aim of increasing its customer base. Coca-Cola is now very influential to a very large international population. This means that it has a much greater responsibility and its mission of refreshing the world, inspiring moments of optimism and happiness and creating value and making a difference has just become broader. That is why Coca-Cola is seeking to go beyond normal media advertising to the Olympics (Foster 2007). 4.0 Business Topic The Coca-Cola Company is faced with a situation whereby it has to come up with newer marketing strategies that are not commonly used with other competitors. The Olympic Movement requires constant support from the business community so as to be able to stage the games and facilitate the operations of all organizations within the movement. 40% of Olympic revenues are generated by these commercial partnerships. These business partners provide vital technical products and services to support the Olympic Games. With each level of sponsorship, the companies such as Coca-Cola are entitled to various marketing rights in various categories and regions where they can also use designated Olympic marks and images. In an effort to ensure that the 2012 London Olympic Games provide one of the best marketing and advertising platforms for the Coca-Cola Company, the company is faced with the challenge of ensuring that this campaign is different from all the others that it has been sponsoring during the Olympic Games. The main objective of the Coca-Cola Company in sponsoring the Olympic events is to bring teenagers close to sports and the Olympics and harnessing their passion for music while ensuring that the contribution of the Coca-Cola Company in all these efforts is seen and noticed by the people. Coca-Cola has the challenge of ensuring that this campaign is different from the rest that it has been sponsoring so as to ensure that its campaigns through the Olympic Games are not cliché and redundant. This has been defined as the most critical problem in the (Vedwan 2007). 5.0 Proposed Data Resources In order to fully maximize on the marketing strategies, qualitative and reliable data is necessary to help the Coca-Cola Company overcome the challenges that come with sponsoring the Olympic Games. The data resources that are suggested to conduct deeper investigations into the situation include key players and associations in the industry. These include: The Olympic Movement The Coca-Cola Company (www.thecoca-colacompany.com) International Sporting Federations National Olympic Committees The Pepsi Company This proposal has also made use of exhibition procedures, journal articles and industry surveys that release current market trends and give the marketing strategies used by multinational corporations to understand the behavior of consumers and act upon them. This problem is very crucial to the Coca-Cola Company because it involves the spending of a lot of money with the aim of marketing the company. The company therefore has to ensure that the money it spends is put to good use in the sense that it achieves the purpose it was intended for. It should not simply be used to sponsor the Olympics and fail to market the company. It should not just be similar to the other Olympic campaigns that the company has been sponsoring over the years. 6.0 SWOT analysis A SWOT analysis is necessary in this scenario because it identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are associated with the Coca-Cola Company and the move it has taken. Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses will identify the internal factors that create values and those that decrease the value of the company. The opportunities and threats view the external value creating and destroying factors which the company has little or no control over (Koontz & Cyril 2004). Strengths The strengths of the Coca-Cola Company in regard to its campaign through the London 2012 Olympics are many. For example, the company is very popular and well known all over the world and is a favorite soft drink maker. This is because it has been able to develop a good reputation with its customers all around the world. It is therefore very likely that the company will be able to market itself very well through the Olympics because it is already well-known. Another strength that the company has is that the company has been able to establish a very strong brand name and brand logo for itself. The branding of Coca-Cola is very obvious and easily recognizable. Its promos and logos are shown on hats, t-shirts and other collectible memorabilia. Surveys show that some people buy coke simply because it is widely accepted. The company also has a lot of money to its disposal. This is also a stronghold of the company and it is brought about by the fact that it deals with massive amounts of money throughout the year. The company has had financial ups and downs but it has continued to rake in a lot of profits and thrive in the market. They earn more than all beverage companies and so they have a lot to put back the money to the company for improvement. Another strength that is very significant to the Coca-Cola Company is customer loyalty. Since its inception many years ago, the company has managed to win loyal customers. That is why it is very common to find coke bottles or crates in very many homesteads. The company’s international presence has also led to its success. All these factors make the company to continue thriving in the market. Weaknesses The weaknesses of the company include the health issue associated with the Coca-Cola products. A product like coke is not very beneficial to one’s health, body or weight. The world today is shifting to the use of health product therefore putting some products of the company at a risk of losing customers. Many individuals have also been passing on negative information about the company. Some of the company’s products also lack popularity. They are only common in few areas of the world and are not known in other areas. The company also has non-existent or low profile advertisement in some regions. Opportunities In its business, the company also has some opportunities for growth. One of them is that it has a wide variety of products that it can continue to pursue and exploit. The company can also use the Olympics as a platform to advertise its less popular brands. Since it has a lot of money, it can buy out its competition and create