Coca-Cola Successful Brand Equity - Case Study Example

Name: Professor: Subject: Date: Coca-Cola successful brand equity. Coca-Cola is world’s leading brand and most valuable brand worth billions of dollars and a household name. The Coca-Cola has achieved the brand equity through innovative ways of marketing that is known as total brand management. The main focus is the product quality which remains high quality with no room poor fluctuations. (Fabio albens, 12). The products quality of Coca-Cola remains high because no marketing strategies or licensing strategies can make up for the lack of quality. Coca-Cola has retained the product qualities for the last two centuries and the strategies revolved around, strengthening the brand awareness especially in such a homogeneous beverage market. The Coca-Cola brand has been reinforced by the merchandising and licensing elements that add the brand value to the consumer goods. This successful brand has no1t been created by just one effort; the company’s effort is multidimensional involving impact advertisements, and extensive merchandising, strong trade partnerships and extensive selected licensing have all together created the world's number one brand in beverage industry. The companies approach is based on high-quality products in the market and availability to the consumers with packaging to satisfy any need with special emphasis on the brand. The company approaches the consumption with real-time analyzes, research on market segments and lifestyle monitoring. These have helped the company to develop new products that target a certain market fraction, and this is defines the marketing strategies for each product and all the other logistical actions. The companies drives its activities based on the customer needs, and their approaches are aimed to satisfy a consumer need. The winning strategy of the company operates at two levels; that the work in synergy and the pull strategy attracts the consumers to the end by adverts, sponsorships, and licensing that prepares the consumers mentally to buy the products. The company has adopted merchandising and licensing technique to increase sales and turnover with short term results while contributing to the defense and strength of the brand equity. Coca-Cola licensing. Brand licensing is an important aspect strategic management in Coca-Cola Company, which is a part integrated strategic communication plan. These involve a legal process where the company licenses its brand to small legal entities. This legal process is carefully executed to avoids safeguard all aspects of this legal engagements. This licensing helps the company top enjoy license loyalties. The amount and modes of engagements are set from time to time as set out in the contract. The company does not limit the licenses activities, but it does everything possible to ensure that the integrity and standards of their businesses are maintained, both strategically and legally. Licensing is also effective in maintaining and defending the brand equity. The company has been able to acquire significant visibility in all sectors irrespective of the nature of their activities. These have enabled the company to reach out to consumers outside the beverage industry. The Coca-Cola brand is one of the important aspects of brand equity, and this has enabled the company to take deep roots into the global market as the most preferred beverage industry. The company transmits its brand reputation throughout its licensing and articles which generate interests and prestige among the consumers. These mode of brand management and merchandising efforts have facilitated the promotional campaigns and licensing. The brand equity value is high, and this makes the products more admirable and relevant in the market. A huge risk of famous brands is forgery and production of fake products copying the brands. These means the fake products exploits the brand without any contract signed without the quality control, and this weakens the brand value and image. (Fabio albens, 12) The Coca-Cola Company has addressed this challenge by licensing the brand. These ensure that their products are not copied, and the brand is not affected. The company takes any legal intervention against the fraudsters to maintain the brand image. Coca-Cola merchandising. Merchandising forms the link between the brands and the consumer. All the company stakeholders have the responsibility of ensuring proper presentation of the product to the consumer. Effective merchandising strengthens the brand value at the retail outlets and stimulates impulse buying. These also involve the presentation on shelves, display and equipment such a fridges that first catches the eye of a prospective customer. Merchandising is an important aspect of and reflects the company’s quality and image. The company’s strategy consolidates the fundamental F-trade which is carried out in three levels; that are drafting agreements, sales calls and professional presence at all times. Merchandising helps the company to manage and monitor the customer satisfaction at the retail points and integrate them into their operations. Merchandisers are not just the sellers to the consumers, but they take note of the consumer behavior and notify the company. Effective merchandising also benefits the retailers. The comp-any helped them to increase he space value, shelves and branded chairs and tables specifically for consumer gratification as well as increasing the value of the sales outlet.