Section revisions

Integrated Strategic Marketing Plan: Section One

Part 2

A.    The name of our newest product is Coca-Cola Plus, it 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 customers looking for something more, Coca-Cola Plus aims to add into customer’s diets by featuring new ingredients that have health benefits. As with Coca-Cola’s other products, the name will likely be shortened to Coke Plus in media and pop culture references.

F. 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

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

Integrated Strategic Marketing Plan: Section Two

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 Pepsi-Cola, 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, 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.

References

Coca-Cola. (2017). Improving Our Water Efficiency. Retrieved from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/setting-a-new-goal-for-water-efficiency

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

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. (2017). Bai. Retrieved from https://www.drpeppersnapplegroup.com/brands/bai

Forbes. (2016). The World’s Most Valuable Brands. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/#tab:rank

Pepsi Next. (2015). Pepsi Next. Retrieved from https://pepsinext.ca/

PepsiCo. (2017). Better for You. Retrieved from http://www.pepsico.com/Brands/BrandExplorer#better-for-you

Suddath, C. (2014). Coke Confronts Its Big Fat Problem. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-31/coca-cola-sales-decline-health-concerns-spur-relaunch

War on Want. (2007). Coca-Cola: Drinking the World Dry. Retrieved from http://www.waronwant.org/media/coca-cola-drinking-world-dry

Integrated Strategic Marketing Plan: Section Three

Part 2- Competitive Situation

A.    Direct Competitors

Coca-Cola is definitely a giant of the beverage industry, and as a major company, they are used to having many competitors to contend with for the consumer market. Their biggest direct competitors are PepsiCo and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. All three of these companies sell brands for soft drinks (including diet versions), juices, sports drinks, bottled water, flavored waters, energy drinks, bottled (or canned) coffee, and teas. Below is a table explaining each company’s directly competing products.

	Coca-Cola Company Brands	Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Brands	PepsiCo Brands
Soft Drink	Coca-Cola	Dr. Pepper	Pepsi
Diet Soft Drink	Diet Coca-Cola	Diet Dr. Pepper	Diet Pepsi
Fruit Juice	Minute Maid	Hawaiian Punch	Tropicana
Sports Drink	POWERADE	BODYARMOR	Gatorade
Bottled Water	Dasani	Deja Blue	Aquafina
Flavored Water	Vitamin Water	Bai	Sobe Lifewater
Energy Drinks	Monster	Venom	AMP Energy
Ready to Drink Coffee	Gold Peak Coffee	High Brew	Starbucks Ready to Drink Beverages
Ready to Drink Tea	Gold Peak Tea	Snapple	Brisk

(Buehler, 2016) (Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, 2012) (Dr. Pepper Snapple Group A, 2017) (Dr. Pepper Snapple Group B, 2017) (PepsiCo, 2012) (PepsiCo, n.d.) (The Coca-Cola Company A, 2017) (The Coca-Cola Company B, 2017).

B.     Indirect Competitor

 Besides direct competitors, Coca-Cola must also deal with indirect competitors, those with products who can fulfill the same consumer’s needs. Within the cola industry, the consumer’s needs are for a drink with carbonation and a sweet, distinct flavor. In this case, the cola bottler Faygo would be Coca-Cola’s indirect competitor. They differ from the direct competitors because they are a regional company (usually only found in the Midwest) and they produce several different kinds of flavors of soda, including cola, that compete with Coca-Cola (Faygo Beverages, Inc., 2017). Faygo offers consumers more variety in their flavors and has been ingrained in Midwest communities with a ‘cult following’, which basically means that it is seen as an underdog beverage (Faygo Beverages, Inc., 2017). The company’s main feature that makes them more popular and successful is Coca-Cola’s advanced distribution system that allows many different places all over the world to receive their product.

