Integrated Strategic Marketing Plan: Section Two
Jessica Grimminger
Zachary Martin
Erin McIver
Russell Rowan
Ryan Village
Company Overview
Coca-Cola has been a
major player in the beverage industry throughout the United States and
international markets. The beverages are all non-alcoholic and they include
flavored water, sports drinks, and energy drinks, ready-to-drink tea, coffees,
dairy, and carbonated soft drinks. Popularity for the original Coca-Cola is
dwindling and Coca-Cola is working to bring back customers with Coke Plus.
Business Description
Coca-Cola
is a corporation and their headquarters is in Atlanta, Georgia. Coca-Cola is a
beverage company and they became incorporated in 1919. As of 2016 the company
owned and licensed over 500 non-alcoholic beverage brands. (Reuters,
n.d.) The red and white Coca-Cola logo is recognized by 94% of the world’s
population. Operating in 5 different regions of the world and encompassing over
200 countries, this makes Coca-Cola the largest beverage company in the
world. (Coca-Cola B, n.d.)
Company History
An
Atlanta pharmacist Dr. John S. Pemberton created the Coca-Cola Company in 1886,
his curiosity led him to create a distinctive tasting soft drink that could be
used and sold at soda fountains. He created a flavored syrup and added
carbonated water, and the people who tasted the creation said it was
“excellent” (World of Coca-Cola, n.d.) Dr. Pemberton’s partner at the
pharmacy called it Coca-Cola and created the design for the logo that is known
to this day.
· Coca-Cola
(CC) used Couponing in 1886 to market their product. (Coca-Cola)
· 1899
Coca-Cola is bottled and sold around the United States. (World of Coca-Cola, n.d.)
· 1906
“CC” Goes international (Coca-Cola)
· 1916
the unique Coke contour bottle was created. (World of Coca-Cola, n.d.)
· 1977
the Coke contour bottle is trademarked. (World of Coca-Cola, n.d.)
· In
the 1970’s Coke connected with people with their brand of fun, friends and a
good time. (World of Coca-Cola, n.d.)
· 1980’s
CC released Diet Coke. (World of Coca-Cola, n.d.)
· In
the 90’s the Coca-Cola Polar bear came out and it has been success since then.
People connect the mischief, fun and innocence of the polar bear with Coca-Cola
products. (World of Coca-Cola, n.d.)
· As
of 2016 CC is severed over 1.7 Billion times daily. (Coca-Cola)
· 2017
Coke Plus is to be released in Japan. (Coca-Cola)
Key People
Coca-Cola
employs over 700,000 individuals from around the world in order to operate one
of the most successful global brands. The leader of this company, Muhtar
Kent, is Chairman of the Board and CEO of Coca-Cola. Kent started with
Coca-Cola in 1978 and worked his way to the top of the organization when he
assumed his current position eight years ago. His commitment to the improvement
of the global business community is evidenced by active participation in a
variety of political, educational, and business boards around the world.
James Quincey is President and COO of the Coca-Cola corporation.
According to Coca-Cola’s official website, he plays a vital part in the
organization “In this role he has responsibility for all of the company's
operating units worldwide” (“Our Company,” para. 1, n.d.). Quincey has a
variety of strategic business experience due to previous high level operational
roles. Marcos de Quinto serves as Executive Vice President and Chief
Marketing Officer (CMO) of the Coca-Cola Company. Similar to Kent, De
Quinto has been with the organization since 1982 and is responsible for
developing global marketing strategies. These three key individuals head
the organization and establish the direction of Coca-Cola Company (“Our
Company,” n.d.).
Location and
Subsidiaries
According
to Coca-Cola’s main website, the company was founded in 1886 in Atlanta,
Georgia by John Pemberton and remains the corporate headquarters today (“Who We
Are,” n.d.). Coca-Cola services over 200 countries in regions including
Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and North
America. Essentially, Coca-Cola can be found in any part of the world due
to their extensive distribution network and recognizable brand. As far as
subsidiaries are concerned, Coca-Cola holds a variety of stake in many other
companies. In the article “The Top 5 Companies Owned by Coca Cola (KO)”
by Nathan Buehler, he explains that Coca-Cola subsidiaries include Monster
Energy, FUZE, Vitaminwater, Minute Maid, and the Bottlers Investment Group. As
a result, these companies have benefitted from the huge network created by
Coca-Cola in order to be provided in stores, gas stations, and vending machines
globally. These subsidiaries combined with the vast location network
developed by Coca-Cola are the main factors contributing to their sustained
success (“Who We Are,” n.d.).
