Coca-Cola Amatil Marketing Mix - Case Study Example

Establish and adjust the marketing mix Name of the Student: Name of the Instructor: Name of the course: Code of the course: Submission date: Establish and adjust the marketing mix Introduction This analysis will center on Coca Cola Amatil which operates in the beverage industry and has robust operations in five countries including New Zealand, Australia, Papua Guinea, Fiji and Indonesia. This analysis will be divided into four major segments as evident in the subsequent sections. Implementation of a recent marketing program or a marketing plan of the organization This company has implemented different marketing programs in the recent past aimed at promoting their products among the target consumers. One of the most notable marketing programs is the Drink Positive, Think Positive campaign which has been established by Mount Franklin which is a registered trademark of Coca Cola Amitil (Australia) Pty Limited. This connection has enhanced through the community partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation in Australia which has been existence since 2010 (Mount Franklin Website, 2013, p. 1). Over three year, Coca Cola Amatil has donated over 750,000 pounds to this program coupled with turning their bottle lids to pink during October for breast cancer awareness month. Additionally, this company funds three McGrath Mount Franklin Breast Cancer Nurses who offer their support to families which are experiencing breast cancer in Esperance (WA), Kalgoorlie (WA) and Angaston (SA) (Mount Franklin Website, 2013, p. 1). This example exemplifies how innovative marketing programs can extend beyond simple advertising and entail packaging, community partnerships, multi-modal communication as well as distribution to fortify brand value in the primary demographic of the target consumers. In relation to the promotion tenet of the marketing mix, the implementation of this marketing program ensures that this brand acquires strong appeal among women who are often confronted by the health challenges of breast cancer. This is achieved through extensive print, TV, online and cinema advertising campaign. In regard to the product component of the marketing mix, the basic strategy of the relating the consumption of quality water with good health through the Drink positive, Think Positive is core in creating consumer loyalty among young females who are the key target demographic for bottled water. Additionally, the fact that these category of consumers is often at a great risk of being diagnosed breast cancer makes the general strategy of Coca Cola Amatil to support anti-breast cancer campaigns highly attractive among this class of consumers. Lastly, this product which has pink lids as an anti-breast cancer initiative is packaged in bottles and available in supermarkets and other retail stores across the region. This makes it convenient to purchase by the young female consumers who want to show their support in the undertakings of Coca Cola Amitil in the creation of breast cancer awareness. Critical evaluation of two sales forecasting techniques There are several sales forecasting techniques which can be used by Coca Cola Amatil. Nonetheless, this analysis will primarily focus on two sales forecasting techniques which could be used at Coca Cola Amatil. These are composite of sales force opinions as well as consumer expectations. According to Jelena and Vesna (2006, p. 528), the consumer expectations technique utilizes the expectations among the consumers mostly in regard to their requirements and needs as the foundation of the forecast. In this case, the data collection process often entails a survey of the consumers by the sales force. The applicability of this technique is best epitomized among the consumers of the energy and sports drinks. In this case, the company can task the sales force with the role of conducting a survey among the consumers of this product in terms of the flavors, color and price requirements among other tenets of product characteristics. In case the available products in this category meet these highly cited requirements by the consumers, then it can be plausible to forecast robust sales among this category of consumers both in the short and in the long-term. Nonetheless, the primary weakness of this technique is the large number of consumers across different regions who can exhibit different requirements and needs making the production process to fit these needs more complex. In regard to the composite of sales force opinions technique, Kahn (2002, p. 143) cited that this is a ‘bottoms-up’ forecasting technique which entails the provision of forecast by the sales persons. Eventually, the aggregation of the cumulative forecasts is undertaken in the efforts to calculate product line forecasts. At Coca Cola Amatil, sales persons in diverse regions can be requested to forward their forecasts, for instance, the sales forecast on flavored milk based on the various flavors. The eventual aggregation of all the forecasts by the sales persons can be fundamental in forecasting the sales over a particular period of time. However, this technique has an inherent weakness based on the fact that the sales persons may not be well informed on the market dynamics related to political and economic factors which might affect the sales either positively or negatively. Thus, in case the sales persons fail to consider these dynamics in their forecasts, this can culminate in erroneous forecast even after the aggregation of all the forecasts by the sales persons at the top level. However, this weakness can be surmounted through the incorporation of expert opinion after the forecasts have been aggregated which can be integral in increasing the level of accuracy and precision in the final sales forecast. In this case, the composite of sales force opinions technique can play a key role in sales forecast undertakings at Coca Cola Amatil. Four financial ratios used for measuring and monitoring the performance of the marketing program According to Najjar (2013, p. 154), the discourse on financial ratios has always been an important topic both among the individuals and collectives involved in finance as well as among researchers. There are several financial rations which are used at Coca Cola Amatil in measuring and monitoring the performance of the marketing program analyzed in the preceding section. However, only four of the financial ratios will be explored in this section. The first financial ratio is the profitability ratios. These help the company in the determination of effectiveness in the program based on the returns which are generated on sales as well as investment in the Drink Positive, Think Positive program. This includes returns on investments in donations, commercials as well as funding on nurses who offer support to families which are experiencing breast cancer. In this case, three profitability ratios which are used are gross profit margins, operating profit margins as well as net profit margins. This is best epitomized whereby the profitability