Coca Cola Marketing Mix

Coca Cola Marketing Mix

Keiser University

Ron Lazarus

Marketing

December 18, 2015

Introduction

        Coca Cola represents one of the most recognizable brands in the world. The red can/bottle with the splash of white cursive spelling out the company name is known around the world as an international sign of soft drinks. With over a century of experience in building its presence in the market and with a firm grip on the industry in the contemporary business world, Coca Cola is in a unique position wherein it must maintain its status as the premier soft-drink producer while continuing to reach out to new markets and demographics. In order to remain prevalent in the public eye, Coca Cola has had to manage its numerous different subsidiaries and personal brands while attempting to seek out new products and means of promotion at the same time.

Product

1. Positioning: Coca Cola has positioned itself as the leader in the soft-drink industry with over 3300 different products that reach a wide range of customers. The number of companies carrying Coca Cola products number well over 200, making the brand an international presence and further improving its positioning compared to competitors in this market. In general, Coca Cola has maintained a strategic form of positioning as a result that emphasizes consistency and attempts to project the same reputation to customers regardless of the product or market.
2. Company Image: In terms of the literal image of Coca Cola, that company has kept a consistent logo and color scheme throughout its existence, lending to its reputation as a reliable product and garnering a sense of nostalgia from customers who have enjoyed the beverage in the past. The image which Coca Cola attempts to convey to the public is also one of a wholesome brand that can be trusted and included in anything from family gatherings to first dates.
3. Features/Benefits: There are a number of benefits which can be derived from drinking Coca Cola. Those who purchase this product are buying an item which is considered to be the premier beverage in soft-drinks. Coca Cola is known first and foremost for quenching thirst but as a result of this “premier” designation, it is not only that it quenches thirst but that it does so while tasting better than competitors that make Coca Cola an appealing option.

Place

1. Channels of Distribution: Coca Cola has a unique approach to distribution in rather than expand its own operations to cover the different channels of distribution; the company instead outsources those operations to other businesses. The resulting model of distribution depicts a company that essentially just makes the syrup concentrate required for Coca Cola beverages and then sells that pre-made concentrate to independent bottlers. The bottlers can then sell these licensed products upon completion to other mediums where the product can directly reach the consumers. Coca Cola has adopted this business strategy in order to best focus on product quality and research and development rather than overextending itself into the distribution field. Coca Cola can still profit from the sales to these bottlers and continue to spread brand awareness by allowing the distributors to keep their products on the shelves.
2. Type of Distribution: Once the syrup concentrate has been sold to the bottling company, the type of distribution can be determined by the bottler. It is most profitable for these companies to then use trucking and shipping methods of distribution to get the finished products out to the public. Coca Cola will generally seek out bottlers that are strategically located next to these markets so that they will be able to deliver the product in a timely fashion. Once the products are ready for delivery, they will go to any number of different mediums including grocery stores, gas stations, event venues, and vending machines. There is no limit to how Coca Cola can be distributed and where.

Price

1. Objective Strategy: Coca Cola has what is generally viewed as a fairly lenient pricing strategy compared to other major brands. Rather than fix their rates so that they have uniform pricing regardless of location, Coca Cola is adaptable to the setting that a product is being sold in. For example, if the cost of living in an emerging market in India is significantly lower than it would be for a more affluent area such as Los Angeles, Coca Cola is willing to charge less for the product in India than it would for the same product in LA. This adaptability is necessary in order to compete in a market with such a diverse range of products and potential alternatives.
2. Impact of Competition: The competition that Coca Cola faces also plays a significant role in the brand’s pricing strategies. While there is no shortage of soft drink distributors in the world, only a relatively small number of these brands actually control a large chunk of the market share. Pepsi-Cola is Coca Cola’s closest competitor and the two brands have formed something of an oligarchy in terms of pricing. While both companies compete head to head, they appear to have agreed to stabilize prices so that they can both operate in the same market without cannibalizing one another. This is helpful not only to the brands but also to consumers as well as they may otherwise be exploited for their demand for soft drinks and forced to pay disproportionately to get them.

Promotion

1. Message: Coca Cola has had a variety of different messages it attempted to convey to the public over the course of its existence. There is no one set slogan as the company instead prefers to take a more individualistic approach wherein they can come up with a different message for any context the product is being sold in (ie an NFL/Coke logo for beverages sold at football games).
2. Public Relations: The public relations branch of Coca Cola is remarkable proactive in that rather than wait for incidents to occur which may require damage control with the public, the brand is instead focused on spreading a message of connection and goodwill. The brand also encourages consumers to remain active in their lifestyles, likely a measure taken to counter any negative health effects that could derive from consuming the beverage (Thompson, 2013, p.1).
3. Sales: Earnings have never been an issue for Coca Cola as the brand has remained popular with the public for much of the past century. As recently as 2015, industry leaders speculated that the company had increased profits by 19 percent since 2014 alone (Strom, 2015, p.1). Sales remain steady and the brand remains profitable regardless of time and external economic factors.

References

Strom, S. (2015). “Coca Cola profit up 19%, despite lower sales”. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/23/business/coca-cola-profit-up-19-despite-lower-sales.html

Thompson, J. (2013). “Coca Cola’s latest PR effort focuses on movement”. ADWeek. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/prnewser/coca-cola-latest-pr-effort-focuses-on-movement/71529