“A STUDY ON RURAL MARKETING OF COCA-COLA”

SUBMITTED BY:
ASHMIL ALIAR
REG NO: MB196625

SUBMITTED TO:
Asst Prof: A KIRAN KUMAR

Subject: Rural & Green Marketing

S.B COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

BENGALURU CITY UNIVERSITY
2019-2021
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

SL NO. CONTENTS PAGE

NO.

1. INTRODUCTION 1

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3

3. SWOC ANALYSIS 4
(STRENGTH, WEAKNESS, OPPORTUNITY,
CHALLENGE)

4. OUTCOMES OF THE STUDY 7

5. EXPERIENCE, LEARNING & 8

CONCLUSION

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY 9
 CHAPTER- 1
INTRODUCTION

The Rural Marketing refers to the activities undertaken by the

marketers to encourage the people, living in rural areas to convert their
purchasing power into an effective demand for the goods and services and
making these available in the rural areas, with the intention to improve their
standard of living. Rural marketing is a process of developing, pricing,
promoting, and distributing rural specific goods and services leading to
desired exchange with rural customers to satisfy their needs and wants, and
also to achieve organizational objectives.

About Coca- Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage
corporation incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and
headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The Coca-Cola Company has interests in the
manufacturing, retailing, and marketing of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates
and syrups. The company produces Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by
pharmacist John Stith Pemberton. In 1889, the formula and brand were sold for
$2,300 to Asa Griggs Candler, who incorporated The Coca-Cola Company in
Atlanta in 1892.

The company has operated a franchised distribution system since 1889. The
Company largely produces syrup concentrate, which is then sold to
various bottlers throughout the world who hold exclusive territories. The
company owns its anchor bottler in North America, Coca-Cola
Refreshments. The company's stock is listed on the NYSE and is part
of DJIA and the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indexes. The Coca-Cola Company is the
world's largest producer of plastic waste.
In July 1886, pharmacist John Stith Pemberton from Columbus, Georgia
invented the original Coca-Cola drink, which was advertised as helpful in the
relief of headache, to be placed primarily on sale in drugstores as a medicinal
beverage, Pemberton continued mixing experiments and reached his goal during
the month of May, the new product as yet unnamed nor a carbonated drink, was
ready for the market and was made available for sale. Pemberton's
bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, is credited with naming the product and creating

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its logo. Robinson chose the name Coca-Cola because of its two main ingredients
(coca leaves and kola nuts) and because it sounded like an alliteration.
John Pemberton had taken a break and left Robinson to make and promote,
as well as sell Coca-Cola on his own. He promoted the drink with the limited
budget that he had and succeeded.
In 1889, American businessman Asa Griggs Candler completed his
purchase of the Coca-Cola formula and brand from Pemberton's heirs. In 1892,
the Coca-Cola Company was formally founded in Atlanta by Candler. By 1895,
Coca-Cola was being sold in every state in the union. In 1919, the company was
sold to Ernest Woodruff's Trust Company of Georgia.
Coca-Cola's first ad read "Coca Cola. Delicious! Refreshing! Exhilarating!
Invigorating!" Candler was one of the first businessmen to use merchandising in
his advertising strategy. As of 1948, Coca-Cola had claimed about 60% of its
market share. By 1984, The Coca-Cola Company's market share decreased to
21.8% due to new competitors, namely Pepsi.
According to The Coca-Cola Company's 2005 Annual Report, it had sold
beverage products in more than 200 countries that year. The 2005 report further
states that of the more than 50 billion beverage servings of all types consumed
worldwide, daily, beverages bearing the trademarks owned by or licensed to
Coca-Cola account for approximately $1.5 billion.
In 2010, it was announced that Coca-Cola had become the first brand to
top £1 billion in annual UK grocery sales. In 2017, Coca-Cola sales were
down 11% from the year before due to consumer tastes shifting away from
sugary drinks.

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 CHAPTER- 2
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

Paper is mainly based on secondary data available from different
published literature and case studies on rural marketing and data is collected
from the unstructured questionnaire is collected from various books, journals
magazines and various search engines on internet to find relevant data.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

• To overview the concept of Rural marketing
• To assess the rural marketing strategies followed by Coca-Cola.
• To know and understand the Rural marketing followed by Coca- Cola in India

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

• The study data was collected purely based on secondary data

• Limited access of data
• Limited time period for collecting Data.

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 CHAPTER- 3
SWOC ANALYSIS

STRENGTH

1. Strong brand identity – Coca-Cola is a highly popular brand with a unique

brand identity. Its soft drinks are the most-selling drinks in history.
2. Highest brand equity – Coca-Cola is undoubtedly one of the most renowned
brands with the highest brand equity. It was also awarded ‘highest brand
equity award’ in 2011 by Interbrand.
3. Extended global reach – It is sold in more than 200 countries with 9 billion
servings per day of Company products. It has introduced more than 500 new
products globally. Some of these are variations of Coca-Cola beverage, like
Coco Cola Vanilla and Cherry Coca-Cola. Its brands are known to touch every
lifestyle and demography.
4. Greatest brand association and customer loyalty – Coca-Cola is considered
one of US’s most emotionally-connected brands. This valuable brand is
associated with ‘happiness’ and has strong customer loyalty. Customers can
quickly identify their particular taste. Finding its substitutes is difficult for
them. Moreover, Coca-Cola and Fanta have a huge fan following than other
beverage names in the industry.
5. Largest Brand Valuation – Coca-Cola is listed as the 3rd Best Global Brand
on Interbrand’s annual ranking. Having an estimated brand value of $79.96
billion, it has retained the top position for many years.
6. Dominant Market Share – Out of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the only two largest
manufacturers of soft drinks in the beverage segment, Coca-Cola has the
largest market share. Coke, Sprite, Diet Coke, Fanta, Limca, and Maaza are the
highest growth drivers for Coca-Cola.
7. Unparalleled distribution system – Coca-Cola has the most efficient and
most extensive distribution network in the world. The company has
nearly 250 bottling partners globally.
8. Acquisitions – Coca-Cola acquired AdeS in 2016. AdeS is the largest soy-
based beverage brand in Latin America. Through this acquisition, Coca-Cola
expanded its ready-to-drink beverage portfolio