in terms of sales of Mount Franklin is monitored over a period of time after the implementation of this program as well as after the changes on the lids color to pink have been effected in the breast cancer month. This has extensive effect on the promotion tenet of the marketing mix based on the fact that in case the investments in the program does not yield the expected returns, then the company can choose to change its promotion strategy in order to attain the desired target. The second financial ratio is liquidity ratio. This is a type of financial ratio which is used in the evaluation of the company’s capacity to meet its current obligations. In the case of the marketing program outlined above, current ratio and the quick ratio are used to assess whether the company is in a favorable niche to support its annual financial pledges to the foundation. These investments into this program are then compared with the amount of returns which are derived from this investment over the years and integral in evaluating whether the company will be able to meet its financial commitments to this breast cancer foundation. The third financial ratio is asset turnover ratio which is primarily used to measure the efficiency in assets utility in this company towards supporting this particular marketing program. The most prudent form of asset turnover ratio used in this case is inventory turnover which measures the effectiveness in selling particular goods. This is mostly related to the selling the Mount Franklin brand which has a pink lid during the breast cancer awareness month. It is imperative to note that this has impacts on the product and promotion tenets of the marketing mix. This is founded on the fact that extensive investment in promotion over different media poses ripple effects on the volumes of consumption of this specific brand. The last financial ratio used to monitoring the performance of this program is solvency ratio which is used to judge if the company has the capacity of raising capital to pay its obligations. This is most notably in relation to the financial capital needed to support this marketing program in case the company seeks external funding from financial institutions. Five evaluation and monitoring control methods Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices have been termed as being integral in the management of programs and projects. This is mostly in the efforts to caution the program or project against slippages in time, cost and quality for the duration of the project (Memon et al., 2006, p. 26). There are various M&E control methods for the marketing program at Coca Cola Amatil. Firstly, there is the use of financial analysis methods. At the center of these methods is the balanced scorecard which is helpful in the company in the evaluation of the overall return, the capital financing processes as well as the operating income. Additionally, financial analysis methods also entail benchmarking which is utilized in the assessment of the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the marketing program at Coca Cola Amatil. The second M&E control method is market share analysis which is central in indicating how well the company is doing in the market when juxtaposed with other competitors. In this case, strong market share of the Mount Franklin brand in the market over a particular period of time is central in revealing the level of brand awareness, the actual market size and market share as well as the level of consumer satisfaction among other market metrics. The third monitoring and evaluation control is consumer relationship management (CRM) systems. In this case, CRM systems are central in measuring the success of this marketing campaign over diverse channels, for instance, direct mail, social media and email. All these systems track the responses, deals, leads as well as clicks among the consumers which is a robust M&E control method. The other M&E control method is marketing information system (MKIS) which can basically be perceived as a set of methods for the regular, planned collection, analysis as well as presentation of information which is integral in making decisions related to marketing activities. In the case of the Drink Positive, Think Positive program which is primed at Coca Cola Amatil, this method is key in the provision of continuous monitoring which is sometimes through exception reporting as well as rapid cognition of the current trends, any inherent problems as well as the marketing opportunities in the target market. This is also imperative in benchmarking the performance of the Mount Franklin brand in the market against the best practices in the soft drink industry. This is particularly instrumental in the measurement of the performance of this program when compared with other marketing programs which have been instituted by other companies in the industry and identifying any inherent opportunities. The last M&E control method which will be explored in this analysis is feedback from consumer satisfaction surveys. This is central in monitoring and evaluation of the performance of the product in the market, mostly among the young women who are the primary target consumers of this marketing program. In this case, Coca Cola Amatil is able to get feedback from the consumers about their level of satisfaction among these consumers and their level of brand awareness. This is key in ascertaining the actual market size and market share of the Mount Franklin brand among other market metrics. Additionally, this is vital in the identification of any problems in the market as well as any opportunities which can be exploited by the company. Conclusion The preceding analysis has explored the Drink Positive, Think Positive campaign which is a marketing program primed at Coca Cola Amatil. Additionally, two sales forecasting techniques namely composite of sales force opinions as well as consumer expectations have been critically evaluated. The review has also identified and described four financial ratios used for measuring and monitoring the performance of the aforementioned marketing program. Lastly, the analysis has described five evaluation and monitoring control methods for the marketing program. References Kahn, KB., 2002, ‘An exploratory Investigation of new product forecasting practices’, The Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 19, pp. 133—143 Jelena, M. & Vesna, D., 2006, ‘The sales forecasting techniques’, International Scientific Day 2006; Competitiveness in the EU – Challenge for the V4 countries, Faculty of Economic and Management SAU, Nitra. Memon, ZA., et al., 2006, ‘A systematic approach for monitoring and evaluating the construction project progress’, Journal - The Institution of Engineer, Vol. 67, No. 3, pp. 26-32. Mount Franklin Website, 2013, retrieved 22nd July, 2013, < http://mountfranklinwater.com.au/>. Najjar, NJ., 2013, ‘Can Financial Ratios Reliably Measure the Performance of Banks in Bahrain’, International Journal of Economics and Finance, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 152-163. Read More