Brand management defenation Brand management involves a number of important aspects such as cost, customer satisfaction, in-store presentation,

and competition. Brand management is built on a marketing foundation, but focuses directly on the brand and how that brand can remain favorable to customers. Proper brand management can result in higher sales of not only one product, but on other products associated with that brand. For example, if a customer loves Pillsbury biscuits and trust. the brand, he or she is more likely to try other products offered by the company such as chocolate chip cookies. Brand management is Disciplines > Brand management > Brand management is The total approach | Creating the promise | Making the promise | Keeping the promise The total approach Brand management starts with understanding what 'brand' really means. This begins with the leaders of the company who define the brand and control its management. It also reaches all the way down the company and especially to the people who interface with customers or who create the products which customers use. Brand management performed to its full extent means starting and ending the management of the whole company through the brand. It is simply far too important to leave to the marketing department. The CEO should be (and, in fact, always is) the brand leader of the company. Creating the promise Creating the promise means defining the brand. A good brand promise is memorable and desirable. It cannot be effective if nobody remembers it, and is no good either if nobody wants it! A good brand promise evokes feelings, because feelings drive actions. Volvo offers feelings of safety. Mustang offers feelings of excitement. The promise must be unique and identified with you alone. Within an industry, promises can be very close, but if you want any hope of success, you must stake out the very specific territory of your promise and know clearly how it is different from the promises of other firms. The right promise is not just something you make up on a Friday afternoon. It comes through a deep understanding of your marketplace and your customers. It also comes from a deep understanding of the capabilities and motivations of the people in your company. Creating a promise you cannot consistently keep, year after year, is plain suicide. Making the promise Once you have created the promise, the next (and not so trivial) step is to somehow inject it into the minds of your customers, your staff and everyone who receives anything from you or has any impact on what you deliver. This is where marketing people come into their own. Although it is still not their sole preserve, a large part of marketing, which includes advertising and PR, is about positioning the company and its products in the minds of customers and against your competitors. Keeping the promise

Creating and making the right promise is one thing, but then you have to keep it. If you do not, you brand will still exist, but now the promise will be of slipshod products and inconsistent delivery. Keeping promises means managing capability. It means consistent processes that are capable of delivering what is required. It means technology and systems which are reliable and usable. It means motivated people who are willing and able to deliver the goods. A function of marketing that uses techniques to increase the perceived value of a product line or brand over time. Effective brand management enables the price of products to go up and builds loyal customers through positive brand associations and images or a strong awareness of the brand. Developing a strategic plan to maintain brand equity or gain brand value requires a comprehensive understanding of the brand, its target market and the company's overall vision. Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brand-management.asp#ixzz1yQ0tMOYk

Brand Management

Overview
Brand management is difficult to define because the actual job description varies widely across the vast universe of consumer products companies. Many CPG companies have at least one thing in common, though: Theyre part of huge conglomerates that produce many name-brand products. Size gives them economies of scale, and a diversity of products gives them protection against down cycles. Which is not to say that small mom-and-pop, mailorder pickle-and-jam companies dont crop up every now and then and make a serious go of it. They do. They arent where the majority of the jobs are, however-at least, not until Unilever or Nestl takes them over. The basic analogy for brand management is that brands are treated like businesses within the company, and brand managers are essentially small business owners. The job involves:

.Monitoring the competitive landscape of the category in which your brand resides. . Developing strategies to exploit market opportunities. . Executing those strategies with the help of a cross-functional team. . Delivering the sales volume, market share, and profit projections for the business.

Brand managers craft elegant business plans and submit them to senior management. Then, when the price of the key ingredient in their product goes through the roof because of locust plagues, they rewrite the business plan from scratch with many more contingencies. They focus on the minutiae of a daily sales-volume report, and they dream big dreams when its time to update the vision for the brand. They approach upper-level management for capital to fund a new product launch or a line extension in much the same way that small business owners go to venture capitalists or banks to fund expansion.
Requirements

Brand management is considered part of the marketing function, and most aspiring brand managers have had some experience in advertising, promotions, or sales. However, consumer packaged goods companies are very interested in candidates who have honed their analytical and leadership skills in other disciplines, including consulting, investment banking, or strategic planning. If you have no previous experience in marketing, a summer internship can be enormously helpful. Many companies offer summer internships, which often result in a job offer after graduation. Recruiters look for leadership, analytical skills, problem solving ability, teamwork, and creativity. Successful applicants should have at least an undergraduate degree in business, liberal arts, or a related field. Philosophy majors and engineers are equally welcome to apply, if they can demonstrate skills in the five areas just mentioned. Most companies look for candidates with at least a 3.5 GPA. The more work experience and leadership and teamwork experience (in a sorority/fraternity, school club, or sports team) you can show, the better.
Job Outlook

Record-high gasoline prices and generic competitors able to cheaply replicate brand name goods have stuck CPG companies between a rock and a hard place. These market pressures have led to budget cuts, weakened revenues, and stock declines. Recent product price increases at Campbell Soup, Starbucks, Hershey Foods, Clorox, and General Mills attest to the strain large consumer products companies are under to remain profitable. Yet, at most companies, the increased competition has made brand management more valuable than ever. Brand management was once an exotic practice known only to the CPG industry, but now companies in a wide array of industries are finding value in well-managed brands. Companies are also finding branding useful in more corporate functions. Human resources departments are fretting over the internal branding needed to attract employees and keep them loyal. The boom in new ways to reach consumers-video on the web, satellite radio, and blogs to name the most recent-also requires brand managers to keep pumping branding messages through the endless capillaries of media. And thanks to these increased venues for marketing, as well as more uses for branding within companies and in more industries, job opportunities for brand managers have expanded.

Employment in the field of marketing is expected to increase faster than average-at over 27 percent- through 2014. The BLS says this sustained job growth will be supported by increasingly intense domestic and global competition in consumer products and services. It also cautions budding marketers, however, to expect increased competition for full-time corporate marketing positions as marketing projects (including brand management) are increasingly outsourced to ad agencies and contract specialists. Brand managers who were able to hang onto their jobs through the most recent recession have been forced to work with drastically reduced budgets, leaving them hard-pressed to deliver the major product wins they need to advance their companies-and careers. On the other hand, brand managers with specialized scientific or industry expertise may find they are better poised to land plum positions with major ad agencies as the economy continues on an upswing.
Career Tracks

The career track at most companies features plenty of opportunities for cross-functional experience and varied work assignments. At some companies, experience in functions other than marketing has become a prerequisite for advancement. One brand management professional reports that in her 25- year career at Procter & Gamble, she has held seven different jobs in departments ranging from marketing to cost accounting to corporate recruiting. 4

Despite flexibility in career path development, there are clearly defined entry-level positions: marketing analyst (undergraduates), assistant brand manager (MBAs), or sales representative (undergraduates). The path from marketing analyst to assistant brand manager to brand manager is a progression from executing to developing strategy. Continuing along the path involves a shift from participating in cross-functional teams to leading them, and from monitoring a business budget to assuming profit and loss responsibility. At some point along this path, most companies send aspiring managers out into the field for extensive sales training, a.k.a. the reality check.

The annals of brand management are full of tales of brilliant strategy that the sales force couldnt execute in a store. In general, marketing analysts support multiple small businesses or one big one; assistant brand managers run a small business; and brand managers manage one large business or a portfolio of two or three smaller ones. Marketing directors, a catchall term for the levels beyond brand manager, oversee a major portfolio of brands.
Marketing Analyst

The marketing analyst or assistant position is the entry level for recent college graduates. Supporting a few brand managers or assistant brand managers, a marketing analyst must balance tasks to keep everybody smiling. You may work on one major brand (say, Diet Coke) or a group of smaller brands. Most of your work will involve poring through reams of data. Yes, you will have the opportunity to sit in on divisional meetings and strategy sessions, but the bulk of your work will be more tactical, a euphemism for number crunching. Know how to balance a budget? Yearn to construct a competitive analysis? Ever wonder who tracks how many premiums consumers order? Duties such as these will soon consume your life. Successful marketing analysts execute assignments efficiently and accurately. Big-picture strategy work comes later. Typical Responsibilities: . Assist in business reviews, including competitive analysis . Benchmark competitors . Manage budgets . Proofread advertising copy . Run errands . Get signatures

. Inventory the supply closet . Teach the divisional VP how to make PowerPoint slides Assistant Brand Manager With MBA in hand, youre ready to conquer the world. Sorry, but youll have to postpone those grandiose plans. For now, youll spend anywhere from two to four years discovering the wonderful world of consumer product marketing and learning the way business is done at your chosen company. As an assistant brand manager, its your job to coordinate the various marketing functions-including packaging, advertising, promotions, and public relations-to execute the marketing plan. The good news is that you are the one person at the company ultimately responsible for that one product. The bad news is that the buck stops at your desk. In the course of executing the marketing plan, you will head up a number of cross-functional teams that work on various parts of your business. For example, a product improvement project may bring together R&D, marketing research, packaging, finance, and operations. A change in your consumer promotion plan might require a coordinated effort between representatives from promotions and operations. Operations? You dont want to change the dates on a coupon drop without checking with operations to ensure that the factory is producing enough product to cover the increased demand.

Dont worry, you will have an opportunity to develop marketing plans of your own, but a tremendous amount of your time is spent carrying out the previous managers big ideas and responding to directives from upper management. Youll understand your place in a big company very clearly after your marketing director slashes your carefully crafted consumer promotion plan in the back half of the year to cover the costs of a coupon redemption overrun on another brand in her portfolio. Assistant brand managers shift gears all day long. One minute theyre brainstorming new promotion ideas, the next theyre wading through monthly volume projections.
Typical Responsibilities:

. Lead cross-functional teams that carry out the daily work on the business

. Manage marketing analysts and administrative assistants . Develop marketing plan to review brand performance and meet volume and profit
projections

. Participate in the life of the company by interviewing prospective candidates, attending recruiting functions, sitting on planning committees, and volunteering in corporate outreach programs . Demonstrate leadership and analytical skills to senior management . Manage qualitative and quantitative market research projects
Brand Manager

Congratulations! Youre now responsible for the performance of a major brand or a portfolio of two to three smaller brands. You also take on additional responsibilities at the business unit, division, or corporate level. These responsibilities might range from serving on a companywide task force that is reviewing trade spending across different brands to leading the recruiting team at your alma mater. You are also responsible for the performance of the marketing analysts and assistant brand managers who work on
your business.

In fact, at some companies, up to 50 percent of managers performance evaluations can be devoted to assessing their contribution to their subordinates development. In addition to an increase in salary, freshly minted brand managers often receive attractive performance incentives that tie year-end bonuses to a combination of their brands performance and the companys performance. Critics argue that these performance incentives lead managers to sacrifice long-term brand-building initiatives in favor of short-term profit-taking, but no one predicts a change any time soon.
Typical Responsibilities:

. Assume leadership of the cross-functional team working on a major brand or group of smaller brands, and accept profit and loss responsibility for the business . Segue from executing tactics to developing strategy to selling it to senior management . Participate in companywide initiatives, such as steering committees and policy review boards . Manage assistant brand managers, analysts, and administrative assistants

Marketing Director

Ready to run a business? Then youre right on track to become a marketing director. In this role, youll be responsible for a whole business unit, guiding overall strategy by coordinating the efforts of brand managers and assistant brand managers and ensuring that the brand teams remain focused on the key strategic issues. Its your job to communicate with the executive wing, and to ensure that your brands receive the resources and capital they need to grow. Because youre responsible for the business units P&L (thats profit and loss), the workload can be heavy at times, but your generous compensation package justifies the effort. Youll be expected to make big-picture entrepreneurial decisions as a marketing director, and your company will hold you responsible for the outcomes of those decisions. As a marketing director, youll make key contacts in ad agencies, the media, consulting firms, your industry, and the marketing field in general, and these contacts will serve you well as an entrepreneur or consultant. Through them youll gain access to the services, people, research, ideas, and exposure you need to make your own company or consulting ventures successful. A marketing director position is one of the best-paid, most rewarding opportunities for on-the-job training youll find in the business world.
Typical Responsibilities:

. Strategy development for entire business unit and/or product division . Managing portfolio of brands, and shouldering profit and loss responsibility for the business . Budget allocation and oversight, with responsibility to reallocate resources as necessary to track financial goals across a brand portfolio . Managing a team of brand managers and assistants responsible for cross-functional teams that develop and implement appropriate brand strategies . Determine acceptable business unit profit and loss, and make course corrections, where needed, to track financial and strategic corporate positioning goals
Editorial objectives

Journal of Product & Brand Management is an academic journal written for both practitioners and scholars. The objective of the journal is to publish articles that enrich the practice of product and brand management while simultaneously making significant contributions to knowledge of product and brand issues.
Editorial criteria

Manuscripts must offer meaningful implications and recommendations for practitioners, but also must be conceptually or theoretically sound and offer significant research findings or insights. Where manuscripts report the findings of original research, the methodology and findings should be scientifically defensible and presented clearly and to the extent that readers with limited backgrounds in research methods and statistical analyses are not discouraged from reading the article. Research is not the only basis for an acceptable article. Case analyses, book reviews, and other thought-provoking manuscripts are encouraged. Article cases of an international nature are especially welcome. The editorial goal is to create a journal of relevance to an international audience. To do this we seek articles from all parts of the world. Particularly welcome are manuscripts which address product and brand issues from the perspective of comparative international markets. In Brand Management, if Apple's the New P&G, What the Hell is P&G? If theres any doubt whos the best brand manager on the planet, consider the hysteria brewing over the iPhone 5. Will it be taller? Thinner? Will its screen be four inches or 3.5999? Whats that tiny mystery opening next to the lens? Is this photo real or fake anyway? iPhone 5 isnt expected out till the fourth quarter but the level of interest no, breathlessness over the slightest possible deviation from past models has got to make it the biggest, baddest product line extension in marketing history. Think about it. Other companies couldnt pay to gin up this kind of buzz. All Apple (AAPL) does is shut up make really good stuff and try to keep a lid on it. Its pure marketing genius. Its whats made Apple todays Procter & Gamble (PG) a beacon to marketers everywhere.

data by YCharts But if Apples the new P&G, whats P&G? A brand management machine, right? Nope. While Apples been single-mindedly focused on improving products, P&G has been frenetically trying to grow in every possible direction. Until last week, CEO Bob McDonalds growth strategy has been to expand distribution beyond its 180-plus countries, up and down all price points, into all seven major retail channels (from four); filling out its product lines to be, on average, in 24 product categories in each country versus 19. In short, as Bob McDonald explained, in last years 10-K, if you grow something this big just a little bit in any direction theres bound to be a nice bump to the bottom line. Whats missing? The very feature that made P&G unique (marketing 101): fastidious Brand Management. The kind of attention to detail that goes into an iPhone or makes Tide, Tide . . . odd, Bob McDonald, a P&G lifer, was once brand manager of Tide. Last quarter, something unheard of happened at P&G. It lost global market share in most of its major product segment categories. It got a bump all right but in developing markets, which wasnt enough to offset volume declines in big, slow but critically big developed markets. Those are the ones hardest to budge especially with boring stuff people take for granted even if its Tide, Crest, Charmin. As P&G raised prices in mature markets, volumes fell. The outcome was an unfortunate negative mix that reduced net income 15% to $2.4 billion. Net sales rose 2%, to $20.2 billion, 5% of which was pricing. At a company like P&G, this IS brand management a balancing act of pricing, advertising, promotion and distribution and its why focused brand management matters. If your product isnt an iPhone, youd better know how to tweak price without losing share. Since the quarter ended, P&G has rolled back prices yet again.
AAPL Revenues TTM

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data by YCharts Bob McDonald is a big believer in innovation, as reflected in P&Gs $2 billion annual R&D budget that he likes to point out exceeds most of its competitors budgets combined. Our experience has proven that price promotion may win a quarter here and there, but innovation wins decades, he explained in last years annual report. But innovation also takes focus. And while P&G has some hits, single serve Tide pods arent iPods. The third quarter performance (including rising costs and contracting margins) was apparently the wakeup call that triggered a major change of direction announced last week. At the Citigroup (C) Global Consumer Conference, CFO Jon Moeller unveiled some major adjustments to the Bob McDonald Purpose-driven growth plan namely a halt to expansion until the company gets a grip. See here for YCharts recent look at the P&G dividend situation.
PG Revenues TTM

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data by YCharts In retrospect we may have overextended ourselves a bit with the pace of our portfolio and geographic expansions, he said. So its back to basics with all the focus on core markets, starting with an assessment of the nitty gritty price points, product portfolios, innovation, marketing support to determine whether theyre getting adequate resources and attention. We will not spend a dollar outside of our core businesses until we are broadly sufficient to win in these markets, he said. Page 1 2 Next Page
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4. Brand management is the application of marketing techniques to a specific product, product line, or brand. The discipline of brand management was started at Procter & Gamble as a result of a famous memo[1] by Neil H. McElroy.[2] 4.1Product (business) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search In general, the product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort"[1] or the "result of an act or a process",[2] and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prdce(re) '(to) lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced.[3] Since 1695, the word has referred to "thing or things produced".[4] In economics and commerce , products belong to a broader category of goods. The economic meaning of product was first used by political economist Adam Smith. In marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or need.[5] In retailing, products are called merchandise . In manufacturing, products are purchased as raw materials and sold as finished goods. Commodities are usually raw materials such as metals and agricultural products, but a commodity can also be anything widely available in the open market. In project management, products are the formal definition of the project deliverables that make up or contribute to delivering the objectives of the project. In insurance, the policies are considered products offered for sale by the insurance company that created the contract. A related concept is subproduct, a secondary but useful result of a production process. Dangerous products, particularly physical ones, that cause injuries to consumers or bystanders may be subject to product liability. Contents
1 Product classification 1.1 By use

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1.2 By association 1.3 National and international product classifications 2 Model 3 See also 4 Footnotes Product classification PRODUCT' can be classified as tangible or intangible.

A tangible product is a physical object that can be perceived by touch such as a building, vehicle, gadget, or clothing. An intangible product is a product that can only be perceived indirectly such as an insurance policy. Intangible Data Products can further be classified into Virtual Digital Goods ("VDG") that are virtually located on a computer OS and accessible to users as conventional file types, such as JPG and MP3 files, without requiring further application process or transformational work by programmers, and as such the use may be subject to licence and/or rights of digital transfer, and Real Digital Goods ("RDG") that may exist within the presentational elements of a data program independent of a conventional file type, commonly viewed as 3-D objects or a presentational item subject to user control or virtual transfer within the same visual media program platform. Open Source Code, GNU Linux, or even Android, may manipulate and/or convert base Virtual Digital Goods ("VDG") into process-oriented Real Digital Goods ("RDG"), as part of an application process or manufactured service that may be viewed on Personal Data Assistant ("PDA") or other hand-held tangible devices or OS computer.
By use

In its online product catalog, retailer Sears, Roebuck and Company divides its products into "departments", then presents products to potential shoppers according to (1) function or (2) brand.[6] Each product has a Sears item-number and a manufacturer's model-number. Sears uses the departments and product groupings with the intention of helping customers browse products by function or brand within a traditional Raj department-store structure.[7]
By association

A product line is "a group of products that are closely related, either because they function in a similar manner, are sold to the same customer groups, are marketed through the same types of outlets, or fall within given price ranges."[8] Many businesses offer a range of product lines which may be unique to a single organization or may be common across the business's industry. In 2002 the US Census compiled revenue figures for the finance and insurance industry by various product lines such as "accident, health and medical insurance premiums" and "income from secured consumer loans".[9] Within the insurance industry, product lines are indicated by the type of risk coverage, such as auto insurance , commercial insurance and life insurance .[10]
National and international product classifications

Various classification systems for products have been developed for economic statistical purposes. The NAFTA signatories are working on a system that classifies products called NAPCS as a companion to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).[11] The European Union uses a "Classification of Products by Activity" among other product classifications.[12] The United Nations also classifies products for international economic activity reporting.[13] The Aspinwall Classification System [14][15]classifies and rates products based on five variables: Replacement rate (How frequently is the product repurchased?) 14

Gross margin (How much profit is obtained from each product?) Buyer goal adjustment (How flexible are the buyers' purchasing habits with regard to this product?) Duration of product satisfaction (How long will the product produce benefits for the user?) Duration of buyer search behavior (How long will consumers shop for the product?) The National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP)[16] developed a commodity and services classification system for use by state and local governments, the NIGP Code.[17] The NIGP Code is used by 33 states within the United States as well as thousands of cities, counties and political subdivisions. The NIGP Code is a hierarchical schema consisting of a 3 digit class, 5 digit class-item, 7 digit class-item-group and an 11 digit class-item-groupdetail.[18] Applications of the NIGP Code include vendor registration, inventory item identification, contract item management, spend analysis and strategic sourcing.raj
Model

A manufacturer usually provides an identifier for each particular type of product they make, known as a model, model variant, or model number. For example, Dyson Ltd, a manufacturer of appliances (mainly vacuum cleaners), requires customers to identify their model in the support section of the website.[19] Brand and model can be used together to identify products in the market. The model number is not necessarily the same as the manufacturer part number (MPN).[20] A specific unit of a product is usually identified by a serial number.
4.2

Product lining is the marketing strategy of offering for sale several related products. Unlike product bundling, where several products are combined into one, lining involves offering several related products individually. A line can comprise related products of various sizes, types, colors, qualities, or prices. Line depth refers to the number of product variants in a line. Line consistency refers to how closely related the products that make up the line are. Line vulnerability refers to the percentage of sales or profits that are derived from only a few products in the line. The number of different product lines sold by a company is referred to as width of product mix. The total number of products sold in all lines is referred to as length of product mix. If a line of products is sold with the same brand name, this is referred to as family branding. When you add a new product to a line, it is referred to as a line extension. When you add a line extension that is of better quality than the other products in the line, this is referred to as trading up or brand leveraging. When you add a line extension that is of lower quality than the other products of the line, this is referred to as trading down. When you trade down, you will likely reduce your brand equity. You are gaining short-term sales at the expense of long term sales. Image anchors are highly promoted products within a line that define the image of the whole line. Image anchors are usually from the higher end of the line's range. When you add a new product within the current range of an incomplete line, this is referred to as line filling. Price lining is the use of a limited number of prices for all your product offerings. This is a tradition started in the old five and dime stores in which everything cost either 5 or 10 cents. Its underlying rationale is that these amounts are seen as suitable price points for a whole range of products by prospective customers. It has the advantage of ease of administering, but the disadvantage of inflexibility, particularly in times of inflation or unstable prices.

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There are many important decisions about product and service development and marketing. In the process of product development and marketing we should focus on strategic decisions about product attributes, product branding, product packaging and labeling and product support services. But product strategy also calls for building a product line.
See also Brand Brand management Halo effect Marketing Product management Product line extensions 4.3

Brand From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Brand (disambiguation) . "Marque" redirects here. For other uses, see Marque (disambiguation) .

The Coca-Cola logo is an example of a widely-recognized trademark and global brand.

Marketing

Key concepts
Product marketing Pricing Distribution Service Retail Brand management Account-based marketing Ethics Effectiveness Research Segmentation Strategy Activation Management Dominance Marketing operations

Promotional contents
Advertising Branding Underwriting spot Direct marketing Personal sales Product placement Publicity

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Sales promotion Sex in advertising Loyalty marketing Mobile marketing Premiums Prizes

Promotional media
Printing Publication Broadcasting Out-of-home advertising Internet Point of sale Merchandise Digital marketing In-game advertising Product demonstration Word-of-mouth Brand ambassador Drip marketing Visual merchandising v t e

A brand is a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."[1] Branding began as a way to tell one person's cattle from another by means of a hot iron stamp. A modern example of a brand is Coca Cola which belongs to the Coca-Cola Company. Marque[2] or make[3] are often used to denote a brand of motor vehicle. A concept brand is a brand that is associated with an abstract concept, like breast cancer awareness or environmentalism, rather than a specific product, service, or business. A commodity brand is a brand associated with a commodity. Got milk? is an example of a commodity brand. Contents
1 History 2 Concepts 2.1 Brand awareness 2.2 Brand elements 2.3 Global brand 3 Benefits of global branding 4 Global brand variables 4.1 Brand name 4.1.1 Types of brand names 4.2 Brand identity 4.3 Visual brand identity 4.4 Brand trust 4.5 Brand parity 5 Expanding role of brand 6 Branding approaches 6.1 Company name 6.2 Individual branding 6.3 Attitude branding and iconic brands 6.4 "No-brand" branding

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6.5 Derived brands 6.6 Brand extension and brand dilution 6.7 Multi-brands 6.8 Private labels 6.9 Individual and organizational brands 6.10 Crowdsourcing branding 6.11 Nation branding (place branding and public diplomacy) 7 See also 8 References 9 Bibliography History The word "brand" is derived from the Old Norse brandr

meaning "to burn." It refers to the practice of producers burning their mark (or brand) onto their products.[4] The Italians were among the first to use brands, in the form of watermarks on paper in the 1200s.[5] Although connected with the history of trademarks[6] and including earlier examples which could be deemed "protobrands" (such as the marketing puns of the "Vesuvinum" wine jars found at Pompeii),[7] brands in the field of mass-marketing originated in the 19th century with the advent of packaged goods. Industrialization moved the production of many household items, such as soap, from local communities to centralized factories. When shipping their items, the factories would literally brand their logo or insignia on the barrels used, extending the meaning of "brand" to that of trademark. Bass & Company , the British brewery, claims their red triangle brand was the world's first trademark. Lyles Golden Syrup makes a similar claim, having been named as Britain's oldest brand, with its green and gold packaging having remained almost unchanged since 1885. Another example comes from Antiche Fornaci Giorgi in Italy, whose bricks are stamped or carved with the same proto-logo since 1731, as found in Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Cattle were branded long before this. The term "maverick," originally meaning an unbranded calf, comes from Texas rancher Samuel Augustus Maverick whose neglected cattle often got loose and were rounded up by his neighbors. The word spread among cowboys and came to be applied to unbranded calves found out wandering alone [8]. Even the signatures on paintings of famous artists like Leonardo Da Vinci can be viewed as an early branding tool. Factories established during the Industrial Revolution introduced mass-produced goods and needed to sell their products to a wider market, to customers previously familiar only with locally-produced goods. It quickly became apparent that a generic package of soap had difficulty competing with familiar, local products. The packaged goods manufacturers needed to convince the market that the public could place just as much trust in the nonlocal product. Campbell soup, Coca-Cola, Juicy Fruit gum, Aunt Jemima, and Quaker Oats were among the first products to be 'branded', in an effort to increase the consumer's familiarity with their products. Many brands of that era, such as Uncle Ben's rice and Kellogg's breakfast cereal furnish illustrations of the problem. Around 1900, James Walter Thompson published a house ad explaining trademark advertising. This was an early commercial explanation of what we now know as branding. Companies soon adopted slogans, mascots, and jingles that began to appear on radio and early television. By the 1940s,[9] manufacturers began to recognize the way in which consumers were developing relationships with their brands in a social/psychological/anthropological sense.

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From there, manufacturers quickly learned to build their brand's identity and personality (see brand identity and brand personality), such as youthfulness, fun or luxury. This began the practice we now know as "branding" today, where the consumers buy "the brand" instead of the product. This trend continued to the 1980s, and is now quantified in concepts such as brand value and brand equity. Naomi Klein has described this development as "brand equity mania".[10] In 1988, for example, Philip Morris purchased Kraft for six times what the company was worth on paper; it was felt that what they really purchased was its brand name. Marlboro Friday: April 2, 1993 - marked by some as the death of the brand[10] - the day Philip Morris declared that they were cutting the price of Marlboro cigarettes by 20% in order to compete with bargain cigarettes. Marlboro cigarettes were noted at the time for their heavy advertising campaigns and well-nuanced brand image. In response to the announcement Wall street stocks nose-dived[10] for a large number of branded companies: Heinz, Coca Cola, Quaker Oats, PepsiCo. Many thought the event signalled the beginning of a trend towards "brand blindness" (Klein 13), questioning the power of "brand value."
Concepts

Proper branding can result in higher sales of not only one product, but on other products associated with that brand. For example, if a customer loves Pillsbury biscuits and trust the brand, he or she is more likely to try other products offered by the company such as chocolate chip cookies. Brand is the personality that identifies a product, service or company (name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them) and how it relates to key constituencies: customers, staff, partners, investors etc. Some people distinguish the psychological aspect, brand associations like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and so on that become linked to the brand, of a brand from the experiential aspect. The experiential aspect consists of the sum of all points of contact with the brand and is known as the brand experience. The brand experience is a brand's action perceived by a person. The psychological aspect, sometimes referred to as the brand image, is a symbolic construct created within the minds of people, consisting of all the information and expectations associated with a product, service or the company(ies) providing them. People engaged in branding seek to develop or align the expectations behind the brand experience, creating the impression that a brand associated with a product or service has certain qualities or characteristics that make it special or unique. A brand is therefore one of the most valuable elements in an advertising theme, as it demonstrates what the brand owner is able to offer in the marketplace. The art of creating and maintaining a brand is called brand management. Orientation of the whole organization towards its brand is called brand orientation. The brand orientation is developed in responsiveness to market intelligence. Careful brand management seeks to make the product or services relevant to the target audience. Brands should be seen as more than the difference between the actual cost of a product and its selling price - they represent the sum of all valuable qualities of a product to the consumer. A brand which is widely known in the marketplace acquires brand recognition. When brand recognition builds up to a point where a brand enjoys a critical mass of positive sentiment in the marketplace, it is said to have achieved brand franchise. Brand recognition is most successful when people can state a brand without being explicitly 19

exposed to the company's name, but rather through visual signifiers like logos, slogans, and colors.[11] For example, Disney has been successful at branding with their particular script font (originally created for Walt Disney's "signature" logo), which it used in the logo for go.com. Consumers may look on branding as an aspect of products or services, as it often serves to denote a certain attractive quality or characteristic (see also brand promise). From the perspective of brand owners, branded products or services also command higher prices. Where two products resemble each other, but one of the products has no associated branding (such as a generic, store-branded product), people may often select the more expensive branded product on the basis of the quality of the brand or the reputation of the brand owner.
Brand awareness

Brand awareness refers to customers' ability to recall and recognize the brand under different conditions and link to the brand name, logo, jingles and so on to certain associations in memory. It consists of both brand recognition and brand recall. It helps the customers to understand to which product or service category the particular brand belongs and what products and services are sold under the brand name. It also ensures that customers know which of their needs are satisfied by the brand through its products (Keller). Brand awareness is of critical importance since customers will not consider your brand if they are not aware of it.[12] There are various levels of brand awareness that require different levels and combinations of brand recognition and recall. Top-of-Mind is the goal of most companies. Top-of-Mind Awareness occurs when your brand is what pops into a consumers mind when asked to name brands in a product category. For example, when someone is asked to name a type of facial tissue, the common answer is Kleenex, which is a top-of-mind brand. Aided Awareness occurs when a consumer is shown or reads a list of brands, and expresses familiarity with your brand only after they hear or see it as a type of memory aide. Strategic Awareness occurs when your brand is not only top-of-mind to consumers, but also has distinctive qualities that stick out to consumers as making it better than the other brands in your market. The distinctions that set your product apart from the competition is also known as the Unique Selling Point or USP.
Brand elements

Brands typically are made up of various elements, such as:[13] Name: The word or words used to identify a company, product, service, or concept. Logo: The visual trademark that identifies the brand. Tagline or Catchphrase: "The Quicker Picker Upper" is associated with Bounty paper towels. "Can you hear me now" is an important part of the Verizon brand. Graphics: The dynamic ribbon is a trademarked part of Coca-Cola's brand. Shapes: The distinctive shapes of the Coca-Cola bottle and of the Volkswagen Beetle are trademarked elements of those brands. Colors: Owens-Corning is the only brand of fiberglass insulation that can be pink. Sounds: A unique tune or set of notes can denote a brand. NBC's chimes are a famous example. Scents: The rose-jasmine-musk scent of Chanel No. 5 is trademarked. Tastes: Kentucky Fried Chicken has trademarked its special recipe of eleven herbs and spices for fried chicken. Movements: Lamborghini has trademarked the upward motion of its car doors. 20

