Part 1 Complete

Marketing Plan 1

Erin McIver
Jessica Grimminger
Ryan Village
Russell Rowan
Zach Martin

Marketing Strategy and Design

April 4^th, 2017

Marketing Plan 1

1.      Product Overview

a.      Introduction

The product is Coca-Cola and it is the best-selling and most popular soft drink in history. It was created in Atlanta, Georgia in 1886 by Dr. John S. Pemberton and was at first a fountain only beverage.  In 1899 Coca-Cola began bottling its product and selling it throughout the United States and in 1906, Coca-Cola expanded to selling internationally. To this day, Coca-Cola is one of the most recognizable brands in the world. (Coca-Cola)

b.      Problem Statement and Issues

            The problem is customers are losing a taste for Coca-Cola products and soft drinks in general. By the year 2019, there will be a 30% decline in carbonated beverage sales. Customers are now buying sport type drinks and energy drinks, and this has cut into the profits Coca-Cola once had. (The Guardian) The trends of healthfulness have led to customers moving from calorie rich products, to more natural drinks. (The Guardian)

c.       Advertising and Marketing Objectives- Our Recommendations

Coca-Cola Plus, which is the healthiest version of the soft drink Coke, offers consumers the classic Coke appeal without any sugar and calories. This soft drink also contains five grams of indigestible Dexedrine, a supplement created for people with fiber deficiencies.  The fiber in Coca-Cola Plus could offer the added benefit of fat absorption if drunken while eating by lowering triglycerides in the blood.

Coca- Cola Plus, like other Coca-Cola beverages will be produced in the company plants. In the past Coca-Cola has used their own trucks for delivery and used intermediaries to increase sales figures. It is the recommendation that Coca-Cola continue to do so.

The recommendations for advertising this new product would be to gain awareness and sales for the Coca-Cola Plus target audience, which would consist of consumers over the age of forty. This product targets the over forty demographic because although they still desire the flavor of classic Coca-Cola, they are less willing to intake the unhealthy number of calories.

Since Coca-Cola Plus is similar to Coca-Cola Zero, it can be expected to share a similar consumer demographic. The Coca-Cola Zero consumer is typically a middle-aged Caucasian male, of a higher income. He will most likely purchase this product with a credit card during his weekly grocery shopping trip, on a Friday or Saturday afternoon.

The three best mediums used for marketing to the forty-year-old demographic are Television, Internet, and Print. It is recommended that Coca- Cola utilize these three mediums for promotion and positioning. The average adult in their forties spends 2.5 hours a day watching T.V.. Commercial adds used during programming such as 20/20, Monday Night Football, and Dateline are examples of where and when to reach this demographic.

In 2015, 79% of adults between the ages of 30 and 49 owned a smart phone. 54% of adults between the ages of 50 and 64 also own smart phones. This aids the use of the internet as a channel to reach the Forty and over consumer demographic. When it comes to online advertising, some independent studies have suggested that this age group prefers engagement that is informational as opposed to promotional. This demographic prefers facts and details rather than bullet points. It will be important to adjust on line content to meet these needs.

Lastly, print advertising is still an effective way to reach this audience and therefore should be utilized in an advertising campaign for the Coca-Cola Plus product.  With the Coca-Cola Plus demographic being a Caucasian male in his forties, it is recommended that print advertisements be used in popular magazines for this demographic. Such magazines would include, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Motor Trend, Car and Driver, and Sport Illustrated.

d.   Aims of Our Campaign

            Our campaign is aimed at how Coca-Cola is using recyclable packaging for their products. Healthier ingredients are now being used in the creation of Coca-Cola products. The new and improved pop ingredients and the recyclable packaging is the new direction of Coca-Cola. Keeping the original flavor, and becoming and healthier drink. We are changing with new generation and we want to change with you.      

2.      Product Profile

a.      Product Name

The Coca-Cola Company name was established shortly after the soda was created by Dr. Pemberton. His bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, theorized that the two C’s put together would look well in advertising. Robinson then penned the logo in his own handwriting and since then, it has become one of the world’s most famous trademarks. (Coca-Cola Journey Staff, 2015) The name Coca-Cola Plus is significant in its simplicity. It is meant to be an opposition to the drink ‘Coke Zero’. Whereas Coke Zero is meant to simply take out many of the ingredients that consumers find unhealthy, for consumers looking for something more, Coca-Cola Plus aims to add into customer’s diets by featuring new ingredients that have health benefits.

b.      Product Classification

 In product marketing, there are a variety of product classifications that distinguish the type of product being sold.  According to the article “The Classification of Products in Marketing” by Stan Mack, these classifications include convenience, shopping, specialty, and unsought products.  As it relates to Coca-Cola, the product classification can be described as a convenience product due to the fact that Coke products do not require customer forethought to make a purchasing decision.  Because Coca-Cola is represented as a food and beverage staple, it remains a convenience product because it can be bought virtually anywhere at approximately the same price.  In a highly competitive market such as the beverage industry, companies such as Nestle and Pepsi offer similar, extensive portfolios of popular drinks to gain customer loyalty and market share.  For this reason, convenience products can be difficult to market due to a variety of substitutes competing for market position, ultimately driving the price down.  It is vital for Coca-Cola to understand their product classification in order to develop unique marketing strategies that help set them apart in crowded market (Mack, n.d.).