References

Buehler, N. (2016). Top 5 Companies Owned by Coca-Cola (KO). Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/011216/top-5-companies-owned-coca-cola-ko.asp

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. (2012). Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Increases Investment in BODYARMOR. Retrieved from http://investor.drpeppersnapplegroup.com/2016-04-04-Dr-Pepper-Snapple-Group-Increases-Investment-In-BODYARMOR

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group A. (2017). High Brew. Retrieved from https://www.drpeppersnapplegroup.com/brands/high-brew

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group B. (2017). Our Brands. Retrieved from https://www.drpeppersnapplegroup.com/

Faygo Beverages, Inc. (2017). Faygo. Retrieved from http://www.faygo.com/

PepsiCo. (2012). U.S. Brands Shopping List. Retrieved from https://www.pepsico.com/docs/album/media-resources/usbrands_shopping_list.pdf?sfvrsn=2

PepsiCo. (n.d.). Top Global Brands. Retrieved from http://www.pepsico.com/Brands/BrandExplorer

The Coca-Cola Company A. (2017). Gold Peak Tea & Coffee. Retrieved from http://www.goldpeakbeverages.com/?&gclid=CKrKuM-jrtMCFQmOaQodCfsP9g

The Coca-Cola Company B. (2017). Product Description. Retrieved from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/brands/product-description

Integrated Strategic Marketing Plan: Section Four

Part 1- Consumers and Stakeholders

F.      Secondary Stakeholders

While primary stakeholders have a direct interest in a company, secondary stakeholders have an indirect interest (Gomez, 2017). This indirect interest could be in the company’s financial well-being (because it could directly impact their livelihood) or in the company’s ethics towards labor laws and environmental policies. For instance, a local convenience store that makes 10% of its sales from Coke products would be negatively impacted if the closest bottling company went bankrupt. And a local ground water spring used as irrigation for a community could be negatively impacted if Coca-Cola was putting harmful post-production chemicals back into the ground. Secondary stakeholders could also be primary stakeholders because local workers might live in the communities (Gomez, 2017). In that case, the worker is a primary stakeholder as an employee, but they are secondary stakeholder as a member of the community environmentally affected by Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company’s secondary stakeholders are the residents who live in the areas surrounding the Coca-Cola factories or bottling plants.

The secondary stakeholder residents have an indirect interest in the company because of how the bottling process can affect the surrounding environment and workforce. There are 900 manufacturing and bottling facilities worldwide, and some of them are still in developing countries (Journey Staff, 2012). For example, Coca-Cola bottling subsidiaries in India have had a dismal track record with pollution and excessive water usage, and as a result, one plant was shut down and one potential plant was denied land to build on (Ethical Consumer Research Association, 2017). In many of the other communities with a plant or factory, Coca-Cola is a force for good by providing jobs, but it is still important that the company realizes that they do have some problems abroad and attempts to correct them in order to win back the secondary stakeholders.

References

Ethical Consumer Research Association. (2017). The Coca-Cola Company- Pollution & Toxics. Retrieved from http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/companystories.aspx?CompanyId=13247&CategoryId=288190

Gomez, C. (2017). Why Are Secondary Stakeholders Important to a Company? Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/secondary-stakeholders-important-company-23877.html

Journey Staff. (2012). Offices & Bottling Plants. Retrieved from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/offices-bottling-plants

Integrated Strategic Marketing Plan: Section Five

Part 1- Research Development

C.     Online Survey Analysis

Online survey results can be a really constructive way to get information on the market a company is a part of. They can give companies a glimpse into the opinion of a target market on certain products or of an entire industry. Coca-Cola is a leader in the soda beverage sector, so knowing the current trends of soda consumption is crucial to successful campaigns. This is why it is surprising that Coca-Cola does not conduct online surveys for its brand as often as it could. A quick browse of the company’s Facebook page found that they have not posted any surveys or polls in months (Coca-Cola Facebook, n.d.). This shows that Coca-Cola depends on other sources for their market research.

Part 3- Marketing Programs and Marketing Strategies

C. Public Relations

             The Coca-Cola Company’s public relations strategy for Coca-Cola Plus should not stray too far from the advertising or promotional campaigns, but it should be based more around media communications. Public relations strategy is all about creating a positive image for the company through media outlets. So, in order to create the right image for Coca-Cola Plus, the company will reach out to publications that talk about healthy eating. Magazines like Women’s Health or Prevention, often talk about healthy recipes and new health trends so mentioning Coke Plus would fit right in, because it is meant to be a healthier alternative to regular Coke, Coke Zero, or competitors offerings. This would create the right image for Coca-Cola Plus while simultaneously advertising the product.

References

Coca-Cola Facebook. (n.d.). Coca-Cola. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pg/CocaColaUnitedStates/posts/?ref=page_internal