more brand recognition. With the power and success of the company, it has the ability to do this very easily. This may be a very expensive venture but it can ensure that the company continues to thrive in the long run. The brand recognition efforts can go a long way in improving the company’s competitive position. Threats One threat that the company must overcome is changing the bad health attitude that some people have over the products of the company. Since people have been associated coke with health and weight issues, the company has to ensure that it changes this attitude. The company’s wealth supremacy and popularity come with a lot of legal issues. This is because people always try to find fault in the company and what it is doing. Some people are out to announce the negative side of coke, thus discouraging people from buying it. Another threat to the company is the stiff competition that it faces from other major companies like Pepsi. This is because Pepsi sells almost similar products to the ones sold by Coca-Cola. These factors continue to be a constant threat to the success of the company. 7.0 Findings and Recommendations From this research, it was established that the Coca-Cola Company is a leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of non-alcoholic beverages across the world. It has licenses of over 400 brands that have ensured it continues to thrive in the highly competitive business environment. It is recommendable that the company also looks for different strategies for the campaign. It should aim to make this campaign different from the others. For example, the company should ensure that it targets a wider market, and not only the youth. The company should also ensure that it is involved in the political and cultural growth of the region before and after the Olympics. This will ensure that it gains support from the customers in the regions. The company should further use this opportunity to popularize and market its products that are not very popular among the people. The products that are not so popular can gain recognition through the Olympic Games since the games will receive worldwide attention. The company should strive to know the cultural and financial characteristics of the people it is targeting to market the product so that it can launch campaigns that are in line with these characteristics. 8.0 References Baldwin, H 2002, Creating effective TV commercials, Crain, Chicago. Buchanan, I 2001, Historical dictionary of the Olympic movement, Scarecrow Press, Lanham. Chopra, V 2009, ‘Marketing strategy for the 21st century’, Journal of Marketing and Communication, vol. 5, no. 1. Coca-Cola Company 1982, The Chronicle of Coca-Cola Since 1886, The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta. Coca-Cola: The Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola Company, 2010, viewed 1 October 2011, http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/. Drucker, P 1954, The Practice of Management, Harper, New York. Elliott, C 2002, "Mr. Anonymous": Robert W. Woodruff of Coca-Cola, Cherokee Publishing Company, Atlanta. Foster, RJ 2007, ‘The work of the new economy: consumers, brands, and value creation’, Cultural Anthropology, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 707-731. Gulick, L & Urwick, L 2001, Papers on the science of administration, Institute of Public Administration, New York. Klein, B 2008, ‘In perfect harmony: popular music and cola advertising’, Popular Music & Society, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 1-20. Koontz, H & Cyril, O 2004, Principles of Management, McGraw-Hill, New York. March, JG & Simon, HA 2003, Organizations, John Wiley & Sons, New York. Mazzarella, W 2003, ‘Very Bombay: contending with the global in an Indian advertising agency’, Cultural Anthropology, vol. 18, pp. 33–71.  Munsey, C 2002, The illustrated guide to the collectibles of coca-cola, Hawthorne, New York. O'Barr, WM 2000, The airbrushing of culture: an insider looks at global advertising, Advertising & Society Review, Michigan. Pendergrast, M 2000, For God, country and Coca-Cola, Basic Books, New York. Raman , K 2007, ‘Community-coca-cola interface: political-anthropological concerns on corporate social responsibility’, Social analysis, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 103-120.  Tucker, KL, Morita, K, Qiao, N, Hannan, MT, Cupples, LA & Kiel, DP 2006, ‘Colas, but not other carbonated beverages, are associated with low bone mineral density in older women: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study’, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 84, no. 4, pp. 336-342. Vedwan, N 2007, ‘Pesticides in coca-cola and pepsi: consumerism, brand image, and public interest in a globalizing India’, Cultural Anthropology, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 659-684.  Zhang, F 2008, ‘Corporate social responsibility in emerging markets: the role of multinational corporations’, Foreign Policy Centre, vol. 13. 9.0 Appendix Appendix 1- The Coca-Cola Company Introduction In 1886, Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton began to sell a new, caramel-colored, carbonated beverage in his pharmacy’s soda fountain. He would have no idea how much of an impact that beverage would make on the world, over a century later. With the help of innovative businessmen such as Asa Griggs Candler and Robert Woodruff, this beverage soon grew to more than a drink – it became a symbol of American relaxation and happiness that quickly spread around the world. Today, the beverage, known as “Coca-Cola” or “Coke” is seemingly ubiquitous, with its unique contour bottle shape, logo, slogans, and advertising campaigns permeating to every corner of the world. Yet, it strives to maintain a relationship with and cater to the needs of the local populations it serves through its partnerships with local bottling companies, which in turn cooperate with the local supermarkets, street vendors, and businesses that that they serve. Through this chain of command, Coca-Cola simultaneously maintains its image as a powerful international brand and as a personalized local business. Because Coca-Cola now influences a much larger international population, it has a larger responsibility, and a broader mission, endeavoring to “refresh the world”, “inspire moments of optimism and happiness”, and “create value and make a difference”.  