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Target market over the years-The main target market over the years has been
the younger generation primarily. But that͛s not to say that the company don͛t
try to appease other age groups as well. As of 2010, various ad -campaigns that
have been aired through billboards, cut -outs, radio broadcasts , TV
advertisements , celebrity endorsements and of course after the inception of
the internet as a mass media in the post 2000 era internet ads have been used.
Few companies spend in advertising as much as Coca Cola does, perhaps only
it͛s arch-rival Pepsi come close. Since the popularity of c arbonated drinks is
most among the people of age group 14 -30, it͛s common knowledge
advertising can have it͛s maximum effect on this age group. Though a certain
other factors dictate the terms for the marketing team. They will be evaluated
elsewhere in this project.

The major portion of customers do not really care which brand they are
drinking-Pepsi or Coke . They don¶t actually differentiate between these two brands
in order to their tastes.

Consumers basically drink what they get.

They believe on G

 


Consumer͛s availability in brands is basically works like:
Push availability
Pull consumer͛s demand.

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:
For this reason Coca-Cola have provided their coolers and freezers in the
market. They have maximum number of coolers and freezers in the market.
They provide this infrastructure free of cost just to provide chilled coke to their
customer, which they want to be purchased. Their salesman and mechanics
regularly visit all the shops wherein Coke makes sure that their brand and
other ancillary products are visible whenever a customer visits a shop. More
visibility leads to increased attention given by the customers. Increased
attention may lead to brand loyalty. And that͛s the why the gener al idea of
providing refrigerators became widespread.


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Perhaps the fiercest competition takes place in beverage market. Coke always
regarded Pepsi as their primary threat and competitor and formed numerous
strategies and counter-strategies to feign off any impact created by their rival͛s
marketing moves. It is more or less boils down to the capability of the
beverage company to come up with effective ad -campaigns in various media to
woo customers and gain the upper hand. Such fierce competition is bound to
contain some friction and here is no exception. So often we find some of
Coke͛s Television ads being parodied by Pepsi and vice versa. Also if we look
closely any product that Pepsi offers, Coca Cola company too has a comparable
variant for it just for the sake of being in the competition.

Coca Cola-Pepsi
Fanta-Mirinda
Sprite-7UP
Diet Coke- Diet Pepsi
Kinley-Aquafina (both mineral waters)


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:
͞Make yourself more visible and attractive than your opponent͟ -pretty much
is the crux of the matter here. Back in 1996, when Coca Cola was selected the
official drink of the Wills World Cup, Pepsi used the tagline -͞nothing official
about it͟. Very often Coke airs some Sprite ads which sarcastically presents a
reworked Pepsi ad. This is solely done to restrict the major competitor from
gaining the upper hand. Failure to do so can be a quite detrimental lapse in
beverage business. Since the teenagers project thei r favourite brand to be
shown in a positive light and overly image conscious, ad -campaigns and
counter-campaigns often involve massive shift of fan base. In India this brand
rivalry started back in 1999 when Sprite was launched by Coca Cola company
where in it͛s ad the company parodied the Pepsi brand overly. Often celebrities
endorsing Pespi were mimicked in the ads those were aired by Coke in
promoting Sprite. Not that controversies were not there but neither Coke nor
Pepsi read too much into them. Only w hen the Pesticide allegations came into
the picture both Coke and Pepsi restrained from such rivalry on television as
making the people assured regarding the falseness of the allegation was the
call of the hour.



Strengths-Coca Cola being a beverage company it relies h eavily on brand
value. Often celebrity endorsements are used as tools to expand the product
markets as celebrities like film-stars, prominent sportspersons enjoy
tremendous popularity and it is their popularity among masses that is
harnessed. Plus this being a non-alcoholic drink can appeal to a wide range of
consumers.

WeaknessAs the multi-billion dollar market leader in the soft -drink world,
the Coca-Cola Company is burdened with the weaknessof any business
empire. The company will continue to be held to close scrutiny, both legal and
financial. Also it being a truly multi-national company, Coca Cola must adhere
to varying norms and industry principles in different countries.

OpportunitiesAgain the very nature of the refreshment drinks presents

the Coca Cola company a plethora of options to extend their operations. Like
Coca Cola͛s deals with Mc.Donalds and Domino͛s Pizza are great boosters as
far as sales are concerned. Coca Cola has even teamed up with numerous local
fast food outlets throughout the world to serve Coca Cola only products to the
customers of these outlets. Also sponsorship rights in sport events, live
concerts further propel the popularity of the products.