Global brand

A global brand is one which is perceived to reflect the same set of values around the world. Global brands transcend their origins and create strong enduring relationships with consumers across countries and cultures. They are brands sold in international markets. Examples of global brands include Facebook, Apple, Pepsi, McDonald's, Mastercard, Gap, Sony and Nike. These brands are used to sell the same product across multiple markets and could be considered successful to the extent that the associated products are easily recognizable by the diverse set of consumers.
Benefits of global branding

In addition to taking advantage of the outstanding growth opportunities, the following drives the increasing interest in taking brands global: Economies of scale (production and distribution) Lower marketing costs Laying the groundwork for future extensions worldwide Maintaining consistent brand imagery Quicker identification, recognition and integration of innovations (discovered worldwide) Preempting international competitors from entering domestic markets or locking you out of other geographic markets Increasing international media reach (especially with the explosion of the Internet) is an enabler Increases in international business and tourism are also enablers Possibility to charge premium prices Internal company benefits such as attracting and retaining good employees, and cohesive company culture
Global brand variables

The following elements may differ from country to country: Corporate slogan Products and services Product names Product features Positionings Marketing mixes (including pricing, distribution, media and advertising execution) These differences will depend upon: Language differences Different styles of communication Other cultural differences Differences in category and brand development Different consumption patterns Different competitive sets and marketplace conditions Different legal and regulatory environments Different national approaches to marketing (media, pricing, distribution, etc.)
Brand name

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Relationship between trade marks and brand The brand name is quite often used interchangeably with "brand", although it is more correctly used to specifically denote written or spoken linguistic elements of any product. In this context a "brand name" constitutes a type of trademark, if the brand name exclusively identifies the brand owner as the commercial source of products or services. A brand owner may seek to protect proprietary rights in relation to a brand name through trademark registration and such trademarks are called "Registered Trademarks". Advertising spokespersons have also become part of some brands, for example: Mr. Whipple of Charmin toilet tissue and Tony the Tiger of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes.
Types of brand names

Brand names come in many styles.[14] A few include: Initialism: A name made of initials such as UPS or IBM Descriptive: Names that describe a product benefit or function like Whole Foods or Airbus Alliteration and rhyme: Names that are fun to say and stick in the mind like Reese's Pieces or Dunkin' Donuts Evocative: Names that evoke a relevant vivid image like Amazon or Crest Neologisms: Completely made-up words like Wii or Kodak Foreign word: Adoption of a word from another language like Volvo or Samsung Founders' names: Using the names of real people,and founder's name like HewlettPackard, Dell or Disney Geography: Many brands are named for regions and landmarks like Cisco and Fuji Film Personification: Many brands take their names from myth like Nike or from the minds of ad execs like Betty Crocker The act of associating a product or service with a brand has become part of pop culture. Most products have some kind of brand identity, from common table salt to designer jeans. A brandnomer is a brand name that has colloquially become a generic term for a product or service, such as Band-Aid or Kleenex, which are often used to describe any brand of adhesive bandage or any brand of facial tissue respectively.
Brand identity

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The outward expression of a brand including its name, trademark, communications, and visual appearance is brand identity.[15] Because the identity is assembled by the brand owner, it reflects how the owner wants the consumer to perceive the brand and by extension the branded company, organization, product or service. This is in contrast to the brand image, which is a customer's mental picture of a brand.[15] The brand owner will seek to bridge the gap between the brand image and the brand identity. Effective brand names build a connection between the brand personality as it is perceived by the target audience and the actual product/service. The brand name should be conceptually on target with the product/service (what the company stands for). Furthermore, the brand name should be on target with the brand demographic. Typically, sustainable brand names are easy to remember, transcend trends and have positive connotations. Brand identity is fundamental to consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand's differentiation from competitors. Brand identity is what the owner wants to communicate to its potential consumers. However, over time, a product's brand identity may acquire (evolve), gaining new attributes from consumer perspective but not necessarily from the marketing communications an owner percolates to targeted consumers. Therefore, brand associations become handy to check the consumer's perception of the brand.[16] Brand identity needs to focus on authentic qualities real characteristics of the value and brand promise being provided and sustained by organizational and/or production characteristics.[17][18]
Visual brand identity

The visual brand identity manual for Mobil Oil (developed by Chermayeff & Geismar), one of the first visual identities to integrate logotype, icon, alphabet, color palette, and station architecture. The recognition and perception of a brand is highly influenced by its visual presentation. A brands visual identity is the overall look of its communications. Effective visual brand identity is achieved by the consistent use of particular visual elements to create distinction, 23

such as specific fonts, colors, and graphic elements. At the core of every brand identity is a brand mark, or logo. In the United States, brand identity and logo design naturally grew out of the Modernist movement in the 1950s and greatly drew on the principles of that movement simplicity (Mies van der Rohe s principle of "Less is more") and geometric abstraction. These principles can be observed in the work of the pioneers of the practice of visual brand identity design, such as Paul Rand, Chermayeff & Geismar and Saul Bass.
Brand trust

Brand trust is the intrinsic 'believability' that any entity evokes. In the commercial world, the intangible aspect of Brand trust impacts the behavior and performance of its business stakeholders in many intriguing ways. It creates the foundation of a strong brand connect with all stakeholders, converting simple awareness to strong commitment. This, in turn, metamorphoses normal people who have an indirect or direct stake in the organization into devoted ambassadors, leading to concomitant advantages like easier acceptability of brand extensions, perception of premium, and acceptance of temporary quality deficiencies. The Brand Trust Report is a syndicated primary research that has elaborated on this metric of brand trust. It is a result of action, behavior, communication and attitude of an entity, with the most Trust results emerging from its action component. Action of the entity is most important in creating trust in all those audiences who directly engage with the brand, the primary experience carrying primary audiences. However, the tools of communications play a vital role in transferring the trust experience to audiences which have never experienced the brand, the all important secondary audience.
Brand parity

Brand parity is the perception of the customers that some brands are equivalent.[19] This means that shoppers will purchase within a group of accepted brands rather than choosing one specific brand. When brand parity is present, quality is often not a major concern because consumers believe that only minor quality differences exist.
Expanding role of brand

It was meant to make identifying and differentiating a product easier. Over time, brands came to embrace a performance or benefit promise, for the product, certainly, but eventually also for the company behind the brand. Today, brand plays a much bigger role. Brands have been co-opted as powerful symbols in larger debates about economics, social issues, and politics. The power of brands to communicate a complex message quickly and with emotional impact and the ability of brands to attract media attention, make them ideal tools in the hands of activists.[20] Cultural conflict over a brand's meaning have also been shown to influence the diffusion of an innovation.[21]
Branding approaches Company name

Often, especially in the industrial sector, it is just the company's name which is promoted (leading to[citation needed] one of the most powerful statements of branding: saying just before the company's downgrading, "No one ever got fired for buying IBM"). This approach has not worked as well for General Motors, which recently overhauled how its corporate brand relates to the product brands.[22] Exactly how the company name relates to product and services names is known as brand architecture. Decisions about company names and product names and their relationship depends on more than a dozen strategic considerations.[23] In this case a strong brand name (or company name) is made the vehicle for a range of products (for example, Mercedes-Benz or Black & Decker) or a range of subsidiary brands (such as Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury Flake or Cadbury Fingers in the United States).

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Individual branding Main article: Individual branding

Each brand has a separate name (such as Seven-Up, Kool-Aid or Nivea Sun (Beiersdorf)), which may compete against other brands from the same company (for example, Persil, Omo, Surf and Lynx are all owned by Unilever).
Attitude branding and iconic brands

Attitude branding is the choice to represent a larger feeling, which is not necessarily connected with the product or consumption of the product at all. Marketing labeled as attitude branding include that of Nike, Starbucks, The Body Shop, Safeway, and Apple Inc.. In the 2000 book No Logo,[10] Naomi Klein describes attitude branding as a "fetish strategy". "A great brand raises the bar -- it adds a greater sense of purpose to the experience, whether it's the challenge to do your best in sports and fitness, or the affirmation that the cup of coffee you're drinking really matters." - Howard Schultz (president, CEO, and chairman of Starbucks )

The color, letter font and style of the Coca-Cola and Diet Coca-Cola logos in English were copied into matching Hebrew logos to maintain brand identity in Israel. Iconic brands are defined as having aspects that contribute to consumer's self-expression and personal identity. Brands whose value to consumers comes primarily from having identity value are said to be "identity brands". Some of these brands have such a strong identity that they become more or less cultural icons which makes them "iconic brands". Examples are: Apple, Nike and Harley Davidson. Many iconic brands include almost ritual-like behaviour in purchasing or consuming the products. There are four key elements to creating iconic brands (Holt 2004): "Necessary conditions" - The performance of the product must at least be acceptable, preferably with a reputation of having good quality. "Myth-making" - A meaningful storytelling fabricated by cultural insiders. These must be seen as legitimate and respected by consumers for stories to be accepted. "Cultural contradictions" - Some kind of mismatch between prevailing ideology and emergent undercurrents in society. In other words a difference with the way consumers are and how they wish they were. "The cultural brand management process" - Actively engaging in the myth-making process in making sure the brand maintains its position as an icon.
"No-brand" branding

Recently a number of companies have successfully pursued "no-brand" strategies by creating packaging that imitates generic brand simplicity. Examples include the Japanese company Muji, which means "No label" in English (from "Mujirushi Ryohin"

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literally, "No brand quality goods"), and the Florida company No-Ad Sunscreen. Although there is a distinct Muji brand, Muji products are not branded. This no-brand strategy means that little is spent on advertisement or classical marketing and Muji's success is attributed to the word-of-mouth, a simple shopping experience and the anti-brand movement. [24][25][26] "No brand" branding may be construed as a type of branding as the product is made conspicuous through the absence of a brand name. "Tapa Amarilla" or "Yellow Cap" in Venezuela during the 1980s is another good example of no-brand strategy. It was simply recognized by the color of the cap of this cleaning products company.
Derived brands

In this case the supplier of a key component, used by a number of suppliers of the endproduct, may wish to guarantee its own position by promoting that component as a brand in its own right. The most frequently quoted example is Intel, which positions itself in the PC market with the slogan (and sticker) "Intel Inside".
Brand extension and brand dilution

The existing strong brand name can be used as a vehicle for new or modified products; for example, many fashion and designer companies extended brands into fragrances, shoes and accessories, home textile, home decor, luggage, (sun-) glasses, furniture, hotels, etc. Mars extended its brand to ice cream, Caterpillar to shoes and watches, Michelin to a restaurant guide, Adidas and Puma to personal hygiene. Dunlop extended its brand from tires to other rubber products such as shoes, golf balls, tennis racquets and adhesives. There is a difference between brand extension and line extension. A line extension is when a current brand name is used to enter a new market segment in the existing product class, with new varieties or flavors or sizes. When Coca-Cola launched "Diet Coke" and "Cherry Coke" they stayed within the originating product category: non-alcoholic carbonated beverages. Procter & Gamble (P&G) did likewise extending its strong lines (such as Fairy Soap) into neighboring products (Fairy Liquid and Fairy Automatic) within the same category, dish washing detergents. The risk of over-extension is brand dilution where the brand loses its brand associations with a market segment, product area, or quality, price or cachet.
Multi-brands

Alternatively, in a market that is fragmented amongst a number of brands a supplier can choose deliberately to launch totally new brands in apparent competition with its own existing strong brand (and often with identical product characteristics); simply to soak up some of the share of the market which will in any case go to minor brands. The rationale is that having 3 out of 12 brands in such a market will give a greater overall share than having 1 out of 10 (even if much of the share of these new brands is taken from the existing one). In its most extreme manifestation, a supplier pioneering a new market which it believes will be particularly attractive may choose immediately to launch a second brand in competition with its first, in order to pre-empt others entering the market. Individual brand names naturally allow greater flexibility by permitting a variety of different products, of differing quality, to be sold without confusing the consumer's perception of what business the company is in or diluting higher quality products. Once again, Procter & Gamble is a leading exponent of this philosophy, running as many as ten detergent brands in the US market. This also increases the total number of "facings" it receives on supermarket shelves. Sara Lee, on the other hand, uses it to keep the very different parts of the business separate from Sara Lee cakes through Kiwi polishes to

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L'Eggs pantyhose. In the hotel business, Marriott uses the name Fairfield Inns for its budget chain (and Ramada uses Rodeway for its own cheaper hotels). Cannibalization is a particular problem of a "multibrand" approach, in which the new brand takes business away from an established one which the organization also owns. This may be acceptable (indeed to be expected) if there is a net gain overall. Alternatively, it may be the price the organization is willing to pay for shifting its position in the market; the new product being one stage in this process.
Private labels Private label brands,

also called own brands, or store brands have become popular. Where the retailer has a particularly strong identity (such as Marks & Spencer in the UK clothing sector) this "own brand" may be able to compete against even the strongest brand leaders, and may outperform those products that are not otherwise strongly branded.
Individual and organizational brands

There are kinds of branding that treat individuals and organizations as the products to be branded. Personal branding treats persons and their careers as brands. The term is thought to have been first used in a 1997 article by Tom Peters.[27] Faith branding treats religious figures and organizations as brands. Religious media expert Phil Cooke has written that faith branding handles the question of how to express faith in a media-dominated culture.[28] Nation branding works with the perception and reputation of countries as brands.
Crowdsourcing branding

These are brands that are created by the people for the business, which is opposite to the traditional method where the business create a brand. This type of method minimizes the risk of brand failure, since the people that might reject the brand in the traditional method are the ones who are participating in the branding process.
Nation branding (place branding and public diplomacy) Nation branding is a field of theory and practice which aims to measure, build and manage the reputation of countries (closely related to place branding ). Some approaches applied, such

as an increasing importance on the symbolic value of products, have led countries to emphasise their distinctive characteristics. The branding and image of a nation-state "and the successful transference of this image to its exports - is just as important as what they actually produce and sell."
See also Brand architecture Brand engagement Brand equity Brand loyalty Brand tribalism Branding agency Co-branding Content marketing Green brands Integrated marketing communications Visual brand language Bm1.

Brand architecture From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Brand architecture is the structure of brands within an organizational entity. It is the way in which the brands within a companys portfolio are related to, and differentiated from,

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one another. The architecture should define the different leagues of branding within the organization; how the corporate brand and sub-brands relate to and support each other; and how the sub-brands reflect or reinforce the core purpose of the corporate brand to which they belong. According to Rajagopal and Sanchez Brand architecture may be defined as an integrated process of brand building through establishing brand relationships among branding options in the competitive environment. The brand architecture of an organization at any time is, in large measure, a legacy of past management decisions as well as the competitive realities it faces in the marketplace[1]. Brand architecture, how a company communicates the inter-relation of its parts, need not solely be a reflection of the business organization, though this is a common trap across many large corporations. Best practices in brand architecture typically take a more customer-centric approach, helping customers, partners and investors understand how different components of a business relate to one another. [2] Contents
1 Types of brand architecture 2 Strategic Considerations 3 See also 4 References Types of brand architecture

There are three key levels of branding: Corporate brand, umbrella brand, and family brand - Examples include Virgin Group and Heinz. These are consumer-facing brands used across all the firm's activities, and this name is how they are known to all their stakeholders consumers, employees, shareholders, partners, suppliers and other parties. These brands may also be used in conjunction with product descriptions or sub-brands: for example Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup, or Virgin Trains. Endorsed brands, and sub-brands - For example, Nestle KitKat, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Sony PlayStation or Polo by Ralph Lauren. These brands include a parent brand - which may be a corporate brand, an umbrella brand, or a family brand - as an endorsement to a sub-brand or an individual, product brand. The endorsement should add credibility to the endorsed subbrand in the eyes of consumers. Individual product brand - For example, Procter & Gamble s Pampers or Unilever's Dove. The individual brands are presented to consumers, and the parent company name is given little or no prominence. Other stakeholders, like shareholders or partners, will know the producer by its company name. A recent example of brand architecture in action [3] is the reorganization of the General Motors brand portfolio to reflect its new strategy. Prior to bankruptcy, the company pursued a corporate-endorsed hybrid brand architecture structure, where GM underpinned every brand. The practice of putting the "GM Mark of Excellence" on every car, no matter what the brand, was discontinued in August, 2009.[4] In the run-up to the IPO, the company adopted a multiple brand corporate invisible brand architecture structure.[3] The company's familiar square blue "badge" has been removed from the Web site and advertising, in favor of a new, subtle all-text logo treatment.[5]
Strategic Considerations

Deciding what strategy to pursue in structuring the company brand portfolio depends on the answer of a number of strategic issues. According to the article Brand Architecture: Strategic Considerations , the issues to consider include:[6]

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Audience Diversity What are the target segments for your brand? Is the brand focused on just one audience or must it appeal to many? Brand Elasticity How far can each of the brands stretch to cover different products and markets? Harley Davidson made a classic blunder applying their brand to wine coolers. Product/Service Offerings How are other brands in the portfolio positioned and targeted? Are some of your brands complementary, competitive or incongruent? Competitive Context What are competitive branding practices? How do customers view the marketplace? Do your brands help you stand out and grab market share? Brand Equities Do you have brands with a particular following or a unique heritage or equity must be carried forward? Geographic Needs How consistent are needs/preferences across cultures and markets? Strong local brands might not work in other countries. Not every brand can travel. Organizational Structures Who is accountable for branding practices and standards? What are the political realities behind brands in your portfolio? Ownership Does the organization have legal control over its brand? Youll have less leeway with licensed brands. Sources of Growth What businesses and brands are expected to drive future growth for your company? Are they helping you pursue your strategy? Purchase Criteria How do people buy your products? Do they ask for products by brand name or do they ask for a generic name or your company brand name? Do your brands make buying easier? How much do people want or need your brands? Brand Performance How do brands perform against desired attributes? Is their positioning clear and effective? Brand Role What is role of brand in fulfilling the business model? How important is the brand in driving awareness or creating loyalty? Channels What channels and distribution methods are available and how are they used across the brand portfolio? Company Specific Issues What considerations are specific to your company or industry? What might be technically correct might not be feasible in the reality of your company. Sometimes theory has to bow to practicality. Brand engagement From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Brand engagement is a term loosely used to describe the process of forming an attachment (emotional and rational) between a person and a brand. It comprises one aspect of brand management . What makes the topic complex is that brand engagement is partly created by institutions and organizations, but is equally created by the perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of those with whom these institutions and organizations are communicating or engaging with. As a relatively new addition to the marketing and communication mix, brand engagement sits in the space between marketing, advertising, media communication, social media, employer branding , organizational development , internal communications and human resource management . There is still lack of clarity and debate about whether this is a soft or hard measure, and whether it can be linked to any consumer or employee behavior change e.g. sales activity, trial, or recommendation. Contents
1 External

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2 Internal ("close stakeholder") 3 The measurement angle 4 Example 5 Collaboration and connectivity vs. content management 6 See also 7 Sources 8 References External

Brand engagement between a brand and its consumers/potential consumers is a key objective of a brand marketing effort. In general, the ways a brand connects to its consumer is via a range of "touchpoints" -- that is, a sequence or list of potential ways the brand makes contact with the individual. Examples include retail environments, advertising, word of mouth, online, and the product/service itself.
Internal ("close stakeholder")

There are two broad areas where brand engagement is relevant within an organization (employees and close stakeholders such as franchise staff, call centers, suppliers or intermediaries). The first area is ensuring that the employer brand promised to employees is delivered upon once employees join the firm. If the employee experience is not what is promised, this could result in increased employee turnover and/or decreased performance. The second area is ensuring employees and close stakeholders of an organization completely understand the organization's brand, and what it stands forand to make sure that their activities on a day to day basis are contributing to expressing that brand through the customer experience. In general, this requires an ongoing effort on the part of the organization to ensure that its employees and close stakeholders understand what the brand is promising to its customers, and to help all employees clearly understand how their actions and behaviors, on a day to day basis, either support or undermine the effort. This often raises the issue of the value of investment in "brand engagement." It is a discretionary expense on the part of the organization. Proponents of brand engagement would argue that this is an investmentthat is, the benefits to the organization outweigh the cost of the program. Within any organization there is competition for resources, so there is a significant need to demonstrate return on investment in employee engagement/internal communications. While it is generally accepted that it is important for internal communications professionals to demonstrate the value this function delivers to the organization, it is difficult to place a discrete figure on this contribution. Best practice in internal communications generally adheres to certain principles: Understanding the stakeholder (audiences) Knowing what messages and information is appropriate for each audience Ensuring that there is a feedback mechanism in place so communication is a dialogue Measuring effectiveness Enhancing participation and collaboration. An aspect of internal brand engagement is brand orientation which refers to "the degree to which the organization values brands and its practices are oriented towards building brand capabilities." 30

Thought leaders are increasingly placing employee engagement at the forefront of the fight for greater authenticity in the workplace, increased employee satisfaction and ultimately greater retention and improved customer service. They are passionate about the link to bottom line benefits and strongly advocate working on brands from the inside out. There are a range of experts and service providers who have created offers to bring the brand to lifeall agree that the employee side of the equation is far more important than has been historically acknowledged. Brand engagement among employees is, according to experts, becoming increasingly important as the speed and volume of customer word of mouth is greater than ever. Several major brands - including United Airlines, Comcast, and FedEx - have seen negative customer experiences spark viral videos that are seen by millions of people. Building an understanding of the brand among employees is seen as a way to avoid these incidents and, within this environment, as a way to drive positive reviews and word of mouth. [1]
The measurement angle

Much internal communication and employee engagement practice is based on measurement of effectiveness or business contribution. The key elements in creating a model of employee engagement is the measurement of "engagement drivers" -- that is, what are the factors or combinations of factors which have an impact on productivity and commitment and can be monitored and addressed through people, process or technology changes? Many of the engagement drivers currently in use internally are HR focused, and in many cases do not delve deeply into the employees role in delivering the brand/customer experience as a distinct element.
Example

Probably the most compelling example of this is the service-profit chain. The first real case study of this appeared in "The Service Profit Chain" (the so-called Sears Model, Harvard Business Review, 1997). This statistical model tracks increases in employee engagement drivers to correlated increases in customer satisfaction and loyalty, and then correlates this to increases in total shareholder return (TSR), revenue and other financial performance measures. Since the service-profit chain emerged, its been developed, and criticized, but the general consensus is that employee engagement can contribute roughly 20% to an organizations TSR (various Vivaldi, Watson Wyatt, Towers Perrin studies 2004, 2005, 2006).
Collaboration and connectivity vs. content management

While some organizations are realizing the benefits of collaboration and work flow online, there appears to be significant focus on publishing and managing content, generally via content management systems. There is an emerging school of thought that organizational perspectives on technology are frequently misaligned with the actual requirements and desires of the users of the technology. That is, the nature (or intention) of a technology may not always determine the nature of its use the telephone, for example, was originally intended as a broadcast medium[citation needed]. Its designers were focused on delivering content, while its users sought and still value connectivity(1). The social media phenomenon presents emerging evidence that this quest for connectivity is rapidly becoming a core focus of communication technology within organizations. This potentially creates a disconnect with more traditional content-driven models of internal communicationdelivering (or making easily available) the right content at the right time to the right people using the right media. 31

Therefore, there could be a great deal of potential within organisations, using their existing technologies, to derive cultural and performance benefits from re-thinking how they communicate, make decisions and work virtually. Brand equity From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Brand equity is a phrase used in the marketing industry to try to describe the value of having a well-known brand name, based on the idea that the owner of a well-known brand name can generate more money from products with that brand name than from products with a less well known name, as consumers believe that a product with a well-known name is better than products with less well known names.[1][2][3][4] Another word for "brand equity" is "brand value". Some marketing researchers have concluded that brands are one of the most valuable assets a company has,[5] as brand equity is one of the factors which can increase the financial value of a brand to the brand owner, although not the only one.[6] Elements that can be included in the valuation of brand equity include (but not limited to): changing market share, profit margins, consumer recognition of logos and other visual elements, brand language associations made by consumers, consumers' perceptions of quality and other relevant brand values. Consumers' knowledge about a brand also governs how manufacturers and advertisers market the brand.[7][8] Brand equity is created through strategic investments in communication channels and market education and appreciates through economic growth in profit margins, market share, prestige value, and critical associations [disambiguation needed ]. Generally, these strategic investments appreciate over time to deliver a return on investment . This is directly related to marketing ROI. Brand equity can also appreciate without strategic direction. A Stockholm University study in 2011 documents the case of Jerusalem's city brand.[9] The city organically developed a brand, which experienced tremendous brand equity appreciation over the course of centuries through non-strategic activities. A booming tourism industry in Jerusalem has been the most evident indicator of a strong ROI. Brand equity is strategically crucial, but famously difficult to quantify. Many experts have developed tools to analyze this asset, but there is no universally accepted way to measure it. As one of the serial challenges that marketing professionals and academics find with the concept of brand equity, the disconnect between quantitative and qualitative equity values is difficult to reconcile. Quantitative brand equity includes numerical values such as profit margins and market share, but fails to capture qualitative elements such as prestige and associations of interest. Overall, most marketing practitioners take a more qualitative approach to brand equity because of this challenge. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, only 26 percent responded that they found the "brand equity" metric very useful.[10] Contents
1 Purpose 2 Construction 3 Methodologies 4 See also 5 References Purpose

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The purpose of brand equity metrics is to measure the value of a brand. A brand encompasses the name, logo, image, and perceptions that identify a product, service, or provider in the minds of customers. It takes shape in advertising, packaging, and other marketing communications, and becomes a focus of the relationship with consumers. In time, a brand comes to embody a promise about the goods it identifiesa promise about quality, performance, or other dimensions of value, which can influence consumers' choices among competing products. When consumers trust a brand and find it relevant, they may select the offerings associated with that brand over those of competitors, even at a premium price. When a brand's promise extends beyond a particular product, its owner may leverage it to enter new markets. For all these reasons, a brand can hold tremendous value, which is known as brand equity.[10]
Construction

There are many ways to measure a brand. Some measurements approaches are at the firm level, some at the product level, and still others are at the consumer level. Firm Level: Firm level approaches measure the brand as a financial asset. In short, a calculation is made regarding how much the brand is worth as an intangible asset. For example, if you were to take the value of the firm, as derived by its market capitalization and then subtract tangible assets and "measurable" intangible assetsthe residual would be the brand equity.[5] One high-profile firm level approach is by the consulting firm Interbrand. To do its calculation, Interbrand estimates brand value on the basis of projected profits discounted to a present value. The discount rate is a subjective rate determined by Interbrand and Wall Street equity specialists and reflects the risk profile, market leadership, stability and global reach of the brand.[11] Product Level: The classic product level brand measurement example is to compare the price of a no-name or private label product to an "equivalent" branded product. The difference in price, assuming all things equal, is due to the brand.[12] More recently a revenue premium approach has been advocated.[4] Consumer Level: This approach seeks to map the mind of the consumer to find out what associations with the brand the consumer has. This approach seeks to measure the awareness (recall and recognition) and brand image (the overall associations that the brand has). Free association tests and projective techniques are commonly used to uncover the tangible and intangible attributes, attitudes, and intentions about a brand.[7] Brands with high levels of awareness and strong, favorable and unique associations are high equity brands.[7] All of these calculations are, at best, approximations. A more complete understanding of the brand can occur if multiple measures are used. Positive brand equity vs. negative brand equity Brand equity is the positive effect of the brand on the difference between the prices that the consumer accepts to pay when the brand known compared to the value of the benefit received. There are two schools of thought regarding the existence of negative brand equity. One perspective states brand equity cannot be negative, hypothesizing only positive brand equity is created by marketing activities such as advertising, PR, and promotion. A second perspective is that negative equity can exist, due to catastrophic events to the brand, such as a wide product recall or continued negative press attention (Blackwater or Halliburton, for example).

