Introduction
In the modern business world, people are competing to ensure that their products are leading in the market. Market competition is getting dynamic with the entry of new producers in the market. Business brands that have been in the market for long has been able to set standards that new emerging businesses are finding difficult to cope with. Business competition is now taking new trends and traditional business methods are slowly fading away, with the entry of new market competitors and much business market shifting to the open market policy and monopolies’ slowly fading away, business competition is expected to get intense in the coming future. In analyzing the performance of the product in the market(Keller 23-31).
Brand salience which is described as the extent or the degree of popularity that a brand has on the customer especially when they are purchasing or in demand of the commodity. A product that has more popularity among the customers can be described to have an established brand salience and copes well in the market competition. When analyzing brand salience there are some key concepts that need to be analyzed, these concepts include the quantity, quality and popularity of the product within the target market. Some of the key products that have apply the concept if brand salience is the fast moving consumer goods businesses; these are products that are frequently purchased by consumers such as fast foods, cheap electronic products and commodities that form part of the daily basic needs. This report analysis FMCG product in the Australian market. Pepsi and Coca-Cola are soft drink brands which have been in the Australian market for many years, however, in terms of brand salience and popularity in the Australian market, Coca-Cola seems to have a higher market ratio. Pepsi has for years tried to cope with the stiff competition it is facing from Coca-Cola which has been in the industry for a loner period. The report is divided into two sections; in the first section an analysis of the products is given using the customer based brand equity (CBBE) business model. In the discussion brand awareness and brand association are discussed in depth and illustrations given. The last section is the conclusion whereby key points have been summarized.
Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is something crucial to the success of any business products; both coca cola and Pepsi are popular brands not only in the Australian market but in the global soft drink market, however, since brand awareness is divided into different stages, one of the companies has performed better in terms of brand awareness hence the higher popularity among the consumers. When measuring brand salience, it is important to evaluate some to analyze some of the key concepts addressed in brand salience.
Brand salience works more with the psychology of the customer, a customer who recalls a market product and has knowledge about it is likely to purchase it more often that a product that he/she does not know about. Before consumer purchases a product, he/she has to consider the available alternatives that are there, when a consumer is familiar with a product, he /she will purchase it before thinking of an alternative especially in the case of FCGM.Many consumer products under the FCGM goods are purchased on a memory based situation, consumers then purchase goods that they can easily recall. This is the case with Pepsi and Coca-Cola in the Australian market. Coke is widely available in many Australian supermarkets, fast food joints and business outlets that Pepsi, consumers are therefore more familiar with coke that Pepsi. Many of the fast food joints sell Coke instead of Pepsi since they know it is in high demand and therefore consumers are able to recall this product faster than Pepsi. Majority of the vending machines are stocked with Coke rather that Pepsi hence making it a popular brand. Brand familiarity has been having a positive response effect on the consumers, and this has been the case with Coke. The attitude of consumers towards the product is also influenced by the aspect of brand awareness. Measuring brand awareness enables a business to evaluate the level of brand salience as well as understanding how to improve on its marketing strategy. An organization which has been able to make its clients aware of its products is able to cope with market competition and lead in terms in the competition. A business cannot set up market strategies if it does not have a clear marketing guideline (Chen 49).
Brand Awareness of Pepsi and Coke
Coke and Pepsi have been in the Australia market for many years and continue to be the leading soft drinks in the market. The research awareness of the two products was carried out through different research methods. Consumers were interviewed on the most popular brand of soft drinks, many admitted that Coke and Pepsi have dominated the market but Coke was the most popular brand. Consumers who were interviewed were of different age groups who understood about soft drinks. Business owners were also interviewed with leading fast food business owners in major town being asked on the most popular drink among the customers. The research also involved direct observation to identify the most common soft drink used by the consumers. A study of previous researches done by the two companies was also done to determine the market worth of the two brands.