c.       Product Characteristic

Product characteristics are influential in the development of the marketing strategy because they help communicate the product to the consumer.  In an article in the Journal of Marketing titled “Product Characteristics and Marketing Strategy” by Gordon E. Miracle, he defines product characteristics as “...the sum of physical and psychological satisfactions the buyer receives when he makes a purchase” (Miracle, 1965, p.19).  Being a convenience product, the aim of Coca-Cola is to offer a “total product” meaning that the channeling, promotional, and marketing initiatives are streamlined in an effort to promote a purchasing decision.  According to Miracle’s assertions, this means product characteristics not only include physical features such as nutritional information and packaging, but additionally, psychological features.  Specifically, for Coca-Cola, these psychological characteristics include a convenient purchasing location, ability to purchase at a convenient time, and available information about the item.  Essentially, it is important consider the product conveniences that Coca-Cola provides to customers in addition to their competitive price, global availability, and user-friendly packaging that create the “total product” (Miracle, 1965).

d.      Distribution

Coca-Cola’s products come in concentrate form directly from our manufacturing and distribution centers. The concentrate is then sold to licensed Coca-Cola bottling companies around the world (Coca-Cola, n.d.). All the bottling companies have contracts directly with Coca-Cola and produce the final product that we see in stores, in the form of cans and bottles, and fountain machines within various distribution channels. Coca-Cola will now be able to offer the new Coca-Cola Plus to the bottling companies, which will then be distributed through bottlers distribution channels. In addition to selling the concentrate to licensed bottle companies, the company will now be offering Coca-Cola Plus to major restaurants and food chains across the globe. Offering this new product line will allow us to stay competitive in the distribution industry and give us new opportunities to gain more of the overall market share.

e.       Product Life Cycle of Coca-Cola Plus

Product life cycle has four phases

1.     Introduction

2.     Growth

3.     Maturity

4.     Decline

Coca-Cola is a dominate player in the United States of America, Europe, Asia, and Africa; but some of the regions are currently is different phases of the cycle. For example, Coca-Cola is currently in their maturity stage within the United States and Europe (Murray, 2016). These regions are great markets for the company to introduce the new Coca-Cola Plus product line; due to the strong brand loyalty that’s already been established with our company. Asia on the other hand is currently in the growth phase. This might not be the best market for us to introduce our new Coca-Cola Plus product line, due to the simple fact that we are still building brand loyalty and market share. By introducing our new product line in locations that are currently in their maturity phase, we can stay competitive within our market by differentiating ourselves from competitors. Ultimately, this will allow us to stay competitive, increase profits, expand our market share, capitalize on a new product niche, and reduce the risk of going into the decline phase.

f.        The Brand

The Coca-Cola brand is recognized around the world. Because it was established so long ago and has become so far reaching, it has become a cultural phenomenon. Through marketing campaigns and clever market placement, Coca-Cola has cemented itself into the minds of most consumers. One of the key reasons that the brand has fared so well over the last 130 years is because it was designed to be completely different than competitors. While the drink did have a different flavor than anything else at soda fountains, it also stands out because of its unique packaging. The original glass bottles were designed specifically for Coca-Cola after the shape of the cocoa bean (which was picked because of the similar sounding name to ‘Coca’) (Feloni, 2015). Coca-Cola is now aiming to further its brand in the way it once did, by offering something that will change the way consumers look at soda. The difference is that this time, instead of creating unique packaging, the drink itself will change.

           

References

Coca-Cola. (n.d.). Our Company. Retrieved from Coca-Cola: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/the-coca-cola-system

Coca-Cola. (n.d.). Product Description. Retrieved from Coca-colacompany.com: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/brands/product-description#Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Journey Staff. (2015). What’s in a Name? Retrieved from http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/stories/whats-in-a-name#

Coca-Cola Zero Consumer Insights and Demographics. (n.d.). Retrieved April 03, 2017, from http://infoscout.co/brand/cocacola_zero?ab=b&utm_expid=75303912-24.l6L7NHOEQze-M9P-hvusJw.1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

Feloni, R. (2015, June 12). 7 Brilliant Strategies Coca-Cola Used to Become One of the World’s Most Recognizable Brands

Hosie, R. (2017, February 03). Coca-Cola Plus: New Coke with fibre could be healthiest yet. Retrieved April 03, 2017, from http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/coca-cola-plus-new-coke-fibre-healthiest-soft-drink-fizzy-digestion-a7561341.html

How to Target 25-40 Year-olds Online. (2016, January 19). Retrieved April 03, 2017, from https://problogger.com/how-to-target-25-40-year-olds-online/

Mack, S. (n.d.). The Classification of Products in Marketing. Retrieved April 04, 2017, from

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/classification-products-marketing-65394.html

Miracle, G. (1965). Product Characteristics and Marketing Strategy. Journal of Marketing, 29(1),

18-24. doi:10.2307/1248775

Murray, M. (2016, July 22). Product Life Cycle. Retrieved from The Balance: https://www.thebalance.com/product-life-cycle-2221048

Smith, A. (2015, April 01). Chapter One: A Portrait of Smartphone Ownership. Retrieved April 03, 2017, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/chapter-one-a-portrait-of-smartphone-ownership/

The Guardian. (n.d.). How Coca-Cola is fighting against a US public losing the taste for it. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2015/feb/13/coca-cola-us-public-losing-taste

Writer, L. G. (n.d.). What Magazines Do Men Ages 35-40 Read? Retrieved April 03, 2017, from http://penandthepad.com/magazines-men-ages-3540-read-8083454.html