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Colloquially, the term "negative brand equity" may be used to describe a product or service where a brand has a negligible effect on a product level when compared to a no-name or private label product. Family branding vs. individual branding strategies The greater a company's brand equity, the greater the probability that the company will use a family branding strategy rather than an individual branding strategy. This is because family branding allows them to leverage the equity accumulated in the core brand. Aspects of brand equity include: brand loyalty, awareness, association[13] and perception of quality. Examples In the early 2000s in North America, the Ford Motor Company made a strategic decision to brand all new or redesigned cars with names starting with "F." This aligned with the previous tradition of naming all sport utility vehicles since the Ford Explorer with the letter "E." The Toronto Star quoted an analyst who warned that changing the name of the well known Windstar to the Freestar would cause confusion and discard brand equity built up, while a marketing manager believed that a name change would highlight the new redesign. The aging Taurus, which became one of the most significant cars in American auto history, would be abandoned in favor of three entirely new names, all starting with "F," the Five Hundred, Freestar, and Fusion. By 2007, the Freestar was discontinued without a replacement. The Five Hundred name was thrown out and Taurus was brought back for the next generation of that car in a surprise move by Alan Mulally. In practice, brand equity is difficult to measure. Because brands are crucial assets, however, both marketers and academic researchers have devised means to contemplate their value.[10] Some of these techniques are described below.
Methodologies

Brand Equity Ten (Aaker) David Aaker, a marketing professor and brand consultant, highlights ten attributes of a brand that can be used to assess its strength. These include Differentiation, Satisfaction or Loyalty, Perceived Quality, Leadership or Popularity, Perceived Value, Brand Personality, Organizational Associations, Brand Awareness, Market Share, and Market Price and Distribution Coverage. Aaker doesn't weight the attributes or combine them in an overall score, as he believes any weighting would be arbitrary and would vary among brands and categories. Rather he recommends tracking each attribute separately.[10] Brand Equity Index (Moran) Marketing executive Bill Moran has derived an index of brand equity as the product of three factors: Effective Market Share is a weighted average. It represents the sum of a brand's market shares in all segments in which it competes, weighted by each segment's proportion of that brand's total sales. Relative Price is a ratio. It represents the price of goods sold under a given brand, divided by the average price of comparable goods in the market. Durability is a measure of customer retention or loyalty. It represents the percentage of a brand's customers who will continue to buy goods under that brand in the following year.[10] Brand Asset Valuator (Young & Rubicam) Young & Rubicam, a marketing communications agency, has developed the Brand Asset Valuator, a tool to diagnose the power and value of a brand. In using it, the agency surveys consumers' perspectives along four dimensions:

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Differentiation: The defining characteristics of the brand and its distinctiveness relative to competitors. Relevance: The appropriateness and connection of the brand to a given consumer. Esteem: Consumers' respect for and attraction to the brand. Knowledge: Consumers' awareness of the brand and understanding of what it represents.[10] Brand Valuation Model (Interbrand and Brand Finance) Interbrand , a brand strategy agency, draws upon financial results and projections in its own model for brand valuation. It reviews a company's financial statements, analyzes its market dynamics and the role of brand in income generation, and separates those earnings attributable to tangible assets (capital, product, packaging, and so on) from the residual that can be ascribed to a brand. It then forecasts future earnings and discounts these on the basis of brand strength and risk. The agency estimates brand value on this basis and tabulates a yearly list of the 100 most valuable global brands.[10] The Royalty Relief approach of Brand Finance , an independent brand valuation consultancy, is based on the assumption that if a company did not own the trademarks that it exploits, it would need to license them from a third party brand owner instead. Ownership therefore relieves the company from paying a license fee (the royalty) for the use of the third party trademarks. The royalty relief method involves estimating likely future sales, applying an appropriate royalty rate to them and then discounting estimated future, post-tax royalties, to arrive at a Net Present Value (NPV). This is held to represent the brand value. [14] The independent consultancy publishes yearly lists by industry sector and geographic region as well as a top 500 global list. Conjoint Analysis Marketers use conjoint analysis to measure consumers' preference for various attributes of a product, service, or provider, such as features, design, price, or location. By including brand and price as two of the attributes under consideration, they can gain insight into consumers' valuation of a brandthat is, their willingness to pay a premium for it.[10] Note: These customer satisfaction methodologies have not been independently audited by the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) according to MMAP (Marketing Metric Audit Protocol). Brand loyalty From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search
Marketing

Key concepts
Product marketing Pricing Distribution Service Retail Brand management Account-based marketing Ethics Effectiveness Research Segmentation Strategy Activation

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Management Dominance Marketing operations

Promotional contents
Advertising Branding Underwriting spot Direct marketing Personal sales Product placement Publicity Sales promotion Sex in advertising Loyalty marketing Mobile marketing Premiums Prizes

Promotional media
Printing Publication Broadcasting Out-of-home advertising Internet Point of sale Merchandise Digital marketing In-game advertising Product demonstration Word-of-mouth Brand ambassador Drip marketing Visual merchandising v t e

The American Marketing Association defines brand loyalty as: "The situation in which a consumer generally buys the same manufacturer-originated product or service repeatedly over time rather than buying from multiple suppliers within the category" (sales promotion definition). "The degree to which a consumer consistently purchases the same brand within a product class" (consumer behavior definition).[1] In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 69 percent responded that they found the "loyalty" metric very useful.[2] Contents
1 Purpose 2 Construction 3 Cautions 4 See also 5 References Purpose

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Brand loyalty, in marketing, consists of a consumer's commitment to repurchase or otherwise continue using the brand and can be demonstrated by repeated buying of a product or service, or other positive behaviors such as word of mouth advocacy.[3] Examples of brand loyalty promotions
My Coke Rewards Pepsi Stuff Marriott Rewards Construction

Brand loyalty is more than simple repurchasing, however. Customers may repurchase a brand due to situational constraints (such as vendor lock-in), a lack of viable alternatives, or out of convenience.[4] Such loyalty is referred to as "spurious loyalty". True brand loyalty exists when customers have a high relative attitude toward the brand which is then exhibited through repurchase behavior.[3] This type of loyalty can be a great asset to the firm: customers are willing to pay higher prices, they may cost less to serve, and can bring new customers to the firm.[5][6] For example, if Joe has brand loyalty to Company A he will purchase Company A's products even if Company B's are cheaper and/or of a higher quality. From the point of view of many marketers, loyalty to the brand in terms of consumer usage is a key factor. Usage rate Most important of all, in this context, is usually the 'rate' of usage, to which the Pareto 80-20 Rule applies. Kotler's 'heavy users' are likely to be disproportionately important to the brand (typically, 20 percent of users accounting for 80 percent of usage and of suppliers' profit). As a result, suppliers often segment their customers into 'heavy', 'medium' and 'light' users; as far as they can, they target 'heavy users'. Loyalty A second dimension, however, is whether the customer is committed to the brand. Philip Kotler, again, defines four patterns of behaviour: Hard-core Loyals - who buy the brand all the time. Split Loyals - loyal to two or three brands. Shifting Loyals - moving from one brand to another. Switchers - with no loyalty (possibly 'deal-prone', constantly looking for bargains or 'vanity prone', looking for something different). Factors influencing brand loyalty It has been suggested that loyalty includes some degree of pre-dispositional commitment toward a brand. Brand loyalty is viewed as multidimensional construct. It is determined by several distinct psychological processes and it entails multivariate measurements. Customers' perceived value, brand trust, customers' satisfaction, repeat purchase behavior, and commitment are found to be the key influencing factors of brand loyalty. Commitment and repeated purchase behavior are considered as necessary conditions for brand loyalty followed by perceived value, satisfaction, and brand trust.[7] Fred Reichheld,[8] One of the most influential writers on brand loyalty, claimed that enhancing customer loyalty could have dramatic effects on profitability. Among the benefits from brand loyalty specifically,

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longer tenure or staying as a customer for longer was said to be lower sensitivity to price. This claim had not been empirically tested until recently. Recent research[9] found evidence that longer-term customers were indeed less sensitive to price increases. Industrial markets In industrial markets, organizations regard the 'heavy users' as 'major accounts' to be handled by senior sales personnel and even managers; whereas the 'light users' may be handled by the general salesforce or by a dealer. Portfolios of brands Andrew Ehrenberg, then of the London Business School said that consumers buy 'portfolios of brands'. They switch regularly between brands, often because they simply want a change. Thus, 'brand penetration' or 'brand share' reflects only a statistical chance that the majority of customers will buy that brand next time as part of a portfolio of brands they favour. It does not guarantee that they will stay loyal. Influencing the statistical probabilities facing a consumer choosing from a portfolio of preferred brands, which is required in this context, is a very different role for a brand manager; compared with the much simpler one traditionally described of recruiting and holding dedicated customers. The concept also emphasises the need for managing continuity.
Cautions

One of the most prominent features of many markets is their overall stability or marketing inertia. Thus, in their essential characteristics they change very slowly, often over decades sometimes centuries rather than over months. This stability has two very important implications. The first is that those who are clear brand leaders are especially well placed in relation to their competitors and should want to further the inertia which lies behind that stable position. This, however, still demands a continuing pattern of minor changes to keep up with the marginal changes in consumer taste (which may be minor to the theorist but will still be crucial in terms of those consumers' purchasing patterns as markets do not favour the over-complacent). These minor investments are a small price to pay for the long term profits which brand leaders usually enjoy. The second, and more important, is that someone who wishes to overturn this stability and change the market (or significantly change one's position in it), massive investments must be expected to be made in order to succeed. Even though stability is the natural state of markets, sudden changes can still occur, and the environment must be constantly scanned for signs of these. Brand tribalism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search
This article may need to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help by adding relevant internal links, or by improving the article's layout. (April 2010) Click [show] on right for more details.[show] This article is an orphan, as no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions may be available. (April 2010)

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A brand tribe can be defined as a network of varied persons who are linked by a shared belief around a brand; its members are not simple consumers, they are also believers and promoters. A brand tribe is capable of collective action and therefore has implications for post-modern business.[1]. Contents
1 Origins 2 Potential red flags 3 References 4 Further reading Origins

The concept of tribal consumption revolves around the research and writings of numerous academic researchers who have expressed Tribal Based Views of brand. Michel Maffesoli (1996), Cova (1997), Veloutsou and Moutinho (2007), Cova and Cova (2001, 2002), Kozinets, Shankar et al. (2007), DAlessandro [2] describes the tribes we belong to as "determined even less by geography, pedigree, race or religion. Instead, our tribes are determined largely by education and accomplishment, and they are manifested by the things we consume. More and more, they are brand tribes." Much of the research on brand tribalism depicts 21st Century society as a network of micro-cultures or tribes. A key element of brand tribes is that they are organically and voluntarily formed through individual identification with a brand. Factors that contribute to the formation of a brand tribe are perceived brand authenticity, experiences felt through interaction with the brand and a collective sense of belonging within a group.[3] Central to the fabric of brand tribes is a deep conviction as to the notion of truth or rightness (Belief)
Potential red flags

Much in this area is still under-theorised. Academics have explored and discussed the degree of connectedness between consumers and brands and the implications for postmodern organisations and consumption. Kozinets and Handelman have been amongst those to call for further conceptualisations (Kozinets and Handelman, 2004). Branding agency From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search A branding agency is a type of a marketing agency which specializes in creating and launching brands as well as rebranding . Branding agencies create, plan and manage branding strategies, independent of their clients. Branding agencies may also handle advertising and other forms of promotion. As with advertising agencies, typical branding agency clients come from all sectors including businesses and corporations, non-profit organisations and government agencies. Branding agencies may be hired to produce a brand strategy or, more commonly, a brand identity, which can then be output via a branding campaign, which is a type of marketing campaign. Branding agencies create branding materials that define who a company is to their customers, differentiate the company from competitors, and communicate the unique value the company provides. Co-branding From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search

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Co-branding refers to several different marketing arrangements: Co-branding, also called brand partnership,[1] is when two companies form an alliance to work together, creating marketing synergy. As described in Co-Branding: The Science of Alliance:[2] "the term 'co-branding' is relatively new to the business vocabulary and is used to encompass a wide range of marketing activity involving the use of two (and sometimes more) brands. Thus co-branding could be considered to include sponsorships, where Marlboro lends it name to Ferrari or accountants Ernst and Young support the Monet exhibition."

Co-branding is an arrangement that associates a single product or service with more than one brand name, or otherwise associates a product with someone other than the principal producer. The typical co-branding agreement involves two or more companies acting in cooperation to associate any of various logos, color schemes, or brand identifiers to a specific product that is contractually designated for this purpose. The object for this is to combine the strength of two brands, in order to increase the premium consumers are willing to pay, make the product or service more resistant to copying by private label manufacturers, or to combine the different perceived properties associated with these brands with a single product. Ultimately, co-branding is a strategy built upon a sharing of brand equity; two partners each contributing some aspect of their brand (permissions, expertise, distribution, status, etc.) to create an offering that neither could develop as effectively on their own.[3] Contents
1 Intent 2 Forms 3 Examples 4 See also 5 References Intent

According to Chang, from the Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, states there are three levels of co-branding: market share, brand extension, and global branding . Level 1 includes joining with another company to penetrate the market Level 2 is working to extend the brand based on the company's current market share Level 3 tries to achieve a global strategy by combining the two brands
Forms

There are many different sub-sections of co-branding. Companies can work with other companies to combine resources and leverage individual core competencies, or they can use current resources within one company to promote multiple products at once. The forms of co-branding include: ingredient co-branding, same-company co-branding, joint venture co-branding, and multiple sponsor co-branding. No matter which form a company chooses to use, the purpose is to respond to the changing marketplace, build ones own core competencies, and work to increase product revenues. One form of co-branding is ingredient co-branding. This involves creating brand equity for materials, components or parts that are contained within other products. Examples: Betty Crockers brownie mix includes Hersheys chocolate syrup Pillsbury Brownies with Nestle Chocolate Dell Computers with Intel Processors 40

 Kellogg Pop-tarts with Smuckers fruit Samsung hardware with Google software (eg Galaxy Nexus) Another form of co-branding is same-company co-branding. This is when a company with more than one product promotes their own brands together simultaneously. Examples Kraft Lunchables and Oscar Mayer meats Joint venture co-branding is another form of co-branding defined as two or more companies going for a strategic alliance to present a product to the target audience. Example: British Airways and Citibank formed a partnership offering a credit card where the card owner will automatically become a member of the British Airways Executive club Finally, there is multiple sponsor co-branding. This form of co-branding involves two or more companies working together to form a strategic alliance in technology, promotions, sales, etc. Example: Citibank/American Airlines/Visa credit card partnership
[4]

Examples

An early instance of co-branding occurred in 1956 when Renault had Jacques Arpels of jewelers Van Cleef and Arpels turn the dashboard of one of their newly introduced Dauphine's into a work of art.[5] A successful example of co-branding is the Senseo coffeemaker, which associates the Philips made appliances with specific coffee brand of Douwe Egberts. Other examples include the marketing of Gillette M3 Power shaving equipment (which require batteries) with Duracell batteries (both brands owned by Procter & Gamble ). Co-branding can be between an organization and a product also. An example of cobranding between a charity and a manufacturer is the association of Sephora and Operation Smile: Sephora markets a product carrying the logo of the charity, the consumer is encouraged to associate the two brands, and a portion of the proceeds benefit the charity. Content marketing From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search
Internet marketing Search engine optimization Social media marketing Email marketing Referral marketing Content marketing Search engine marketing Pay per click Cost per impression Search analytics Web analytics Display advertising Contextual advertising Behavioral targeting Affiliate marketing

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Cost per action Revenue sharing Mobile advertising v t e

Content marketing is an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation and sharing of content in order to engage current and potential consumer bases. Content marketing subscribes to the notion that delivering high-quality, relevant and valuable information to prospects and customers drives profitable consumer action. Content marketing has benefits in terms of retaining reader attention and improving brand loyalty. The idea of sharing content as a means of persuading decision-making has driven content marketers to make their once-proprietary informational assets available to selected audiences. Alternatively, many content marketers choose to create new information and share it via any and all media. Content marketing products frequently take the form of custom magazines , print or online newsletters, digital content , websites or microsites, white papers, webcasts/webinars , podcasts, video portals or series, in-person roadshows, roundtables, interactive online, email, events. The purpose of this information is not to spout the virtues of the marketers own products or services, but to inform target customers and prospects about key industry issues, sometimes involving the marketers products. The motivation behind content marketing is the belief that educating the customer results in the brands recognition as a thought leader and industry expert. Marketers may use content marketing as a means of achieving a variety of business goals. These may include: thought leadership, lead generation, increasing direct sales, introducing specific brand language and improving customer retention. The term "content engineer" is being used to describe a new breed of marketer who creates, optimizes, and distributes the different types of content required to engage customers on the social web, based on the data of many analysis tools. Content marketing is the underlying philosophy driving techniques such as custom media, custom publishing, database marketing, brand marketing, branded entertainment and branded content. Green brands From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Green brands are those brands that consumers associate with environmental conservation and sustainable business practices. Such brands appeal to consumers who are becoming more aware of the need to protect the environment . A green brand can add a unique selling point to a product and can boost corporate image. However, if a company is found or perceived to overstate its green practices its green brand may be criticised as greenwash.[1][2] Contents
1 Increase in green brands 2 Packaging 3 Advertisement and marketing standards concerns 4 See also 5 References

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Increase in green brands Ethical consumerism has

led to an increase in green brands. In the food and drinks industry only 5 green brand products were launched in 2002, increasing to 328 in 2007 (Mintel global database).[3][4]
Packaging

In the case of consumer brands packaging can be a key element in communicating a green brand. This is because packaging communicates information to the consumer at the point-ofsale, and because of the environmental impact of the packaging itself. Companies may claim sustainable packaging, recycled and/or recyclable material, or reduce excess packaging.[5][6] Packaging is of especially high brand importance when the packaging is part of the aesthetic appeal of the product and brand, as in the case of the cosmetics and toiletries sector. Packaging material may have to not only reinforce environmental credentials, but also communicate the high-quality and luxury image of the brand.[7]
Advertisement and marketing standards concerns

In Europe concerns have been raised that consumers might be confused or mislead as a result of a recent increase in green brands. Because green brands can add a unique selling point there is little consistency from brand to brand. In the food and drinks industry it has been observed that companies are reluctant to use existing and widely recognised green logos, such as the mobius loop, because using their own makes the brand more easily distinguishable for the consumer.[3] In Britain, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has warned consumers in mid 2007, that some "green" claims might not be authentic. The ASA stated that green claims have become noticeably more prevalent in advertisement, and has investigated and upheld several complaints regarding "unsubstantiated environmental claims". The ASA Director General has stated that "the ASA needs to see robust evidence to back up any eco-friendly claims".[8] The ASA in Britain has also raised concerns that as awareness about climate change increase among consumers, the cases of unsubstantiated carbon claims (e.g. carbon emissions and carbon neutral claims) rises.[9] The ASA has upheld a number of complaints against energy companies, including Scottish and Southern Energy[10] car manufacturers, including Toyota,[11] Lexus[12] and Volkswagen,[13] and airlines, including EasyJet,[14] for misleading claims regarding carbon emissions and carbon neutrality. Recent cases before the British ASA involved environmental claims such as "local". In December 2006 for example the ASA upheld a complaint against Tesco, where the company advertised British products as "local", which the ASA ruled to be misleading because in this particular case the consumers were likely to interpret local as referring to their immediate surrounding region.[15] In August 2008 the British ASA ruled that Shell had misled the public in an advertisement which claimed that a $10bn oil sands project in Alberta, northern Canada, was a "sustainable energy source". The ASA upheld a complaint by the World Wide Fund for Nature about Shell's advert in the Financial Times. Explaining the ruling the ASA stated that "We considered that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) best practice guidance on environmental claims stated that green claims should not 'be vague or ambiguous, for instance by simply trying to give a good impression about general concern for the environment. Claims should always avoid the vague use of terms such as 'sustainable', 'green', 'non-polluting' and so on." Furthermore the ASA ruling stated "Defra had made that recommendation because, although 'sustainable' was a widely used term, the lack of a 43

universally agreed definition meant that it was likely to be ambiguous and unclear to consumers. Because we had not seen data that showed how Shell was effectively managing carbon emissions from its oil sands projects in order to limit climate change, we concluded that the ad was misleading"[16] In the United States the Federal Trade Commission issues the "Green Guides" (last updated 1998) - environmental marketing guidelines. The guidelines give advice on the types of substantiation needed to support environmental claims, and give examples of claims that are to be avoided. The Federal Trade Commission has recognised that these guidelines need updating, as for example they currently contain no guidance on carbon neutrality, or the terms sustainable or renewable . The Green Guides do contain guidance on the term recyclable , recycled and biodegradable.[17] The marketing and brand building experiences of many American green brands was documented in the book The Gort Cloud by Richard Seireeni, 2009. The gort cloud refers to the green community that provides support and a market to green brands. Integrated marketing communications From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Marketing communications. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2009.

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is defined as customer centric, data driven method of communicating with the customers. IMC is the coordination and integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, functions and sources within a company into a seamless program that maximizes the impact on consumers and other end users at a minimal cost.[1] This management concept is designed to make all aspects of marketing communication such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing work together as a unified force, rather than permitting each to work in isolation. Contents
1 What is IMC? 2 IMC Components 3 Marketing mix component 4 Importance of IMC 5 4 P's vs. 4 C's 6 Effective communications elements 7 Promotions Opportunity Analysis 8 Accountability 9 Barriers to IMC 10 References What is IMC? This section appears to contain a large number of buzzwords. Specific concerns can be found on the talk page. Please help improve this section if you can. (July 2011)

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is a process for managing customer relationships that drive brand value primarily through communication efforts. Such efforts often include cross-functional processes that create and nourish profitable relationships with customers and other stakeholders by strategically controlling or influencing all messages sent to these groups and encouraging data-driven, purposeful dialog with them. IMC includes the coordination and integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, and sources within a company into a seamless program in order to maximize the impact on end users at a minimal cost. This integration affects all firm's business-to-

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business, marketing channel, customer-focused, and internally directed communications.[2] Integrated Marketing Communications is a simple concept. It ensures that all forms of communications and messages are carefully linked together.
IMC Components

The Foundation - corporate image and brand management; buyer behavior; promotions opportunity analysis. Advertising Tools - advertising management, advertising design: theoretical frameworks and types of appeals; advertising design: message strategies and executional frameworks; advertising media selection. Advertising also reinforces brand and firm image.[3] Promotional Tools - trade promotions; consumer promotions; personal selling, database marketing, and customer relations management; public relations and sponsorship programs. Integration Tools - Internet Marketing; IMC for small business and entrepreneurial ventures; evaluating and integrated marketing program.[4]
Marketing mix component

The Internet has changed the way business is done in the current world. The variables of segmentation, targeting and positioning are addressed differently. The way new products and services are marketed have changed even though the aim of business in bringing economic and social values remain unchanged. Indeed, the bottom line of increasing revenue and profit are still the same. Marketing has evolved to more of connectedness, due to the new characteristics brought in by the Internet. Marketing was once seen as a one way, with firms broadcasting their offerings and value proposition. Now it is seen more and more as a conversation between marketers and customers.[5] Marketing efforts incorporate the "marketing mix". Promotion is one element of marketing mix. Promotional activities include advertising (by using different media), sales promotion (sales and trades promotion), and personal selling activities. It also includes Internet marketing, sponsorship marketing, direct marketing, database marketing and public relations. Integration of all these promotional tools, along with other components of marketing mix, is a way to gain an edge over a competitor. The starting point of the IMC process is the marketing mix that includes different types of marketing, advertising, and sales efforts. Without a complete IMC plan there is no integration or harmony between client and customers. The goal of an organization is to create and maintain communication throughout its own employees and throughout its customers. Integrated marketing is based on a master marketing plan. This plan should coordinate efforts in all components of the marketing mix. A marketing plan consists of the following six steps:[6] Situation analysis Marketing objectives Marketing budget Marketing strategies Marketing tactics Evaluation of performance Integrated marketing communications aims to ensure consistency of message and the complementary use of media. The concept includes online and offline marketing channels. Online marketing channels include any e-marketing campaigns or programs, from search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click, affiliate, email, banner to latest web related channels for webinar, blog, micro-blogging, RSS, podcast, Internet Radio, and Internet TV. 45

Offline marketing channels are traditional print (newspaper, magazine), mail order, public relations, industry relations, billboard, traditional radio, and television. A company develops its integrated marketing communication program using all the elements of the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion). Integrated marketing communications plans are vital to achieving success. The reasons for their importance begin with the explosion of information technologies. Channel power has shifted from manufacturers to retailers to consumers. Using outside-in thinking, Integrated Marketing Communications is a data-driven approach that focuses on identifying consumer insights and developing a strategy with the right (online and offline combination) channels to forge a stronger brand-consumer relationship. This involves knowing the right touch points to use to reach consumers and understanding how and where they consume different types of media. Regression analysis and customer lifetime value are key data elements in this approach.
Importance of IMC

Several shifts in the advertising and media industry have caused IMC to develop into a primary strategy for marketers: From media advertising to multiple forms of communication. From mass media to more specialized (niche) media, which are centered on specific target audiences. From a manufacturer-dominated market to a retailer-dominated, consumer-controlled market. From general-focus advertising and marketing to data-based marketing. From low agency accountability to greater agency accountability, particularly in advertising. From traditional compensation to performance-based compensation (increased sales or benefits to the company). From limited Internet access to 24/7 Internet availability and access to goods and services. 1. It can create competitive advantage, boost sales and profits, while saving money, time and stress. 2. IMC wraps communications around customers and helps them move through the various stages of the buying process. The organisation simultaneously consolidates its image, develops a dialogue and nurtures its relationship with customers. 3. This 'Relationship Marketing' cements a bond of loyalty with customers which can protect them from the inevitable onslaught of competition. The ability to keep a customer for life is a powerful competitive advantage. 4. IMC also increases profits through increased effectiveness 5. Carefully linked messages also help buyers by giving timely reminders, updated information and special offers which, when presented in a planned sequence, help them move comfortably through the stages of their buying process 6. Finally, IMC saves money as it eliminates duplication in areas such as graphics and photography since they can be shared and used in say, advertising, exhibitions and sales literature. 7. IMC also makes messages more consistent and therefore more credible. This reduces risk in the mind of the buyer which, in turn, shortens the search process and helps to dictate the outcome of brand comparisons.
4 P's vs. 4 C's

Not PRODUCT, but CONSUMER You have to understand what the consumers' wants and needs are. Times have changed and you can no longer sell whatever you can make. The product characteristics have to match

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the specifics of what someone wants to buy. And part of what the consumer is buying is the personal "buying experience." Not PRICE, but COST Understand the consumer's cost to satisfy the want or need. The product price may be only one part of the consumer's cost structure. Often it is the cost of time to drive somewhere, the cost of conscience of what you buy, the cost of guilt for not treating the kids, the investment a consumer is willing to make to avoid risk, etc. Not PLACE, but CONVENIENCE As above, turn the standard logic around. Think convenience of the buying experience and then relate that to a delivery mechanism. Consider all possible definitions of "convenience" as it relates to satisfying the consumer's wants and needs. Convenience may include aspects of the physical or virtual location, access ease, transaction service time, and hours of availability. Not PROMOTION, but COMMUNICATION Communicate,many mediums working together to present a unified message with a feedback mechanism to make the communication two-way. And be sure to include an understanding of non-traditional mediums, such as word of mouth and how it can influence your position in the consumer's mind. How many ways can a customer hear (or see) the same message through the course of the day, each message reinforcing the earlier images?
[7]

Effective communications elements

The goal of selecting the elements of proposed integrated marketing communications is to create a campaign that is effective and consistent across media platforms. Some marketers may want only ads with greatest breadth of appeal: the executions that, when combined, provide the greatest number of attention-getting, branded, and motivational moments. Others may only want ads with the greatest depth of appeal: the ads with the greatest number of attention-getting, branded, and motivational points within each. Although integrated marketing communications is more than just an advertising campaign, the bulk of marketing dollars is spent on the creation and distribution of advertisements. Hence, the bulk of the research budget is also spent on these elements of the campaign. Once the key marketing pieces have been tested, the researched elements can then be applied to other contact points: letterhead, packaging, logistics, customer service training, and more, to complete the IMC cycle. One common type of integrated marketing communication is personal selling. Personal selling can be defined as "face to face selling in which a seller attempts to persuade a buyer to make a purchase." Personal selling is occasionally called the "last 3 feet" of the marketing functions. It is called the "last 3 feet" because this is usually the distance between a salesperson and his customer on the retail sales floor. The last 3 feet also applies to the distance across the desk from a sales representative to his prospective business customer. Personal selling occurs in two main categories: 1. Retail sales 2. Business-to-business selling [8]
Promotions Opportunity Analysis

A major task that guides the way in creating an effective Integrated Marketing Communications plan is the promotions opportunity analysis. A promotions opportunity analysis is the process marketers use to identify target audiences for a companys goods 47

and services and the communication strategies needed to reach these audiences. [9] A message sent by a marketer has a greater likelihood of achieving the intended results if the marketer has performed a good analysis and possesses accurate information pertaining to the target audience. There are five steps in developing a promotions opportunity analysis:[10] Conduct a communication market analysis Competitors Opportunities Target markets Customers Product positioning Establish communication objectives Develop brand awareness Increase category demand Change customer belief or attitude Enhance purchase actions Encourage repeat purchases Build customer traffic Enhance firm image Increase market share Increase sales Reinforce purchase decisions Create communications budget Several factors influence the relationship between expenditures on promotions and sales: The goal of the promotion Threshold effects Carryover effects Wear-out effects Decay effects Random events Prepare promotional strategies The fourth step of a promotions opportunity analysis program is to prepare a general communication strategy for the company and it products. Strategies are sweeping guidelines concerning the essence of the company's marketing efforts. Strategies provide the long term direction for all marketing activities.[11] It is critical that the company's communication strategy mesh with the overall message and be carefully linked to the opportunities identified by a communication market analysis. Communications strategies should be directly related to a firm's marketing objectives. Strategies must be achievable using the allocations available in the marketing and communications budgets. Once strategies have been implemented, they are not changed unless major new events occur. Only changes in the marketplace, new competitive forces, or new promotional opportunities should cause companies to alter strategies.[12] Match tactics with strategies Advertisements based on the major theme or a subtheme Personal selling enticements (bonuses and prizes for sales reps) Sales promotions (posters, point-of-purchase displays, end-of-aisle displays, freestanding displays)

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Special product packaging and labeling Price changes Other enticements companies may include in their tactical efforts includes: Coupons, gift certificates, bonus packs (a second product attached to a first), special containers (e.g., holiday decanters or soft-drink glasses), contests and prizes, rebates and volume discounts (large-size packages, "buy two, get one free" promotions, etc.)[13] Throughout these steps, marketers should consistently review and analyze the actions and tools that major competitors are utilizing.
Accountability

Accountability in marketing is increasing a result of tight economic restraints and an ever evolving society. Companies realize that they cannot spend large amounts of money on unproductive marketing campaigns. Companies look for programs that will have a measurable impact on business at minimal cost. Marketing agencies must be able to provide companies with desired and effective results.[14]
Barriers to IMC

Despite its many benefits, Integrated Marketing Communications, or IMC, has many barriers. In addition to the usual resistance to change and the special problems of communicating with a wide variety of target audiences, there are many other obstacles which restrict IMC. These include: Functional Silos; Stifled Creativity; Time Scale Conflicts and a lack of Management know-how. Take functional silos. Rigid organisational structures are infested with managers who protect both their budgets and their power base. Sadly, some organisational structures isolate communications, data, and even managers from each other. For example the PR department often doesn't report to marketing. The sales force rarely meet the advertising or sales promotion people and so on. Imagine what can happen when sales reps are not told about a new promotional offer! And all of this can be aggravated by turf wars or internal power battles where specific managers resist having some of their decisions (and budgets) determined or even influenced by someone from another department. Here are two difficult questions - What should a truly integrated marketing department look like? And how will it affect creativity? It shouldn't matter whose creative idea it is, but often, it does. An advertising agency may not be so enthusiastic about developing a creative idea generated by, say, a PR or a direct marketing consultant. IMC can restrict creativity. No more wild and wacky sales promotions unless they fit into the overall marketing communications strategy. The joy of rampant creativity may be stifled, but the creative challenge may be greater and ultimately more satisfying when operating within a tighter, integrated, creative brief. Time horizons add one more barrier to IMC as different time scales affect a creative brief. For example, image advertising that is designed to nurture the brand over the longer term may conflict with shorter term advertising or sales promotions designed to boost quarterly sales. However, the two objectives of improving the brand and sales can be accommodated with IMC planning. But this kind of planning is not common. A survey in 1995, revealed that most managers lack expertise in IMC. But its not just managers, but also agencies. There is a proliferation of single discipline agencies. There appear to be very few people who have real experience 49

of all the marketing communications disciplines. This lack of know how is then compounded by a lack of commitment. For now, understanding the barriers is the first step in successfully implementing IMC. Visual brand language From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search

Starbucks original Visual Brand Language, circa 1995. Visual brand language is branding terminology for a unique "alphabet" of design elements such as shape, color, materials, finish, typography and composition which directly and subliminally communicate a company's values and personality through compelling imagery and design style. This "alphabet", properly designed, results in an emotional connection between the brand and the consumer. Visual brand language is a key ingredient necessary to make an authentic and convincing brand strategy that can be applied uniquely and creatively in all forms of brand communications to both employees and customers.[1][2] Successful Visual Brand Language creates a memorable experience for the consumer, encouraging repeat business and boosting the company's economic health. It is a long-term creative solution that can be leveraged by an executive team to showcase their brand's unique personality. [3] For example, as shown, a Starbucks constant, main design ingredient was black and white icons. The icons represent elements of the "alphabet". Each year, the promotional campaigns would use the same icons but the color palette and the featured icons would change. Another distinguishing iconic design element is the BMW 'split grill' continually employed to represent the brand. While the grill size and design details evolve over time, the underlying idea is constant and memorable. The use of color is also a powerful associative element for consistent imagery, as exemplified by the comprehensive application of orange by The Home Depot across all its brand materials.

Band management See also Brand orientation Chief brand officer Employer branding Predictive analytics Brand community Brand engagement Brand implementation Customer engagement Emory Brand Institute at Emory University Naming firms Product naming

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Visual brand language Visual merchandising 5.

Brand management begins with having a thorough knowledge of the term brand. It includes developing a promise, making that promise and maintaining it. It means defining the brand, positioning the brand, and delivering the brand. Brand management is nothing but an art of creating and sustaining the brand. Branding makes customers committed to your business. A strong brand differentiates your products from the competitors. It gives a quality image to your business. Brand management includes managing the tangible and intangible characteristics of brand. In case of product brands, the tangibles include the product itself, price, packaging, etc. While in case of service brands, the tangibles include the customers experience. The intangibles include emotional connections with the product / service. Branding is assembling of various marketing mix medium into a whole so as to give you an identity. It is nothing but capturing your customers mind with your brand name. It gives an image of an experienced, huge and reliable business. It is all about capturing the niche market for your product / service and about creating a confidence in the current and prospective customers minds that you are the unique solution to their problem. The aim of branding is to convey brand message vividly, create customer loyalty, persuade the buyer for the product, and establish an emotional connectivity with the customers. Branding forms customer perceptions about the product. It should raise customer expectations about the product. The primary aim of branding is to create differentiation. Strong brands reduce customers perceived monetary, social and safety risks in buying goods/services. The customers can better imagine the intangible goods with the help of brand name. Strong brand organizations have a high market share. The brand should be given good support so that it can sustain itself in long run. It is essential to manage all brands and build brand equity over a period of time. Here comes importance and usefulness of brand management. Brand management helps in building a corporate image. A brand manager has to oversee overall brand performance. A successful brand can only be created if the brand management system is competent. Following are the important concepts of brand management:
Definition of Brand Brand Name Brand Attributes Brand Positioning Brand Identity Sources of Brand Identity Brand Image Brand Identity vs Brand Image Brand Personality Brand Awareness Brand Loyalty Brand Association Building a Brand Brand Equity

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Brand Equity & Customer Equity Brand Extension Co-branding

Brand Management Understanding Brand - What is a Brand ?

