Domenico Gianni

CCOM 2000-101 Final Research Paper Coca Cola

Dr. Waters
12/9/2016
Coca-Cola: Taste the Feeling, And Enjoy It.

I. Introduction

Coca-Cola began in 1886 when a pharmacist, named Dr. John S. Pemberton, create a
distinctive tasting soft drink that could be sold at soda fountains. He created a flavored syrup,
took it to his neighborhood pharmacy, where it was mixed with carbonated water. This secret
formula had been deemed excellent by those who sampled it. Dr. Pembertons partner and
bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, came up with the name Coca-Cola as well as designing the
trademarked, distinct script, still used today. As many might say, the rest is history. The Coca-
Cola Company has been able to maintain a stern and successful corporation throughout the years.
The first marketing efforts in Coca-Cola history were executed through coupons. These coupons
were used for promoting free samples of the beverage. Considered an innovative tactic back in
1887, couponing was followed by newspaper advertising and the distribution of promotional
items bearing the Coca-Cola script to participating pharmacies. The Coca-Cola history helps
people understand how this corporation has influenced and revolutionized the values of
stakeholders. A stakeholder is any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the
achievement of the organization (Cornelissen 7.) Coca-Cola is successful because of how they
present themselves to stakeholders, their organizational skills and ability to engage people
with their campaigns, and how they face different crises that need to be dealt with in a
proficient matter of time. Fast forward to the 1970s when Coca-Colas corporation started
producing campaigns that would reflect a brand connected with fun, friends and good times.
Many stakeholders remember the 1971 Hilltop Singers performing Id Like to Buy the World a
Coke, or the 1979 Have a Coke and a Smile commercial featuring a young fan giving
Pittsburgh Steeler, Mean Joe Greene, a refreshing bottle of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola
corporation was doing things that were unheard of at the time. They were innovators. These are
all key examples of how corporate communications is so prevalent and important in our daily
lives. In this paper, I will discuss Coca-Colas Corporate Identity, Branding and
Reputation, Strategic Planning and Campaign Management, and how Coca-Cola deals
with crisis communications.

II. Findings

Corporate Identity, Branding, and Reputation

The Coca-Cola mission statement has summed up what their organization has been trying
to do over the past 100 years. A mission statement is the overriding purposes in line with the
values and expectations of stakeholders (Cornelissen 6.) The Coca Cola Company Mission is:
To refresh the world in mind, body and spirit. To inspire moments of optimism and happiness
through their brands and actions. Since the creation of Coca-Cola, people have deemed it
enjoyable. Coca-Cola has bestowed this into their ideology and shaped their entire organization
to follow this belief. Coca-Colas vision as an organization deals with, people, a portfolio,
partners, the planet, profit, and productivity. The vision of Coca-Cola is the desired future state.
This is the aspiration of the organization (Cornelissen 6.) Their vision is a framework and

