Coca-Cola Company Marketing Essentials - Report Example

MARKETING REPORT Author’s Name Course Instructor Institution City Date of Submission Coca-Cola Company Marketing Report Introduction The Coca-Cola Company is popular in the world for the production of unique beverages which are consumed across the continents. The company was established by Asa Candler in 1892 and has its headquarters in Atlanta in Georgia district of the United States. The company mainly manufactures the syrup concentrated which is then shipped to the other companies such as the bottler and franchise companies and it is mixed with other ingredients to produce the drinks which are presented in the market. Coca-Cola companies supply more than 200 countries with drinks with a range of up to 500 brands. Every day, the company serves approximately 1.6 billion customers globally. The customers who are targeted by the company are not limited to their areas, gender or ages. The company targets the whole population exclusively. The company also has competitors, the greatest rival being the Pepsi Company, especially in the Pakistan Market. The organization also has well-defined marketing objectives including; increasing the ingestion of the beverages, make the commodity available universally by distributing in many stores as possible in the world. The company is also aimed at increasing the linkage of the brand to the fast food firms which have a good reputation in the world (Brownsell 2011, p. 217). The company also looks forward to the production of a drink which meets the safety and health standards, especially through producing drinks with low-calorie levels (Gerter 2017, p. 15). Additionally, the company has a well-established slogan which helps as a marketing strategy and offers the workers enough training to make them competent so as to produce the best drink worldwide. Current Marketing Strategy Segmentation and Targeting The Coca-Cola Company has various market segmentations which include demographic segmentation. The company targets the youth who are aged from 15 years to 25 years. The company also targets the customers who are above the age of 40 so as to include the largest part of the world population in the consumption of the drinks (Mubayi 2012, p. 537). The varieties of drinks, which are produced in the firm, are meant for both the male and female consumers without discrimination. Additionally, the demographic segmentation includes the level of income earned by the customers (Penergrast 2013, p. 18). The customers whose income is low can afford the drinks, which are packaged in the returnable containers. On the other hand, the customers who earn a higher income can afford the Coca-Cola drinks, which are packed in cans and tins. Psychographic Segmentation Most customers in the current world are conscious of the beverages they take and more importantly, the brand. These people often defend their status quo by drinking Coca-Cola drinks. Education is yet another factor which influences the consumption of the beverages. Educated customers will tend to check the GI level of the beverages as well other factors. However, the advertisement message used in Coca-Cola advertisement makes it popular in the world and most people, whether literate or illiterate do not hesitate to consume the drink whatsoever (Bella 2014, p. 17). Additionally, the Coca-Cola drinks are designed in such a way that they satisfy the needs of the customers. Thus, the company provides different drinks to satisfy different types of customers. In the recent past, people have developed consciousness about their health and are hence watching everything they consume including the beverages. The Coca-Cola Company has included the group of people in the marketing strategy whereby, the company produces Coca-Cola zero and diet Coca-Cola drinks (Shenkar 2014, p. 2). The company has a great reputation and observes the ethical code and hence, the customers are attracted to the company’s products due to its social responsibilities. However, in all its products, the firm primarily targets the middle-class customers. Positioning Brand positioning in Coca-Cola Company is done strategically making the beverages stand out among other similar beverages from different organizations. The strategy makes the Coca-Cola drinks competent in the market due to the influence on the minds of the customers. Brand positioning in 2014 includes cultural values such as friends, family, and joy which are everlasting in the lives of the consumers. Another factor includes the high-quality drink and the consistency as well as the thirst quenching effect of the drink (Gupta 2011, p. 31). The company is continually including various drivers in their positioning including the packaging, the prices, the promotion, the distribution as well as the competition which faces the organization. The Coca-Cola campaign started in 2014 with the objective of creating happiness to the customers and enhances social relationships through the share-a-coke campaign. The branded content during the Coca-Cola campaign included promotions such as the Coke Studio music campaigns (Schlanert 2014, p. 12). Branding Strategy Coca-Cola is one of the most recognized brands in the world since its establishment where the brand portfolio is well positioned to meet the preferences of the customers. The company also continues to explore many promising drinks to