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Brands are different from products in a way that brands are what the consumers buy, while products are what concern/companies make. Brand is an accumulation of emotional and functional associations. Brand is a promise that the product will perform as per customers expectations. It shapes customers expectations about the product. Brands usually have a trademark which protects them from use by others. A brand gives particular information about the organization, good or service, differentiating it from others in marketplace. Brand carries an assurance about the characteristics that make the product or service unique. A strong brand is a means of making people aware of what the company represents and what are its offerings. To a consumer, brand means and signifies: Source of product Delegating responsibility to the manufacturer of product Lower risk Less search cost Quality symbol Deal or pact with the product manufacturer Symbolic device Brands simplify consumers purchase decision. Over a period of time, consumers discover the brands which satisfy their need. If the consumers recognize a particular brand and have knowledge about it, they make quick purchase decision and save lot of time. Also, they save search costs for product. Consumers remain committed and loyal to a brand as long as they believe and have an implicit understanding that the brand will continue meeting their expectations and perform in the desired manner consistently. As long as the consumers get benefits and satisfaction from consumption of the product, they will more likely continue to buy that brand. Brands also play a crucial role in signifying certain product features to consumers. To a seller, brand means and signifies: Basis of competitive advantage Way of bestowing products with unique associations Way of identification to easy handling Way of legal protection of products unique traits/features Sign of quality to satisfied customer Means of financial returns A brand, in short, can be defined as a sellers promise to provide consistently a unique set of characteristics, advantages, and services to the buyers/consumers. It is a name, term, sign, symbol or a combination of all these planned to differentiate the goods/services of one seller or group of sellers from those of competitors. Some examples of well known brands are Mc Donalds, Mercedes-Benz, Sony, Coca Cola, Kingfisher, etc.

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A brand connects the four crucial elements of an enterprise- customers, employees, management and shareholders. Brand is nothing but an assortment of memories in customers mind. Brand represents values, ideas and even personality. It is a set of functional, emotional and rational associations and benefits which have occupied target markets mind. Associations are nothing but the images and symbols associated with the brand or brand benefits, such as, The Nike Swoosh, The Nokia sound, etc. Benefits are the basis for purchase decision. Brand Name
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Brand name is one of the brand elements which helps the customers to identify and differentiate one product from another. It should be chosen very carefully as it captures the key theme of a product in an efficient and economical manner. It can easily be noticed and its meaning can be stored and triggered in the memory instantly. Choice of a brand name requires a lot of research. Brand names are not necessarily associated with the product. For instance, brand names can be based on places (Air India, British Airways), animals or birds (Dove soap, Puma), people (Louise Phillips, Allen Solly). In some instances, the company name is used for all products (General Electric, LG). Features of a Good Brand Name A good brand name should have following characteristics: It should be unique / distinctive (for instance- Kodak, Mustang) It should be extendable. It should be easy to pronounce, identified and memorized. (For instance-Tide) It should give an idea about products qualities and benefits (For instance- Swift, Quickfix, Lipguard). It should be easily convertible into foreign languages. It should be capable of legal protection and registration. It should suggest product/service category (For instance Newsweek). It should indicate concrete qualities (For instance Firebird). It should not portray bad/wrong meanings in other categories. (For instance NOVA is a poor name for a car to be sold in Spanish country, because in Spanish it means doesnt go). Process of Selecting a renowned and successful Brand Name Define the objectives of branding in terms of six criterions - descriptive, suggestive, compound, classical, arbitrary and fanciful. It Is essential to recognize the role of brand within the corporate branding strategy and the relation of brand to other brand and products. It is also essential to understand the role of brand within entire marketing program as well as a detailed description of niche market must be considered. Generation of multiple names - Any potential source of names can be used; organization, management and employees, current or potential customers, agencies and professional consultants. Screening of names on the basis of branding objectives and marketing considerations so as to have a more synchronized list - The brand names must not have connotations, should be easily pronounceable, should meet the legal requirements etc.

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Gathering more extensive details on each of the finalized names - There should be extensive international legal search done. These searches are at times done on a sequential basis because of the expense involved. Conducting consumer research - Consumer research is often conducted so as to confirm management expectations as to the remembrance and meaningfulness of the brand names. The features of the product, its price and promotion may be shown to the consumers so that they understand the purpose of the brand name and the manner in which it will be used. Consumers can be shown actual 3-D packages as well as animated advertising or boards. Several samples of consumers must be surveyed depending on the niche market involved. On the basis of the above steps, management can finalize the brand name that maximizes the organizations branding and marketing objectives and then formally register the brand name. Brand Attributes
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Brand Attributes portray a companys brand characteristics. They signify the basic nature of brand. Brand attributes are a bundle of features that highlight the physical and personality aspects of the brand. Attributes are developed through images, actions, or presumptions. Brand attributes help in creating brand identity. A strong brand must have following attributes: Relevancy- A strong brand must be relevant. It must meet peoples expectations and should perform the way they want it to. A good job must be done to persuade consumers to buy the product; else inspite of your product being unique, people will not buy it. Consistency- A consistent brand signifies what the brand stands for and builds customers trust in brand. A consistent brand is where the company communicates message in a way that does not deviate from the core brand proposition. Proper positioning- A strong brand should be positioned so that it makes a place in target audience mind and they prefer it over other brands. Sustainable- A strong brand makes a business competitive. A sustainable brand drives an organization towards innovation and success. Example of sustainable brand is Marks and Spencers. Credibility- A strong brand should do what it promises. The way you communicate your brand to the audience/ customers should be realistic. It should not fail to deliver what it promises. Do not exaggerate as customers want to believe in the promises you make to them. Inspirational- A strong brand should transcend/ inspire the category it is famous for. For example- Nike transcendent Jersey Polo Shirt. Uniqueness- A strong brand should be different and unique. It should set you apart from other competitors in market. Appealing- A strong brand should be attractive. Customers should be attracted by the promise you make and by the value you deliver. Brand Positioning - Definition and Concept

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Brand positioning refers to target consumers reason to buy your brand in preference to others. It is ensures that all brand activity has a common aim; is guided, directed and delivered by the brands benefits/reasons to buy; and it focusses at all points of contact with the consumer. Brand positioning must make sure that: Is it unique/distinctive vs. competitors ? Is it significant and encouraging to the niche market ? Is it appropriate to all major geographic markets and businesses ? Is the proposition validated with unique, appropriate and original products ? Is it sustainable - can it be delivered constantly across all points of contact with the consumer ? Is it helpful for organization to achieve its financial goals ? Is it able to support and boost up the organization ? In order to create a distinctive place in the market, a niche market has to be carefully chosen and a differential advantage must be created in their mind. Brand positioning is a medium through which an organization can portray its customers what it wants to achieve for them and what it wants to mean to them. Brand positioning forms customers views and opinions. Brand Positioning can be defined as an activity of creating a brand offer in such a manner that it occupies a distinctive place and value in the target customers mind. For instanceKotak Mahindra positions itself in the customers mind as one entity- Kotak - which can provide customized and one-stop solution for all their financial services needs. It has an unaided top of mind recall. It intends to stay with the proposition of Think Investments, Think Kotak. The positioning you choose for your brand will be influenced by the competitive stance you want to adopt. Brand Positioning involves identifying and determining points of similarity and difference to ascertain the right brand identity and to create a proper brand image. Brand Positioning is the key of marketing strategy. A strong brand positioning directs marketing strategy by explaining the brand details, the uniqueness of brand and its similarity with the competitive brands, as well as the reasons for buying and using that specific brand. Positioning is the base for developing and increasing the required knowledge and perceptions of the customers. It is the single feature that sets your service apart from your competitors. For instance- Kingfisher stands for youth and excitement. It represents brand in full flight. There are various positioning errors, such asUnder positioning- This is a scenario in which the customers have a blurred and unclear idea of the brand. Over positioning- This is a scenario in which the customers have too limited a awareness of the brand. Confused positioning- This is a scenario in which the customers have a confused opinion of the brand. Double Positioning- This is a scenario in which customers do not accept the claims of a brand.

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Brand Identity - Definition and Concept

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Brand identity stems from an organization, i.e., an organization is responsible for creating a distinguished product with unique characteristics. It is how an organization seeks to identify itself. It represents how an organization wants to be perceived in the market. An organization communicates its identity to the consumers through its branding and marketing strategies. A brand is unique due to its identity. Brand identity includes following elements - Brand vision, brand culture, positioning, personality, relationships, and presentations. Brand identity is a bundle of mental and functional associations with the brand. Associations are not reasons-to-buy but provide familiarity and differentiation thats not replicable getting it. These associations can include signature tune(for example - Britannia ting-ting-ta-ding), trademark colours (for example - Blue colour with Pepsi), logo (for example - Nike), tagline (for example - Apples tagline is Think different),etc. Brand identity is the total proposal/promise that an organization makes to consumers. The brand can be perceived as a product, a personality, a set of values, and a position it occupies in consumers minds. Brand identity is all that an organization wants the brand to be considered as. It is a feature linked with a specific company, product, service or individual. It is a way of externally expressing a brand to the world. Brand identity is the noticeable elements of a brand (for instance - Trademark colour, logo, name, symbol) that identify and differentiates a brand in target audience mind. It is a crucial means to grow your companys brand. Brand identity is the aggregation of what all you (i.e. an organization) do. It is an organizations mission, personality, promise to the consumers and competitive advantages. It includes the thinking, feelings and expectations of the target market/consumers. It is a means of identifying and distinguishing an organization from another. An organization having unique brand identity have improved brand awareness, motivated team of employees who feel proud working in a well branded organization, active buyers, and corporate style. Brand identity leads to brand loyalty, brand preference, high credibility, good prices and good financial returns. It helps the organization to express to the customers and the target market the kind of organization it is. It assures the customers again that you are who you say you are. It establishes an immediate connection between the organization and consumers. Brand identity should be sustainable. It is crucial so that the consumers instantly correlate with your product/service. Brand identity should be futuristic, i.e, it should reveal the associations aspired for the brand. It should reflect the durable qualities of a brand. Brand identity is a basic means of consumer recognition and represents the brands distinction from its competitors. Sources of Brand Identity
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SYMBOLS- Symbols help customers memorize organizations products and services. 56

They help us correlate positive attributes that bring us closer and make it convenient for us to purchase those products and services. Symbols emphasize our brand expectations and shape corporate images. Symbols become a key component of brand equity and help in differentiating the brand characteristics. Symbols are easier to memorize than the brand names as they are visual images. These can include logos, people, geometric shapes, cartoon images, anything. For instance, Marlboro has its famous cowboy, Pillsbury has its Poppin Fresh doughboy, Duracell has its bunny rabbit, Mc Donald has Ronald, Fed Ex has an arrow, and Nikes swoosh. All these symbols help us remember the brands associated with them. Brand symbols are strong means to attract attention and enhance brand personalities by making customers like them. It is feasible to learn the relationship between symbol and brand if the symbol is reflective/representative of the brand. For instance, the symbol of LG symbolize the world, future, youth, humanity, and technology. Also, it represents LGs efforts to keep close relationships with their customers. LOGOS- A logo is a unique graphic or symbol that represents a company, product, service, or other entity. It represents an organization very well and make the customers well-acquainted with the company. It is due to logo that customers form an image for the product/service in mind. Adidass Three Stripes is a famous brand identified by its corporate logo. Features of a good logo are : It should be simple. It should be distinguished/unique. It should differentiate itself. It should be functional so that it can be used widely. It should be effective, i.e., it must have an impact on the intended audience. It should be memorable. It should be easily identifiable in full colours, limited colour palettes, or in black and white. It should be a perfect reflection/representation of the organization. It should be easy to correlate by the customers and should develop customers trust in the organization. It should not loose its integrity when transferred on fabric or any other material. It should portray companys values, mission and objectives. The elements of a logo are: Logotype - It can be a simple or expanded name. Examples of logotypes including only the name are Kelloggs, Hyatt, etc. Icon - It is a name or visual symbol that communicates a market position. For example-LIC hands, UTI kalash. Slogan - It is best way of conveying companys message to the consumers. For instanceNikes slogan Just Do It. TRADEMARKS- Trademark is a unique symbol, design, or any form of identification that helps people recognize a brand. A renowned brand has a popular trademark and that helps consumers purchase quality products. The goodwill of the dealer/maker of the product also enhances by use of trademark. Trademark totally indicates the commercial source of product/service. Trademark contribute in brand equity formation of a brand. Trademark name should be original. A trademark is chosen by the following symbols:

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 (denotes unregistered trademark, that is, a mark used to promote or brand goods); SM (denotes unregistered service mark) (denotes registered trademark). Registration of trademark is essential in some countries to give exclusive rights to it. Without adequate trademark protection, brand names can become legally declared generic. Generic names are never protectable as was the case with Vaseline, escalator and thermos. Some guidelines for trademark protection are as follows: Go for formal trademark registration. Never use trademark as a noun or verb. Always use it as an adjective. Use correct trademark spelling. Challenge each misuse of trademark, specifically by competitors in market. Capitalize first letter of trademark. If a trademark appears in point, ensure that it stands out from surrounding text.

Brand Image
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Brand image is the current view of the customers about a brand. It can be defined as a unique bundle of associations within the minds of target customers. It signifies what the brand presently stands for. It is a set of beliefs held about a specific brand. In short, it is nothing but the consumers perception about the product. It is the manner in which a specific brand is positioned in the market. Brand image conveys emotional value and not just a mental image. Brand image is nothing but an organizations character. It is an accumulation of contact and observation by people external to an organization. It should highlight an organizations mission and vision to all. The main elements of positive brand image are- unique logo reflecting organizations image, slogan describing organizations business in brief and brand identifier supporting the key values. Brand image is the overall impression in consumers mind that is formed from all sources. Consumers develop various associations with the brand. Based on these associations, they form brand image. An image is formed about the brand on the basis of subjective perceptions of associations bundle that the consumers have about the brand. Volvo is associated with safety. Toyota is associated with reliability. The idea behind brand image is that the consumer is not purchasing just the product/service but also the image associated with that product/service. Brand images should be positive, unique and instant. Brand images can be strengthened using brand communications like advertising, packaging, word of mouth publicity, other promotional tools, etc. Brand image develops and conveys the products character in a unique manner different from its competitors image. The brand image consists of various associations in consumers mind - attributes, benefits and attributes. Brand attributes are the functional and mental connections with the brand that the customers have. They can be specific or conceptual. Benefits are the rationale for the purchase decision. There are three types of benefits: Functional benefits - what do you do better (than others ),emotional benefits how do you make me feel better (than others), and rational benefits/support - why do I

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believe you(more than others). Brand attributes are consumers overall assessment of a brand. Brand image has not to be created, but is automatically formed. The brand image includes products' appeal, ease of use, functionality, fame, and overall value. Brand image is actually brand content. When the consumers purchase the product, they are also purchasing its image. Brand image is the objective and mental feedback of the consumers when they purchase a product. Positive brand image is exceeding the customers expectations. Positive brand image enhances the goodwill and brand value of an organization. To sum up, Brand image is the customers net extract from the brand.

Brand Identity vs Brand Image

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Brand Identity 1 Brand identity develops from the source or the company. Brand message is tied together in terms of brand identity. The general meaning of brand identity is who you really are? Its nature is that it is substance oriented or strategic. Brand identity reality. Brand identity desire. It is enduring. Identity is looking ahead. Identity is active. symbolizes firms

Brand Image Brand image is perceived by the receiver or the consumer. Brand message is untied by the consumer in the form of brand image. The general meaning of brand image is How market perceives you? Its nature is that it is appearance oriented or tactical. Brand image symbolizes perception of consumers Brand image represents others view

represents

your

7 8 9

It is superficial. Image is looking back. Image is passive.

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10 11

It signifies where you want to be. It is total promise that a company makes to consumers.

It signifies what you have got. It is total consumers perception about the brand.

Focus on shaping your brand identity, brand image will follow.

What is Brand Personality ?

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Brand personality is the way a brand speaks and behaves. It means assigning human personality traits/characteristics to a brand so as to achieve differentiation. These characteristics signify brand behaviour through both individuals representing the brand (i.e. its employees) as well as through advertising, packaging, etc. When brand image or brand identity is expressed in terms of human traits, it is called brand personality. For instance - Allen Solley brand speaks the personality and makes the individual who wears it stand apart from the crowd. Infosys represents uniqueness, value, and intellectualism. Brand personality is nothing but personification of brand. A brand is expressed either as a personality who embodies these personality traits (For instance - Shahrukh Khan and Airtel, John Abraham and Castrol) or distinct personality traits (For instance - Dove as honest, feminist and optimist; Hewlett Packard brand represents accomplishment, competency and influence). Brand personality is the result of all the consumers experiences with the brand. It is unique and long lasting. Brand personality must be differentiated from brand image, in sense that, while brand image denote the tangible (physical and functional) benefits and attributes of a brand, brand personality indicates emotional associations of the brand. If brand image is comprehensive brand according to consumers opinion, brand personality is that aspect of comprehensive brand which generates its emotional character and associations in consumers mind. Brand personality develops brand equity. It sets the brand attitude. It is a key input into the look and feel of any communication or marketing activity by the brand. It helps in gaining thorough knowledge of customers feelings about the brand. Brand personality differentiates among brands specifically when they are alike in many attributes. For instance - Sony versus Panasonic. Brand personality is used to make the brand strategy lively, i.e, to implement brand strategy. Brand personality indicates the kind of relationship a customer has with the brand. It is a means by which a customer communicates his own identity. Brand personality and celebrity should supplement each other. Trustworthy celebrity ensures immediate awareness, acceptability and optimism towards the brand. This will influence consumers purchase decision and also create brand loyalty. For instance Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra is brand ambassador for J.Hampstead, international line of premium shirts. Brand personality not only includes the personality features/characteristics, but also the demographic features like age, gender or class and psychographic features. Personality traits are what the brand exists for.

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What is Brand Awareness?

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Brand awareness is the probability that consumers are familiar about the life and availability of the product. It is the degree to which consumers precisely associate the brand with the specific product. It is measured as ratio of niche market that has former knowledge of brand. Brand awareness includes both brand recognition as well as brand recall. Brand recognition is the ability of consumer to recognize prior knowledge of brand when they are asked questions about that brand or when they are shown that specific brand, i.e., the consumers can clearly differentiate the brand as having being earlier noticed or heard. While brand recall is the potential of customer to recover a brand from his memory when given the product class/category, needs satisfied by that category or buying scenario as a signal. In other words, it refers that consumers should correctly recover brand from the memory when given a clue or he can recall the specific brand when the product category is mentioned. It is generally easier to recognize a brand rather than recall it from the memory. Brand awareness is improved to the extent to which brand names are selected that is simple and easy to pronounce or spell; known and expressive; and unique as well as distinct. For instance - Coca Cola has come to be known as Coke. There are two types of brand awareness: Aided awareness- This means that on mentioning the product category, the customers recognize your brand from the lists of brands shown. Top of mind awareness (Immediate brand recall)- This means that on mentioning the product category, the first brand that customer recalls from his mind is your brand. The relative importance of brand recall and recognition will rely on the degree to which consumers make product-related decisions with the brand present or not. For instance - In a store, brand recognition is more crucial as the brand will be physically present. In a scenario where brands are not physically present, brand recall is more significant (as in case of services and online brands). Building brand awareness is essential for building brand equity. It includes use of various renowned channels of promotion such as advertising, word of mouth publicity, social media like blogs, sponsorships, launching events, etc. To create brand awareness, it is important to create reliable brand image, slogans and taglines. The brand message to be communicated should also be consistent. Strong brand awareness leads to high sales and high market share. Brand awareness can be regarded as a means through which consumers become acquainted and familiar with a brand and recognize that brand.

Brand Loyalty
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Brand Loyalty is a scenario where the consumer fears purchasing and consuming product 61

from another brand which he does not trust. It is measured through methods like word of mouth publicity, repetitive buying, price sensitivity, commitment, brand trust, customer satisfaction, etc. Brand loyalty is the extent to which a consumer constantly buys the same brand within a product category. The consumers remain loyal to a specific brand as long as it is available. They do not buy from other suppliers within the product category. Brand loyalty exists when the consumer feels that the brand consists of right product characteristics and quality at right price. Even if the other brands are available at cheaper price or superior quality, the brand loyal consumer will stick to his brand. Brand loyal consumers are the foundation of an organization. Greater loyalty levels lead to less marketing expenditure because the brand loyal customers promote the brand positively. Also, it acts as a means of launching and introducing more products that are targeted at same customers at less expenditure. It also restrains new competitors in the market. Brand loyalty is a key component of brand equity. Brand loyalty can be developed through various measures such as quick service, ensuring quality products, continuous improvement, wide distribution network, etc. When consumers are brand loyal they love you for being you, and they will minutely consider any other alternative brand as a replacement. Examples of brand loyalty can be seen in US where true Apple customers have the brand's logo tattooed onto their bodies. Similarly in Finland, Nokia customers remained loyal to Nokia because they admired the design of the handsets or because of user- friendly menu system used by Nokia phones. Brand loyalty can be defined as relative possibility of customer shifting to another brand in case there is a change in products features, price or quality. As brand loyalty increases, customers will respond less to competitive moves and actions. Brand loyal customers remain committed to the brand, are willing to pay higher price for that brand, and will promote their brand always. A company having brand loyal customers will have greater sales, less marketing and advertising costs, and best pricing. This is because the brand loyal customers are less reluctant to shift to other brands, respond less to price changes and self- promote the brand as they perceive that their brand have unique value which is not provided by other competitive brands. Brand loyalty is always developed post purchase. To develop brand loyalty, an organization should know their niche market, target them, support their product, ensure easy access of their product, provide customer satisfaction, bring constant innovation in their product and offer schemes on their product so as to ensure that customers repeatedly purchase the product.

Brand Association
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Brand Associations are not benefits, but are images and symbols associated with a brand or a brand benefit. For example- The Nike Swoosh, Nokia sound, Film Stars as with Lux, signature tune Ting-ting-ta-ding with Britannia, Blue colour with Pepsi, etc. Associations are not reasons-to-buy but provide acquaintance and differentiation thats not replicable. It is relating perceived qualities of a brand to a known entity. For instance- Hyatt Hotel is

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associated with luxury and comfort; BMW is associated with sophistication, fun driving, and superior engineering. Most popular brand associations are with the owners of brand, such as - Bill Gates and Microsoft, Reliance and Dhirubhai Ambani. Brand association is anything which is deep seated in customers mind about the brand. Brand should be associated with something positive so that the customers relate your brand to being positive. Brand associations are the attributes of brand which come into consumers mind when the brand is talked about. It is related with the implicit and explicit meanings which a consumer relates/associates with a specific brand name. Brand association can also be defined as the degree to which a specific product/service is recognized within its product/service class/category. While choosing a brand name, it is essential that the name chosen should reinforce an important attribute or benefit association that forms its product positioning. For instance - Power book. Brand associations are formed on the following basis: Customers contact with the organization and its employees; Advertisements; Word of mouth publicity; Price at which the brand is sold; Celebrity/big entity association; Quality of the product; Products and schemes offered by competitors; Product class/category to which the brand belongs; POP ( Point of purchase) displays; etc Positive brand associations are developed if the product which the brand depicts is durable, marketable and desirable. The customers must be persuaded that the brand possess the features and attributes satisfying their needs. This will lead to customers having a positive impression about the product. Positive brand association helps an organization to gain goodwill, and obstructs the competitors entry into the market.

Brand Promise - Our brand is a promise of what we deliver

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Brand evokes the responses. There are many people who love their Apple iPod or love their car etc. There are certain feelings that come to your mind when you think about your favorite brands. People expect that these brands should demonstrate brand promises every time whenever they are, encountered. Inconsistencies in the performance of services can lead to damage in further relations. This can cause a customer to select some other brand. Brand promise is what you say to the customer and what is to be delivered. If you are not able to meet the expectations of the customer, your business will either flounder or die. If you are not able to deliver the brand promise you will not be able to meet the expectations that have been created in the customers mind. There are three major mistakes that the business leaders make while executing and developing the brand promise:

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The first mistake is when you refuse to recognize the customer expectations that are created in customers mind before it comes in contact with that particular brand. The customers are very easily able to realize your brand promise by the business you are dealing with. For example, if you have a gourmet restaurant then the customers will have a image in their mind that it will different from the local restaurant. This is one of the major reason, why one should work for every smallest detail. For example, the image of a gourmet restaurant does not include plastic menus or paper placemats. The second major mistake is to implement a system which gives a negative experience to the customer. Business leaders work on creating efficient results for saving time and money. Human beings are self-centered creatures with a thought in their mind to save money and time for us. For example, a customers asks do you accept credit card? Do you accept all credit cards or only master card and visa? If you dont accept these cards, does it make any difference in the cost? Its just that you are losing sales. Then what are the other services you are giving to the customer in place which is the attraction for the customers. Any small inconvenience which will force the customer to say that you are not completely service oriented and encourages the customer to some other brand. The third major mistake is that when you are not able to hire the best candidate. You easily hire anyone who applies and dont even put some efforts to train them gives a really terrible experience to the customers. Brand promises are delivered by the staff. If your goal is to be a business leader you will invest time to train the staff. If you select a person who is very polite and does not even know how to dress up for an interview then you competition should send a thank you card for all the business you will send his way. People who want to become the business leader understand they are a great product brands. They are authentic, dependable and reliable. Their icon is their name. Delivering the best of themselves is their brand promise. Do you want to become winner at working? Then, deliver the brand promise.

Steps in Building a Brand Name Product or Service

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At times, organizations are often inspired by a variety of ideas to create products and services which can be offered locally or globally. Generally, such products or services require the establishment of a brand or company name. Often these brands include both logo and lettering and can do a long way in advertising such products or services. Therefore, one of the most important steps in building a Brand is decide upon a brand name for the product or service one wishes to sell. Branding is a process that allows an individual or a group of individuals the ability to provide a brand image and lettering to an idea. Upon doing so, one has a better chance of selling such items to a broader audience whether that be on a local or global level. Therefore, while the old adage nothing happens until somebody sells something, still stands true to some extent, at times almost seems as if the process of advertising and branding has overtaken the desire to sell. 64

Although branding generally identifies the company and philosophies behind same, it can also be representative of those working for such a company. This is a good thing as it generates the right type of audience to the product or service being sold based on personal relationships with those running the company. Therefore, benefiting both the organizations selling the branded product or service and the dealers buying same. One of the most important steps in selling any product or service is the belief one holds in relation to the item. Therefore, only those who strongly believe in the products and services offered by the company are going to be good at selling same. Otherwise, one may want to work from an advertising or graphic artist perspective in relation to advertising rather than sales when it comes to time to market same. Another step is to build a brand that maintains loyalty with its customer base and has a strong customer service department. For, having such a department in today's world where one is both experienced and knowledgeable when it comes to helping others can be a rare find. So, companies who represent oneself has having a strong customer base and even stronger customer service department are often more successful than those who do not. A very important step in marketing a brand is to identify the target audience before creating the logo and lettering in relation to marketing. This is because different age groups react differently to a variety of logo and lettering especially as so much is misrepresented by a variety of gangs and others using such material inappropriately. Therefore, if one can define the brand name, logo and lettering and present same to a marketing research review panel or the like, one may be able to gain a better understanding of which audience one needs to direct their product or service to in order to create the most sales. Still, if one can communicate the use of their product or service clearly, establish trust within the community, be that locally or globally, aim marketing at the right audience, build a base of buyers and customer loyalty and offer great customer service, then one is on their way to not only creating and advertising an excellent brand but selling one as well. Therefore, when looking for steps in building a brand, there are many steps which one can complete to help make the creation of such brand an easier task. These include, knowing your audience, building your brand, finding a great logo and lettering to represent same, targeting the appropriate audience and placing a number of ads in as many online and offline advertising venues one can find. For, after doing so, one may just find that they are selling even more products and services than one had ever dreamed possible.

Brand Equity - Meaning and Measuring Brand Equity

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Brand Equity is the value and strength of the Brand that decides its worth. It can also be defined as the differential impact of brand knowledge on consumers response to the Brand Marketing. Brand Equity exists as a function of consumer choice in the market place. The concept of Brand Equity comes into existence when consumer makes a choice of a product or a service. It occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand and holds some favourable positive strong and distinctive brand associations in the memory. Brand Equity can be determined by measuring: Returns to the Share-Holders.

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Evaluating the Brand Image for various parameters that are considered significant. Evaluating the Brands earning potential in long run. By evaluating the increased volume of sales created by the brand compared to other brands in the same class. The price premium charged by the brand over non-branded products. From the prices of the shares that an organization commands in the market (specifically if the brand name is identical to the corporate name or the consumers can easily co-relate the performance of all the individual brands of the organization with the organizational financial performance. OR, An amalgamation of all the above methods. Factors contributing to Brand Equity
Brand Awareness Brand Associations Brand Loyalty

Perceived Quality: refers to the customers perception about the total quality of the brand. While evaluating quality the customer takes into account the brands performance on factors that are significant to him and makes a relative analysis about the brands quality by evaluating the competitors brands also. Thus quality is a perceptual factor and the consumer analysis about quality varies. Higher perceived quality might be used for brand positioning . Perceived quality affect the pricing decisions of the organizations. Superior quality products can be charged a price premium. Perceived quality gives the customers a reason to buy the product. It also captures the channel members interest. For instance American Express. Other Proprietary Brand Assets: Patents, Trademarks and Channel Inter-relations are proprietary assets. These assets prevent competitors attack on the organization. They also help in maintaining customer loyalty as well as organizations competitive advantage. Brand Equity & Customer Equity
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Brand Equity is defined as value and strength of the Brand that decides its worth whereas Customer Equity is defined in terms of lifetime values of all customers. Brand Equity and Customer Equity have two things in commonBoth stress on significance of customer loyalty to the brand Both stress upon the face that value is created by having as many customers as possible paying as high price as possible. But conceptually both brand equity and customer equity differ. While customer equity puts too much emphasis on lower line financial value got from the customers, brand equity attempts to put more emphasis on strategic issues in managing brands. Customer Equity is less narrow alternative. It can overlook a brands optional value and

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their capacity effect revenues and cost beyond the present marketing environment. Just as customer equity can persist without brand equity, brand equity may also exist without customer equity. For instance I may have positive attitude towards brands McDonald and Burger King, but I may only purchase from McDonalds brand consistently. To conclude, we can say brands do not exist without consumer and consumer do not exist without brands. Brands serve as a temptation that utilizes other intermediaries to lure the customers from whom value is extracted. Customers serve as a profit-medium for brands to encash their brand value. Both the concepts are highly co-related. Brand Extension - Meaning, Advantages and Disadvantages
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Brand Extension is the use of an established brand name in new product categories. This new category to which the brand is extended can be related or unrelated to the existing product categories. A renowned/successful brand helps an organization to launch products in new categories more easily. For instance, Nikes brand core product is shoes. But it is now extended to sunglasses, soccer balls, basketballs, and golf equipments. An existing brand that gives rise to a brand extension is referred to as parent brand. If the customers of the new business have values and aspirations synchronizing/matching those of the core business, and if these values and aspirations are embodied in the brand, it is likely to be accepted by customers in the new business. Extending a brand outside its core product category can be beneficial in a sense that it helps evaluating product category opportunities, identifies resource requirements, lowers risk, and measures brands relevance and appeal. Brand extension may be successful or unsuccessful. Instances where brand extension has been a success areWipro which was originally into computers has extended into shampoo, powder, and soap. Mars is no longer a famous bar only, but an ice-cream, chocolate drink and a slab of chocolate. Instances where brand extension has been a failure areIn case of new Coke, Coca Cola has forgotten what the core brand was meant to stand for. It thought that taste was the only factor that consumer cared about. It was wrong. The time and money spent on research on new Coca Cola could not evaluate the deep emotional attachment to the original Coca- Cola. Rasna Ltd. - Is among the famous soft drink companies in India. But when it tried to move away from its niche, it hasnt had much success. When it experimented with fizzy fruit drink Oranjolt, the brand bombed even before it could take off. Oranjolt was a fruit drink in which carbonates were used as preservative. It didnt work out because it was out of synchronization with retail practices. Oranjolt need to be refrigerated and it also faced quality problems. It has a shelf life of three-four weeks, while other soft- drinks assured life of five months. Advantages of Brand Extension

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Brand Extension has following advantages: It makes acceptance of new product easy. It increases brand image. The risk perceived by the customers reduces. The likelihood of gaining distribution and trial increases. An established brand name increases consumer interest and willingness to try new product having the established brand name. The efficiency of promotional expenditure increases. Advertising, selling and promotional costs are reduced. There are economies of scale as advertising for core brand and its extension reinforces each other. Cost of developing new brand is saved. Consumers can now seek for a variety. There are packaging and labeling efficiencies. The expense of introductory and follow up marketing programs is reduced. There are feedback benefits to the parent brand and the organization. The image of parent brand is enhanced. It revives the brand. It allows subsequent extension. Brand meaning is clarified. It increases market coverage as it brings new customers into brand franchise. Customers associate original/core brand to new product, hence they also have quality associations. Disadvantages of Brand Extension Brand extension in unrelated markets may lead to loss of reliability if a brand name is extended too far. An organization must research the product categories in which the established brand name will work. There is a risk that the new product may generate implications that damage the image of the core/original brand. There are chances of less awareness and trial because the management may not provide enough investment for the introduction of new product assuming that the spin-off effects from the original brand name will compensate. If the brand extensions have no advantage over competitive brands in the new category, then it will fail.