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guides every aspect of the business. They want to describe what they need to accomplish for
growth. The first aspect of their vision deals with people, or stakeholders. They want to show
people that Coca-Cola is a place where stakeholders inspire to be the best. They want everyone
involved with the corporation to be as close to perfect in their own way. This is inspiring for any
stakeholder and extremely appealing. The portfolio aspect of the vision deals with Coca-Cola
bringing quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy peoples desires and needs. They also
find that their partners are important when it comes to nurturing a winning network of customers
and suppliers. They want to create a mutual, enduring value. Coca-Cola also cares about the
planet. They want all stakeholders to be responsible and make a difference by helping build and
support a sustainable community. Like any legitimate organization, they value profit. Coca-Cola
wants maximizing long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of their overall
responsibilities. Finally, Coca-Cola values productivity. They want to be highly effective, lean
and a fast moving organization. All of these aspect of their vision want to be incorporated by
Coca-Cola with their corporate identity.
Coca-Colas corporate identity is the profile and values that are communicated
(Cornelissen 76.) Coca-Cola values leadership, collaboration, integrity, accountability, passion,
diversity, and quality. Their values serve as a compass for the actions that describe how they
behave in the world. Coca-Colas corporation has stated that they want to exemplify courage to
shape a better future. They primarily want to focus on external stakeholders. External
stakeholders are entities, not within a business itself, but who care about or are affected by its
performance (Cornelissen 47.) Coca also claims that they want to get out into the market and
listen, observe, and learn.
Coca Cola displays monolithic corporate identity when it comes to corporate brand. A
corporate brand refers to what Coca-Cola is as a structure where all products and services,
buildings, official communication and employee behavior are labeled or branded with the same
company name (Cornelissen 72.) With Coca-Colas corporate brand, they want to inspire
creativity, passion, optimism and fun. Coca Cola is the one brand which is recognized by
everyone around the globe. Coca-Colas brand equity is about value and the stories, memories,
associations, and human connections that are linked with the name. Coca-Cola has an extremely
high brand equity. The corporation wants to make sure that this reputation does not lose its
meaning with stakeholders. The corporate team at Coca-Cola has introduced a new campaign
for this obstacle.
The campaign that Coca Cola has created deals with all inspiration, creativity, passion,
optimism, and fun. Most importantly, it protects the Coca-Colas brand. The strategy behind this
campaign is having a One Brand. Coca-Cola has many products. Some of the more popular
ones are: the original Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Diet Coke, and Coca-Cola Life. With these four
very different products, the corporate team wants to make sure that stakeholders understand that
it is still Coca-Cola at heart. The corporate team decided to re-brand their product to demonstrate
this course of action. They are implementing a unification strategy. They want every single one
of their products to remind all consumers that this is a Coca-Cola product. This new branding
campaign reflects back to Coca-Colas vision that deals with portfolio. They want to bring
quality beverage brands that satisfy peoples desires and needs. Corporate branding and
identity both highlight the distinctiveness of the organization (Cornelissen 72.) They both
complement each other. The organization shows correct communication, symbolism, and
behavior with this new campaign which is the reason why it so successful. Coca Colas

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unification strategy is an attempt to make consumers recognize that all of its products that are
produced belong to one brand. The over-all campaign strategy is a good idea. It demonstrates
consistency of the brand. This campaign is extremely symbolic in the sense that it shows that no
matter how much a product might be different from others, it still holds the Coca-Cola legacy
and name. The product must honor that branding and perform accordingly. This new campaign
will be released in 2017.

In order for a company to maintain a reportable reputation, it is strategically important

for organizations to achieve alignment or transparency (Cornelissen 76.) Coca-Cola
maintains one of the top reputations in the industry. In the Harris Poll, a score of 80 or above
represents excellent reputation. Coca-Cola has maintained a score in this range from the years
1999 to 2014. According to the report, the company has a nearly unmatched show of reputation
consistency. Coca-Cola also came out on top in the financial performance category. Coca-
Cola has engaged in several measures that help people believe in their strong financial
position. It invests money in its communities and has strong product development.

Coca-Cola seems to be exquisite storytellers. This is a great metaphor for a corporate

communications model. They are more than just a soda manufacturing company. Their product
is more than just a beverage. Their product is associated with experience and memories. Their
product creates stories and Coca-Cola wants to explore that concept. Coca-Cola operates like a
media company. This is all owed to the corporation team. It seems that there is no gap between
the vision of the company, and the culture that is within or the image that is without.

Strategic Planning and Campaign Management

A communication strategy involves the formulation of a desired position for the

organization in terms of how it wants to be seen by its different stakeholder groups (Cornelissen
108.) In recent months, Coca-Cola has decided to change their strategy because they desire a
different position that can be seen by stakeholder groups. Coca-Colas previous campaign Open
Happiness, became too preachy according to the global Chief Marketing Officer Marcos de
Quinto. He felt that this campaign was straying away from the Coca-Cola mission. De Quinto
wanted to bring a new campaign to stakeholders; something with more simplicity. He thought
that the campaign Open Happiness did not touch base with the simple pleasures. The
marketing/corporate team decided to create Taste the Feeling. This new strategy depicts the
modest desires and wishes that Coca-Cola can provide for stakeholders. A communication
strategy specifies a strategic intent, on which possible courses of action are formulated,
evaluated and eventually chosen. Coca-Cola felt that a change in strategy was necessary. Their
intent to touch with uncomplicatedness and remind stakeholders of their name. Setting an
enormous brand like Coke on a new marketing course is a massive undertaking and comes as the
brand battles category headwinds, most notably declining soda consumption amid growing
health concerns. Coke remains the top soda brand in the U.S. However, it has not performed with
the same proficiency compared to its past. Coca-Cola has only increased in 0.1% volume growth.
And Diet Coke fell 6.6%, according to the latest full-year data available from Beverage Digest.
For the third quarter of 2015, the company reported 1% global growth in the Coca-Cola

