A CASE STUDY ON BRANDING STRATEGIES OF COCA COLA

Global marketing has become a reality, the product most representative of this
process is Coca-Cola's Robert Woodruff, former chairman of The Coca-Cola
Company stated in 1923, that Coca-Cola should always be 'Within an arm's
reach
of
desire'.
Coca-Cola is the most recognised brand name in the world with 94 per cent
recognition. This profile has spread with increasing rapidity in recent years as
evidenced for example in China, where Coca-Cola became the most recognised
trademark in the late 1990s. Today you can buy a Coke almost anywhere from
Beijing to Buenos Aires, from Moscow to Mexico City. The Coca-Cola
Company sells half of all soft drinks consumed throughout the world.
A developing business organisation will forever seek new opportunities to
renew itself. A successful global business will seek to penetrate new markets
and new countries while building on improving its presence in existing markets
and in this way it will continue to grow.
The Coca-Cola Company has come a long way since the product was invented
in 1886 by Dr John Styth Pemberton in a back yard in Atlanta, Georgia. Today
the Company is selling over one billion servings a day. To many business
people such results would indicate that the Company has arrived but key
decision makers at Coca-Cola do not see it like that, they believe that the
Company is in its infancy. The Company is acutely aware that, although one
billion servings of Coca-Cola are consumed each day, there are 47 billion
servings of other beverages.

The Company prefers to look forward rather than back and it sees there are
enough opportunities in the market to keep it going for a very long time. The
average person drinks The Coca-Cola Companys beverages about once a week.
Four billion consumers live in countries where the average is even less. The
reality is that countries with about 20% of the worlds population account for
80% of Coca-Colas volume. Clearly this presents a challenge for a global
company and its marketing strategy if it is going to tap into virgin territories.
Coca-Cola is focusing on the next billion servings. 70% of the worlds
population live in countries where per capita consumption of Coca-Cola
products is less than 50 servings per person per year - this means that they are
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A CASE STUDY ON BRANDING STRATEGIES OF COCA COLA

drinking Coca-Cola products less than once a week. Even in developed

countries like the United States there are many opportunities to raise sales.
Marketing involves getting the right product to the right place, at the right time,
at the right price and with the most suitable promotional activity. Coca-Cola has
always been able to create the most appropriate marketing mix.
Since its beginnings, Coca-Cola has built its business using a universal strategy
based on three timeless principles:

acceptability - through effective marketing, ensuring Coca-Cola brands

are an integral part of consumers's daily lives, making Coca-Cola the preferred
beverage everywhere

affordability - Coca-Cola guarantees it offers the

availability - making sure that Coca-Cola brands are available anywhere people
want refreshment, a pervasive penetration of the marketplace.
Coca-Cola has created an extensive and well-organised global distribution
network guaranteeing the ubiquity of its products. (Ubiquity is the ability to
appear to be present everywhere at once.) Its approach is founded on the belief
that Coca-Cola must try to quench the thirst of everyone in the world - all 5.6
billion of them!
The Company operates a worldwide franchise system supplying syrups and
concentrates to over 1,200 bottling operations, (there are more than 350 in the
US alone!) which thus involves local companies and suppliers in the 200
countries in which Coca-Cola is sold.
The bottling companies distribute the world's favourite brand using the most
sophisticated technology and distribution networks available. The Company
supports its international bottler network with sophisticated marketing
programmes seeking to guarantee the Company's brands are available where
anyone is seeking refreshment. Coca-Cola's bottling system is the largest and
most widespread production and distribution network in the world.

The ability to engage in global branding is a key advantage to any large

company. Coca-Cola is fortunate in that it possesses a number of instantly
recognisable icons which go beyond the familiar taste of its product. In
particular the Company benefits from its registered trade mark, the
characteristic classic shapes of its bottles and the highly familiar red and white
Coca-Cola can.
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A CASE STUDY ON BRANDING STRATEGIES OF COCA COLA

No story of Coca-Cola would be complete without the Coca-Cola glass bottle.

The design for the bottle was created in the early 1900s when the bottlers of
Coca-Cola faced constant threat of imitation of both product and packaging. 'We
need a Coca-Cola bottle which a person will recognise as a Coca-Cola bottle
even if he feels it in the dark. The bottle should be so shaped that, even if
broken, a person could tell at a glance what it was.' (The Coca-Cola bottle
design brief in 1915.)
Today the glass bottle is seen as an icon. An icon is a symbol or image which
directly refers to a specific entity or moment. Acclaimed as one of the most
famous packages, the Coca-Cola glass bottle was re-launched in 1997 in a
unique new format for Britain at "The Coca-Cola Bottle" exhibition at London's
Design Museum.
Coca-Cola also produces the world's most popular flavoured soft drinks: Fanta
and Sprite, as well as diet Coke and Cherry Coke. These products can be mass
marketed across the globe using standard promotions and advertising
campaigns. This dramatically cuts promotional and advertising costs as these
are distributed over a large market area.
As Coca-Cola is the flagship of the Company, more money is spent advertising
and promoting Coke than any of the other drinks. In the United Kingdom, CocaCola advertises all year round.

Advertising is a most effective force in gaining social acceptance for any

product and Coca-Cola has recognised and used this power from its very first
advertisement in 1892.
Over the decades, by emphasising youth and energy, Coca-Cola has created
advertising slogans, or 'straplines' , which are memorable, innovative and still
relevant to the brand today:
1886 - Delicious and Refreshing
1929 - The Pause that Refreshes
1942 - It's the Real Thing, often used since 1942
1963 - Things go Better with Coca-Cola
1971 - I'd like to Teach the World to Sing
1976 - Coke Adds Life
1982 - Coke is It
1989 - Can't Beat the Feeling
1993 - Always Coca-Cola
1996 - Eat Football, Sleep Football, Drink Coca-Cola.