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Defining Brand Meaning At A Strategic Crossroad

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As brands grow and evolve, they will face defining moments of change and find themselves at a strategic crossroads. This challenging moment has been called a strategic inflection point by Andrew Grove, the former Intel CEO who wrote the modern classic Only the Paranoid Survive. The idea here is that these are times when brand owners find themselves faced with a great self-defining challenge, which can only be met by answering, in some introspective detail, these types of questions: 1. What is most important to us right now that serves our customers? 2. Whereand whatdo we hope to be in three, five, ten years into the future? 3. What do we do when we get there? 4. How we will measure our success along the way? Sometimes the strategic direction is clear, other times its far from apparent even to those at the top of the organization. In the mad rush to manage change, to create powerful brands and brand images, companies spend tons of money reinventing themselves with ambitious marketing and advertising plans long before taking the most important first step -- knowing exactly what it is they are seeking to build upon -- their brands foundation. This substructure of a brands foundation is not built on physical materials, product features and the like, but fashioned from the intangible, dynamic forces that are nearly impossible to define and quantify, yet hold the keys to greater brand meaning and understanding. The intuitive process of brand re-alignment and re-definition is often undervalued by metrics obsessed financial managers. May 28, 2012
An Open Letter To Marketers

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Dear Marketers: Im much smarter than your marketing gives me credit for. I dont like to be sold...I dont care about your advertising, your free samples, your promotions, your special offers. I dont like to be told whats cool, new, improved, last-longer, smells better, tastes better, or is less filling...I dont care about your brand, it doesnt matter to me. I avoid your interruptions to my busy day whenever and wherever I can...I dont have time to pay attention to your sales pitch...You are white noise to me and I have tuned you out. If you want to be a part of my life, heres what youll need to do: Be honest with me Keep your promises Treat me with respect Provide me with more use value than you take from me in cash value Teach me better ways to grow and expand my life experience Help make my day-to-day easier, lighter, more relaxed and enjoyable Help me to experience greater connection to whats important to me Do these things for me and you will win my trust and devotion. Then I will gladly welcome you into my life, and share the value of our relationship with others who are important to me. Sincerely, A. Consumer March 07, 2012
Global Brand Strategy And Consistent Brand Messaging

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We are happy to answer marketing questions of all types here on Branding Strategy Insider. Today, Jennifer, a business reporter in New York, New York asks several questions on brand management and how companies can maintain a consistent brand message across diverse markets... 1. Explain brand management and why it's important to effective brand messaging? Brands promise relevant differentiated benefits to their customers. Put another way, they make unique value propositions. In this way, they increase brand preference and purchase intent. But the promises must be delivered on consistently over time at every point of customer contact. This is where brand management comes in. Not only is brand management responsible for the brand messaging but also for the organization's (and product's) delivery against the brand promise. This requires active management. 2. How can a company maintain a consistent brand message, while tailoring its communication to local markets, whether they be regional or global? Messages need to be tested in each market and in every language to gauge the following: How understandable the message is How believable the message is Whether the message translates properly to the other language Whether the message is still unique and compelling (purchase motivating) in the new market Then, changes should be made accordingly, while remaining as consistent as possible with the global brand essence and positioning.

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January 30, 2012

Brand Management: Process And Responsibilities

Brand Management Process: Key Components Identifying/defining your most important customers Understanding what motivates your customers and what could cause them to choose your brand over your competitors brands Carefully selecting a brand position that could provide your organization with marketplace advantages Translating that position to a strong and consistent brand identity, including: Intuitive brand architecture Strong name and icon - Tagline that succinctly reinforces brand promise Developing brand messaging including an elevator speech Educating employees about the brand promise, elevator speech and identity standards and giving them the incentives, tools and training to become effective brand champions Developing an integrated launch and ongoing marketing plan Reinforcing your brands promise at each point of customer contact Measuring the ongoing equity of the brand and making adjustments as necessary December 21, 2011
Brand Strategy: The Rudder That Steers The Ship

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In many business organizations, there is still much confusion about the role of strategic brand development and brand management and who within the organization should lead it. Brand strategy and brand management is too important to be left to marketing people. Thats my spin on the famous David Packard quote (as in Hewlett Packard) about marketing being too important an activity to the well-being of a business enterprise to be left in the hands of marketing people alone. Business leaders have notoriously looked at marketing with a critical eye. Marketing is not a hard discipline like engineering, sales and finance. Business leaders love quantified activities that facilitate a predictable return. Marketing doesnt provide predictable returns. And in todays social media, permission and privacy driven world, marketing is even more suspect by consumers. Customers want real, authentic connections and engagement to brands, not more marketing and selling.
Brand strategy and brand management is not a sub-discipline of marketing.

As brand strategy and brand management becomes more essential for marketplace success, enlightened business leaders have moved it further away (and upstream) from the core competencies within marketing organizations. September 17, 2011
3 Keys To Building A Competitive Brand Advantage

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In many conversations with my client colleagues, hands down, the most important brand building challenges they say they are facing is vision, innovation, and alignment. No doubt, the stakes for marketplace success are growing ever higher for marketers. Consumers have more choice than their minds can process. Against the backdrop of a dicey economy, over-crowded retail channels, and price pressure driving nearly every decision these days, marketers are neck deep and choking on more short-term marketing tactics to sell more stuff. Few are granted the luxury of stepping back and making big picture assessments with clarity and confidence that the future they are busy creating will matter to anyone by time they get there. Brand building is like riding a bullet train these days. Its easy to feel like your being left behind. Regardless, I believe its a good idea to be looking up and out right now. In listening to my client colleagues conversations, heres my take on what may be the most important areas of focus for many marketing decision-makers and brand managers to pursue their best opportunities now and in the future. September 12, 2011
Targeting Your Best Customer Is Just The Start

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Targeting your value proposition to the right consumer is a basic marketing function. Knowing where to aim your creativity and money is the essential first step in any productive initiative to grow the value of your brand. Yet as important as defining the right target consumer is for your value proposition, it doesnt automatically mean that defined segment will engage with your brand. Targeting is a means, not an end. Brand managers are passionate about targeting! Many use a variety of techniques and methods for defining consumer segments. They know its better to generally get the definition of their customer mostly right. Targeting is not an exercise in precision as much as it is having a navigational aid to aim the trajectory of your marketing. Its worth noting your most perfect and profitable customers most likely will not comprise the largest majority of people who will make up your customer base. So effective targeting needs to include those consumers who may be just outside the descriptive attributes of your high yield customers. Like a game of darts, you can score points and win without hitting the bulls eye with each throw. To gain a comprehensive picture and an actionable perspective on defining your best target consumer profile, consider all these criteria:
Demographics

The basic and fundamental starting point, critical for segmenting the market to identify the highest potential target groups, usually defined by sex, age, household characteristics, occupation, origin, income, and education. The most useful aspect of demographics is these attributes are concrete and without bias. August 18, 2011
The Brand Audit: Key For Determining Brand Health

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When brands reach the tipping point where sales begin to slide because customers no longer resonate with the brands value proposition, its time to put your finger on the pulse of your brand and determine the long-term outlook for brand health. Brands have life cycles. They begin with excitement and promise, enter their growth phase, reach a plateau, and then slowly lose relevance as customers move on to the latest and greatest new thing. This is as natural as life itself. Thats why its a good idea to monitor brand health along the waybefore sales slip. Brand managers these days are heads down managing the urgent daily business of the brand. Rarely are they offered the opportunity to step back and make an informed high altitude assessment of brand health. Completing a brand audit is a chance to take a fresh and objective look at your brand from a number of critical perspectives. A comprehensive brand audit will often reveal new grow opportunities for your brands, and new ways to make your brand resonate with a new generation of target customers who will represent your brands bigger future. If you believe your brand could use a check up, take the time to make a close examination of the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats facing brand health. A comprehensive brand audit will include a thoughtful examination of the following: August 06, 2011
Victory At Shelf Requires More Than Words

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The big battle for packaged goods success has always been at the shelf, and nobody will deny the influence packaging has on winning this battle. But it takes more than words on a label to win. Right now consumers are shocked and paralyzed, and it shows in their purchase behavior. In response, marketers are in hyper mode tweaking their packaging, discounting their prices and promoting their brands doing whatever it takes to get their share of a diminishing wallet. Winning at shelf keeps getting tougher.
A case in point.

The inspiration for this post came as a result of a recent conversation with a brand owner (who had experienced early distribution and sales success with their start-up ready-to-drink health beverage line) about the effectiveness of their current packaging to communicate the product benefits to influence purchase. They were concerned about the descriptive words used to convey the benefits of the products attributes. They believed people cared about function, and they wanted to use better words. They believed the words on the label were the cause of a sales slide. They asked us for some advice on how to fix their copywriting problem. The brand owners could not see the real cause of their sales slide. They were too emotionally invested in what theyve been doing thus far, even though it was clearly no longer working. They were more interested in selling tactics without any deep concern or strategy for connecting with people. The desire for immediate sales was having the opposite effect. July 28, 2011
Brand Strategy: Win By Creating New Value

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Many marketing people are obsessive about the urgent work of competing rather than the more important work of creating. Brand owners and managers are busy people! Theyre busy everyday in back-to-backmeetings. Theyre under increasing pressure to create more revenue, and get more stuff done as cost effectively (cheap) as possible. Theyre thinking about supply-chain logistics, product development, pricing, channel strategy, promotions, customer service and their competitors. Managers are hyper-focused on their marketing ROI the urgent metrics executive management values most and forms the basis of reward and compensation. Its easy to see why the focus is on the urgent rather than the important. Only a select few of enlightened marketers are afforded the luxury of paying much attention to the more important work creating! One of the important principals we hold near and dear in our brand strategy practice needs to be mentioned:
Tis better to create new value than compete for the value created by others.

Why on earth do really smart people invest tens of millions of dollars bringing me-too products to market? It makes no sense at all, yet it happens all the time in every product category.

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Brand

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Brand name

Attributes:

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Positioning

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Identity

Personality

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Awareness

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Loyalty

Association

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Building a brand

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brand. equity

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Brand extention

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Co branding

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Department Accounts Department

Function To prepare monthly, quarterly and annually Accounts, Costing, Budgeting & Forecasting. To handle payable and insurance, Inventory & Stores etc. Finance Department Arranging Finance and negotiate over coat of finance, To handle sale, receivable, debtor aging, cash and bank etc. Internal Audit To monitor the implementation of internal procedures, policies internal control systems and repot any violation. Detection and control of financial risk and frauds. Information TechnologyDevelopment of SAP program, Networking, Hardware Department Maintenance Human Resource Hiring new manpower, satisfaction, Motivation, Appraisals etc Health Environment &ISO Audit and ISO implementation, Internal safety & Security (HEC) environmental awareness and health improvement. Production Department To undertake production activity and maintain desired production volume Electrical & Instrument Maintain and economies electricity consumption, Installation and maintenance of Electrical & Electronics Instruments Mechanical Department Installation and maintenance of plant and machinery. Research and DevelopmentProduct development, product improvement and economies (R&D) production cost by discovering raw material substitute or change in production process. Quality Control Maintain quality and deal with complaints Project Department To design and build structural design of new plant to be installed. Marketing & Sale To increase existing demand, to work as organizations intelligence in large outer environment, customer satisfaction, advertisement, smooth dispatch, rationing of products in case of excess demand Executive Summary The Coca-Cola Company is the world's leading manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, with world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The Company and its subsidiaries employ nearly 31,000 people around the world. Syrups, concentrates and beverage bases for Coca-Cola, the Company's flagship brand, and over 230 other Company soft-drink brands are manufactured and sold by The Coca-Cola Company and its subsidiaries in nearly 200 countries around the world. 93

Coca-Cola is the world's leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. Company manufactures beverage concentrates and syrups and, in certain instances, finished beverages, which we sell to bottling and canning operations, authorized fountain wholesalers and some fountain retailers. They also market and distribute juice and juice-drink products. In addition, they also have ownership interests in numerous bottling and canning operations. They compete in the nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverage business. Their offerings in this category include some of the world's most valuable brands, 232 in all. These include soft drinks and non-carbonated beverages such as sports drinks, juice and juice drinks, water products, teas and coffees. As discussed earlier, to meet their long-term growth objectives, they make significant investments to support their brands. This involves investments to support existing brands and to acquire new brands, when appropriate. The coca-cola company started his business in Pakistan in 1960.All business activities in Pakistan are monitored by The coca-cola export corporation (TCCEC). Head office of TCCEC is in Karachi at that time but now days it is shifted to Lahore. But this TCCEC only monitored business activities, this company issued license for plants in different cities of Pakistan to start production according to company standard. In 1990 decided for acquisition worldwide. Actually they are operated their business through joint venture, now they decided for acquisition. Thats why in 1996 The CocaCola Company buys the Karachi plant, at that time TCCEC decided to form a new company to monitor the operation of bottling in Pakistan. So Coca-Cola beverages Pakistan limited (CCBPL) is the company, which is responsible to monitor the operations of bottling in Pakistan. Some time people says that there is no difference in CCBPL and TCCEC, but the basic difference between both companies is that CCBPL is responsible for bottling operations and TCCEC is responsible for marketing and corporate decision world wide. On the whole Accounts Department is consisting of about 14 permanent employees. As mentioned in the organ gram of the CCBPL, Multan Plant Mr. Aamir Ahmad Jan was the Head of the department during my internship program. He is a competent person in the field of Accounting. As mentioned in the organ gram of Marketing Department it is basically a subpart of Sales and Marketing Department. Basically the task is divided into two parts on is Sales and the other is Marketing. Marketing in CCBPL means the coordination of the sales department. The basic task of the marketing department is the distribution and checking of company assets in the market in the form of Deep Freezer, Visi Cooler, and Chest Cooler or in the form of Cabins, boards, hoardings etc. Accounts Department is responsible for proper flow of cash and for the controlling of financial assets of the organization. The budget is allocated by TCCEC (The Coca-Cola Export Corporation) for the period of month or two and finance manager of TCCEC used to come there to check the financial activities. On the whole Finance Department consists of 25 (Twenty five Employees). Logistic department is basically the combination of two departments these are Fleet and shipping department. The whole transports and vehicles are arranged and maintained by Fleet department. And shipping department is responsible for the maintenance of inventory of empty bottles. On the whole logistic department is consists of 27 permanent employees. And rest of the employees work on daily wages.

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After take over of the company in late 90s, progressive management enables the organization to increase the profitability continuously in last many years and the company is continuously increasing its market share consistently. Increase in profits and sales volume is shown in financial analysis of the firm and it is indicating that firm is achieving more and more effectiveness day by day. I spent about 6weeks in the plant. During this period, I got a lot of practical knowledge in various fields. Especially I got a chance to practically work in Accounts & Finance Department and apply all those concepts in reality that I learnt in my MBA program. I worked as an active member of the team that was working on Accounts Assistant. This project was basically a check on the Market Development Officers to see whether the assets of the company are present in market in proper shape or not. Another objective was to minimize the misuse of these assets. Career Planning The company provides attractive salary packages as well as good career progressions to its employees. Special attention is given to Succession plans to fill up gaps required at the time of need. The employees are made aware of their career progressions profile right at the time of induction. Chairmans Message I am pleased with the progress we made in 2005 toward our goal of delivering consistent, sustainable growth. In 2005, both profits and unit case volume reached a record high, and our employee morale improved. Our Manifesto for Growth has set our strategic road map, and the engagement of our people has given us a solid start. Sustainable growth is how The Coca-Cola Company will regain its position as the beverage provider of choice for consumers, the employer of choice for our people, the partner of choice for our customers and the investment of choice for our shareowners. We understand the unspoken agreement between our Company and those who choose to purchase and consume our products every day around the world. We understand our responsibilities as an engaged citizen of the world. We believe we lead a system that creates value and makes a positive difference everywhere it does business. Taken as a whole, the Coca-Cola system--comprising The Coca-Cola Company and our bottling partners--is one of the largest consumer products enterprises in the world, with hundreds of thousands of employees and an estimated $80 billion in revenue. My priority in 2010 was to continue building on this unrivaled foundation to deliver longterm sustainable growth while being mindful of our short-term commitments. Our work is far from finished, but as we've moved from words to deeds and from plans to actions, the initial impact of our efforts shows clearly in our 2005 results. In 2005, our Company earned $2.04 per share, an increase of $0.04--2 percent--over 2004. Volume grew 4 percent to 20.6 billion unit cases, and net operating revenues grew 6 percent to $23.1 billion. Through Our Manifesto for Growth, we identified strategic corridors for expansion to complement our core carbonated soft-drink business. We more effectively integrated marketing, strategy and innovation while reinvesting an incremental $400 million in those capabilities. And we introduced new products--capturing greater share--in juice and juice drinks, water, energy drinks and sports drinks. Beverage Industry in Pakistan

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The beverage industry of Pakistan has become a play ground for many firms like Coke, Pepsi, RC Cola, Amrat Cola, Gourmet Cola and many others newly introduced local companies. But only two companies share most of the market share, Pepsi and Coke. These two companies jointly are enjoying a market share of more than 90%. But still a very huge share of this market is still uncovered. But in covered areas, it can be said both the dominant companies are facing very stiff competition from each one another. The newly introduced brands are still disabling to find a stable position yet and still most of them are not considered as real competitors of these two players on any base, product quality, availability, visibility or promotion. The positioning of these two well-known brands is almost same. A huge part of the market is still unable to differentiate between these two products and they are considered as perfect substitute of one another. On the other hand the other new brands like Gourmat Cola, Amrat Cola, Double Cola, and Makkah Cola etc. are still considered as inferior on basis of quality. This is one of the reasons why these brands are still unable to create their market and capture the share of these two giants of the industry. The religious campaigns against these two brands that were carried on by some of the religious groups in near-past acted as a break-through for these newly introduced brands but they could not make the best use of this opportunity and therefore they are still struggling in the market. But it cannot be said that these campaigns were wholly failed and could not disturb the business of these two firms. A negative image of Pepsi has created in minds of some religious people dew to its affiliation with Israel. So, it can be said that there are only two main competitors in this industry in Pakistan like most of the other countries of the world. But the statistics of this industry are very much different in this market from most of the other countries. Coca Cola is unlikely not the biggest player and Pepsi is having a very clear lead as it is having in most of the South Asian countries. Pepsi is claiming a market share of about 60% of the total market; on the other hand Coke is claiming a market share of about 37% to 40%. And both the competitors are also claiming that their market share is increasing rapidly. Introduction of Coca-Cola The Coca-Cola Company is the worlds largest beverage company, The Coca-Cola Company markets four of the worlds top-five soft-drink brandsCoca-Cola, diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta. And now currently the company has offered two new products in this market, Sprite 3G and Fanta Citrus. Sprite 3G is doing its business successfully and meeting the expectations of the management by capturing market share of Dew quickly but on the other hand the second newly introduced product is not meeting the expectations and still struggling to find out a proper place in the market but it is expected that the company may stop its production of this product in near future. Their beverage offerings encompass nearly 400 brands, including coffees and teas, juices and juice drinks, sports drinks and waters as well as carbonated soft drinks. With operations in more than 200 countries, they have a diverse workforce of approximately 50,000 individuals. Together with their subsidiaries and bottling partners, they strive to be an integral and contributing member of each of the communities where they operate. The Coca-Cola Company is the world's leading manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, with world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The Company and its subsidiaries employ nearly 31,000 people around the world.

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Syrups, concentrates and beverage bases for Coca-Cola, the Company's flagship brand, and over 230 other Company soft-drink brands are manufactured and sold by The Coca-Cola Company and its subsidiaries in nearly 200 countries around the world. By contract with The Coca-Cola Company or its local subsidiaries, local businesses are authorized to bottle and sell Company soft drinks within certain territorial boundaries and under conditions that ensure the highest standards of quality and uniformity. Operational Structure All Over the World The Company's operating management structure consists of five geographic groups. The North America Group comprises the United States and Canada. The Latin America Group includes the Company's operations across Central and South America, from Mexico to the tip of Argentina. The Greater Europe Group stretches from Greenland to Russia's Far East, including some of the most established markets in Western Europe and the rapidly growing nations of Eastern and Central Europe. The Africa and Middle East Group encompasses the Middle East and the entire continent of Africa. The Asia Pacific Group has operations from India through the Pacific region including China, Japan, and Australia. In past it was seen that the company was paying more attention to European and American region but now it is recognized that the Middle East region is much more attractive as compare to those areas due to intensity of population and some such markets which are still not captured by any of the firm. So, now the firm is paying more attention towards these areas to increase market share of the company in these countries. The visit of chairman in 2005 is an evidence of this fact that company is now focusing on this region to maximize its share in this market. According to the management of the firm, they are working on a plan to achieve about 50% of the market share by 2011. Mission of Coca-Cola Company From their heritage to their mission to the people who bring their products to thirsty consumers, The Coca-Cola Company is a part of lives everywhere. Their Mission is To Maximize Share-Owner Value over Time. In order to achieve this mission, they must create value for all the constituents they serve, including their consumers, their customers, their bottlers and their communities. The CocaCola Company creates value by executing a comprehensive business strategy guided by six key beliefs: Consumer demand drives everything they do. Brand Coca-Cola is the core of their business. They will serve consumers a broad selection of the nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages they want to drink throughout the day. They will be the best marketers in the world. They will think and act locally. They will lead as a model corporate citizen Objective The ultimate objectives of their business strategy are to increase volume, expand their share of worldwide nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverage sales, maximize their long-term cash flows, create economic-value-added by improving economic profit and creating such an

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image of the company that the consumers start differentiating their product from other competitors. The Coca-Cola system has more than 16 million customers around the world that sell or serve their products directly to consumers. They keenly focus on enhancing value for these customers and helping them grow their beverage businesses. They strive to understand each customer's business and needs, whether that customer is a sophisticated retailer in a developed market or a kiosk owner in an emerging market. There are nearly six billion people in the world who are potential consumers of their Company's products. Their success in achieving their mission depends on their ability to satisfy more of their beverage consumption demands and their ability to add value for their customers. They achieve this when they place the right products in the right markets at the right time. Ultimately, their basic task to perform in a market like Pakistan should be to confirm the availability the products all over the country because it is observed that one of the main reason of low market share of this brand in Pakistan is unavailability of the products in most of the areas. The company stock The Coca-Cola Company stock, with ticker symbol KO, is listed and traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange. Common stock also is traded on the Boston, Cincinnati, Chicago, Pacific and Philadelphia exchanges. Outside the United States, Company common stock is listed and traded on German and Swiss stock exchanges. Social Responsiveness The Coca-Cola Company has a commitment, more than a century old, to social responsibility through philanthropy and good citizenship. The Company's reputation for good corporate citizenship results from charitable donations, employee volunteerism, technical assistance and other demonstrations of support in thousands of communities worldwide. The Coca-Cola Company continues to sponsor the world's most exciting sports events, including World Cup Soccer, the National Football League, National Basketball Association, NASCAR, the Tour de France, the Rugby World Cup, COPA America and numerous local sports teams. The Coca-Cola Company has sponsored the Olympic Games since 1928. Bottlers System One of The Coca-Cola Company's greatest strengths lies in its ability to conduct business on a global scale while maintaining a local approach. At the heart of this approach is the bottler system. Their Company has business relationships with three types of bottlers: 1. Independently owned bottlers, in which they have no ownership interest; 2. Bottlers in which they have invested and have a no controlling ownership interest; and 3. Bottlers in which they have invested and have a controlling ownership interest. During 1999, independently owned bottling operations produced and distributed approximately 27 percent of our worldwide unit case volume. Bottlers in which they own a no controlling ownership interest produced and distributed approximately 58 percent of our

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1999 worldwide unit case volume. Controlled bottling and fountain operations produced and distributed approximately 15 percent. They view certain bottling operations in which they have a no controlling ownership interest as key or anchor bottlers due to their level of responsibility and performance. The strong commitment of both key and anchor bottlers to their own profitable volume growth help them meet their strategic goals and further the interests of their worldwide production, distribution and marketing systems. These bottlers tend to be large and geographically diverse, with strong financial resources for long-term investment and strong management resources. These bottlers give them strategic business partners on every major continent. Brands of The coca-cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is the worlds largest beverage company. The Coca-Cola Company markets four of the worlds top-five soft-drink brandsCoca-Cola, diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta. Their beverage offerings encompass nearly 400 brands, including coffees and teas, juices and juice drinks, sports drinks and waters as well as carbonated soft drinks with operations in more than 200 countries. The products of The Coca-Cola Company touch lives everywhere. Their core brands have made an impact around the world; brands such as Fanta, Sprite and off course, Coca-Cola, are available and recognized in many countries. Each of their other brands is distributed in one or more countries, and is tailored to the cultures and tastes of those consumers. So wherever you are, you're sure to find a Coca-Cola product to enjoy. The main product range is as fellows: Coca-Cola classic Diet coke Cherry coke Diet cherry coke Minute maid orange Minute maid Mango Minute maid Pulpy Sprite Sprite 3G Fanta And many others, which are still not introduced in subcontinent due to several reasons History of The Coca-Cola Company Dr. John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-cola in 1886. It was the doctors second drink with coca leaves and the kola nut as a basis. The doctors first coca leaf drink, Pemberton's French Wine Coca, was actually an imitation of Vin Mariani, a coca-wine drink invented by Angelo Mariani in 1883. Although there were several imitators of the French CocaWine, Pemberton's formula was superior. He was actually quoted saying "I believe that I am now producing a better preparation than that of Mariani." Pemberton was not very good health, not to mention he was a morphine addict. So in 1887 he began to sell parts of the company off. On July 8th he sold a third of the company to Willis Venable and another third to George Lowndes. Either man had the time to market, make or sell Coke so they sold their portion of the company to Woolfolk Walker and his younger sister Margaret Dozier. Dozier owned two-ninths and Walker four-ninths of the formula rights. Now here is where it gets interesting. Venable somehow disposed off his portion of Coca-cola twice. During some time in 1887, he gave his share of Coca-cola to

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Joseph Jacobs, owner of Jacobs' Pharmacy. In early October 1887 Pemberton ran a blind ad looking for additional investors. He was able to get three investors with this ad. He took $2,000 from each of them. Their names were J.C. Mayfield, A.O. Murphey and E.H. Bloodworth. In late December the three new partners moved to Atlanta, ready to produce all of Pemberton's wonderful medicines. At this point Pemberton, Walker and Dozier officially owned the formula of Coca-cola, but several others had interest in it. Enter Asa Candler, an ambitious Atlanta druggist. Candler some how acquired control of the company later in the month of December although he probably didn't own any part of the company until 1888. He acquired the drink in return for debts owed him by certain "gentlemen." Things got a little sticky for a while with Charley Pemberton (John's son) claiming his right to the drink. This kicked off two coke clones by the names of: Yum Yum and Koke. Pemberton grew even more ill, but continued with his work. He was developing a new drink, a modified cola with celery extract. The drink was never finished. Pemberton died on August 16, 1888. Candler served as a pallbearer at Pemberton's funeral and spoke very highly of him. In later years he was quoted saying "Why, I suppose Dr. Pemberton felt I was one of his best friends in town." Exactly two weeks after Pemberton died Candler bought the remaining interest of Walker and Dozier for $1,000. With the exception of the Walker, Candler & Company ownership, Asa Candler had legal rights to Coca-Cola. He was calling himself the drink's sole proprietor by May 1, 1889. By the turn of the century Candler would become one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta and Coca-Cola would become the most popular soft drink in America. After this the main events and improvements in this firm are summarized below: In 1906, Coca Cola was launched outside the United States for the first time. It was launched in two countries simultaneously, Cuba and Panama. In 1917, another milestone was completed, 3 million Cokes bottles were sold per day and it was also observed that had become the worlds most recognized trademark.

In 1925, sales volume was increased to 6 millions Cokes bottles per day. In 1927, Coca Cola was firstly advertised through radio. In 1929, Coca-Cola was made available through The Coca-Cola bell glass was made available. vending machine

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In 1934, Johnny Weiss Muller, and Olympic champion swimmer, and Maureen O'Sullivan, a motion-picture star, appeared on a metal serving tray for Coca-Cola. In 1940, Coke was operating in more than 40 countries of the world. In 1943, On June 29, an urgent cablegram arrived from General Dwight Eisenhower's Allied Headquarters in North Africa, requesting 10 Coca-Cola bottling plants to serve American servicemen overseas. Eventually, 64 plants were set up during World War2. In 1950, Advertising on the television began. Currently Coca-Cola is advertised on over five hundred TV channels around the world. In 1952, William T. Campbell wrote The Big Beverage, the first novel about Coca-Cola. In 1960, Coke was introduced in a size of twelve ounces. In 1961, another product of the Coke was introduced Sprite.

