Current Marketing Stratgies

Current Marketing Strategies

Product

Physical Description/Packaging:

Coca Cola Classic is a non-alcoholic, carbonated beverage consisting of the following ingredients: carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, phosphoric acid, and caffeine. The exact flavor formulations for Coca Cola are not listed as ingredients on the packaging, because this type of proprietary information is highly valuable and must be protected from competitors (cocacola.com). Coca Cola can be purchased in a variety of unit sizes (see Appendix XXX), but canned Coca Cola is the most widely distributed of the package mix. According to Reuters.com, the entire company's package mix for 2004 was 62% cans, 14% 20-ounce, 12% two-liter, and 12% other formats.

Branding/Target Market:

Invented in 1886, Coca Cola has been a part of American culture for almost 120 years. It is the most popular and biggest selling soft drink in history, and its signature red and white logo is one of the most recognizable trademarks in the world (cocacola.com). The Coca Cola brand is such a global powerhouse that it is often identified with the United States as a whole, and for many people, it represents America and American Culture (wikepdia.com). According to the Coca Cola 2004 Annual Report, a focus on increasing immediate consumption is an important brand equity building tool and contributes greatly to overall profits.

Coca Cola currently markets their Classic brand to young, progressive individuals in their mid-teens to late twenty's. Their current advertising has four college-age males as the main characters who are filming a documentary about teens and young adults who are being creative and innovative.

Product Positioning:

According to the Beanstalk Group, Coca Cola is currently positioning their product as a lifestyle drink that is exuberant, youthful and fun (beanstalk.com). Coke plan's to get this image in the minds of consumers through their new "Make it Real" campaign, which evolved from their two-year-old "Real" campaign. Chuck Fruit, the architect of the new campaign, admits that Coke still has no core idea for the brand and that "Make it Real" may evolve if they get ideas from the consumer or have a better idea. He doubts that they will stray away from the current concept (brand week article). According to Mr. Fruit, the use of the word "real" represents authenticity, genuineness, a spirit of optimism, and the product as an uplifting refreshment.

Product Life Cycle/Perceptual Mapping:

Coca Cola Classic is currently in the maturity phase of the product life cycle. An indication that Coke is in this phase is the fact that sales levels are beginning to decline and growth is leveling off (text book). According to Beverage Digest, Coca Cola Classic lost 0.7% of their market share in 2004 and sold 3.0% few cases in that same year. Another indicator is that Coca Cola is making major investment decisions concerning the product's future. According to their 2004 Annual Report, Coca Cola is permanently increasing their budget for marketing and innovation from $350 million to $400 million, of which $123 million is for Coca Cola Classic (RDS Table Base). In the maturity phase, brand loyalty is an important factor, and Coca Cola can definitely attribute brand loyalty and brand equity to a majority of their sales. Our research has shown us that the two most important attributes in a quality soft drink were cold, refreshing temperature and accessibility (taste was third). The perceptual map in Appendix XXX, Graph XXX illustrates how Coca Cola Classic is currently perceived by the respondents in our survey regarding those attributes. Coca Cola is clearly the industry leader in the minds of the consumer, with Pepsi very close behind.

Promotion

Advertising (current campaign examples):

In support of their "Make it Real" campaign, Coca Cola classic is currently running a series of advertisements that feature four college-age males who are filming a documentary about a two-week road trip to find other young people who do more than just sit on the couch and do nothing. This series of commercials has been labeled the "Anthem" ads and supports the central idea of the "Make it Real" platform, which focuses on young adults trying to achieve their dreams (brand week article). In the first commercial, one of the characters says that the documentary is "...a story about being young, taking things into your own hands and doing something bigger than yourself." The anthem ads are replacing a series of girl band ads that ran during the American Idol season. All of the new advertisements end with tag lines, such as "invention," "determination," "dreams," and "connections." These words are then followed by the slogan "Make it Real." Consumers can view these and other ads on the Coca Cola website.

Sales Promotion (current program examples)/Direct Marketing/Personal Selling:

On a national level, Coca Cola is currently running their Coke Music promotion, which a non-price-related sales promotion. By logging on to cokemusic.com, consumers can register to join the site and have access to games, music downloads, chat rooms, blogs, and other multi-media applications. Consumers are also encouraged to create a virtual or V-Egos and enter Coke Studios where they create music, drink virtual Cokes, and fill out weekly surveys. By doing this, members of the site can accumulate "decibels," which can be used to purchase furniture, pictures, or other items for their virtual studio (cokemusic.com). To register for this site, consumers must leave a valid email address and are encouraged to leave their cell phone number and service provider. This allows Coke to utilize direct marketing and send the consumer information about new products, promotions, and other marketing events that the company may be sponsoring. Consumers can also go to the press center section of the website and register to receive email alerts with the same information.

On a local level, Coca Cola classic is currently offering customers discounted tickets to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom and a chance to win a 2006 season pass to the theme park when they purchase a bottle of Coca Cola Classic. During our research, we found no evidence of Coca Cola doing any personal selling. Most of the sales force was used to do business to business selling, such as a distributor selling