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CCOM 2000-101 Final Research Paper Coca Cola
Dr. Waters
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trademark. This includes a 1% growth for brand Coke, 8% growth for Coke Zero and an 8% drop
for Diet Coke. All of this can be related to the massive shift in demand when it comes to health.
Coca-Cola is, indeed, in a crisis.

Crisis Communications

Coca-Colas past and present actions as a corporation have not been all so perfect. Like
every firm in a specific market, there are ups and downs. Crisis is defined as an event or issue
that requires decisive and immediate action from the organization (Cornelissen 200.) Coca-
Colas corporate team deals with crises very well. That is what makes them extremely successful.
After much research with the company, two examples perfectly personified this organization as
decent, honest, and virtuous. In an industry that does not sell the healthiest drinks, Coca-Cola is
often battling with health activists about the product.
Coca-Cola, as well as many soft drink companies in the industry, have been dealing with
a long fight against health enthusiasts. For years, brands have had a difficult time expressing
their message to the public. Especially nowadays, people are incredibly fit and strive for a
healthier lifestyle by eating good, organic foods, and staying active. Coca-Cola is not a healthy
choice and the company completely understands that. It is important to take their corporate
reputation into consideration with their strategy as a powerful organization. Corporate
reputation is the general evaluation of an organization that leads to a likability and preference
(Cornelissen 7.) Coca-Cola is battling this fight head-on with activists. They have released a
commercial that states Happiness Is Movement. They accept what their brand identity is, and
they refuse to pretend to be something, or someone, they are not. They want to keep their product
the same to stakeholders, but approach a different direction when it comes to a change in
lifestyle. This is an excellent performance by the Corporate Public Relations department. They
are displaying integrity and courage by addressing the issue in a professional manner. Coca-
Colas PR team wants to take ownership of who they are as an organization, and understand their
corporate personality. The internal audience understand they are not healthy, and they are not
making any claim. This shows integrity within the organization. In response to these allegations
purposed by health enthusiasts, Coca-Cola has stated that it is perfectly healthy as long as you
are moving. Coca-Cola is not stating any false claim. They are defending the product at risk and
giving customers a reason to buy. An important implication to understand is that the Coca-Cola
Public Relations team is informing and educating the consumers for a further purchase. Coca-
Cola understands what exactly is their product. They do not have any desire to change it.
However, they are focusing on bringing in new stakeholders (health enthusiasts.) Another
implication that is important is that the Releasing of this commercial to the public is all about
timing. Coca-Cola realizes that the world of demand is shifting to a healthier and active lifestyle.
This is a way for the corporation to adapt. The key to dealing with a crisis is adaptation. By
releasing this commercial now, compared to five years ago where it would not make sense, they
are playing to the tune of a new customer that they want to explore. It is a new outlook with the
same formula/product. The PR team is looking to reach a specific group. An advantage to
Public Relations is it has the ability to reach out to different groups and demographics. Coca-
Cola is already one of the top companies in the world. However, they want to become an option
for a healthier lifestyle. The PR team sees the direction that stakeholders are taking, and they

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want the Coca-Cola company to not get left behind. One could argue that this crisis is classified
as Faux pas, or false step. It generally means that there is a violation of accepted, although
unwritten, social rules and expectations. There is an unwritten rule that states everyone should be
healthy and have an active lifestyle. By consuming this product, stakeholders are not choosing to
follow that rule. This puts Coca-Cola under pressure and a crisis has been created.