In 1971, a very famous song "I'd like to Buy the World a Coke" was released. In 1977, the unique contour bottle, familiar to consumers everywhere, is granted registration as a trademark by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, an honor awarded to only a few other packages In 1978, company launched the product in plastic bottles and in the same year large size of two litters was also launched. In 1979, Fifteen hundred employees moved to the new corporate headquarters in Atlanta located on North Avenue. The new corporate headquarters came to be known as "The Tower." In 1982, Diet Coke was introduced in July. In 1985, The Coca-Cola Company made what has been known as one of the biggest marketing blunder. They stumbled onto a new formula in efforts to produce diet Coke. They put 4 million dollars of research to come up with the new formula. In 1988, Coca-Cola became the first independent operator in Soviet Union. In 1993, Coca-Cola completed another milestone by increasing their sales volume to 10 billion cases worldwide. The company also started its advertisement with new slogan of "Always Coca-Cola". In 1995, Coke was consumed aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery -- marking the third trip into space for Coca-Cola and the first for Diet Coke. In 1996, The Summer Olympics was held in Atlanta, Georgia, the home of Coca-Cola. For more than 65 years, Coca-Cola has been a sponsor of the Olympics. In 1997, World of Coca-Cola Las Vegas opens, complete with a hundred-foot-tall CocaCola contour bottle. The Coca-Cola Company sponsors the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, marking the 70th anniversary of the Company's Olympic partnership. New products

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Citra and Surge hit the market. And M. Douglas Ivester was named chairman of the Board of Directors and chief executive officer of The Coca-Cola Company. He was the tenth chairman of the board in the Company's history. In 1998, Sales of Coca-Cola and other Company products exceed 1 billion servings per day. Introduction to Coca-cola beverages Pakistan Limited (CCBPL) Coca Cola is being produced and sold in most of the countries of the world. For better control, world is divided into various regions. Pakistan is the part of South West Region. South West Asia region includes: Pakistan, India, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Burma, Maldives Coca-Cola beverages Pakistan limited (CCBPL) is responsible for all operations about production and sale of coca-cola brands in Pakistan. Difference between CCBPL and TCCEC: The coca-cola company started his business in Pakistan in 1960. All business activities in Pakistan are monitored by The coca-cola export corporation (TCCEC). Head office of TCCEC was in Karachi at that time but now days it is shifted to Lahore. But this TCCEC only monitored business activities, this company issued license for plants in different cities of Pakistan to start production according to company standard. In 1990, company decided for acquisition worldwide. Actually they were operating their business through joint venture, now they decided for acquisition. Thats why in 1996 The coca-cola company buys the Karachi plant, at that time TCCEC decided to form a new company to monitor the operation of bottling in Pakistan. So coca-cola beverages Pakistan limited (CCBPL) is the company, which is responsible to monitor the operations of bottling in Pakistan. Some time people says that there is no difference in CCBPL and TCCEC, but the basic difference between both companies is that CCBPL is responsible for bottling operations and TCCEC is responsible for marketing and corporate decision world wide. CCBPL units in Pakistan There are eight units in Pakistan for production and selling of coca-cola brands. These units are situated in eight cities of Pakistan. Karachi Rahim Yar Khan Multan Lahore Faisalabad Gujranwala Rawalpindi Peshawar But some of these plants are currently not operating these days. For example, the Peshawar plant could not start its operations after the take over of the company in 1990 because it was working under too much burdens of debts in the past and it was declared insolvent. Therefore, it was not profitable for the company to pay all the debts and start operations again. CCBPL Management Structure:

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CCBPL has divided the whole Pakistan in two regions named as Southern business unit (SBU) and Central business unit (CBU). Karachi, Rahim Yar Khan and Multan plants are monitored by SBU General Manager (GM) while the other plants Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi and Peshawar are monitored by CBU General Manager (GM). You can better understand from this organization chart. It is shown in this diagram that the whole country is divided in to two parts on the basis of geographical regions. And the whole country is controlled and monitored by a Country

Manager. CCBPL Vision CCBPL vision is to have a strong, dominant and profitable business in Pakistan. Mission of CCBPL CCBPL mission is to create value for our shareholders. They are committed to Building preference & market leadership for their brands Achieve quality excellence and serve their customers with quality products Maximizing profits Developing their people Optimum utilization of assets CCBPL Values 103

CCBPL give value and respect to their people They communicate openly They have integrity They are committed to winning. History of Multan Plant In Multan, the franchise unit was established in 1964, with the wish or struggle to make it easy to distribute Coke in different areas and to make it No. 1 in the market, and with the hope that it will play a great role in increasing the production and to make it popular in all over the country. Mr. Haider Zeman was the owner of this Plant. After 20 years Mr. Haider sold this plant to Mr. Akbar in 1984 that is one of the famous industrialist in Multan city. Mr. Akbar couldnt give his proper attention to this beverage business because he is more interested in Textile business. For that reason Multan plant couldnt get a big market share in Multan territory. In 1996 coca-cola company decided for acquisition and it buy first time Karachi plant in Pakistan. After four year coca-cola company purchase and take over Multan plant on January 18, 2000. After acquisition some major changes were made by CCBPL in Multan plant. Changes in Multan Plant after acquisition After the purchase of plants in Pakistan CCBPL fire almost all of the employees working in the old setups. And they rehired some of these and other personnel on the basis of their competencies they have from other organizations of beverages field and experienced people from other multinational organizations e.g. Liver Brothers etc. Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited made number of changes in the Multan Plant and in other plants. Some of these changes were structural in nature and some were related to operations of the system. Now instead of Managing Director of organization, Business Operations Manager (BOM) is the head of organization. And Mr. Aamir Altaf Qureshi was appointed as the BOM in Multan in 2000. He made number of changes in Production system, marketing system etc. for the improvement in quality. They purchased new foolproof bottles washing system in which almost every bottle remains in the process for one and a half hour. That step increased the quality of the product and shows the concern of the company for the society and consumers in Pakistan. But now, after departure of Mr. Altaf Qureshi, Muhammad Usman But was appointed as BOM of plant, who was previously handling the Sales & Marketing Department of the company. He is also continuing the policies of the company towards improving the quality of the products. Product Range In their product range, they had three categories, i.e. Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite, which are further divided into different packing units. They are 175ml, 250ml, 300NR, 1 liter, 1.5 liter plastic and 2.0 liter plastic. Now they are also introducing Plastic bottle of 1 liter. But now two new products are launched currently to improve the market standings of the company. These are Sprite 3G and Fanta Citrus. Sprite 3G has recorded a very good start but unfortunately, the second one, Fanta Citrus could not get success in the market of Multan. However it is doing a very good business in Peshawar and other nearby areas. TERRITORY OF MULTAN PLANT

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Multan plant is covering a very huge area and according to Assistant production manager of plant, we are still having a capacity cousin available and the plant is enough to support the increasing demand of the products till 2009, if demand rises according to the expectations of the management but after that, there will be a requirement of another plant, for which the management is planning these days. Multan Plant covers the areas of: Multan City Pak-patan Sahiwal Bahawalnagar Dera Ghazi Khan Rajan Pur Ziarat in Balochistan. It covers some other urban and rural areas in Punjab and Balochistan also. They are managing the distribution of the products through a well-defined channel of distributors. Data Flow Diagram System Decomposition

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Second Level Diagram (Cont)

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Operational and Managing Structure of Multan Plant Business Operations Manager (BOM) Business Operations Manager is responsible for all the operations of Multan Plant. In Multan Plant Mr. Usman Butt is BOM of the organization. He was appointed on this designation after departure of Mr. Aamir Altaf. He has done MBA in marketing from IBA Karachi and very experienced in the field of Beverages as doing work in that field for almost 10 years. He was previously performing the duties as Sales and Marketing Manager in the same organization and plant as well. He is 2nd BOM of Multan plant after acquisition. He is considered as the big boss of the Multan plant. Now we shall discuss responsibilities and structure of each department one by one: Structure of Multan plant We can divide the whole organization of Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited Multan Plant into 5 (Five) major departments these are Sales and Marketing Department HRIR Department Finance Department Logistic Department Technical Department Sale & Marketing Department

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On the whole sales and marketing department is consisting of thirty-seven (37) employees and three MROs that are working on daily wages basis. It is mentioned in the organ gram of the CCBPL, Multan Plant Mr. Irfan Butt is the Head of the department. He is a competent person in the field of marketing but now he has left the organization and joined a research organization as a manager of whole Gulf countries and now the position of Sales and Marketing Manager is still to be occupied by someone else. You may able to better understand the structure of Sales and Marketing Department of CCBPL, by that figure Sales & Marketing Department

Sale & Marketing Manager Mr. Irfan Butt was the head of the Sales and Marketing Department of Multan Plant. He is a very competent person. His responsibilities are to co-ordinate the activities of sales department and of Marketing Department. He assists the regional sales managers for the sale in their regions. And also assist marketing manager for running the marketing activities smoothly. He used to perform his responsibilities by maintaining a well-balanced

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formal and informal relationship with his subordinates. He was also having a sufficient record of each employee of his department. Sales area of Multan Plant The whole area of Multan plant is divided into three major divisions. These are as follows: Multan Region. Sahiwal Region. Dera Ghazi Khan Region. Multan Region Mr. Ali Navaiz is the Sales Manager of the Multan. He is responsible for the sale in Multan Region. The whole Multan region is further divided into two areas, These are named as Multan Base. Multan District. The whole Multan city including old city is the part of Multan Base. While Multan District consists of all neighboring areas of Multan city e.g. Bodla, Makhdoom Rasheed, Muzaffar Garh etc. For the co-ordination of Mr. Ali Navaiz there are two Area Sales Managers for each area of Multan Region. These are: Rafeeq Meo for Multan Base and Mr. Sabir for Multan District. And these both have number of Market Development Officers (MDOs) for the development of the market. Basically for sales purposes the whole territory of Multan region and other regions is divided into many small parts and for each part we have a separate distributor i.e. for Multan Cant we have Bismillah Agency. and for MDA. Chowk we have Niazi Traders as distributors. For every two distributors normally the company offers the services of one Marketing Development Officer. For that company get two types of benefits With the help of these MDOs Company come to know the actual situation of the market from the mouth of their own employees. And company provides assistance to the distributor for achieving the sales targets. Company issues all the chillers and other assets to retailers and distributors after the guarantee and approval of concerned MDO. It helps in maintaining direct relationships with the retailers, so that company should not any critical situation if any distributor is not coordinating properly. If MDOs are not sent, distributors will be in better position to blackmail the company and it may damage the profitability and market standings of the company. Sahiwal Region Iftikhar Ahmad Choudhary is Sales Manager of that region. He is also a graduate from our department. He completed his studies from the department in 1989. He is really a cooperative man. During my stay at Coca-Cola he really helps me in understanding the culture of the organization. This remains helpful for me for the period. Sahiwal Region covers the area of Sahiwal City, Jahanian, Khanewal etc. As in Multan region there are two Area Sales Managers for the co-ordination of Regional Sales Manager similarly there are also two Area Sales Manager in Sahiwal. According to the sale Sahiwal Region is best among the whole territory of Multan Plant.

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These two ASMs are Mr. Shahid Habib. Mr. Rao Azam. They are hard working people. Due to their hard work distributors of that region are able to achieve the sale targets. The remaining departmental structure of the Sahiwal Region is exactly similar to that of Multan Region. Dera Ghazi Khan Region Dera Ghazi Khan is another region that is controlled by Multan plant. Sales team in this region is also controlled by same sort of team consisting of a RSM and his team of ASMs and MDOs. Ahmad Daniyal is the RSM of this region. He is a young man who started his career a few years back as an MDO. His other fellows are still on same designation but in this short period, he became ASM and now working as RSM of a whole region. Wali Lodhi is coordinating him as an ASM and a team of MDOs is coordinating to achieve the sales targets. Marketing Department As mentioned in the organ gram of Sales and Marketing Department it is basically a subpart of Sales and Marketing Department. Basically the task is divided into two parts on is sales and the other is Marketing. Marketing in CCBPL means the co-ordination of the sales department. The basic task of the marketing department is the distribution of company assets in the market in the form of Deep Freezer, Visi Cooler, and Chest Cooler or in the form of Cabins, boards, hoardings etc. And they are also responsible for the proper maintenance of the record of these assets i.e. they have to maintain the record that which asset is where and in which condition and how many assets we have in the store, they also responsible for the distribution of assets among different regions. When a new lot of deep freezer came to plant by TCCEC then marketing department distribute these assets among different regions according to their requirement and their sale. Functions of MROs: Market department also contains Market Research Officers (MROs). These people are used to have a check on MDOs in a way that the physical verification of assets is the responsibility of these people. They people also check whether the assets are properly used or not. Misuse of assets means that the shopkeeper should not use the assets of the company, for the products of the competitors or for private purpose. These days four MROs are working in this department. These are: M. Yousaf Najam-ul-Hassan M. Naveed M. Naeem These people are working on daily wages basis but these are very experienced people in their field and they are having a very good know how about the market. During my internship, I spend some time with these people and got very valuable knowledge about the market. These people act as representatives of the company during their visits to the market. Now a day it was under consideration that there should be a separate department for these people, which are concerned with the audit of the assets of the company.

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These people are also used to record the feedback for the services of the MDOs and to check whether the customers are satisfied with the services of MDOs or not. On the basis of this report the performance of the MDOs is evaluated. Finance Department Finance Department is responsible for proper flow of cash and for the controlling of financial assets of the organization. The budget is allocated by TCCEC (The Coca-Cola Export Corporation) for the period of month or two and finance manager of TCCEC of and on came

Accounts Department Operations Accounts Department perform verity of function these includes Preparation of monthly quarterly and annually financial performance. Handling payables against purchases of raw material, store and spares and services. Preparation of organization budget. Keeping record of fixed assets. Preparation of RFA, s Capex (Request for Authorization) to capitalized Assets.

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Preparation of daily base Bank Reconciliation. Keeping store inventory. Preparing monthly Budget monitoring report. Keeping Insurance record and pursuing insurance claim. Submitting weekly Income tax challan to Income tax Office to deducted vendors payments. and keeping tax record. Submitting every month Employees tax challan to Income tax Officer to deduct from Employees Salaries. Verification of salary prepared by Human Resource Department. Costing and viability of all the products. Keeping check and balance / internal control in all financial transaction. Coordinate in conduct of statutory audit. FUNCTIONS OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT Finance and Accounts Departments play a key role in success or failure of any organization. A fair or exaggerated picture of financial affairs can leads to winning or disastrous decision. To present a true and fair picture of companys financial affairs, company has developed some systems discussed below. As it is shown in above diagram that Accounts Department is controlling Purchase and MIS department as well. This structure is different from other organizations where all these departments are usually working separately but here, in this organization Accounts department is controlling the other two important departments. This is one of the reasons why all the purchase transactions are required to approve by the Accounts Manager. Different individuals are assigned different responsibilities in this department like, some are concerned with Cash, and some are with Route settlement, Accounts Receivables, Excise and other relative tasks. Finance & Accounts Software Its function is divided in three level or stages. Data Entry Stage Report Extraction Stage Advance Reporting Level 1- Data Entry Stage Data is fended at this stage. There are basically three types of vouchers used to record transaction I Bank Vouchers - used for recording bank transaction II Cash Voucher - Used to record cash transaction III Journal Vouchers - Used to record adjusting entries in which no cash or bank transaction involved Transaction Procedure Every voucher has some distinct number, debit and credit Ledger Account number and amount to be debited or credited against each Ledger Account number. Particular voucher cannot be saved unless debit amount and credit amount becomes equal. After saving transaction voucher is printer, support is attached and signed by the preparing person. This voucher is forwarded to next signatories for checking and approval. After checking and approval voucher is posted by a simple authorized click. 2- Report Extraction Stage

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General Ledger are instantly updated after posting, however trial balance is updated after periodical monthly processing General Ledger, Sub Ledger, Trial Balance are generated at report extraction stages. 3- Advance Reporting Level Balance Sheet, Trial Balance, Cash flow Statement, Statement of Changes In Equity is generated at advance report stages. Inventory Management System Software Inventory System is used in handling of store spares and raw material. Store issues and inventory cost is booked with Weighted Average system. This system is used to prepare item wise detail along with cost of relevant item in different scenarios. Following reports are commonly used. Item wise consumption Period range (From To) Code of Item Description of Items Cost of items Total Item wise Stock Time (At Date) Code Of Item Description of Items Cost of items Total Cost Centre wise consumption Period (From To) Cost Centre .. Code of Item Description of Items Cost of items Total ..... Other Software are Fixed Asset Management System It provides asset wise type wise following detail of all the assets Original cost, written down value, date of acquiring, accumulated depreciation, location, its purchase authorization No. etc. Software Used in Organization Different applications are used in different parts of the organization for different purposes. Three main applications are given below: SAP (System Application Program) BASIS (Beverages Advanced Standard Information System) ISCIMS (Indirect Sales & Cooler Impact Monitoring System) SAP is used to allocate the cost on the basis of Average Cost Method. It sometimes create problem because due to this a huge fluctuation results in cost. It mostly happens when same sort of product is purchased from various firms at different prices but in the end all the goods are recorded at same cost due to average cost method. BASIS is used for cash related matters. It is specialized software for beverages but now it has become outdated and it is expected that the firm will replace it with a new one in the start of next year. ISCIMS is used for having a contact with the distributors. Information is shared between company and an employee that used to send information from distributors end. Company is using this software for indirect sales. An operator used to send information on daily basis through mail. Information is usually related about; Stock at Distributor.

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Discount Allowed by distributor to various customers. Low fills and burst allowances. Free sampling. Through this software, Mr. Farooq of Accounts Department is controlling about 78 distributors in different areas. Route settlement documents flow When Route settlement documents flow is basically flow of documents started from entrance of empty at gate to the distribution of filled bottles to the distributors with all basic entries of account. vehicle with empty bottles enter into the gate then gate man entered this empty into the register with party name, vehicle no, qty of vehicle and time in. One copy of this form is send to gate office and the other one is send to shipping office. After that shipping officer count these empty bottles and prepare a verified list. This list is send to sales cocoordinator in DPG. After that sales coordinator prepare demand form and verified this demand from shipping department in DPG. After verification from shipping department out load is prepared and this load is send to distributor. The copy of this load is sending to finance department and finance department prepare an invoice for distributor. With this invoice account officer is responsible to prepare cash copies, EDS copies and A/R slips according to current condition of payment and empty. These copies send to RSA where he prepares route header copy, this copy send to distributor after signature and stamp of guard. I think its not easy to understand the flow of route settlement documents therefore I prepare a diagram so that reader can easily understand the route settlement document flow. Route Settlement Document Flow

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Store The stores in charge give the present situation of the equipments and material in the store. There are three types of stores in Coca-Cola.

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One is located in the factory where company stores equipments and material like tissue paper boxes, soaps, ballpoints, crowns of bottles, ink etc. of daily usage. And every purchase, which comes into the factory premises, first added to the store registers. Then it is submitted to the concerned department. Second store is located near to the factory in a separate building. This is called the store for marketing assets. Every type of breakage of bottles is submitted in that store and new assets of company like D/F, V/C are also stored in that store. New crates of wood are also manufactured there. For that purpose there is a small workshop. The in charge of that store gives report to the store in charge of factory, which then submit that report to the Accounts Manager. Third store is located on the Vehari Road near the B.C.G. Chowk at approximately half kilometers distance. That is a store of finished goods i.e. filled bottles came there from the factory and from there the distributors get their orders. The in charge of that store is directly reporting to Accounts Manager. MIS (Management Information System) Department MIS department is responsible for the generation of reports for each department i.e. for production department about the situation of empty and syrup, report of manufactured stock for the sales coordinator. And these reports are also submitted to the TGM and to the Accounts Manager. On the basis of these reports Management make decisions about the production, sales and different matters. This department is also responsible for the development of computer programs for all departments. That department is consists of only 5 employees one is MIS Manager and remaining four are his assistants. Cash Room Cash Room is like a bank. It makes the transaction of cash possible for the company. Mr. Javaid Iqbal Khan controls that department. Coca-Cola made payments in two ways one through check and other in the form of cash. If the payment is less than Rs.5000 then it is made through cash and if it is greater than Rs.5000 then it is paid through check. The payment which is made through check is issued by Accounts department itself while cash payments are given to the vendors from that cash room. For example Coca-Cola pay to daily wagers in the form of cash and that payment is made through that cash room while the salary of permanent employees is automatically transferred to their Bank accounts. And cash room is also responsible for the collection of cash from distributors for their purchases. Technical Department Technical department consists of three major divisions; Production Quality Control Maintenance On the whole there are thirty-five permanent employees working in the Technical or Production department. And also number of daily wagers is also working in the department. There are number of processes takes place in Technical department like washing of empty bottles, preparation of syrup, chilling and filling plant. That is purely a technical department most of the employees in the department are technical and others are operative people. The structure of Technical or Production Department is given on next page.

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There is also two Shift Chemists separate for day and night shifts. There is a lab in the production department, which is responsible for the assurance of proper quantity of sugar, syrup, waters in each bottle after every 500 regular bottles they check one bottle for the assurance. Mr. Malik Jaffer is the manager of the technical department. Production of this plant is about 600 cases per hour but number of hours worked used to change depending on the season. Normally two shifts are used for production. In normal or down season, duration of shift is reduced to 8 hours but in peak season this duration is increased to 12 hours to meet the demand of the market. Production Process The environment of the production hall is very clean unlike of other players of the industry. In Multan plant, there are two lines of production in which all the products can be produced by making an adjustment in syrup and concentrate. Production process starts with washers where all the bottles are washed before filling. In washer 24 bottles are entered in a row at a time and the washer is capable of containing 300 cases at a time. This washer consists of 3 tanks: Tank 1: Caustic 1 to 1.5% Temperature 45 to 85 centigrade Tank 2: Caustic 3 to 4% Temperature 65 to 75 centigrade Stabilon 0.4 to0.5% Tank 3: Cold water and air Below 0 centigrade Due to too many fluctuations in temperature, all the germs are killed and removed. After this some light men inspect all the bottles. These people are performing jobs for maximum of 20 minutes at a time then a next pair comes in their place and so on. Next step is of mixing the syrup and water and filling them in bottles. For this purpose water is obtained from a depth of more than 510 ft. Carbo Cooler is used for mixing the syrup and water and then bottles are filled. After filling and marking date and time of production light men again check bottles. Three light men are working in the plant and their duties are given below: First -----check brand, breakage and dirtiness. Second---check cleanliness. Third ---- level of liquid after production. Due to such an effective system of quality controlling, plant is certified by ISO. The more important certificate is TCCQS (The Coca Cola Quality System), which is awarded by the company itself to a limited number of plants. It is given to only 65 plants out of 1000units and Multan plant is one of them. The last function of maintenance is performed in down season of November, December or January by shutting down the plant for 15 to 30 days depending on the situation. According to production department, current capacity is sufficient to meet the increasing demand by 2009 but after that there will be a need for expansion. Technical Department

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Purchase Department The responsibility of Purchase Department is to purchase every sort of requirements of different department but they are not responsible for some technical requirement like TCCEC or shipping department itself manages empty. The work procedure of purchase department is like that if a department wants to purchase any thing he will prepare a 125

purchase requisition on this requisition the signature of departmental head, TGM and of Financial Manager is necessary. Then this requisition will sent to the Purchase department where they prepare a work order and give one copy of this work order to the shopkeeper who is producing the product on credit and one copy will sent to concerned department and one will remain in the purchase department to receive the amount of that work vendor should contact to the finance department for the payment or for the check with the slip of work order. Purchase department consists of only three employees one is Purchase Manager and others is his Assistants. Purchase Manager of Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited Multan Plant is Mr. Nasir Abbas, Mr. Rana Kashif Ali and Mr. Muhammad Bilal are his Assistant. HRIR Department The responsibility of HRIR department in Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited, Multan Plant is the administration of all sort of formal and informal activities. In formal activities the maintenance of attendance sheet of daily wagers, which is then shifted to the finance department where they made salaries for these employees on the basis of there attendance at the end of the week or month. For that purpose there are gate keepers who are also responsible for the issuance of entry cards to the visitors and they maintain the record when an employee comes in the factory and when he leaves either he is on official duty or going out for his private work. On the whole HRIR Department is consisting of eleven employees. The structure of Administration Department is given on next Page HRIR Department

This department also maintains attendance record .The automatic thumb machine is used for attendance for permanent employees. And attendance is sent to TGM after to 20 minutes, so that he becomes able to take some corrective actions against regular late comers. 126

Logistics Department Logistic department is basically the combination of two departments. These are: Fleet Department Shipping department. The whole transports and vehicles are arranged and maintained by Fleet department. And shipping department is responsible for the maintenance of inventory of empty bottles. On the whole logistic department is consists of 27 permanent employees. And rest of the employees work on daily wages. The structure of Logistic Department is given on next Page. Responsibilities of Fleet Department As I mentioned earlier logistic department is basically for the purchase and maintenance of new vehicles. For that purpose they have a workshop for heavy-duty vehicles and for cars in the factory. And for the motorcycles they made arrangement with a workshop from where employees get work done and the factory will make payment at the end of the month. Logistics Department

Types of Vehicles in Multan Plant There are basically four major types of vehicles in the factory. .These are as. Motor Cycles for Market Development Officers (Sales & Marketing Staff) Cars for Management Vans for Loading Loader Machine

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All types of vehicles already insured by the Insurance Company. Coca-Cola offers a motorbike and 70 liters of petrol per month to each Market Development officer (MDO). And the maintenance of the motorbike is also the responsibility of company. The issuance and maintenance of these motorbikes is also the responsibility of logistic department. If a new employee is employed in the sales department as MDO then marketing or sales department send a request for motorbike to the logistic department and if logistic department has any extra motorbike then they issue that one to that employee otherwise they purchase a new motorbike for that employee. Coca-Cola also offers cars for the management. Coca-Cola Multan plant has approximately 15 cars for management. 1300 CC car is only allowed to TGM (Territory General Manager) and all departmental heads can use 1000 CC car. The issuance and maintenance of these cars is the responsibility of logistic department. Logistic department is also responsible to maintain the record of petrol consumption of each motorbike and car. For the purpose of petrol Coca-Cola Company Multan Plant arranged an agreement with a petrol pump of Total and Cultus near the factory from where any employ can fill his vehicle by giving a slip, which is issued by logistic department. Vans are also there in the Coca-Cola Multan Plant. These are for the purpose of supply of crates to the places where cases are issued directly by the factory such as Police Commissioners and these vans are also used to supply assets of factory to the shops like Deep Freezers, Visi Coolers and Chest Coolers etc. Loader Machines are used in shipping department. These are used to load and unload the trucks etc. For the maintenance of these vehicles and cars a workshop is present in the factory where many competent mechanics were employed to assure the proper maintenance and working of these vehicles. But in the end it should be made clear that fleet department is not concerned with the purchase of vehicles. If any vehicle is to be issued to any person then the concerned department will send a requisition to purchase department and purchase department will continue further. FMS (Fleet Management System) It is the application that is used in fleet department to keep updated record about fuel and maintenance of the vehicles. Following are the fuel limitations for different sort of vehicles Bikes Vehicles Base people 50 liters. 250 liters. Outside people 75 liters. 300 liters. But these are not very rigid rules, for example, when MROs visit the outside areas like Sahiwal and DG Khan, they people are allowed to consume more but after getting approval from manager of their concerned department. Following are different types of slips that are used in fleet department for some spare parts. 1. Demand Slip It is used when goods are available in store and fleet department is going to use it. Store department will issue the desired parts against this slip. These parts can be installed within or outside the organization depending on the situation. For outside repair, a returnable or non-returnable pass is given which indicates whether it is necessary to return the damaged goods to factory or not. 2. Purchase Requisition

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It is issued for the purchase of any thing, which is already not available in the store. PR is sent to purchase department. Purchase Department will have to receive three or four quotations from various vendors according to rates and quality offered and will be select one vendor which rates & quality is suitable. After this it will be made comparative statement for further process. But PR must be approved by Department in charge that is in need. Accounts Manager. TGM. After purchase, goods are sent to store and GRN (Goods Received Note) is issued that is also authorized by Store In charge. Department in charge that is in need. Three copies of GRN are kept by Store, Purchase and Accounts Departments. 3. Complaint Document It is filled by anyone who is having any problem regarding his automobile and then it is checked by concerned authorities whether this problem con be solved inside factory or not. 4. Repair Work Requisition Fleet department sends it to any company like Honda for some repair. It is approved by TGM and initiated and authorized by Fleet In charge and Logistic Manager respectively. If fleet department is in need of any thing, whether it is available in store or not, the whole procedure is shown in following diagram: Procedure of Issuance from Store to Fleet Department Issuance

Purchase department Store PR Demand slip Availability Need origination

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Financial Statements THE COCA-COLA COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME Year Ended December 31, ($) 2009 (In millions except per share data) NET OPERATING REVENUES 30,990 Cost of goods sold 11,088 GROSS PROFIT 19,902 Selling, general and administrative expenses 11,358 Other operating charges 313 OPERATING INCOME 8,231 Interest income 249 Interest expense 355 Equity income (loss) net 781 Other income (loss) net 40 INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES 8,946 Income taxes 2,040 CONSOLIDATED NET INCOME 6,906 Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests 82 NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO SHAREOWNERS OF THE COCACOLA COMPANY 6,824 BASIC NET INCOME PER SHARE1 3 DILUTED NET INCOME PER SHARE1 3 AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING 2,314 Effect of dilutive securities 15 AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING2,329 ($) 2008 31,944 11,374 20,570 11,774 350 8,446 333 438 -874 39 7,506 1,632 5,874 67 5,807 3 2 2,315 21 2,336

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ASSUMING DILUTION
1

Basic net income per share and diluted net income per share are calculated based on net income attributable to shareowners of The Coca-Cola Company. THE COCA-COLA COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS December 31, ($) 2009 ($) 2008 (In millions except par value) ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents 7,021 4,701 Short-term investments 2,130 TOTAL CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS 9,151 4,701 Marketable securities 62 Trade accounts receivable, less allowances of $55 and $51, respectively 3,758 Inventories Prepaid expenses and other assets TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS EQUITY METHOD INVESTMENTS OTHER INVESTMENTS, PRINCIPALLY COMPANIES OTHER ASSETS PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT net TRADEMARKS WITH INDEFINITE LIVES GOODWILL OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS TOTAL ASSETS LIABILITIES AND EQUITY CURRENT LIABILITIES Accounts payable and accrued expenses Loans and notes payable Current maturities of long-term debt Accrued income taxes TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES LONG-TERM DEBT 2,354 2,226 17,551 6,217 BOTTLING 538 1,976 9,561 6,183 4,224 2,421 48,671 463 1,733 8,326 6,059 4,029 2,417 40,519 6,205 6,066 465 252 12,988 2,781 278 3,090 2,187 1,920 12,176 5,316

6,657 6,749 51 264 13,721 5,059

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OTHER LIABILITIES 2,965 DEFERRED INCOME TAXES 1,580 THE COCA-COLA COMPANY SHAREOWNERS EQUITY Common stock, $0.25 par value; Authorized 5,600 shares; Issued 3,520 and 3,519 shares, respectively 880 Capital surplus 8,537 Reinvested earnings 41,537 Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) -757 Treasury stock, at cost1,217 and 1,207 shares, respectively -25,398 EQUITY ATTRIBUTABLE TO SHAREOWNERS OF THE COCACOLA COMPANY 24,799 EQUITY ATTRIBUTABLE TO NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS 547 TOTAL EQUITY TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Financial Statements Analysis Liquidity Ratios Current Ratio 2009 1.28 25,346 48,671

3,011 877 880 7,966 38,513 -2,674 -24,213 20,472 390 20,862 40,519

2008 0.94

Coca-Colas current ratio has increased in 2009. This increase represents the good position of the company liquidity-wise. It provides a margin of safety to the creditors, so this means more investors will invest in this company. Quick Ratio 2009 2008 0.95 0.62

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Quick ratio or the Acid-test ratio has increased in 2009 to 0.95. This increase represents that the company is much more liquid than before and it has the ability to meet its liabilities in time much better than before. Debt Ratios Debt to Equity 2009 2008 0.48 0.45

Debt-to-equity ratio is high in 2009, and a high ratio means that company is aggressively financing its growth by debt. A growth can cause trouble to the company in case if it suffer any losses. Debt to Capital 2009 2008 0.32 0.31

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Coca-Cola has higher debt-to-capital ratio in 2009 as compared to 2008. A higher ratio means that Coca-Cola has now increased amount of debt as compared to its liabilities. Interest Coverage 2009 2008 26.20 18.14

This ratio basically indicates the extent to which earnings are available to meet its interest payments. So an increase in 2009 means that Coca-Cola is now in better position to meet its interest payments as compared to 2008. Long-term (investment) Activity Ratio Net Fixed Assets Turnover 2009 2008 3.24 3.84

Coca-Colas net fixed asset turnover has decreased in 2009. This ratio indicates ability to generate sales from its fixed assets. So the decrease in this ratio means that Coca-Cola has been less effective in using its fixed assets to generate its revenues. Total Asset Turnover 2009 0.64 2008 0.79

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Coca-Colas total asset turnover ratio has decreased in 2009, and it indicates that its net sales have decreased or investment made into business is not paying out as desired. Equity Turnover 2009 1.25 2008 1.56

This ratio is used to measure how well Coca-Cola company uses its stockholder equity to generate revenues. The decrease in this ratio means that the companys efficiency has decreased. Turnover Ratios Inventory Turnover 2009 2008 13.16 14.61

Coca-Colas inventory turnover has decreased in 2009. This means that either the sales are going poor than before or the company has excess of inventory. Either way Coca-Cola need to improve its inventory turnover. 135

Receivables Turnover 2009 8.25

2008 10.34

Coca-Colas ratio has dropped in 2009 which is not a good sign. A low ratio means that company is now operating on credit more than it did before. In 2008, it was operating more on cash than now. Payables Turnover 2009 21.98 2008 23.32

This ratio indicates the times a company pays back its payables. The decrease in CocaColas ratio shows that now the company is taking more time to pay back its suppliers. Working Capital Turnover 2009 6.59 2008 8.18

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Working Capital turnover ratio has decreased in 2009. This means that company is not generating enough sales as compared to the capital it uses to fund the sales. Profitability Ratios Return on Sales (%) Operating Profit Margin 2009 2008 26.56 26.44

Coca-Colas ratio has increased in 2009. This means that it is earn from its sales as per dollar than it did in previous year. Higher ratio is better. Net Profit Margin 2009 22.02 2008 18.18

Coca-Colas profit margin is higher in 2009 than in 2008. So this higher profit margin means that the company is more profitable and it has more control over its costs than before. Return on Investment (%) Return on Equity (ROE) 2009 27.52

2008 28.37

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ROE has decreased in 2008. A lower return on equity means that the company is now less capable of generating cash internally. With a higher ratio it would have been the case otherwise. Return on Assets 2009 14.02 2008 14.33

Coca-Colas ROA has decreased in 2009 as compared to 2008. This ratio tells us how much company is earning on its investments. A lower ratio in 2009 means that company is now earning relatively less money on it investments than it did before.