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A CASE STUDY ON BRANDING STRATEGIES OF COCA COLA

Coca-Cola is able to engage in global advertising because the messages created

about its products have a universal appeal. Coca-Cola's powerful brand
personality has become a vehicle for promotion in its own right.
Coca-Cola has provided a platform for a number of highly successful artistic
and sporting events, including the Olympics. The brand has also proven to be
strong enough to support a wide range of branded merchandise bought not only
for its quality, but because it is fashionable.

The relationship Coca-Cola has with sport seeks to advance the development of
sport overall. It aims to make sporting competitions possible by supporting
events for the participation and pleasure of athletes and spectators.
Coca-Cola has a long history of sports sponsorship including the Olympic
Games, football, tennis and Special Olympics. Coca-Cola has been involved
with the Olympic Games since 1928. It has been sponsoring the football World
Cup since 1978 and is actively involved with the Wimbledon Championships.
Coca-Cola's support is at all levels.
In 1993, Coca-Cola became sponsors of The Coca-Cola Cup in England, with
Scotland following in 1994. Support is also provided for the English National
Football Team and the Scottish International Youth Teams with a grass roots
programme for mini-soccer with the Football Association Development
Programme. Through sponsorship in leisure activities, Coca-Cola is able to
combine the promise of refreshment with a sense of thrill, celebration and
passion together with the universal necessity of a healthy, active lifestyle.
Coca-Cola is a global product and can largely be marketed using a global
approach, but the Company also engages in national and regional marketing
strategies which illustrate a recognition of local and cultural differences. The
first advertisement of Coca-Cola was an oil-cloth sign containing the phrase
'Delicious and Refreshing' Now throughout the world, you can see Coca-Cola
advertised in the cinema, on TV, on posters and in magazines.

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A CASE STUDY ON BRANDING STRATEGIES OF COCA COLA

The Coca-Cola Company's overall

advertising strategy is summed up by the phrase 'Think Global, Act Local' Some
campaigns are designed for worldwide use and others developed for individual
markets. In some cases a product is developed for local consumption, such as
Lilt in Great Britain and Ireland.
The 'Always Coca-Cola' campaign theme has been used worldwide to reinforce
the universality of the brand which is 'always' there. However, different
advertisements are also made for each market. This enables Coca-Cola to
choose the most relevant advertisements for its consumers and to choose how
and when they should appear.
In Great Britain, for example, where football is a national passion, 'Eat Football,
Sleep Football, Drink Coca-Cola' is a massively successful advertising
campaign reinforcing the link between Coca-Cola and football while continuing
the brand's support of the game and fans.

Global companies need to generate high levels of profit in order to build on

existing competitive advantages. For example, Coca-Cola needs to continually
build on its brand image through successful advertising, promotion and
provision of value for money products.
The Company requires consistent expansion and development in its distribution
systems. Coca-Cola is able to do this effectively due to its strategy of growth
which has enabled the Company to develop international market leadership.
This case study has illustrated the way in which Coca-Cola has developed a
global mindset which involves utilising working relationships and
understanding cultural structures, thereby identifying global opportunities.
Through manipulating and co-ordinating the tools of branding and advertising
via image and activity, such as through sport sponsorship, The Coca-Cola
Company seeks to provide refreshment for all of the people on the planet - not
just the 20% who currently account for 80% of sales.

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A CASE STUDY ON BRANDING STRATEGIES OF COCA COLA

The team blogged, posted updates on Twitter and took photos at every location,
including when they were delayed in the airport. Limitations of the campaign
included weather delays, lack of infrastructure in certain countries, rules and
regulations as journalists and reporters and health concerns. 32 Videos,
photos and Twitter posts kept those following the campaign updated with the
teams journey. Videos were posted interviewing the locals about what
happiness meant to them. The team discovered that happiness was found in the
little things like the view of a landscape, sports, music, a pizza and a Coke and
spending time with friends and family. A multitude of cultures were represented
and the team had the privilege of learning and spending time with the locals.
The Coca-Cola Co. launched a social media initiative in January 2010, dubbed
Expedition 206. This social media push sent three bloggers on an all expense
paid trip to 206 countries, or as many as they could visit in a year. The number
206 is significant because Coca-Cola products are sold in 206 countries. 21 The
goal of the campaign was to uncover what makes people happy as part of
Coca-Colas Open Happiness campaign. 22 Expedition 206 involved
blogging, posting videos to YouTube and posting updates on Twitter. Part of the
campaign involved the team taking part in events such as the Winter Olympics
in Vancouver and meeting locals in various countries. 23 Finding the three
Open Happiness Ambassadors began when Coca-Cola reached out to its
agencies for social media connoisseurs already within its fan base. 24 The
search began with 60 candidates, which was narrowed to 18. Those 18
candidates were brought to headquarters in Atlanta for interviews, which were
then narrowed into nine and placed in teams of three, and were faced with the
task of promoting themselves to users, who ultimately determined the winning
team. 25 The three bloggers were chosen in an online vote, which ended
November 6, 2009. The contestants used Twitter and Facebook to garner
support. The three bloggers, two men and one woman represented the United
States, Belgium and Mexico.
QUERIES
1. What are the branding strategies adopted by coca cola?
2. How the coca cola campaign helped it to make brand awareness?
3. Suggest the branding strategies for the coca cola to improve its brand image.

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