According to a research Coke has a market worth of $ 79 million while Pepsi has a market worth of $17 million, these figures reflect the market share and awareness that Coke has not only on the Australian market, but also globally. After analyzing the data from the research, coke had the support of 88% of the total market awareness as compared to Pepsi which had 12 %.Many of the consumers in the Australian market admitted that they had known for many years from its adverts and since it was the longest soft drink in the market. Most people preferred Coke as their best non-alcoholic beverage. There are many events that Coca-Cola has been a major in Australia and also globally, in 2012, it was the lead sponsor of the 2012 London Olympics, and this was a major boost increasing customer awareness of the coke brand. Pepsi has weak marketing and advertising strategies in Australia that Coke, therefore, customers even the young children know more about coke than Pepsi. Major fast food joints such as MacDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, Red rooster and Subway provide coke as their main beverage while very few of them such as KFC and Hungry Jack sell Pepsi. This reflects the market situation in terms of brand awareness; the fast food joints sell what most consumers will buy since they know about it rather than Pepsi. The higher demand for Coke in many Australian restaurants has resulted to a near monopolization sales level in Australia. The coca cola logo has been in use for many years and many customers are able to recall the brand from its logo, Pepsi on the other hand has advertised its brand with major celebrities such as Beyoncé hence it has gained popularity among the young generation.
Brand awareness cannot be evaluated without considering the aspect of brand positioning; this is something that Coke has been able to achieve more than Pepsi. Pepsi has positioned itself as a brand for the young people especially the teenagers in Australia since it uses music and celebrities in its adverts, Coke however targets a larger audience, from its adverts it is able to win the favor of young children, the youth and the elder generation. Maintaining its label enables the younger generation to identify itself with the product. In Australia Coke is considered to be a drink for the larger family Pepsi is mainly for the teenagers.
A product that leads in terms if brand awareness also leads in brand salience, Coke is therefore a leading brand. When carrying out the research there random sampling was carried out, and visits were made on fast food joints during peak business hours. Many of the customers were taking coke, and they admitted that they had a form of identity with the brand; Coke has won the loyalty of many customers in the Australian market. Winning the brand loyalty mean that the brand has also worked brand salience among the consumers. Coke has won over the dominance chain and is currently the leading brand since in some areas in Australia it is almost enjoying monopoly powers.
Brand Associations
Brand association refers to the aspects that customers identify him/her with a brand. When analyzing brand association it is important to understand the consumer psychology, one had to understand the unique characteristics of a product that consumers can identify themselves with. A business should ensure that consumers associate positively with shy market commodity. There are some factors which influence brand association; these factors include the marketing and advertising strategy that a brand has, the contact of the customers with the employees working for a particular brand, price of the product, product quality and also entity or celebrity association of the product. Consumers are likely to associate themselves with a product that satisfies their need(Eliot & Percy,58).
The brand association research was carried out in major towns, in Australia; the research methods used include interviews, sampling and direct observation. There were also questionnaires that were issued to business owners, and they had questions regarding brand association between Coke and Pepsi.
Research Findings
A much as Pepsi was linked to the young people who associated themselves with the brand, most of them admitted that they knew more about coke that they knew about Pepsi brand. Coke has put in place programs whereby it works with schools and colleges in Australia by sponsoring events such as sporting events. In such events, the people were able to interact with the employees and learn more about the brand. A child who knows about Coke more than Pepsi will definitely pick Coke as his/her favorite soft drink. In many of the fast food joints, Coke was the preferred, an example is the case of McDonalds, and a client vising the joint is likely to take coke rather than Pepsi since McDonald’s sells more of coke than Pepsi, in such a case the customer wants to be associated with the products served in McDonalds.
Both companies have used product differentiation to ensure that customers associate themselves with their brands, Coke however ta keys the scope; it has maintained its unique logo and red and white theme on its package, the logo and theme color has never changed therefore people feel Coke a has been part of their growth. It sells its products on the six pack package and therefore people can easily carry the drink to their homes. Pepsi has designed bottle that releases a sweet aroma once they are opened; this has made it popular within the young generation.
Conclusion
Any brand is able to win the awareness and customers can associate with it is able to make it in a competing business world. Coke and Pepsi are just examples of the many products where brand salience plays a crucial role. The two products are still doing well in in the soft drinks industry, unless Coke improves on its market strategies, Pepsi might take over the Australian market. The consumers define the success of any product and their attitude and response towards a product should not be assumed.
References
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