(Joshua Kennon 15) Channel marketing helps the company to understand the dynamics of the customer needs at different levels as well as categorizing the market into groups. Merchandising is a strategic tool that have been effectively been used by the company to promote and stimulate purchasing and to protect and implement the brand equity. Efficient and effective merchandising culture is fundamental to preserve and strengthen the brand equity of any organization. Lessons learned from the success of the Coca-Cola brand. Coca-Cola is one of the strongest brand in the beverage industry. Valuable lessons can be learnt from its successful brand by other entrepreneurs the companies activities are centered to customer need satisfaction, and this has been the secret to this strong brand in over the centuries. Each organization should be the assets manager to strengthen its brand image. The company has built a wide range of products, colors, bottles shapes and manages them with careful attention and careful deliberation. The company has also committed itself to consistency. The promotional imprints in consumer's consciousness and maintains this long term dedications to its marketing campaigns. The coke log on script has remained unchanged since 1886 unlike its major competitor Pepsi which has morphed severally. Coca-Cola also strategy over invests in its original brand. Despite more than 500 brands, sub-brands and variants, Coca-Cola directs majority of its resource’s to its mother coke. These means we should not neglect those who have made us who we are for new adventures. Refreshing ourselves is an important aspect in our life. The company has a long history but keeps moving and refreshing, introducing new ways of presentation, designs, new delivery systems and delighting us by displays of familiar objects. (Nigel Hollis 34). Consistency does not mean stagnation and hence new innovative ways have continued to strengthen the brands position. The long history of Coca-Cola has enabled the company to become one of the oldest strongest brand existing in the world. With more than 120 years of existence. The company has maintained its reputation throughout without compromising any of its values. The long history has enabled the company stretches roots globally, understand challenges and opportunities in the beverage industry and the best ways to solve them and exploit them. Strong corporate social responsibility of Coca-Cola has earned the company the trust and loyalty from the consumers and the general public at large. The company has numerous programs in environmental management such as water tower preservation, energy management and afforestation programs. (Yoo, Donthu, and Lee 18) The company strategy of reusing and recycling the bottle was a milestone achievement in environmental conservation. The company has excellent workforce labor relations, by offering conducive working environments, proper remunerations and trainings. MacDonald’s Arch Deluxe burger Brand failure. MacDonald’s is one of the most popular brands in America offering highly classic restaurants and was able to compete effectively with Pizza and dominos. MacDonald’s have conventional brand marketing goals in the recent years. Arch Deluxe burger was one of the failed burger that will go down as history as a flop despite $300 million marketing offer. The marketing strategy taste tagline “burger with grown up” sidelined the children for this Arch Deluxe burger. The advertising campaign had images of children shunning the product to create the impression it was meant for grown-ups. The product was sophisticated, and no one knew the actual ingredients of the burger. (Hitesh Bhasin). The main pillar of the MacDonald’s brand is customer’s knowledge of what they do want and not a thousand list menu of the same product. Arch Deluxe burger was marketed on the taste that received the critics of worlds known marketers. Arch Deluxe burger was just the tip of the iceberg as other brands were also affected. Macdonald’s had lost its touch with its customers due to its enormous brand size. The brand was built through uniformity. The company is heavily centralized, and most branding decision and marketing decisions are configured in the company’s headquarters. The recipe of the Arch Deluxe burger came from Oak Brook. These contrast with the major success brands such as the Big Mac, which were all invented in the operator's kitchen. Defective market research and analysis also contributed to the failure of this brand. Market research also had shown that people liked a burger that was specifically designed specifically for adults. These people seemed to be a small population that could not have sustained such a product. Lessons. I would have enhanced the simplicity of the Arch Deluxe burger in a child-friendly manner. The design that was aimed to exclude the children was so sophisticated contributed to its misfire. Market research could have tried to estimate the market size to estimate then potential customers. The marketing strategy seemed to confuse the customers with a wide variety that made the customers think on what product to purchase. MacDonald’s have remained quiet on corporate social responsibilities. The company presence in community-based activities creates the customer's trust and loyalty, and this could have saved Arch Deluxe burger. Corporate social responsibilities create brand awareness and enhance the brand image. (Tabitha Jean Naylor) These activities could have evoked the brand feeling and created a sense of community brand ownership. Social; approval and acceptance, as well as visibility in social functions, are the steps that MacDonald’s could have taken to save Arch Deluxe burger. Works Cited Hitesh Bhasin. "Brand failure - Mcdonalds arch deluxe - How arch deluxe failed as a brand." Marketing91.com - Marketing Strategy and Marketing Management. N.p., 12 May 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. Tabitha Jean Naylor,. "McDonald's Arch Deluxe And Its Fall From Grace - McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)." Benzinga. Benzinga, 12 Aug. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. . SYMPHONA, Fabio albense. "Merchandising and licensing to improve brand equity . CocaCola Case." Google. Università degli Studi di Milano - Bicocca, 23 Mar. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. . Joshua Kennon. "Two Approaches To Brand Equity: Coca-Cola vs. Duck Dynasty." Joshua Kennon Investing Blog. N.p., 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. Nigel Hollis. "What Coca-Cola?s secret recipe teaches us about brand equity - ..ww.millwardbrown.com." Millward Brown - ..ww.millwardbrown.com. N.p., 24 Feb. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. Yoo, Boonghee, Naveen Donthu, and Sungho Lee. "An examination of selected marketing mix elements and brand equity." Journal of The Academy of Marketing Science (2000): n. pag. Print. Read More