Vertical Analysis Balance Sheets THE COCA-COLA COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS December 31, 2009 (In millions except par value) ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents 14.43% Short-term investments 4.38% TOTAL CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS 18.80% 2008

11.60% 11.60%

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Marketable securities 0.13% Trade accounts receivable, less allowances of $55 and $51, respectively 7.72% Inventories Prepaid expenses and other assets TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS EQUITY METHOD INVESTMENTS OTHER INVESTMENTS, PRINCIPALLY COMPANIES 4.84% 4.57% 36.06% 12.77% BOTTLING 1.11%

0.69% 7.63% 5.40% 4.74% 30.05% 13.12% 1.14%

OTHER ASSETS 4.06% 4.28% PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT net 19.64% 20.55% TRADEMARKS WITH INDEFINITE LIVES 12.70% 14.95% GOODWILL 8.68% 9.94% OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS 4.97% 5.97% TOTAL ASSETS 100.00% 100.00% LIABILITIES AND EQUITY CURRENT LIABILITIES Accounts payable and accrued expenses 13.68% 15.31% Loans and notes payable 13.87% 14.97% Current maturities of long-term debt 0.10% 1.15% Accrued income taxes 0.54% 0.62% TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 28.19% 32.05% LONG-TERM DEBT 10.39% 6.86% OTHER LIABILITIES 6.09% 7.43% DEFERRED INCOME TAXES 3.25% 2.16% THE COCA-COLA COMPANY SHAREOWNERS EQUITY Common stock, $0.25 par value; Authorized 5,600 shares; Issued 3,520 and 3,519 shares, respectively 1.81% 2.17% Capital surplus 17.54% 19.66% Reinvested earnings 85.34% 95.05% Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) -1.56% -6.60% Treasury stock, at cost1,217 and 1,207 shares, respectively -52.18% -59.76% EQUITY ATTRIBUTABLE TO SHAREOWNERS OF THE COCACOLA COMPANY 50.95% 50.52% EQUITY ATTRIBUTABLE TO NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS 1.12% TOTAL EQUITY TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Vertical Analysis Income Statements THE COCA-COLA COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME 0.96%

52.08% 51.49% 100.00%100.00%

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Year Ended December 31, 2009 2008 (In millions except per share data) NET OPERATING REVENUES 100.00% 100.00% Cost of goods sold 35.78% 35.61% GROSS PROFIT 64.22% 64.39% Selling, general and administrative expenses 36.65% 36.86% Other operating charges 1.01% 1.10% OPERATING INCOME 26.56% 26.44% Interest income 0.80% 1.04% Interest expense 1.15% 1.37% Equity income (loss) net 2.52% -2.74% Other income (loss) net 0.13% 0.12% INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES 28.87% 23.50% Income taxes 6.58% 5.11% CONSOLIDATED NET INCOME 22.28% 18.39% Less: Net income attributable to non-controlling interests 0.26% 0.21% NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO SHAREOWNERS OF THE COCA-COLA COMPANY 22.02% 18.18% BASIC NET INCOME PER SHARE1 DILUTED NET INCOME PER SHARE1 AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING Effect of dilutive securities AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING DILUTION 0.01% 0.01% 7.47% 0.05% ASSUMING 7.52% 0.01% 0.01% 7.25% 0.07% 7.31%

Horizontal Analysis Balance Sheet THE COCA-COLA COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS December 31, (In millions except par value) ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents Short-term investments TOTAL CASH, CASH INVESTMENTS 2009

49.35% 100.00% EQUIVALENTS AND SHORT-TERM 94.66% -77.70% 21.62% 7.64% 15.94% 44.14% 16.95%

Marketable securities Trade accounts receivable, less allowances of $55 and $51, respectively Inventories Prepaid expenses and other assets TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS EQUITY METHOD INVESTMENTS

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OTHER INVESTMENTS, PRINCIPALLY BOTTLING COMPANIES

16.20%

OTHER ASSETS 14.02% PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT net 14.83% TRADEMARKS WITH INDEFINITE LIVES 2.05% GOODWILL 4.84% OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS 0.17% TOTAL ASSETS 20.12% LIABILITIES AND EQUITY CURRENT LIABILITIES Accounts payable and accrued expenses 7.28% Loans and notes payable 11.26% Current maturities of long-term debt -89.03% Accrued income taxes 4.76% TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 5.64% LONG-TERM DEBT 81.91% OTHER LIABILITIES -1.53% DEFERRED INCOME TAXES 80.16% THE COCA-COLA COMPANY SHAREOWNERS EQUITY Common stock, $0.25 par value; Authorized 5,600 shares; Issued 3,520 and 3,519 shares, respectively 0.00% Capital surplus 7.17% Reinvested earnings 7.85% Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) -71.69% Treasury stock, at cost1,217 and 1,207 shares, respectively 4.89% EQUITY ATTRIBUTABLE TO SHAREOWNERS OF THE COCACOLA COMPANY 21.14% EQUITY ATTRIBUTABLE TO NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS 40.26% TOTAL EQUITY TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Horizontal Analysis Income Statement THE COCA-COLA COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME Year Ended December 31, (In millions except per share data) NET OPERATING REVENUES Cost of goods sold GROSS PROFIT Selling, general and administrative expenses Other operating charges OPERATING INCOME Interest income 2009 -2.99% -2.51% -3.25% -3.53% -10.57% -2.55% -25.23% 21.49% 20.12%

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Interest expense -18.95% Equity income (loss) net -189.36% Other income (loss) net 2.56% INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES 19.18% Income taxes 25.00% CONSOLIDATED NET INCOME 17.57% Less: Net income attributable to non-controlling interests 22.39% NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO SHAREOWNERS OF THE COCACOLA COMPANY 17.51% BASIC NET INCOME PER SHARE1 DILUTED NET INCOME PER SHARE1 AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING Effect of dilutive securities AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING ASSUMING DILUTION 17.53% 17.67% -0.04% -28.57% -0.30%

SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis enables us to find out a better way of utilizing the strengths of an organization to get maximum benefits of the opportunities available in the industry and it also helps in dealing with threats that may adversely affect the business of the firm in future. So, the policy of any firm should be to focus on strengths to get better results from opportunities, deal with threats by using your strengths and try to convert your weaknesses in your strengths. According to my limited analysis of the company, following are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the Coca Cola: Strengths One of the main strengths of CCBPL is the financial strength of the company because it is supported and controlled by Coca Cola International. Therefore, unlike past, now they can start any long term project without concerning too much about finances available. Coca Cola is enjoying a positive image in the minds of the consumers. They normally think that it is better in quality as compare to other competitors available in the market. Better workforce is strength of the company. Due to better availability of finance they can hire quality workforce and get better results. Established Nation-wide infrastructure is helping the organization to increase the sales volume of the company. CCBPL has up to date technology in its production. As coca-cola company claims that they are very sensitive about hygienic conditions, so thats why they using up to date technology to achieve this objective. Another strength of the brand is the quality that they are offering to customers. Another important strength of CCBPL is the working environment that they are offering to their employees. Due to this environment, the employees that are working here are loyal to the organization and it is resulting in improving the motivation level of the employees, which in the end results in high productivity and better performance. Weaknesses The major weakness of the company is its distribution channel. It is one of the main reasons of its slow progress and low market share in this market. Due to lack of availability

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of the products and less differentiation from competitors, it has become very difficult to capture a big market share. The company is also lacking in utilization of the resources, especially in Multan plant. People are having various facilities but they dont know their best use. For example, people working in fleet department dont know to make the best use of Fleet Management System and usually performing tasks in very difficult manner manually that can be easily performed by using FMS. Opportunities The best opportunity for CCBPL is to increase market share through increasing the availability of the products in the market. The company can also produce better results by creating awareness in the society about the quality of the products they are offering. The successful introduction of Sprite 3G has proved that greater market share can be captured by introducing some new products. So, the company should introduce some of the products that are running successfully in other markets but are not available in Pakistan. A huge part of the market is still waiting for first entry. Coca Cola can gat the advantage of first entry if it focus on such areas. Threats High production capacity of the main competitor is a threat for Coke, because they are having a better chance to increase the production and availability of the products and further increase the market share. The local manufacturers can also disturb the market share due to their low price offerings. PEST Analysis Pest Analysis is basically an environmental analysis which covers these four dimensions of environment. Political As far as political environment is concerned company is very worried about it. Pakistan is not a political stable country. Even after the18 February election political environment is still not friendly for business. Coca Cola Company cannot heavily invest in the Pakistani market due to this factor. Economical As far as the economic conditions are concerned they are also not favorable the purchasing power of people is decreasing due to high inflation and there is a threat that this condition may directly hit the sales of the company. Social Due to its American origin people in Pakistan have a little bit cultural clash with the coca cola company specially after Iran and Iraq war but the participation of company in social responsibilities is appreciating which have build a good reputation in the market. Technological Market of Pakistan is passing through a technological revolution which provides opportunity to all the industries to modify their process. For example if the Coca cola Company would start selling its beverages through automatic vending machines it would be a healthy change for the company and the market.

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New.wikipidia

Coca-Cola From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Cocacola) Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the beverage. For its manufacturer, see The Coca-Cola Company. "Coca-Cola Classic" redirects here. For the NCAA football game, see Coca-Cola Classic (college football). Coca-Cola

Soft drink Type Manufacturer The Coca-Cola Company Country of United States origin Introduced 1886 Color Caramel E-150d Cola, Cola Cherry, Cola Vanilla, Cola Green Tea, Cola Lemon, Cola Flavor Lemon Lime, Cola Lime, Cola Orange and Cola Raspberry. Variants See Brand portfolio section below Pepsi RC Cola Zam Zam Mecca-Cola Virgin Parsi Qibla Evoca Corsica Breizh Afri Cola www.coca-cola.com Cola Turka Cola Cola Cola Cola Cola Cola Cola

Related products

Website

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The Las Vegas Strip World of Coca-Cola museum in 2003 Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries.[1] It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke (a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company in the United States since March 27, 1944). Originally intended as a patent medicine when it was invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton, Coca-Cola was bought out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coke to its dominance of the world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century. The company produces concentrate , which is then sold to licensed Coca-Cola bottlers throughout the world. The bottlers, who hold territorially exclusive contracts with the company, produce finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers then sell, distribute and merchandise CocaCola to retail stores and vending machines. Such bottlers include Coca-Cola Enterprises, which is the largest single Coca-Cola bottler in North America and western Europe. The Coca-Cola Company also sells concentrate for soda fountains to major restaurants and food service distributors. The Coca-Cola Company has, on occasion, introduced other cola drinks under the Coke brand name. The most common of these is Diet Coke, with others including Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, Diet Coke Caffeine-Free, Coca-Cola Cherry, Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola Vanilla, and special versions with lemon, lime or coffee. Based on Interbrand's best global brand 2011, Coca-Cola was the world's most valuable brand.[2] Contents
1 History 1.1 19th century historical origins 1.2 20th century landmarks 1.3 New Coke 1.4 21st century 2 Use of stimulants in formula 2.1 Coca cocaine 2.2 Kola nuts caffeine

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3 Production 3.1 Ingredients 3.2 Formula of natural flavorings 3.3 Franchised production model 4 Brand portfolio 4.1 Logo design 4.2 Contour bottle design 4.3 Designer bottles 5 Competitors 6 Advertising 6.1 Holiday campaigns 6.2 Sports sponsorship 6.3 In mass media 7 Health effects 8 Criticism 9 Use as political and corporate symbol 10 References 11 See also 12 External links History 19th century historical origins

Coca-Cola founders Asa G. Candler and Dr. John S. Pemberton are seen together at Asa G. Candler & Co. pharmacy, 47 Peachtree St., Atlanta in the only extant albumen photograph from 1888. Also shown is the biography of Candler written by his son, Charles Howard Candler.

Old German Coca-Cola bottle opener

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Believed to be the first coupon ever, this ticket for a free glass of Coca-Cola was first distributed in 1888 to help promote the drink. By 1913, the company had redeemed 8.5 million tickets.[3]

This Coca-Cola advertisement from 1943 is still displayed in the small city of Minden, Louisiana. The prototype Coca-Cola recipe was formulated at the Eagle Drug and Chemical Company, a drugstore in Columbus, Georgia, by John Pemberton, originally as a coca wine called Pemberton's French Wine Coca .[4][5][6] He may have been inspired by the formidable success of Vin Mariani , a European coca wine.[7] In 1886, when Atlanta and Fulton County passed prohibition legislation, Pemberton responded by developing Coca-Cola, essentially a nonalcoholic version of French Wine Coca.[8] The first sales were at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 8, 1886.[9] It was initially sold as a patent medicine for five cents[10] a glass at soda fountains, which were popular in the United States at the time due to the belief that carbonated water was good for the health.[11] Pemberton claimed Coca-Cola cured many diseases, including morphine addiction, dyspepsia, neurasthenia, headache, and impotence . Pemberton ran the first advertisement for the beverage on May 29 of the same year in the Atlanta Journal.[12] By 1888, three versions of Coca-Cola sold by three separate businesses were on the market. A copartnership had been formed on January 14, 1888 between Pemberton and four Atlanta businessmen: J.C. Mayfield, A.O. Murphey; C.O. Mullahy and E.H. Bloodworth. Not codified by any signed document, a verbal statement given by Asa Candler years later asserted under testimony that he had acquired a stake in Pemberton's company as early as 1887.[13] Asa Candler, however, eventually took on a more formal position by being part of the Coca-Cola Company incorporation filed in the Fulton County Superior Court on March 24, 1888. This action included Charley Pemberton and Woolfolk Walker, along with the latter's sister, Margaret Dozier. The four made up the original shareholders for "Coca-Cola Company," a Georgia corporation. All parties held copies of the Coca-Cola recipe and could continue to use the formula separate of each other. Pemberton, though, had declared that the name "Coca-Cola" belonged solely to his son Charley. The situation was quite agitating to both Candler and Walker, and quickly placed the two at odds with Charley Pemberton. What further caused friction over this issue was that John Pemberton variously forgot he had actually signed over the sole rights to the "Coca-Cola" name to his son Charley earlier. Pemberton's ongoing health problems, compounded by his morphine addiction brought about from his old Civil War injury, made the situation difficult.

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Charley Pemberton's record of control over the "Coca-Cola" name was the underlying factor that allowed for him to participate as a major shareholder in the March 1888 CocaCola Company incorporation filing made in his father's place. [14] More so for Candler especially, Charley's position holding exclusive control over the "Coca Cola" name continued to be a thorn in his side. Asa Candler's oldest son, Charles Howard Candler, authored a book in 1950 published by Emory University. In this definitive biography about his father, Candler specifically states: "..., on April 14, 1888, the young druggist [Asa Griggs Candler] purchased a one-third interest in the formula of an almost completely unknown proprietary elixir known as CocaCola."[15] The deal was actually between John Pemberton's son Charley and Walker, Candler & Co. with John Pemberton acting as cosigner for his son. For $50 down and $500 in 30 days, Walker, Candler & Co. obtained all of the one-third interest in the Coca-Cola Company that Charley held, all while Charley still held on to the name. After the April 14th deal, on April 17, 1888, one-half of the Walker/Dozier interest shares were acquired by Candler for an additional $750.[16] Charles Howard Candler's statement that April 14, 1888 was the date his father secured a "one-third interest in the formula" held by Charley Pemberton for the then obscure CocaCola elixir, none-the-less confirms this event was a major turning point for Asa Candler and his interests in Coca-Cola. This, too, was a most auspicious occasion that Asa Candler would have especially wanted to preserve in an 'official' photograph. By this time the "Coca-Cola" syrup-making apparatus had already been moved from Joe Jacob's pharmacy to the basement of Candler's larger 47 Peachtree Street location, where the drink's ever increasing syrup-bottling demands could be better handled. In 1910, Asa Candler had ordered all corporate documents pertaining to the first Coca-Cola Company burned.[17] The original 1888 photograph shows the very beginnings of the Coca Cola Company, and formerly was the personal property of Asa Griggs Candler. In 1914, Margaret Dozier, as co-owner of the original Coca-Cola Company in 1888, brazenly came forward to claim her signature on the 1888 Coca-Cola Company bill of sale had been forged. Subsequent analysis of certain similar transfer documents had also indicated John Pemberton's signature was most likely a forgery, as well, which some accounts claim was precipitated by his son Charley.[18] In 1892, Candler set out to incorporate a second company; "The Coca-Cola Company" (the current corporation). However, in 1910, Candler had the earliest records of the "Coca-Cola Company" burned. This was claimed to have been made during a move to new corporation offices around this time.[19] The loss of the early corporate records further obscured the 1888 corporation's legal origins. Only one sole original "ASA G. CANDLER & CO." photograph from 1888 remains, and that example Candler at one time kept at his private home outside of Atlanta. After Candler had gained a better foothold of Coca-Cola in April 1888, he never-the-less was forced to sell the beverage he produced with the recipe he had under the names "Yum Yum" and "Koke". This was while Charley Pemberton was selling the elixir, although a cruder mixture, under the name "Coca-Cola", all with his father's blessing. After both names failed to catch on for Candler, by the summer of 1888, the Atlanta pharmacist was quite anxious to establish a firmer legal claim to Coca-Cola, and hoped he could force his two competitors, Walker and Dozier, completely out of the business, as well.[20]

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When Dr. John Stith Pemberton suddenly died on August 16, 1888, Asa G. Candler now sought to move swiftly forward to attain his vision of taking full control of the whole CocaCola operation. Charley Pemberton, an alcoholic, was the one obstacle who unnerved Asa Candler more than anyone else. Candler is said to have quickly maneuvered to purchase the exclusive rights to the name "Coca-Cola" from Pemberton's son Charley right after Dr. Pemberton's death. One of several stories was that Candler bought the title to the name from Charley's mother for $300; approaching her at Dr. Pemberton's funeral. Eventually, Charley Pemberton was found on June 23, 1894, unconscious, with a stick of opium by his side. Ten days later, Charley died at Atlanta's Grady Hospital at the age of 40.[21] In Charles Howard Candler's 1950 book about his father, he stated: "On August 30th {1888}, he {Asa Candler} became sole proprietor of Cola-Cola, a fact which was stated on letterheads, invoice blanks and advertising copy."[22] With this action on August 30, 1888, Candler's sole control became technically all true. Candler had negotiated with Margaret Dozier and her brother Woolfolk Walker a full payment amounting to $1,000, which all agreed Candler could pay off with a series of notes over a specified time span. By May 1, 1889, Candler was now claiming full ownership of the Coca-Cola beverage, with a total investment outlay by Candler for the drink enterprise over the years amounting to $2,300.[23] Coca-Cola was sold in bottles for the first time on March 12, 1894. The first outdoor wall advertisement was painted in the same year, in Cartersville, Georgia.[24]
20th century landmarks

By the time of its 50th anniversary, the soft drink had reached the status of a national icon in the USA. In 1935, it was certified kosher by Atlanta Rabbi Tobias Geffen, after the company made minor changes in the sourcing of some ingredients.[25] On July 12, 1944, the one-billionth gallon of Coca-Cola syrup was manufactured by The Coca-Cola Company.

Original framed Coca-Cola artist's drawn graphic presented by The Coca-Cola Company on July 12, 1944 to Charles Howard Candler on the occasion of Coca-Cola's "1 Billionth Gallon of Coca-Cola Syrup."

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Cans of Coke first appeared in 1955.[26] The first bottling of Coca-Cola occurred in Vicksburg , Mississippi, at the Biedenharn Candy Company in 1891. Its proprietor was Joseph A. Biedenharn. The original bottles were Biedenharn bottles, very different from the much later hobble-skirt design now so familiar. Asa Candler was tentative about bottling the drink, but two entrepreneurs from Chattanooga, Tennessee, Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead, proposed the idea and were so persuasive that Candler signed a contract giving them control of the procedure for only one dollar. Candler never collected his dollar, but in 1899, Chattanooga became the site of the first Coca-Cola bottling company.[27] The loosely termed contract proved to be problematic for the company for decades to come. Legal matters were not helped by the decision of the bottlers to subcontract to other companies, effectively becoming parent bottlers.[28] Coke concentrate, or Coke syrup, was and is sold separately at pharmacies in small quantities, as an over-the-counter remedy for nausea or mildly upset stomach.
New Coke

Main article: New Coke

Coca-Cola sign in Colorado City, Texas On April 23, 1985, Coca-Cola, amid much publicity, attempted to change the formula of the drink with "New Coke". Follow-up taste tests revealed most consumers preferred the taste of New Coke to both Coke and Pepsi, but Coca-Cola management was unprepared for the public's nostalgia for the old drink, leading to a backlash. The company gave in to protests and returned to a variation of the old formula, under the name Coca-Cola Classic, on July 10, 1985.
21st century

On July 5, 2005, it was revealed that Coca-Cola would resume operations in Iraq for the first time since the Arab League boycotted the company in 1968.[29] In April 2007, in Canada, the name "Coca-Cola Classic" was changed back to "CocaCola". The word "Classic" was removed because "New Coke" was no longer in production, eliminating the need to differentiate between the two.[30] The formula remained unchanged. In January 2009, Coca-Cola stopped printing the word "Classic" on the labels of 16-USfluid-ounce (470 ml) bottles sold in parts of the southeastern United States.[31] The change is part of a larger strategy to rejuvenate the product's image.[31] The word "Classic" was removed from all Coca-Cola products by 2011. In November 2009, due to a dispute over wholesale prices of Coca-Cola products, Costco stopped restocking its shelves with Coke and Diet Coke. However, some Costco locations (such as the ones in Tucson, Arizona), sell imported Coca-Cola from Mexico.[32] Coca-Cola introduced the 7.5-ounce mini-can in 2009, and on September 22, 2011, the company announced price reductions, asking retailers to sell eight-packs for $2.99. That

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same day, Coca-Cola announced the 12.5-ounce bottle, to sell for 89 cents. A 16-ounce bottle has sold well at 99 cents since being re-introduced, but the price was going up to $1.19.[33] In 2012, Coca-Cola would resume business in Burma after 60 years of absence due to U.S.imposed investment sanctions against the country.[34]
Use of stimulants in formula

When launched, Coca-Cola's two key ingredients were cocaine and caffeine. The cocaine was derived from the coca leaf and the caffeine from kola nut, leading to the name Coca-Cola (the "K" in Kola was replaced with a "C" for marketing purposes).[35][36]
Coca cocaine

Pemberton called for five ounces of coca leaf per gallon of syrup, a significant dose; in 1891, Candler claimed his formula (altered extensively from Pemberton's original) contained only a tenth of this amount. Coca-Cola once contained an estimated nine milligrams of cocaine per glass. In 1903, it was removed.[37] After 1904, instead of using fresh leaves, Coca-Cola started using "spent" leaves the leftovers of the cocaine-extraction process with trace levels of cocaine.[38] Coca-Cola now uses a cocaine-free coca leaf extract prepared at a Stepan Company plant in Maywood, New Jersey. In the United States, the Stepan Company is the only manufacturing plant authorized by the Federal Government to import and process the coca plant,[39] which it obtains mainly from Peru and, to a lesser extent, Bolivia. Besides producing the coca flavoring agent for CocaCola, the Stepan Company extracts cocaine from the coca leaves, which it sells to Mallinckrodt , a St. Louis, Missouri pharmaceutical manufacturer that is the only company in the United States licensed to purify cocaine for medicinal use.[40]
Kola nuts caffeine

Kola nuts act as a flavoring and the source of caffeine in Coca-Cola. In Britain, for example, the ingredient label states "Flavourings (Including Caffeine)."[41] Kola nuts contain about 2.0 to 3.5% caffeine, are of bitter flavor and are commonly used in cola soft drinks. In 1911, the U.S. government initiated United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola, hoping to force Coca-Cola to remove caffeine from its formula. The case was decided in favor of Coca-Cola. Subsequently, in 1912, the U.S. Pure Food and Drug Act was amended, adding caffeine to the list of "habit-forming" and "deleterious" substances which must be listed on a product's label. Coca-Cola contains 34 mg of caffeine per 12 fluid ounces (9.8 mg per 100 ml).[42]
Production

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Coca-Cola 375 mL cans 24 pack (AU)

Ingredients

Carbonated water Sugar (sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup depending on country of origin) Caffeine
Phosphoric acid Caramel color (E150d)

Natural flavorings[43] A can of Coke (12 fl ounces/355 ml) has 39 grams of carbohydrates (all from sugar, approximately 10 teaspoons),[44] 50 mg of sodium, 0 grams fat, 0 grams potassium, and 140 calories.[45]
Formula of natural flavorings Main article: Coca-Cola formula

The exact formula of Coca-Cola's natural flavorings (but not its other ingredients, which are listed on the side of the bottle or can) is a trade secret. The original copy of the formula was held in SunTrust Bank's main vault in Atlanta for 86 years. Its predecessor, the Trust Company, was the underwriter for the Coca-Cola Company's initial public offering in 1919. On December 8, 2011, the original secret formula was moved from the vault at SunTrust Banks to a new vault containing the formula which will be on display for visitors to its World of Coca-Cola museum in downtown Atlanta.[46] A popular myth states that only two executives have access to the formula, with each executive having only half the formula.[47] The truth is that while Coca-Cola does have a rule restricting access to only two executives, each knows the entire formula and others, in addition to the prescribed duo, have known the formulation process.[48] On February 11, 2011, Ira Glass revealed on his PRI radio show, This American Life, that the secret formula to Coca-Cola had been uncovered in a 1979 newspaper. The formula found basically matched the formula found in Pemberton's diary.[49][50][51][52]
Franchised production model

The actual production and distribution of Coca-Cola follows a franchising model. The Coca-Cola Company only produces a syrup concentrate, which it sells to bottlers throughout the world, who hold Coca-Cola franchises for one or more geographical areas. The bottlers produce the final drink by mixing the syrup with filtered water and sweeteners, 152

and then carbonate it before putting it in cans and bottles, which the bottlers then sell and distribute to retail stores, vending machines, restaurants and food service distributors.[53] The Coca-Cola Company owns minority shares in some of its largest franchises, such as Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola Amatil, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company and Coca-Cola FEMSA, but fully independent bottlers produce almost half of the volume sold in the world. Independent bottlers are allowed to sweeten the drink according to local tastes.[54] The bottling plant in Skopje, Macedonia , received the 2009 award for "Best Bottling Company".[55]
Brand portfolio

This is a list of variants of Coca-Cola introduced around the world. In addition to the caffeine-free version of the original, additional fruit flavors have been included over the years. Not included here are versions of Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero; variant versions of those no-calorie colas can be found at their respective articles. Name Launched Discontinued Notes Picture

Coca-Cola

1886

The original version of Coca-Cola.

Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola

1983

The caffeine free version of CocaCola.

Coca-Cola Cherry

1985

Was available in Canada starting in 1996. Called "Cherry Coca-Cola (Cherry Coke)" in North America until 2006.

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New Coke/"Coca-

Cola II"

1985

2002

Still available in Yap and American

Samoa

Coca-Cola with 2001 Lemon

2005

Available in: Australia, American Samoa, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Denmark, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Korea, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway, Runion, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, United Kingdom, United States, and West Bank-Gaza Available in: Austria, Australia, China, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Malaysia, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States. It was reintroduced in June 2007 by popular demand.

Coca-Cola Vanilla

2002; 2007

2005

Coca-Cola with 2005 Lime

Available in Belgium, Netherlands, Singapore, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Coca-Cola Raspberry

June 2005 End of 2005

Was only available in New Zealand. Currently available in the United States in Coca-Cola Freestyle fountain since 2009.

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Coca-Cola Black Cherry 2006 Vanilla

Middle 2007

of Was replaced by Vanilla Coke in June 2007

Coca-Cola Blk

2006

Only available in the United States, Beginning of France, Canada, Czech Republic, 2008 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Lithuania

Coca-Cola Citra 2006

Only available in Bosnia Herzegovina, New Zealand Japan.

and and

Coca-Cola Orange

2007

Was available in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar for a limited time. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland it's sold under the label Mezzo Mix. Currently available in Coca-Cola Freestyle fountain outlets in the United States since 2009.

Logo design

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The famous Coca-Cola logo was created by John Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson, in 1885.[56] Robinson came up with the name and chose the logo's distinctive cursive script. The typeface used, known as Spencerian script, was developed in the mid-19th century and was the dominant form of formal handwriting in the United States during that period. Robinson also played a significant role in early Coca-Cola advertising. His promotional suggestions to Pemberton included giving away thousands of free drink coupons and plastering the city of Atlanta with publicity banners and streetcar signs.[57]
Contour bottle design

Earl R. Dean's original 1915

concept drawing of the contour Coca-Cola bottle.

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The prototype never made it to production since its middle diameter was larger than its base, making it unstable on conveyor belts.

Designer label for 2 litre Coca-Cola bottle The equally famous Coca-Cola bottle, called the "contour bottle" within the company, but known to some as the "hobble skirt" bottle, was created by bottle designer Earl R. Dean. In 1915, the Coca-Cola Company launched a competition among its bottle suppliers to create a new bottle for their beverage that would distinguish it from other beverage bottles, "a bottle which a person could recognize even if they felt it in the dark, and so shaped that, even if broken, a person could tell at a glance what it was."[58] Chapman J. Root, president of the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana , turned the project over to members of his supervisory staff, including company auditor T. Clyde Edwards, plant superintendent Alexander Samuelsson, and Earl R. Dean, bottle designer and supervisor of the bottle molding room. Root and his subordinates decided to base the

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bottle's design on one of the soda's two ingredients, the coca leaf or the kola nut, but were unaware of what either ingredient looked like. Dean and Edwards went to the Emeline Fairbanks Memorial Library and were unable to find any information about coca or kola. Instead, Dean was inspired by a picture of the gourd-shaped cocoa pod in the Encyclopdia Britannica . Dean made a rough sketch of the pod and returned to the plant to show Root. He explained to Root how he could transform the shape of the pod into a bottle. Root gave Dean his approval.[58] Faced with the upcoming scheduled maintenance of the mold-making machinery, over the next 24 hours Dean sketched out a concept drawing which was approved by Root the next morning. Dean then proceeded to create a bottle mold and produced a small number of bottles before the glass-molding machinery was turned off.[59] Chapman Root approved the prototype bottle and a design patent was issued on the bottle in November, 1915. The prototype never made it to production since its middle diameter was larger than its base, making it unstable on conveyor belts. Dean resolved this issue by decreasing the bottle's middle diameter. During the 1916 bottler's convention, Dean's contour bottle was chosen over other entries and was on the market the same year. By 1920, the contour bottle became the standard for the Coca-Cola Company. Today, the contour Coca-Cola bottle is one of the most recognized packages on the planet..."even in the dark!".
[60]

As a reward for his efforts, Dean was offered a choice between a $500 bonus or a lifetime job at the Root Glass Company . He chose the lifetime job and kept it until the Owens-Illinois Glass Company bought out the Root Glass Company in the mid-1930s. Dean went on to work in other Midwestern glass factories. One alternative depiction has Raymond Loewy as the inventor of the unique design, but, while Loewy did serve as a designer of Coke cans and bottles in later years, he was in the French Army the year the bottle was invented and did not emigrate to the United States until 1919. Others have attributed inspiration for the design not to the cocoa pod, but to a Victorian hooped dress.[61] In 1944, Associate Justice Roger J. Traynor of the Supreme Court of California took advantage of a case involving a waitress injured by an exploding Coca-Cola bottle to articulate the doctrine of strict liability for defective products. Traynor's concurring opinion in Escola v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. is widely recognized as a landmark case in U.S. law today.[62] In 1997, Coca-Cola introduced a "contour can," similar in shape to its famous bottle, on a few test markets, including Terre Haute, Indiana.[63] The can has never been widely released. A new slim and tall can began to appear in Australia on December 20, 2006; it cost AU$1.95. The cans have a resemblance to energy drink cans. The cans were commissioned by Domino's Pizza and are available exclusively at their restaurants. In January 2007, Coca-Cola Canada changed "Coca-Cola Classic" labeling, removing the "Classic" designation, leaving only "Coca-Cola." Coca-Cola stated this is merely a name change and the product remains the same. In 2007, Coca-Cola introduced an aluminum can designed to look like the original glass Coca-Cola bottles. In 2007, the company's logo on cans and bottles changed. The cans and bottles retained the red color and familiar typeface, but the design was simplified, leaving only the logo and a plain white swirl (the "dynamic ribbon").

