Coca-Cola is the world leading soft drink making company that has operations in more 200 countries in the world. The company has a strong brand recognition across the world with approximately 94% of the world population cognizant of its logo (Hitesh).
For companies to profit from their marketing activities, they must be able to curve out a target market to aim its marketing activities. A target market is a group of customers that a company has decided to dedicate its marketing efforts and eventually its products and services (Callen, 4). Target markets can be based on geographic segmentations (geographical locations), demographic segmentation (income, age gender, education, family size), physiographic segmentation (attitudes, lifestyles, values) behavioral segmentation (shop online, research prior to purchase, occasions).
Coca-Cola uses multi-segment targeting strategy to sell its products. This means that Coca-Cola has more than one well-defined target groups and has developed the appropriate marketing mix to appeal to specific target group of consumers.
Demographic Segmentation
Coca-Cola wide variety of soft drinks targets different age groups, sexes, income levels among others for instance Minute Maid targets children of ages -10 years old and parents over 40years. Its packaging is convenient to carry and appeals to parents who would like their children to have a healthy drink. Coca-Cola Zero targets health conscious teens who want the Coke taste but less calories while Coca-Cola Diet targets health conscious adults of over 30 years. Powerade a soft drink targets athletes.
Geographic segmentation
Coca-Cola operates all over the world and caters for the various markets differently depending on the regions unique needs. Geographic segmentation makes it effective for the company to come up with the most suitable marketing mix in terms of distribution channels, advertising methods, pricing, and the right product. Coca-Cola is highly consumed in summer than winter hence Coca-Cola focuses more in the warm and hot parts of the world. Oasis juice a product for young adults available in different flavors is common in Britain and Ireland.
Psychographic segmentation
Lifestyle conscious people like to be associated with well known and reputable brands. Coca-Cola has built a reputation that is beyond reproach thus people who want show their status drink Coca-Cola. With the current shift of consumers to a health conscious lifestyle, Coca-Cola has responded by making products such as Coke Zero and Coke Diet to be able to tap into this market.
Marketing Mix
A part from Coca-Cola success in the segmentation, targeting and positioning its product offering, the company has been able to deploy the appropriate marketing mix. Marketing mix is a set of tools that supports and delivers positioning (Kotler). The tools are referred as the four Ps i.e. product, price, place and promotion.
Product
Coca-Cola has a wide range of products to carter for the various markets segments and target groups. Innovation is the heart of Coca-Cola and it is the driving force behind their more than 3500 sports drinks, juices, water, energy drinks, sparkling beverages, teas, and coffees. Innovation is what makes Coca-Cola connect with their consumers around the world (Coca Cola). Their product innovations include new product lines such as Sprite Tea, sparling beverage in China, additions to existing product lines such as new packaging of Coca Cola into 1.25 liters, improving existing products such as Dasani and Odwalla in plant bottle package.
Price
Price is the amount a customer pays for a product. Coca-Cola pricing strategy is determined according to the market and geographical segment (Hitesh). To remain competitive in the market, Coca Cola pricing model is based on competitors’ pricing such Pepsi. Coca-Cola has therefore guaranteed its customers the best prices and value for their money. Its products are packaged differently and priced differently for instance the glass bottles target the lower class, plastic bottles for those seeking convenience in carrying, and cans for the high class.
Place
Place refers to the arrangements to make products available and accessible to the target market (Kotler). Coca-Cola brand is distributed throughout the world through comprehensive channels. The company sells its products to distributers, bottling and canning operations, and fountain wholesalers subsequently distribute the products to point of sale such as supermarkets, restaurants, automated teller machines, and petrol stations. The superior distribution system ensures that target customers access their products at convenient places. This has created such an impression on the consumers and distributers as well who would like to a part of the business success.
Promotion
Promotion includes all forms of communication that a company uses to give information about the products. Promotion includes activities such as advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and sales organization (Kotler)
Advertising
Advertising is any form of communication paid for such as TV commercials, print media, billboards, radio, and internet advertisements. This is the most effective element of promotion that has gained social acceptance hence Coca-Cola has used almost since its inception. To emphasize youth and their energy, the company has created straplines also known as advertising slogans. The innovative and catchy straplines have been used over the years such as ‘Open Happiness” and the current slogan “Taste the Feeling” which emphasizes one brand. The Chief marketing officer of Coca-Cola Marcos de Quinto says that “taste the feeling” campaign reinforces that Coca Cola is for everybody and that Coca- Cola is one brand that has different variants but shares same values and iconic appeal. Coca-Cola Zero, Coca- Cola Light or Diet Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero accentuates the company’s commitment to offering customers Coca-Cola product that suits their tastes, lifestyle and health concerns (Coca Cola).