Brands, Major
Products, and Services
Coca-Cola
has an impressive list of brands and products that are recognized both
nationally and overseas. These include brands such as Coke, Sprite,
Fanta, Powerade, and Mello Yello in addition to the subsidiaries previously
mentioned. These major products are sold in markets around the world, to
age groups both young and old. The popularity of these brand name
products has facilitated organizational growth and expanded product offerings
annually. It is a core strategy of Coca-Cola to increase its portfolio in
order to maintain its position as the market leader in the beverage industry
(“Brands,” n.d.).
Corporate Vision
Our
vision serves as the framework for our Roadmap and guides every aspect of our
business by describing what we need to accomplish in order to continue
achieving sustainable, quality growth (The Coca-Cola Company,
n.d.). Coca-Cola offers a great work environment, where people are inspired
to be the best they can be. We offer to the world a unique portfolio of quality
beverages that satisfy people’s desires and needs. Our partnerships ensure a
winning network of customers and suppliers that create one of a kind value. Our
vision is to make a difference in the world we live in, by helping build and
support sustainable communities, maximize long-term return to shareholders, and
maintain a highly effective and fast-moving organization.
Corporate Mission
Our
Roadmap starts with our mission, which is enduring. It declares our purpose as
a company and serves as the standard against which we weigh our actions and
decisions (The Coca-Cola Company, n.d.).
· To refresh the world...
· To inspire moments of optimism and happiness...
· To create value and make a difference.
Promotional Strategy
Coca-Cola
just recently announced that for the first time, all Coke Trademark brands will
be united in one global creative campaign: “Taste the Feeling” (Moye,
2016). This strategy focuses on the iconic appeal of the world’s number one
beverage brand to Coca-Cola Light/Diet Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola
Life, and the all new Coca-Cola Plus. Through this promotional strategy, we can
show our commitment to choice, offering consumers whichever Coca-Cola suits
their taste, lifestyle, and diet – with or without calories, with or without
caffeine, and with or without healthier alternatives. We are reinforcing that
Coca-Cola is one brand with different variants for everyone, all of which share
the same values and visual iconography (Moye, 2016).
Product Sales History
Coca-Cola,
with its 3,500 products, is the world leader among soft drinks with a 44
percent market share. Approximately 1.8 billion bottles of coke are sold every
day and 10,450 Coca-Cola brand drinks are consumed every second, bringing in a
total Annual Revenue of $47.51 billion.
Coca-Cola
was originally created by Pharmacist Dr. John Styth Pemberton in 1886. Only 25
bottles were sold its first year. Coca-Cola was incorporated in 1892. Three
years later, in 1895 it was sold in every U.S. state. By 1916 Coca-Cola was
being sold in Cuba, Jamaica, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, England, France, Germany,
and the Philippines. Today, Coca-Cola products are sold in 200 countries
worldwide.
For
decades Coca-Cola was hesitant to extend its trade mark to other products,
however, in the 1980’s with consumers gravitating toward low calorie beverages,
Coca-Cola created Diet Coke. Released in 1982, Diet Coke was the first new
trade mark brand for Coca-Cola since 1886. Today, Diet Coke holds a 17 percent
market share and is considered the number two beverage. The next extension of
the Coke trade mark came in 1985 with the release of Cherry Coke.
In
2016, Coca-Cola had six brands listed as the most valuable soft drink brands
worldwide. Coke topped the list with a brand value of $67,749 million. Diet
Coke came in second with a worldwide brand value of $12,565 million. Fanta was
ranked seventh, with a $5,637 million value, Sprite was in the tenth spot with
$5,236 million, Dr. Pepper was in the thirteenth spot at $2,687 million, and
Minute Made was ranked in the fourteenth spot with a worldwide market value of
$2,644 million.
Although
the Coca-Cola Company has seen slowly declining sales consistently since 2012,
this decline can be reversed with the introduction of new products and
marketing focus on other strong brands within the company.
Current Marketing
Objective
Currently,
Coca-Cola’s marketing objective is to increase sales by bringing the brand
closer to the consumer on an emotional level. To accomplish this, Coca- Cola
has launched a new marketing strategy called “Taste the Feeling.” This
campaign, through a one brand approach, will be extending the iconic appeal of
Coke to the other trade mark brands such as Diet Coke, Coke Zero, and Coke
Life.
The
objective of the “Taste the Feeling” campaign will show the correlation between
the product and how it makes everyday moments more special, by displaying both
the functional and emotional aspects of the brand experience. Through T.V.