Yet, whether Coke has always followed its mission is a controversial issue. Being a global corporation that bottles in countries outside of its origin, it often comes under scrutiny for a variety of crimes in the countries that it serves. One of the most prominent examples is in India, where it has been accused of having toxic pesticides in its product, draining the groundwater in villages near its bottling plants, and severely affecting the livelihoods of local farmers (Campaign to Stop Killer Coke). These accusations, and the way in which they affect the perceived image of Coca-Cola, give us insight into the differing opinions of what global responsibilities Coca-Cola marketing implies it has and what responsibilities others assume Coca-Cola should have. My investigation of Coca-Cola is two-fold: first, I will examine the methods of global advertising that Coca-Cola uses, focusing on how Coca-Cola designs its advertisements and messages to reach people on a personal level. How does it become “associated with people’s emotional experience”, and maintain its image as an overarching brand (Foster 708)? Second, I will investigate how Coca-Cola uses its advertising to connect with its consumer population in India, or in other situations, justify or defend its image. How does Coca-Cola take on certain responsibilities (if any) through its advertisements? In investigating this subject, I will rely on past anthropological studies on branding, consumerism, globalization, and global advertising in relation to Coca-Cola, interviews with Coca-Cola advertising directors, bottling plant managers, and workers, and informative websites and documentaries on the history of Coca-Cola. With these methods, I hope I can unveil more about the phenomenon that surrounds the spread of Coca-Cola, the responsibilities Coca-Cola holds with its worldwide influence today, and the effectiveness of its marketing strategies. Appendix 2 Coca-Cola Launches Global 2012 Olympics Campaign With Mark Ronson 'Move to the Beat' Brings Together Music and Youth and Some Unusual Sounds From Athletes -- Squeaks, Grunts, Heartbeats By: Emma Hall Published: September 29, 2011     inShare107 Coca-Cola launched its marketing campaign today for the London 2012 Olympics, introducing British music producer Mark Ronson as the creative linchpin of a global effort called "Move to the Beat" that will bring together music, youth and sport. At an event held in the shadow of the new Olympic stadium in East London, Mr. Ronson was joined onstage by four of Coca-Cola's five up-and-coming athlete ambassadors. Mark Ronson with Coke athletes Mr. Ronson is creating a music track that will tie together the whole marketing campaign around London 2012. He decided which Olympic events he thought created the most promising sounds, and Coca-Cola then found a young athlete from each of Mr. Ronson's chosen events and sports to join the campaign and work as an ambassador for 2012. Claudia Navarro, Coca-Cola's Olympic marketing director, said that the 2012 campaign is very different from Coke's effort at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. She said, "Stories don't live in one specific media. Last time, we made a TV commercial. This time we are telling stories. And mobile has an incredibly different role -- it means there's an interface with our stories any time, anywhere." Mother, London, is creating a global spot around a live performance of the song by Mr. Ronson and British singer Katy B this week in front of a select audience of 1,000, including students and the young athlete ambassadors. Ms. Navarro said, "We are using London's rich culture and diversity as a backdrop. We've partnered with Mark Ronson because he's someone special -- he's a London icon who can bring our creative vision to life. The athletes only met for the first time yesterday, but already they are buddies and are tweeting each other." The Olympic campaign is in keeping with Coke's efforts to reach young people with global music efforts. Mr. Ronson has been travelling around the world, working closely with each of the five athletes to record them in training and pick up sounds to use in the new track. The song, still unnamed, will be released in March 2012. The Olympic hopefuls -- all young, confident and cool in the media spotlight -- are from around the world: Darius Knight , 21, is a U.K. table-tennis player; Kseniya Vdovina, 24, is a Russian runner; David Oliver, 29, is a U.S. hurdler; and Dayyan Jaffer, 17, is an archer from Singapore. The fifth, 23-year-old Mexican taekwondo star Maria Espinoza, was absent. Although Ms. Espinoza won a gold medal in Beijing, Ms. Navarro said, "The athletes weren't chosen because they are gold medal hopefuls. They were chosen because of their smiles, the way they talk and because they are the right fit for Coca-Cola." At the launch event, Mr. Ronson played examples of sounds he has been collecting. As well as obvious noises like a table-tennis paddle and an arrow hitting its target, he has some more unusual ideas. Ms. Vdovina, for instance, obligingly ran on a treadmill until her heart was beating exactly 120 times per minute -- the tempo of the song -- so that the sound of her heart can be incorporated into the track. Mr. Knight's grunts, which Mr. Ronson said reminded him of James Brown, and Ms. Espinoza's squeaks, also feature in the song. Coca-Cola is creating an hour-long documentary charting Mr. Ronson's global journey to create the track. Ms. Navarro said "We will make [the documentary] available to all our markets and they will put it on TV, cinema, web, wherever." As well as being released as a song, Mr. Ronson's work will provide the soundtrack for TV commercials, campaigns on mobile and other digital platforms, and Coca-Cola events during the Olympic Games. "I was flattered to be asked," he said. "Coca-Cola has a great history of creating music, and everyone loves Coke. It was a no-brainer." Talking about her inspiration when writing the song, Katy B said, "I thought about how I feel when I'm in London with friends and family, or at a festival or in the park." Ms. Navarro said that the riots in London in August 2011 and Europe's ongoing financial crisis don't affect Coca-Cola's Olympic plans. "If anything it's made us more aware of the importance of the upbeat, optimistic message we are delivering," she said, "and the importance of the games in bringing people together." Read More