Threats-Occasional threats with huge repercussions like the 2003 pesticide

scare in India do occur but the biggest threat to Coca Cola is losing ground to
arch-rivals Pepsi in form of market shares. While overall company market
share has remained relatively constant between the big two over the last
decade, the Coca-Cola Company has had to struggle not to lose ground to its
arch-rival. Last year was not a good one for Coke in which it lost market share
to Pepsi. In addition, the ^


reported that this was the third
straight year in a row that Coca-Cola has slipped in market share. A 0.1 or 0.2 %
decline in share for Coke brands may not sound like much but it adds up to a
large sum in a company with over $20 billion in annual revenues. Also of late
the celebrity endorsement strategy is not working as well as it did earlier. So
that can be a potential threat. Here͛s a quick opinion poll on celebrity
endorsement opinions:

And here͛s one more poll done on opinion of US students:

So it͛s clear people nowadays are less reluctant to be overly impressed with
celebrity endorsements. People regard eco -friendliness as a crunch factor.
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-Coca Cola ads now feature celebrities but also try to put
some weight on the ad itself as is visible from the ͞Little Drops of Joy͟
campaign and ͞BRRR͟ campaign which are innovative advertisements and are
instantly recognisable. Over the years Coca C ola also used jazzy punch lines to
build up and enrich it͛s brand value. These tagline are as below in chronological
order:
1886ͶDrink Coca-Cola
1893ͶThe Ideal Brain Tonic
1904ͶDelicious and Refreshing
1905ͶCoca-Cola Revives and Sustains
1906ͶThe Drink of Quality
1907ͶCooling͙.Refreshing͙Delicious
1908ͶGood To The Last Drop
1909ͶDrink Delicious Coca-Cola
1917ͶThree Million A Day
1922ͶThirst Knows No Season
1924ͶPause and Refresh Yourself
1927ͶAround the Corner From Anywhere
1929ͶThe Pause That Refreshes
1930ͶMeet Me At The Soda Fountain
1932ͶIce Cold Sunshine
1934ͶWhen It͛s Hard To Get Started, Start With Coca-Cola
1935ͶAll Trails Lead To Coca-Cola
1936ͶIt͛s The Refreshing Thing To Do
1938ͶThe Best Friend Thirst Ever Had
1939ͶWhoever You Are, Whatever You Do, Wherever You May Be, When You
Think of Refreshment Think of Ice Cold Coca -Cola
1939ͶThirst Stops Here; Makes Travel More Pleasant
1939ͶCoca-Cola Goes Along
1941ͶWork Refreshed
1943ͶA Taste All It͛s Own
1944ͶHigh Sign of Friendship
1945ͶCoke Means Coca-Cola
1946ͶYes
1947ͶRelax With The Pause That Refreshes
1948ͶWhere There͛s Coke There͛s Hospitality
1948ͶIt͛s The Real Thing! (First time this slogan was used.)
1950ͶTime Out For Coke
1950ͶHelp Yourself to Refreshment
1951ͶGood Food And Coca-Cola Just Naturally Go Together
1952ͶCoke Follows Thirst Everywhere
1952ͶWhat You Want Is A Coke
1954ͶFor People On The Go
1955ͶAmericans Prefer Taste͟
1956ͶCoca-Cola ʹ Makes Good Things Taste Better
1957ͶSign Of Good Taste
1957ͶThere͛s Nothing Like A Coke
1958ͶThe Cold, Crisp Taste of Coke
1959ͶBe Really Refreshed
1962ͶEnjoy That Refreshing New Feeling
1963ͶThings Go Better With Coke
1970ͶIt͛s The Real Thing
1971ͶI͛d Like To Buy The World A Coke
1975ͶLook Up America
1976ͶCoke Adds Life͟
1979ͶHave a Coke and a Smile
1982ͶCoke Is It!
1985ͶWe͛ve Got A Taste For You
1986ͶCatch The Wave ʹ Red White & You
1989ͶCan͛t Beat The Feeling
1990ͶCan͛t Beat The Real Thing
1993ͶAlways Coca-Cola
1993ͶTaste It All
2000ͶCoca-Cola Enjoy
2001ͶLife Tastes Good
2002ͶAll the world loves a Coke
2003 - Real.
2005 - Make It Real.
2006 - The Coke Side of Life (used also in the UK)
2007 - Live on the Coke Side of Life (also used in the UK)
2009 ʹ Open Happiness
2010 - Twist The Cap To Refreshment
2011 - Life Begins Here
Coca Cola India also used a esoteric set of slogans like:
1999- Pyaar Mohabbat Coca Cola
2000-Jo Chaho Ho Jaaye Coca Cola Enjoy
2002- Thanda Matlab Coca Cola
2004-Sar Uttha Ke Piyo
2008-Aap Muskuriange ,Bulbule Gungunayange
2009-Little Drops of Joy
2011-BRRRRRRR
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-Coca Cola company has reached a legendary status
pushing brand value using taglines thus is a prime example of what a product
can become when it is propelled with sheer marketing genius.