Commercials, print ads, and digital storytelling, The Coca- Cola Company will
be aiming to remind their consumers about why they love the brand.
Media Expenditure
In
2016, Coca- Cola had a total advertising budget of four billion dollars.
Television advertisements make up the bulk of this budget with spending at $1.9
billion. However, Coca-Cola has recently discovered that mobile video offers a
much higher return on investment. In order to drive profit, the Coca-Cola
Company has started investing 15 percent of their advertising budget into
creating mobile videos.
Part 2- SWOT Analysis
A. Strengths
There
is no denying that Coca-Cola is a well-known brand. Even in many other
countries, the companies red and white logo is easily recognizable. Because of
this, it is number four on Forbes’ 2016 list of “Most Valuable Brands” (Forbes,
2016). It is worth noting that their main competitor PepsiCo, is listed as
number 29 on this same list (Forbes, 2016). Brands that are easily recognizable
tend to be more popular and have higher sales figures. This basically means
that their strength is in their stability.
Another
strength that the Coca-Cola Company has is its large distribution network. They
are able to meet the needs of customers all over the world because of their
unique system. The main company owns the brand and is responsible for global
marketing efforts, but they actually do not bottle or distribute the final
products. They manufacture the syrups and concentrates and then send them off
to “bottling partners” in local communities. The bottling partners are in
charge of “manufacturing, packaging, merchandising, and distributing the final
branded beverages to our customers and vending partners, who then sell our
products to consumers”. This strategy allows the bottling partners to
distribute based on the specific needs of their local community. (Coca-Cola A,
n.d.)
B. Weaknesses
One
weakness for Coca- Cola that has been going on for quite a while is the
negative publicity associated with health concerns. Around the mid-90’s to
mid-2000’s era, an uptick of obesity in Americans had researchers pointing their
fingers at fast food and soda companies (Suddath, 2014). Coca-Cola took a lot
of the heat, and has seen a decline in sales (along with many other soda
companies) since its peak in the late 80’s (Suddath, 2014). The problem is that
research has made it hard for the company to deny that their main product is
not a possible reason for national health concerns, so they have had to bite
the bullet, admit to their products problems, and try to come up with healthier
alternatives.
Another
one of Coca-Cola’s weaknesses is the public’s concern over the company’s water
usage. In 2007, news broke that Coca-Cola was taking control of the
subterranean aquifers in some of the more underdeveloped countries in which it
operated (War on Want, 2007). And considering it takes three liters of water
just to make one liter of the finished products, many social justice groups and
local communities were understandably upset (War on Want, 2007). The biggest
issue with overcoming the water sustainability problem is that the process to
make Coca-Cola will always require more water than what is in the finished
product. Even though the company has made steps to lessen the excessive water
usage (down to using 2 liters by 2015), there is still a lot of public
disapproval put on their tapping into natural resources (Coca-Cola, 2017) (War
on Want, 2007).
C. Opportunities
While
new health trends may have caused headaches for the Coca-Cola Company, they are
also a source of possible growth. The company will be able to expand their
current options in ways that may not have been accepted by consumers in the
past (Suddath, 2014). For instance, with Coca-Cola Plus, the company can appeal
to consumers looking for the newest health trend. This meshes the ideal of
trendiness and the classic Coca-Cola taste, without going too far into the
trends which can sometimes limit the size of consumer market.
Coca-Cola
should also continue taking advantage of the advertising opportunities for
younger markets. Younger generations have grown up with Coca-Cola and know the
brand well, but they have also seen the tremendous shift in perspective caused
by the rise in obesity. This negative narrative will only grow stronger if the
youngest generations are ignored by the company’s marketing campaigns. However,
by tapping into the culture of e-sports (gaming tournaments with online viewers
or audiences in stadiums), Coca-Cola could become a major player in the minds
of younger consumers.
D. Threat
As
consumer’s tastes change, Coca-Cola has not been the only company that has had
to change its offerings. The company now has to deal with incoming products
from brands such as Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and PepsiCo. Dr. Pepper Snapple
Group has recently introduced Bai, a fruit water drink that has little sugar and
other artificial ingredients (Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, 2017). And PepsiCo has
been doing well offering its Naked brand juices as a premium health drink
offering (PepsiCo, 2017). It is also worth noting that Pepsi has recently
started offering a new mix of their popular soda with 30% less sugar and no
artificial sweeteners as Pepsi Next (Pepsi Next, 2015). This could be a threat
to the success of the new ‘good-for-you’ offering Coca-Cola Plus
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