Billboard signage is used by Coca- Cola to send lasting impression to motorists and pedestrians in their marketing mix. The medium has been in use from the early 1890s from painted walls, and evolved to the current neon spectaculars on the world’s prominent airlines (Business Case Studies). The latest innovative campaign is the “drinkable billboard”. The campaign says that you can literally drink Coke on billboards, radio, TV, or printed. To get more people trying Coke Zero, a billboard that serves the drink to thousands of fans throughout the country was built. This is the first ever-drinkable commercial (Coca Cola).
Coca-Cola uses tv commercials for example the “friendly twist” that highlights the frustrating and boring first days at work, schools, college or university. Conversations are reduced to zero but Coca-Cola came up with a bottle cap that cannot open until twisted with another coke bottle cap. This gives an excuse for new people to connect and talk as they seek help to twist and open the Coke drink.
As social media becomes one of the greatest tool for marketing, Coca-Cola has been on the forefront to leverage on the media to reach its target markets especially the youth and elites not only to increase sales but also to get insights from the customers who drive their product innovations. Coca-Cola uses media such as facebook, twitter, google+ and pinterest. Because Coca-Cola does not own stores to drive its customers to, it uses facebook to create awareness, increase brand recognition and stamp their authority as a market leader in the industry. On twitter, Coca-Cola has a huge following with over 3million followers and numerous tweets. The company spends their time engaging with customers and replying their tweets @mentions (Coca Cola)
Coca-Cola uses pinterest as an entertainment site where random photos or images related to coke are uploaded on their pinterest account. The photos are meant for entertainment rather than advertising. This encourages people to interact more with the brand with the hope that they can be featured on the brand’s formal social profile.
Public Relations
This refers to non-personal communication about an organization product, service, or idea, that is not directly paid and ride on an identified sponsorship (Kotler). Coca-Cola is one of the most renowned sponsor brands in the world with a long history sponsoring the Olympic Games, American Idol , BET Network among others.
Coca-Cola sponsored the Amsterdam 1928 Olympics for the first time and has since become a long-term partner of the games. During these sponsorships, Coca-Cola is able to connect with a huge number of consumers from all parts of the world who watch the games for entertainment and in support of their countries. The Company takes advantage of these events to introduce new products or new features for instance, the special bottle featuring a special feature- a rose showing handover of games from London to Beijing during the 2012 Olympic Games (Business Case Studies).
Sales Promotion
These are initiatives taken by a company to stimulate increase in sales. This is a short-term strategy to boost sales and includes various sales promotion activities. Coca-Cola uses sales promotions to revamp their sales as well as to encourage the existing customers to purchase more of their products. The company for instance sponsors events and issues raffle tickets on purchase their products. This targets different social classes from the poor who may not afford the tickets to attend the event to purchase Coke with the hope of winning the raffle. Coca-Cola also has joint promotion with chain of restaurants e.g. McDonalds where by Coca-Cola products are given away with meals on promotion.
Coca-Cola has remained the most successful brand despite having numerous products sold all over the world. Its global success has been achieved by remaining simple and consistent in it its communication. The message has been “pleasure” with consistent choice of straplines such as happiness and enjoy. These slogans are universal and easy to translate by most cultures. Global success is attributed to giving the consumers a personalized or localized feeling. For instance, share a coke campaign started in Australia has spread to over 50 countries. Every country product offering is tailor made to local language and culture. Coca Cola’s global strategy emphasis on brand over its products has led to its success. Coca-Cola sells a bottle of happiness and not a drink in a bottle. (Coca Cola) hence it is easy to manage the various products.
Success of Coca-Cola Company as the world’s renowned soft drink brand is without a doubt a product of its strategic market segmentation and product positioning, application of the right product mix and the right global strategies.
Works Cited
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Callen, Barry. Manager's Guide to Marketing, Advertising, and Publicity. New York: McGraw
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"Coca-Cola Journey Homepage." The Coca-Cola Company. Web. 10 May 2016.
Hitesh Bhasin. "Marketing Strategy of Coca Cola - Coca Cola Strategy."Marketing91com. 2015.
Web. 08 May 2016.
Kotler, Philip. Kotler on Marketing. Kuala Lumpur: PTS Professional, 2009. Print.