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WEAKNESS

1. Aggressive competition with Pepsi – Pepsi is the biggest rival of Coca-Cola.

Had it not been Pepsi, Coca-Cola would have been the clear market leader in
the beverage.
2. Product diversification – Coca-Cola has low product diversification. Where
Pepsi has launched many snacks items like Lays and Kurkure, Coca-Cola is
lagging in this segment. It gives Pepsi leverage over Coca-Cola.
3. Health concerns –Carbonated drinks are one of the major sources of sugar
intake. It results in two grave health issues – obesity and diabetes. Coca-Cola
is the biggest manufacturer of carbonated beverages. Many health experts
have prohibited the use of these soft drinks. It is a controversial issue for the
company. However, Coca-Cola hasn’t devised any health alternative or
solution for this problem yet.

OPPORTUNITY

1. Introduce new products and diversify its segments – Coca-Cola has the
opportunity to introduce new offerings in health and food segments just like
Pepsi. It can contribute to their revenue, and they can branch out from
carbonated drinks.
2. Increase presence in developing nations – Many regions with hot climate
have the highest consumption for cold drinks. Thus, increasing presence in
such locations can be excellent – Middle Eastern and African countries are a
good example.
3. Bring advanced supply chain system – Coca Cola’s business is entirely
dependent upon logistics and supply chain. Transportation costs and fuel
prices are always on the rise. Thus, coming up with some advanced and
improved systems for distribution can be an opportunity.
4. Packaged drinking water – Coca-Cola owns several packaged drinking
water brands like Kinley. There is a great potential for expansion in this
segment for Coca-Cola. There is an opportunity to expand and bring more
healthy drinks in the market to avoid people’s criticism.

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CHALLENGE

1. Water usage controversy – Coca-Cola has faced many criticisms over its
water management issue. Many social and environmental groups have
claimed that the company has a vast consumption of water in water-
scarce regions. Besides, people have alleged that Coca-Cola is polluting
water and mixing pesticides in water to clear contaminants.
2. Packaging controversy – Greenpeace censured Coca-Cola in its published
report in 2017 for its use of single-use plastic bottles. It has also been
criticized over its recycling and renewable sources.
3. Direct and indirect competition – Although direct competition from Pepsi
is clear in the market, however, there are many other companies which are
indirectly competing with Coca-Cola. Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Tropicana,
Lipton juices, and Nescafe, are the indirect competitors of Coca-Cola which
can threaten its market position.

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 CHAPTER- 4
OUTCOMES OF THE STUDY

OUTCOMES

• There are only 2 Big competitors in the beverage segment – Pepsi and Coca cola.
Out of these 2, coca cola is the clear winner and hence has the largest market share.
Amongst all beverages, Coke, Thumbs up, Sprite, Diet coke, Fanta, Limca and
Maaza are the growth drivers for Coca Cola.

• Coca cola unlike Pepsi always tries to win peoples heart. Where Pepsi’s target is
continuously changing, and is targeted towards youngsters, Coca
cola targets people of all ages. The targeting is also done by celebrities who are well
liked – for example – Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Aishwarya Rai, Aamir
Khan etc.

• Coca cola has the largest distribution network because of the demand in the market
for its products. On the other hand, due to this successful distribution network, Coca
cola has been able to command such a high market presence.

• One of the most valuable companies in the world, Coca cola is valued around 79.2
billion dollars. This valuation includes the brand value, the numerous factories and
assets spread out across the world and the complete operations cost and profit of Coca
cola.

• Coca cola is present in 200 countries across the world. Chances are, any country
that you go to, you will find coca cola present in that market. This vast global
presence of coca cola has also contributed to the building of the mammoth brand
name.

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 CHAPTER- 5
EXPERIENCE, LEARNING & CONCLUSION

EXPERIENCE & LEARNING

• Coca Cola can create new products and diversifies their current offerings. They
have the brand identify, customers, manufacturing, and evaluation to back this
up. It's possible to find niches untouched by Pepsi to develop products,
especially in the health food spaces.
• Coca-Cola's transition into a “total beverage company” is in part a response to
consumer demand in an effort to remain relevant by providing people with the
drinks they want.
• Coca Cola doesn't target a specific segment but adapts its marketing strategy by
developing new products
• Coca Cola uses competitive positioning strategy to be way ahead
of its competitors in the Non-alcoholic beverages market.

CONCLUSION
Throughout the years, Coca-Cola has grown to become one of the most
recognized beverage Company in the world. They have a large number of excellent
employees so that they can constantly improve their products. Coca-Cola is also an
experienced company as it was incorporated in 1886 which was about 129 years ago.
It has overcome most of the difficult stage and is now one of the top companies in the
world.
Even though Coca-Cola is a well-known brand, it still has some obstacles
which the company has to face. One of the obstacles would be the competition between
Coca-Cola and its competitors. Coca-Cola’s competitor would be Pepsico.INC. Both
of them make amazing beverage which is enjoyed by many. The difference between
Coca-Cola and Pepsico.INC is that Coca-Cola has secret ingredients that no one
possesses but them

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1). www.bstrategyhub.com
2). www.notesmatic.com
3). en.wikipedia.org