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In 2008, in some parts of the world, the plastic bottles for all Coke varieties (including the larger 1.5- and 2-liter bottles) were changed to include a new plastic screw cap and a slightly taller contoured bottle shape, designed to evoke the old glass bottles.[64]

Two Chinese Coke bottles, a 200 ml glass bottle, which is becoming less common, and a 300 ml plastic bottle that is now widely available.
Designer bottles Karl Lagerfeld is

the latest designer to have created a collection of aluminum bottles for Coca-Cola. Lagerfeld is not the first fashion designer to create a special version of the famous Coca-Cola Contour bottle. A number of other limited edition bottles by fashion designers for Coca Cola Light soda have been created in the last few years. In 2009, in Italy, Coca-Cola Light had a Tribute to Fashion to celebrate 100 years of the recognizable contour bottle. Well known Italian designers Alberta Ferretti, Blumarine, Etro, Fendi, Marni, Missoni, Moschino, and Versace each designed limited edition bottles.
[65]

Competitors Pepsi, the flagship

product of PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company's main rival in the soft drink industry, is usually second to Coke in sales, and outsells Coca-Cola in some markets. RC Cola, now owned by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, the third largest soft drink manufacturer, is also widely available. Around the world, many local brands compete with Coke. In South and Central America Kola Real, known as Big Cola in Mexico, is a growing competitor to Coca-Cola.[66] On the French island of Corsica, Corsica Cola, made by brewers of the local Pietra beer, is a growing competitor to Coca-Cola. In the French region of Brittany, Breizh Cola is available. In Peru, Inca Kola outsells Coca-Cola, which led The Coca-Cola Company to purchase the brand in 1999. In Sweden, Julmust outsells Coca-Cola during the Christmas season.[67] In Scotland, the locally produced Irn-Bru was more popular than Coca-Cola until 2005, when Coca-Cola and Diet Coke began to outpace its sales.[68] In India, Coca-Cola ranked third behind the leader, Pepsi-Cola, and local drink Thums Up. The Coca-Cola Company purchased Thums Up in 1993.[69] As of 2004, Coca-Cola held a 60.9% market-share in India.[70] Tropicola, a domestic drink, is served in Cuba instead of Coca-Cola, due to a United States embargo. French brand Mecca Cola and British brand Qibla Cola are competitors to Coca-Cola in the Middle East. In Turkey, Cola Turka, in Iran and the Middle East, Zam Zam Cola and Parsi Cola, in some parts of China, China Cola, in Slovenia, Cockta and the inexpensive Mercator Cola, sold only in the country's biggest supermarket chain, Mercator, are some of the brand's

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competitors. Classiko Cola, made by Tiko Group, the largest manufacturing company in Madagascar, is a serious competitor to Coca-Cola in many regions. Laranjada is the topselling soft drink on Madeira.
Advertising See also: Coca-Cola slogans

Coca-Cola's advertising has significantly affected American culture, and it is frequently credited with inventing the modern image of Santa Claus as an old man in a red-and-white suit. Although the company did start using the red-and-white Santa image in the 1930s, with its winter advertising campaigns illustrated by Haddon Sundblom, the motif was already common.[71][72] Coca-Cola was not even the first soft drink company to use the modern image of Santa Claus in its advertising: White Rock Beverages used Santa in advertisements for its ginger ale in 1923, after first using him to sell mineral water in 1915.[73][74] Before Santa Claus, Coca-Cola relied on images of smartly dressed young women to sell its beverages. Coca-Cola's first such advertisement appeared in 1895, featuring the young Bostonian actress Hilda Clark as its spokeswoman.

An 1890s advertisement showing model Hilda Clark in formal 19th century attire. The ad is titled Drink Coca-Cola 5. (US) 1941 saw the first use of the nickname "Coke" as an official trademark for the product, with a series of advertisements informing consumers that "Coke means Coca-Cola".[75] In 1971 a song from a Coca-Cola commercial called "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing ", produced by Billy Davis, became a hit single.

Coca-Cola sales booth on the Cape Verde island of Fogo in 2004.

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Coke's advertising is pervasive, as one of Woodruff's stated goals was to ensure that everyone on Earth drank Coca-Cola as their preferred beverage. This is especially true in southern areas of the United States, such as Atlanta, where Coke was born.

Coca-Cola signboard in Lahore, Pakistan. Some Coca-Cola television commercials between 1960 through 1986 were written and produced by former Atlanta radio veteran Don Naylor (WGST 19361950, WAGA 1951 1959) during his career as a producer for the McCann Erickson advertising agency. Many of these early television commercials for Coca-Cola featured movie stars, sports heroes and popular singers.

Coca-Cola ghost sign in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Older Coca-Cola ghosts behind Borax and telephone ads. During the 1980s, Pepsi-Cola ran a series of television advertisements showing people participating in taste tests demonstrating that, according to the commercials, "fifty percent of the participants who said they preferred Coke actually chose the Pepsi." Statisticians pointed out the problematic nature of a 50/50 result: most likely, the taste tests showed that in blind tests, most people cannot tell the difference between Pepsi and Coke. Coca-Cola ran ads to combat Pepsi's ads in an incident sometimes referred to as the cola wars; one of Coke's ads compared the so-called Pepsi challenge to two chimpanzees deciding which tennis ball was furrier. Thereafter, Coca-Cola regained its leadership in the market. Selena was a spokesperson for Coca-Cola from 1989 till the time of her death. She filmed three commercials for the company. In 1994, to commemorate her five years with the company, Coca-Cola issued special Selena coke bottles.[76] The Coca-Cola Company purchased Columbia Pictures in 1982, and began inserting Cokeproduct images into many of its films. After a few early successes during Coca-Cola's ownership, Columbia began to under-perform, and the studio was sold to Sony in 1989. Coca-Cola has gone through a number of different advertising slogans in its long history, including "The pause that refreshes," "I'd like to buy the world a Coke," and "Coke is it" (see Coca-Cola slogans).

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In 2006, Coca-Cola introduced My Coke Rewards, a customer loyalty campaign where consumers earn points by entering codes from specially marked packages of Coca-Cola products into a website. These points can be redeemed for various prizes or sweepstakes entries.[77] In Australia in 2011, Coca-Cola began the "share a Coke" campaign, where the Coca-Cola logo was replaced on the bottles and replaced with first names. Coca-Cola used the 150 most popular names in Australia to print on the bottles.[78][79][80] The campaign was paired with a website page, Facebook page and an online "share a virtual Coke".
Holiday campaigns

Coca-Cola Christmas truck in Dresden, Germany. The "Holidays are coming!" advertisement features a train of red delivery trucks, emblazoned with the Coca-Cola name and decorated with Christmas lights, driving through a snowy landscape and causing everything that they pass to light up and people to watch as they pass through.[81] The advertisement fell into disuse in 2001, as the Coca-Cola company restructured its advertising campaigns so that advertising around the world was produced locally in each country, rather than centrally in the company's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.[82] In 2007, the company brought back the campaign after, according to the company, many consumers telephoned its information center saying that they considered it to mark the beginning of Christmas.[81] The advertisement was created by U.S. advertising agency Doner, and has been part of the company's global advertising campaign for many years.[83] Keith Law, a producer and writer of commercials for Belfast CityBeat, was not convinced by Coca-Cola's reintroduction of the advertisement in 2007, saying that "I don't think there's anything Christmassy about HGVs and the commercial is too generic."[84] In 2001, singer Melanie Thornton recorded the campaign's advertising jingle as a single, Wonderful Dream (Holidays are Coming), which entered the pop-music charts in Germany at no. 9.[85][86] In 2005, Coca-Cola expanded the advertising campaign to radio, employing several variations of the jingle.[87] In 2011, Coca-Cola launched a campaign for the Indian holiday Diwali. The campaign included commercials, a song and an integration with Shah Rukh Khans film Ra.One.[88][89][90]
Sports sponsorship

Coca-Cola was the first commercial sponsor of the Olympic games, at the 1928 games in Amsterdam, and has been an Olympics sponsor ever since.[91] This corporate sponsorship included the 1996 Summer Olympics hosted in Atlanta, which allowed Coca-Cola to spotlight 162

its hometown. Most recently, Coca-Cola has released localized commercials for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver; one Canadian commercial referred to Canada's hockey heritage and was modified after Canada won the gold medal game on February 28, 2010 by changing the ending line of the commercial to say "Now they know whose game they're playing".[92] Since 1978, Coca-Cola has sponsored the FIFA World Cup, and other competitions organised by FIFA. One FIFA tournament trophy, the FIFA World Youth Championship from Tunisia in 1977 to Malaysia in 1997, was called "FIFA Coca Cola Cup".[93] In addition, Coca-Cola sponsors the annual Coca-Cola 600 and Coke Zero 400 for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina and Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida. Coca-Cola has a long history of sports marketing relationships, which over the years have included Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League, as well as with many teams within those leagues. Coca-Cola has had a longtime relationship with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, due in part to the nowfamous 1979 television commercial featuring "Mean Joe" Greene , leading to the two opening the Coca-Cola Great Hall at Heinz Field in 2001 and a more recent Coca-Cola Zero commercial featuring Troy Polamalu. Coca-Cola is the official soft drink of many collegiate football teams throughout the nation, partly due to Coca-Cola providing those schools with upgraded athletic facilities in exchange for Coca-Cola's sponsorship. This is especially prevalent at the high school level, which is more dependent on such contracts due to tighter budgets. Coca-Cola was one of the official sponsors of the 1996 Cricket World Cup held on the Indian subcontinent . Coca Cola is also one of the associate sponsor of Delhi Daredevils in Indian Premier League. In England, Coca-Cola was the main sponsor of The Football League between 2004 and 2010, a name given to the three professional divisions below the Premier League in football (soccer). It is also responsible for the renaming of these divisions until the advent of Coca-Cola sponsorship, they were referred to as Divisions One, Two and Three. Since 2004, the divisions have been known as The Championship (equiv. of Division 1), League One (equiv. of Div. 2) and League 2 (equiv. of Division 3). This renaming has caused unrest amongst some fans, who see it as farcical that the third tier of English Football is now called "League One." In 2005, Coca-Cola launched a competition for the 72 clubs of the football league it was called "Win a Player". This allowed fans to place 1 vote per day for their beloved club, with 1 entry being chosen at random earning 250,000 for the club; this was repeated in 2006. The "Win A Player" competition was very controversial, as at the end of the 2 competitions, Leeds United AFC had the most votes by more than double, yet they did not win any money to spend on a new player for the club. In 2007, the competition changed to "Buy a Player". This competition allowed fans to buy a bottle of Coca-Cola Zero or Coca-Cola and submit the code on the wrapper on the Coca-Cola website {www.coca-colafootball.co.uk}. This code could then earn anything from 50p to 100,000 for a club of their choice. This competition was favored over the old "Win A Player" competition, as it allowed all clubs to win some money. Introduced March 1, 2010, in Canada, to celebrate the 2010 Winter Olympics, Coca Cola will sell gold colored cans in packs of 12 355 mL each, in select stores.[94]
In mass media

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Coca-Cola has been prominently featured in countless films and television programs. Since its creation, it remains as one of the most important elements of the popular culture. It was a major plot element in films such as One, Two, Three, The Coca-Cola Kid, and The Gods Must Be Crazy among many others. It provides a setting for comical corporate shenanigans in the novel Syrup by Maxx Barry. And in music, in The Beatles' song, "Come Together", the lyrics said, "He shoot Coca-Cola, he say...". The Beach Boys also referenced Coca-Cola in their 1964 song "All Summer Long" (i.e. 'Member when you spilled Coke all over your blouse?)
[95]

Also, the best selling artist of all time and worldwide cultural icon,[96] Elvis Presley, promoted Coca-Cola during his last tour of 1977.[97][98] The Coca-Cola Company used the Elvis' image to promote the product.[99] For example, the company used a song performed by Presley, A Little Less Conversation , in a Japanese Coca-Cola commercial.[100] Other artists that promoted Coca-Cola include The Beatles, David Bowie,[101] George Michael,[102] Elton John[103] and Whitney Houston,[104] who appeared in the Diet Coca-Cola commercial, among many others. Not all musical references to Coca-Cola went well. A line in " Lola" by The Kinks was originally recorded as "You drink champagne and it tastes just like Coca-Cola." When the British Broadcasting Corporation refused to play the song because of the commercial reference, lead singer Ray Davies was forced to fly from New York to London and re-record the lyric as "it tastes just like cherry cola" to get airplay for the song.[105] Political cartoonist Michel Kichka satirized a Coca-Cola billboard in his 1982 poster "And I Love New York." On the billboard, the lettering and script above the Coca-Cola wave read "Enjoy Cocaine."[106]
Health effects

Since studies indicate "soda and sweetened drinks are the main source of calories in [the] American diet",[107] most nutritionists advise that Coca-Cola and other soft drinks can be harmful if consumed excessively, particularly to young children whose soft drink consumption competes with, rather than complements, a balanced diet. Studies have shown that regular soft drink users have a lower intake of calcium, magnesium, ascorbic acid, riboflavin, and vitamin A.[108] The drink has also aroused criticism for its use of caffeine, which can cause physical dependence.[109] A link has been shown between long-term regular cola intake and osteoporosis in older women (but not men).[110] This was thought to be due to the presence of phosphoric acid, and the risk was found to be same for caffeinated and noncaffeinated colas, as well as the same for diet and sugared colas. A common criticism of Coke based on its allegedly toxic acidity levels has been found to be baseless by researchers; lawsuits based on these notions have been dismissed by several American courts for this reason. Although numerous court cases have been filed against The Coca-Cola Company since the 1920s, alleging that the acidity of the drink is dangerous, no evidence corroborating this claim has been found. Under normal conditions, scientific evidence indicates Coca-Cola's acidity causes no immediate harm.[111] Since 1980 in the U.S., Coke has been made with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as an ingredient. Originally it was used in combination with more expensive cane-sugar, but by late 1984 the formulation was sweetened entirely with HFCS. Some nutritionists caution against consumption of HFCS because it may aggravate obesity and type-2 diabetes more than cane sugar.[112] In India, there is a controversy whether there are pesticides and other harmful chemicals in bottled products, including Coca-Cola. In 2003 the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a 164

non-governmental organization in New Delhi, said aerated waters produced by soft drinks manufacturers in India, including multinational giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, contained toxins including lindane , DDT, malathion and chlorpyrifos pesticides that can contribute to cancer and a breakdown of the immune system. CSE found that the Indian-produced Pepsi's soft drink products had 36 times the level of pesticide residues permitted under European Union regulations; Coca-Cola's soft drink was found to have 30 times the permitted amount. CSE said it had tested the same products sold in the U.S. and found no such residues. [113] After the pesticide allegations were made in 2003, Coca-Cola sales in India declined by 15 percent. In 2004 an Indian parliamentary committee backed up CSE's findings and a government-appointed committee was tasked with developing the world's first pesticide standards for soft drinks. The Coca-Cola Company has responded that its plants filter water to remove potential contaminants and that its products are tested for pesticides and must meet minimum health standards before they are distributed.[114] In the Indian state of Kerala sale and production of Coca-Cola, along with other soft drinks, was initially banned after the allegations, until the High Court in Kerala overturned ruled that only the federal government can ban food products. Coca-Cola has also been accused of excessive water usage in India.[115] The 2008 Ig Nobel Prize (a parody of the Nobel Prizes) in Chemistry was awarded to Sheree Umpierre, Joseph Hill, and Deborah Anderson, for discovering that Coca-Cola is an effective spermicide,[116] and to C.Y. Hong, C.C. Shieh, P. Wu, and B.N. Chiang for proving it is not.[117][118]
Criticism

Main article: Criticism of Coca-Cola Coca-Cola has been criticized for alleged adverse health effects, its aggressive marketing to children, exploitative labor practices, high levels of pesticides in its products, building plants in Nazi Germany which employed slave labor, environmental destruction, monopolistic business practices, and hiring paramilitary units to murder trade union leaders. In October 2009, in an effort to improve their image, Coca-Cola partnered with the American Academy of Family Physicians , providing a $500,000 grant to help promote healthylifestyle education; the partnership spawned sharp criticism of both Coca-Cola and the AAFP by physicians and nutritionists.[119]
Use as political and corporate symbol

Coca-Cola advertising in High Atlas mountains of Morocco

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Coke dispenser flown aboard the Space Shuttle in 1996 (US) The Coca-Cola drink has a high degree of identification with the United States, being considered by some an "American Brand" or as an item representing America. The identification with the spread of American culture has led to the pun "CocaColanization".[72][120] The drink is also often a metonym for the Coca-Cola Company. There are some consumer boycotts of Coca-Cola in Arab countries due to Coke's early investment in Israel during the Arab League boycott of Israel (its competitor Pepsi stayed out of Israel).[121] Mecca Cola and Pepsi have been successful[vague] alternatives in the Middle East.[citation needed] A Coca-Cola fountain dispenser (officially a Fluids Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus-2 or FGBA-2) was developed for use on the Space Shuttle as a test bed to determine if carbonated beverages can be produced from separately stored carbon dioxide, water and flavored syrups and determine if the resulting fluids can be made available for consumption without bubble nucleation and resulting foam formation. The unit flew in 1996 aboard STS-77 and held 1.65 liters each of Coca-Cola

Positioning and brand management in coca-cola Introduction A? brand? a given name or? is trademark? associated with a? particular product? a certain or producer. There is a prevalent recognition that brands are essential in initiating and supporting the financial achievements of a business. With intense competition and surplus capability in practically every trade segment, strong brands help organizations to differentiate themselves in the industry and provide a means to emphasize how their goods and services are distinctively capable of meeting customer demands. Financial worth has all the time been affixed to brands. However, only during the 1980s brand valuation 166

approaches were instituted that could reasonably facilitate the understanding and appraisal of the explicit value of brands. The scheme of affixing a distinct value on brands is now a commonly recognized practice. Those involved in the field of accounting, transfer valuing and licensing contracts, mergers and acquisitions and value oriented management, regard brand valuation as a key element in contemporary business. (Pressey & Selassie 2007) In the financial approach of attaching a value to a particular brand, brand value is regarded as the net present value (NPV) of the estimated brand earnings, cut-rate by the brand discount value. The NPV computation involves both the projected period and the phase beyond, implicating the capability of brands to carry on generating future revenues. The rationale underlying the creation of technical valuations of a brand are balance sheet documentation, tax scheduling, legal action, securitization, authorization, mergers and acquisitions and shareholder relations. They concentrate on attaching an instance valuation that symbolizes the value of the patents. Commercial valuations are created with the intention of managing brand architecture, portfolio organization, market plan, budget planning and brand scorecards. Such valuations are rooted in a dynamic framework of the branded business and aspire to compute the part played by the brand in manipulating the key components in the model. In the case of Coca-Cola positioning and brand management is the key point of the company's sustainability and survival in the open market. (Pierce 2009) Aim Despite the commercial significance of brands, the brand management still trails behind their tangible equivalents. There are very few established frameworks and processes to control the brand asset. On the whole, it may be said that there is an escalating necessity for brand valuation from both an organizational and transactional standpoint. (Pettijohn 2001) Thus, it is important for companies to emphasize on the economic value of brands and the aim and purpose of the paper is to evaluate and analyze the marketing strategies of Cocacola. In this paper, it examines (1) the positioning and brand management strategy of the Coca-Cola Company and showcase how modern marketing techniques can benefit the business; (2) demonstrates how the marketing techniques used by Coca-Cola Company to establish itself as a powerful and successful brand and (3) demonstrates how the branding and positioning strategies are a major force for the company to retain its stronghold throughout the world, especially in a highly competitive environment. Body The Coca-Cola Company is one of the biggest business corporations all over the world today. According to the company sources, it operates in around 200 countries all over the country and products trademarked with the company form a huge sales volume. The company listed as KO in the NYSE has worldwide employee strength of more than 90,000 and recorded massive revenue of $31.9 billion for the fiscal year 2008. The firm has its headquarters located in Atlanta, Georgia. The beverage branded as Coca-Cola, a? fizzing non-alcoholic beverage is the frontrunner in the firm's product line and is sold at shops, eateries, cafes and through soda machines? across the globe. Other brands under which the firm operates are Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Coke Zero, Dasani bottled water, Glaceau Vitamin Water, POWERade sports drinks, Minute Maid To Go juices, Aquarius sports drinks and Nestea. (Mudambi 2008) Just like other major businesses, the company too faces some major challenges. The firm is a U.S. based company and thus records its earnings in US Dollars. The firm draws 75% of

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it operational capital from business outside America. ? (Randers & G? luke 2007) Thus, fluctuations in currency exchange rates impact its performance. In addition, the varying prices of commodities used in production also heavily influences business operations. However, the most important challenge that the company faces at this moment is the gloomy economic situation in America and the rest of the world. (Shervani & Frazier 2007) For businesses coveting high shareholder value, brands emerge as a key success element. Brands usually create certain demarcations from the competition it faces and draws customer allegiances. Established brands are capable of generating a consistent flow of prospective revenues, thus creating strong shareholder worth. To facilitate allocation of a reasonable value to a certain brand out of the overall value of the possessing organization, four essential standards must be fulfilled relating to that brand. It needs to be separately identifiable, cosseted legally, transferable, and continuing in nature. In this context, separability entails a condition where the brand is a lawfully separable entity, evidently discernible from the additional assets owned by the business. In certain cases, nonetheless, brands can be connected to other resources or company name in an irresolvable manner and separability may thus be complicated to attribute. For example, some commercial brands may not be distinguishable product-wise if they are so employed for other products also. (Kavussanos & Nomikos 2006) A thriving, established brand undeniably has an economic worth attached to it in the sense that, the owing company is appreciated at a higher value with the brand than without it. Nevertheless, there exist several practical concerns in establishing the brand's worth. In some cases, separating the value of the brand from the rest of the business is not feasible. Any valid evaluation of a brand's prospective profitability entails several intrinsic subjective discernments about marketing factors. These subjective discernments lead to a divergence amongst economic validity and accounting objectivity. Therefore, Coca-cola pays lot of importance to it brand and brand management. (Slater & Olson 2001) In the event of considering a brand like Coca-cola one can consider what are costs associated with designing, licensing, and marketing the patents, trademarks and other connected rights. On the other hand, one may focus on what they could possibly cost to be substituted. Both these approaches, namely, historic cost method and the replacement cost method, are subjective but are standard conventions. Economic substitution analysis is a different approach towards brand valuation. It looks at questions such as what would be the financial strength of the branded enterprise without the possessions of the trademarks or brands and how are the levels, values and outlays dependent on it. The difficulty with this method is that it counts on subjective conclusions with regard to what another substitute might be. (Katsikeas & Theodosiou 2006) Research It is obvious that the brand equity of its products is relatively very high for customers and stakeholders. In regards to a large enterprise like Coca Cola it is easy to state that any large scale change of its product or products could lead to market unrest in a short term. For example, when the company decided to change the taste of its prime product Coke in the 1980's the result was vigorously unfavorable and the company authorities had to dump the plan. The future success of the company depends on branding strategy. (Eng 2007) With a past succeed it could be safely stated their impetus on branding strategy for CocaCola and remained successful over the decades and there are four core brands: coffee, tea, fruit juice/ fruit drinks and another 500+ different flavors from Coca-Cola's along with

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bottled drinking water makes the company as a market leader in the industry. Thus, if we assume that the marketing strategy of Coca-Cola is relatively futuristic in all sense it would be relevant enough and safely stated. (Dobrev 2008) The elements of the brand marketing campaign must carry the great benefit of being very cost effective. Some of the costs that need to be considered are related to (1) publishing the promotional fliers and the posters, as well as costs associated with putting the posters on buses, (2) creating and promoting the website and (3) hiring and training the staff that will provide additional information. (Stewart 2008) The evaluation of the promotional campaign is quite important at this point, inducing any perspective changes that may need to be made. In this sense, there are two important things that need to be kept in mind when performing the campaign evaluation: (1) the number of new clients after the launch of the promotional campaign and (2) the number of new clients that were a direct result of the promotional campaign. While the first measure is quantitative and thus easier to evaluate, the second one is qualitative and, hence, more difficult to approach. However, we should be able to determine the effectiveness of the promotional campaign (at least in the first phase) simply by evaluating the number of new clients. In the second phase, a qualitative analysis will also be necessary, as we may believe that the word - of - mouth process will begin to create additional clients. (Collins 2006) According to several sources, the main goal of international marketing strategy would be to evaluate the effectiveness of the marketing policies that the corporation has been using, determine the means to optimize these processes and improve the results that the marketing department has been producing. (Anderson & Wen-yeh 2006) At corporate level, we are referring to branding positioning and strategic marketing though brand management. This would mean that the chief executives have defined both the strategic paths that the company will be approaching in the net period of time and the specific ways by which marketing can provide the appropriate help. This would go anywhere from identifying new potential segments of consumers to developing new promotional plans to approach them. In this case, the audit will look at the efficiency with which the corporation has managed to fulfill its proposed strategic market objectives and how these can be improved in the future. At the strategic business unit (SBU) level, we pay more attention at an operational level at which the questions asked are how marketing tools can efficiently help in direct sale of the product. At the product unit level, we are concerned with the product mix, especially in terms of price, distribution, how changes in these variables have influenced the overall sales. (Weaver 2007) From the point of view of Coca-Cola it would be relevant to mention that strategic brand planning in futuristic context should rely on its current position as market leader, with a close eye on the possible future developments of the market that should be kept in sight in order to be able to develop a coherent long-term strategic plan, apt to bring both an increased market share and the presence in other market areas, with possible economies of scale and increased revenues. In conclusion it should be stated that as such, there are two directions that the organization should approach, closely correlated with each other. The two strategic directions are (1) the adequate exploit of current market position, with a trend towards improving the position on the market and (2) diversification. (Alizadeh & Koekebakker 2007) The positioning and brand management strategy of the Coca-Cola

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The positioning strategy used by Coca-Cola has allowed them to paint a suitable image of themselves in the mind of their customers as the only Real One. They have designed their positioning strategy so as to draw an effective picture of their products offered for their customer. Once they had decided the market segment they wanted to target and compete in, they clearly developed a picture of that targeted market segment and properly defined their products as part of their positioning strategy. Through their positions strategy they emphasized on their distinct and unique characteristics with relation to their competitive brands stressing on their individuality. They associated their product with the customer's values and knowledge highlighting their benefits. Their positioning strategy also included comparison of Coca-Cola's products with those of their rivals, like Pepsi, so that drive their customers to believe that Coca-Cola's products had higher quality and standard. The Coca-Cola brand has turned out to be one of the most recognizable and a popular brand of all times and their beverage company is among the world's largest beverage companies. They have become a successful brand since they have used a number of different brand management strategies depending on the market situation and target market. The strategies include hybrid, manufacturer, individual, private, family and generic brand management strategies. However, the most utilized brand management strategy she used is the individual brand management strategy since all of their major products have individual brand names, like Sprite and Fanta. Coca-Cola's world-wide recognition comes from the fact that they have spent billions of dollars to promote and develop their trademark and brand name. Due to this today more than 95% of our global population recognizes CocaCola along with their special writing and their prominent red and white color. As a matter of fact, Coca-Cola Company came into being in 1986 and within the past 2 decades, it has been able to establish itself as one of the leading beverage companies in the world. At the beginning, Coca-Cola has used modern marketing techniques and she is even viewed as the founding father of our present day marketing model. The brand used a number of modern marketing techniques which has immensely benefited the business. This includes aiming their marketing concept totally towards their customers and allowing the focus of their customers to percolate trough almost every department whether human resource, production or finance. Another beneficial modern marketing technique includes taking of all of their important decisions with relevance to the existing market considerations, position and segmentation. Apart from placing importance on market implications, there are 3 techniques of modern marketing which the company can highly benefit from - focusing on customers, coordination and profit orientation. The company's focus should always be on the consumer's viewpoint so that they can totally understand which product or service the buyer needs. Since the marketing mix is an interconnected system, the entire marketing program needs to be considered and designed as a whole. In addition, the marketing techniques used by Coca-Cola allow them to listen to the needs and demands of the people all over the world who want beverages that extend over a wide variety of occasions and tastes. Their marketing strategy has allowed them to produce great beverages which contribute towards each and every community of our world. Their marketing techniques display their commitment towards diversity, health, education and wellness, thus establishing them as one of the most successful and powerful brands of all time. Coca-Cola's marketing techniques consists of an extremely efficient marketing mix strategy combining product, price, promotion and place. They not only provide the customers with their products, soft drinks, but also several services, like movies and

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holidays, allowing the consumers to be completely satisfied. Their main pricing strategy includes penetration pricing which has allowed them to grab a footing in their target market by winning a major part of the market share. After establishing customer loyalty, CocaCola then slowly raised their product prices. Coca-Cola has always been among the forerunners in gimmicks and advertising styles and techniques which fall under promotion of marketing techniques. They have effectively use their promotional strategies for persuading their customers into buying their original products and trying the new ones. They have used a combination of public relations, advertising, personal selling and sales promotion as a part of their marketing techniques. Coca-Cola have also carefully chosen the place or distribution techniques for their company. Their techniques include direct, selective, intensive and exclusive distribution. It is completely apparent from their widespread popularity and reputation that these marketing strategies used by Coca-Cola has helped them establish themselves as among the most powerful and successful brand of modern times, one which will fortunately be a complex yet vital part of our modern world culture. In a highly competitive world such as ours effective branding and positioning strategies are extremely essential since it plays as a major force for the company and allows it to retain its stronghold all over the world. The branding strategies of a company accurately define the individuality of the company, its products and services. Every company, whether small or large, consider their branding strategies to be an important part of the entire business. Through their branding strategies they establish themselves as a brand name which represents quality and standard to their customers. A brand name helps the differentiation among customers based on their unique qualities from other similar products. Additionally, the positioning strategy of a company helps it to establish the profitability of their various products and services. In order for a company to be successful simply having a quality product is not enough in our capitalistic world economy. The products and services must have a distinct and clear image and should be offered to the target customers at competitive prices. This is what a positioning strategy creates. Therefore, positioning strategies helps companies create a useful and desired image of the product for the customers, producing a direct contact between them and the company. Conclusion The argument that the brands or brand names along with its brand position and brand management of a business like Coca-Cola, under which its goods or services are marketed, embodies as much an asset as their tangible counterparts, is increasingly gaining momentum. Realizing the requirement of implicating the value of brands in the accounts, some large corporations in the UK have initiated the capitalization of the value of their brands in their documented financial declarations. The issue logically crops up with regards to whether the implication of this entity as an asset in the financial documents serves any real significant function or is merely another effort by the brand accountants to create more opportunities for themselves. Recommendations This report also provides a number of recommendations for Coca-Cola, which may help the company, come out of the economic recession. It strongly advices the management to adopt a broader perspective and develop a long-term strategy instead of focusing on short term plans. The declining nature of sales curves, profit margins and decreased rate of growth can be attributed to the recession and may be consider being quite natural in the present instable economic conditions. However, this should not be a reason to panic and

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make hasty decisions, which may bring about adverse effects and outcomes and may ruin the company. On the contrary, it should be seen as an opportunity to strengthen and stabilize the company right from its roots. Indeed, recession can be considered an opportunity to innovate, utilize, and take advantages of the openings created by the economic slump. (Dobrev 2008) Investing in emerging markets like India and China, which demonstrate significant growth opportunities, is surely a viable option for the company. It increases the customer reach and enhances the brand diversity. Capitalizing on the openings, which these emerging markets offer, can be a boost to the company, particularly when domestic markets in the United States are not performing so well. As a result, the company must pay more importance to its brand position and brand management and redeem the low revenue due to the recession from these emerging markets.

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