different groups of consumers. The brand portfolio contains the carbonated beverages, juices, iso-tonics, orangeades, tea and coffee among other products (Mubayi 2012, p. 535). The brand is associated with a wide variety of activities which bring joy to the customer’s live hence attracting more and more customers towards the products. For instance, the brand is associated with family, innovation, flexibility, and freedom. The brand is also associated with events such as the Olympics and the celebrations which are initiated by the coke culture (Alfadly 2011, p.54). Furthermore, the Coca-Cola brand is associated with all the demographics including the youth and the elderly. The brand awareness of Coca-Cola beverages has also been enhanced by the packaging which makes the beverages stand out in the supermarkets, the retail shops and in the wholesalers’ stores. Effectiveness and Synergy of the Marketing Mix (7ps of Marketing) Coca-Cola products are differentiated into a number of categories. The soft drink category includes the frozen beverages, the carbonated drinks, and the diet carbonated drinks. The tea and coffee category includes the coffee drink, coffee, and fruit tea drinks. The company also produces juices including fruit smoothies and the fruit juice. The water category contains both the enhanced water as well as the mineral water. Other drinks, which are produced by the firm, are inclusive of the mixers, the sports drinks and the energy drinks (Mubayi 2012, p. 540). The synergy of the market mix in Coca-Cola Company has had great impacts in the marketing strategies adopted by the organization. The marketing mix involves various drivers including the place where the commodities are sold. The company conducts both direct and indirect selling strategies (Tanne 2013, p. f490). While selling the commodities directly, the company supplies the goods to various retail shops all over the world using the Coca-Cola Company’s means of transport. The company hence eliminates the expenditure which is incurred by the presence of the intermediaries and makes much profit through the direct sales. The company also involves in the indirect sale of commodities (Tanne 2013, p. f494). Here, the company conducts these sales through the wholesalers and various agencies to enable the firm to reach the customers all over the world. The major reason why the company adopts the indirect method of selling their product is to ensure that the customers can access the beverages at their nearest shops. The indirect sales are also a great source of revenue for the organization as it enables the company to distribute the beverages to two hundred countries in the world hence raising the company’s profit margin (Strebinger 2014, p. 1804). The market mix adopted by Coca-Cola Company also involves the process of marketing. The process involves a number of factors. For instance, the process is usually contemporary and therefore, up-to-date. The process of the drinks production involves the addition of a refreshing flavor which meets the preferences of the customers (Peterson 2017, p. 69). The company has a distinct list of beverage categories. The taste of the beverages is also diverse according to the needs of the customers universally. The process in the marketing strategy of Coca-Cola Company is also made in such a way that the positive view of life is focused hence the process is optimized. The process of packaging in the company is an efficient process which contributes highly to meeting the preference of the customers (Peters 2017, p. 78). The awareness of the drinks has also been facilitated highly by the availability in the many different sizes making the drinks pocket-friendly. The process in the marketing strategy of the Coca-Cola drinks has led to increased improvement in the beverages’ infrastructure. The infrastructure improves the presentation of the drinks in the market. These infrastructures include the freezers, the vizi coolers the racks which are used for the display and the free shells and empty bottles provided to the drink distributors. The next key factor in the synergy and market mix of the Coca-Cola Company is the people. The motivation to the customers is majorly created through motivation and reward systems and more importantly understanding the needs of the people who work for the organization. The company usually uses the strategy of differentiated non-financial as well as financial incentives in the firm. The financial incentives are inclusive of rewards for the employees on the basis of their achievements in every quarter of the year, as well as the rewards of the annual efforts of realization of the company’s goals (Patrick 2016, p. 378). The incentive rewards in the company are also inclusive of the innovative efforts which are displayed by the employees in the manufacture of the beverages. The company also offers non-financial incentives to the customers as the source of motivation and hence fostering their performance. The non-financial incentives offer the worker a chance to be promoted from one job position to another (Peterson 2017, p. 83). Personal development is enabled through education, achievements, responsibilities as well as the challenges encountered by the workers in their daily activities. Additionally, the performance of the company is highly monitored and assessed using the seven areas of achievement in the organization (Gertner 2017, p. 19). These areas include people development, leadership, management, financial area, growth and innovation, social responsibility and corporate. Price is another major factor which is significant in the current marketing strategy in the Coca-Cola Company. The prices of the beverages range from one season to the other. The summer season is the most productive time as far as the sales from the Coca-Cola Company are concerned. The prices of the beverages are hence higher in summer than in other seasons. The winter season leads to less consumption of the beverages from the Coca-Cola Company. the firm hence adopts the strategy of reduced price of the beverages to attract customers hence maintain the sales made in the company as well as to prevent losses which may be associated with the season. The price reduction is however done on the 300ml bottles as well as for the pet bottles (Gertner 2014. 23). Promotion of beverages is the most significant step in the marketing plan and the strategy adopted by the organization. Promotion of the beverages is done in a wide range of ways. For example, promotion in Coca-Cola is done through acquiring shelves in the large stores in different parts of the world. When the shelves for instance in a supermarket are bought by the firm, the display of the Coca-Cola products is enhanced and the commodities are distinctly presented to draw the attention of the customers (Schneider 2008, p.3). The company also promotes their products using the eye-catching position where the customers can easily identify the products in most cases the drinks are presented in the freezers in the entry of the supermarkets and other shops (Wang 2015, p. 44). Coca-Cola Company is also known to promote their products through college and universities’ sports. The sponsorship of the extra-curricular activities earns the organization a great market share as the spectators and the players consume the drinks (Meyer 2015, p. 30). The Company also gains a great reputation through sponsorship as it is a form of social responsibility. During the promotion of Coca-Cola beverages, the company utilizes under the crown strategy (Mayer 2015, p. 35). The company hence offers prizes such as watches, t-shirts, and bicycles. The promotion strategy is mostly meant for children to attract them to the Coca-Cola beverages. Trade promotion is also used in the marketing of the beverages by Coca-Cola. The company makes deals with the shopkeepers for exclusive sales where cash incentives, free samples as well as free bottles are offered to these shopkeepers. The company is interested in the shopkeepers since they break the language barrier among between Coca-Cola Company and its customers in different parts of the world. Coca-Cola Company has a unique way of market segmentation which attributes to the promotion of the products. The company conducts mass, niche, and differentiated marketing. The physical environment is a key area which is highly considered in the marketing strategy of Coca-Cola Company. The company sells the beverages to 200 nations, including, the United States, Russia, Philippines, Poland, Canada among others. The company sells the beverages to approximately 1.8 million consumers every day. The Coca-Cola Company utilizes the digital advancement to view the needs of the customers and the trend dynamics so as to ensure customer satisfaction. Hence, the company has launched official websites where the customers can give their feedback regarding the products. The customer acceptance is also monitored in the organization through salience, performance, imagery, feelings, judgments, and resonance, especially through customer involvement to maintain their loyalty (Kokodey 2013, p. 336). Recommendations and Conclusion Increasing marketing effectiveness is important in Coca-Cola Company and, therefore, there are strategies which should be included in the marketing plan of the international beverage company. One of the most significant strategies that the firm should adopt is the specific targeting (Marsh 2011, p. 94). The firm has been targeting the general population for their commodities. There is a need to be more specific on the beverages (Milisavljevic 2012, p. 175). For instance, they should produce beverages for the children, youth and the elderly differently. Secondly, the firm should focus on the benefit of marketing strategies. There is hence a need for the firm to invest in researching about the new trends in the market (Koksal 2008, p. 430). The research will make the company resilient to the fluctuations in the market, hence conquering the competitors by attracting more customers (Mohammad 2012, p. 428). Thirdly, the company should embrace good timing where the relevant messages are sent to the audience at the right time. For instance, communicating about price rise of commodities in advance is effective in ensuring that the expectations of the customers are not compromised (Movsisyan 2016, p.247). The marketing strategy of Coca-Cola Company should involve waste reduction and environmental conservation. There has been a growing trend of environmental awareness among the public and the customers are hence attracted to commodities from organizations which are environmentally conscious. Including the ways through which the products leads to sustainability is a great marketing plan to adopt in the firm. References Read More