The next example which deals with crisis communication and Coca-Cola allocates the
campaign Vitaminwater. This campaign is part of a communication strategy which involves the
formulation of a desired position for the organization in terms of how it wants to be seen by its
different stakeholder groups (Cornelissen 109.) This Coca-Cola campaign is part of the strategy
that wants to close the gap between the corporate reputation and how the company wants to be
seen. Coca-Cola has claimed Vitaminwater as a vitamin and mineral enhanced beverage. They
used words such as defense, rescue, and endurance, to advertise the drink. The Center for
Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) filed a lawsuit against Coca-Cola for its deceptive
advertising of Vitaminwater. While Coca-Cola agreed to change some of its labeling and
marketing of Vitaminwater, the CSPI believes misleading claims regarding the sugary beverage
are far from resolved. Coca-Cola argued in its defense that no reasonable person could be misled
into thinking Vitaminwater was a "healthy drink," despite label names listed above to describe
the drink for its different flavors of water. This is completely against advertising substantiation.
Advertising substantiation means that corporations needs to substantiate all claims before they
can advertise it. Consumers and nonprofit organizations are upset because of the false
accusations that Coca-Cola stated on the brand of the product. Non-profit organizations want
consumers to contest Coca-Colas $1.2 million initial settlement because of the misleading
advertisement and labeling. This results with consumers potentially being awarded cash
compensation. External stakeholders feel cheated. They claim that it was unfair that they were
promised benefits. While this case is incredibly ridiculous and illogical, the corporate team at
Coca-Cola needed to address it. It is important to remember that no matter how ridiculous a
crisis may be, it is still a crisis to the corporation and needs to be address. Vitaminwater cannot
produce defense or rescue. But nevertheless, this crisis must be fixed. The Center of Public
Interest (CPSI) wants Coca-Cola to change the name of the product and prevent them from using
word in advertising that might suggest the drink is healthy. Coca-Cola settled the case with a
$1.2 million agreement. Coca-Cola agreed to some limitations and decided to display a text on
the label that advises consumers to see the Nutrition Label on the back of the product. An
important implication to understand is that trust and confidence is the key for succeeding with
consumers. The product will sell itself if the company behind it can display truthful and honest
claims. Because of the misleading labels and false advertisement, there is a mistrust between the
external stakeholder and Coca Cola. This trust will not be easily won back and has permanently
changed the perception of the brand for some consumers.
This entire crisis could have been avoided if the corporate team (more specifically the
advertisement team, as well) did not make false truth-claims that result with deceptive
advertisement. The Center of Public Interest (CPSI) had issues with Vitaminwaters claims that
the drink could promote healthy joints, support immune systems, and reduce risk of eye disease.
In reality, the drink had a huge amount of sugar. This requires the corporation to have supporting
documentation for their claims and to prove these claims are true for any product that is
manufactured and sold. Coca-Cola fell short with supplying any documentation that

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CCOM 2000-101 Final Research Paper Coca Cola
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Vitaminwater would benefit the consumers health. Because of this false claim, Coca-Cola
received an extremely expensive punishment. Understanding that a crisis, regardless of the
content, is still a crisis. And if gone unaddressed, that crisis will result with in a very expensive
settlement or punishment.

III. Conclusion

In conclusion, Coca-Cola is the perfect corporation to follow when trying to understand

how an organization operates and handles business. They have an impeccable corporate team
because of how they present themselves to stakeholders, their organizational skills and ability to
engage people with their campaigns, and how they face different crises that need to be dealt with
in a proficient matter of time. It is extremely difficult to work for a huge corporation like Coca-
Cola. So much can go wrong so fast. Displaying organizational communications is a great
method with keeping ventures running smoothly. Coca-Cola is able to keep a confident,
consistent and good reputation with stakeholders. Their campaigns are centered around the
audience. Since the Coca-Cola business started, their main priority was including the
stakeholders on their journey. Coca-Colas very first stakeholder created the signature logo and
name of the product. This is a perfect symbol for what Coca-Cola is trying to do with the
products they sell. It has always been about engagement. Sometimes, crises happen. But when
they do, Coca-Cola teaches people that you should address them head on and always keep true to
yourself and your values.

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CCOM 2000-101 Final Research Paper Coca Cola
Dr. Waters
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