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American University of Sharjah

School of Business Administration

Section 6

Coca Cola – Marketing 201 Project

Word count: 6049

ID- Filza Siddiqi G00080713

Mahnoor Khawaja- G00080843

Zarlish Jawed – G00079960

This marketing project report is the output of the group effort and as Marketing 201 students, this
project is solely based on our own research. We pledge that only research material has been used
in this report and no external reports written by consultants, other students and other teachers
have been included or referenced. This report has not been plagiarized and all the resource
material that have been used are appropriately cited and referenced.
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Contents
Executive summary (Zarlish)..........................................................................................................3
1.1 Company Overview (Zarlish)....................................................................................................4
1.2 Corporate’s Vision (Zarlish)......................................................................................................4
1.3 Competitive Advantages (Zarlish).............................................................................................5
1.4 Microenvironment and its influences (Mahnoor)......................................................................5
Competition analysis:......................................................................................................................5
Customer analysis:...........................................................................................................................6
Suppliers:.........................................................................................................................................6
Intermediaries:.................................................................................................................................7
1.6 -Macro environment and its influences (Mahnoor)...................................................................7
Demographic environment:.............................................................................................................7
Economic environment:...................................................................................................................8
1.6 - Market segmentation and targeting (Filza).............................................................................8
Market Positioning (Filza )..............................................................................................................9
Marketing Mix (Filza)...................................................................................................................10
1.7 Gap Analysis (Filza)................................................................................................................10
2.1 – Summary of Proposed Strategy (Zarlish).............................................................................12
2.2 Segmentation/target market strategy and justification (Filza).................................................12
2.3 Intended positioning (value proposition) and justification (Filza)..........................................13
2.4 Proposed Marketing Mix Strategies........................................................................................13
Product (Zarlish)............................................................................................................................13
Price (Zarlish)................................................................................................................................14
Promotion (Mahnoor):...................................................................................................................14
Place (Mahnoor):...........................................................................................................................15
2.5- Conclusion (Mahnoor)...........................................................................................................15
References......................................................................................................................................16
Appendix........................................................................................................................................19
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Executive summary (Zarlish)

The Coca Cola Company is one of the largest beverages company that came into existence
when Dr. John Stith sold first Coca Cola syrup in 1886. It is known for the non-alcoholic
beverages that are offered in more than 200 countries and gained consumer’s attention for
providing unique taste experience. However, the company was always targeted due to health
problems and sustainability issues, which raised several concerns for the customer. This project
evaluates the marketing strategies for Coca Cola Company’s two core products: Coca Cola
Classic and Coca Cola Diet. Furthermore, this research is limited to only one geographic
location, United States.
It analyzes the overall company’s mission, and the sources of competitive advantages that
they have over their competitors, which is followed by a study of microenvironment and
macroenvironment. In the microenvironment, factors such as competition, customers, suppliers
and intermediaries are evaluated. Whereas, the impact of demographic and economic
environment was the main focus in macroenvironment region. Further on, we specified the
marketing segmentation from geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioral
perspective. Even though the products are loved by the masses, it still targets millennials and
youth more and tries to target older generation by offering healthier choices such as diet coke..
Moreover, marketing mix strategies were examined according to the 4Ps (product, price, place
promotion), which led us in analyzing gaps within the firm. The two main concerns were health
and sustainability gap.
We mentioned few strategies to counter these gaps. Such as, Coca cola expanding their
access to rural areas as well as bridge the sustainability gap by recycling products on Earth Day.
Coca cola has to change its customer perception about being an unhealthy and unsustainable
brand. They can strengthen the marketing mix strategies by coming up with a sustainable product
packaging and finding a sweetener substitute. It can also use segmented pricing and reduce
environmental cost. Other than that, when it comes to promotion, they can hire brand
ambassadors that are environmentalist, or athletes to promote diet products and can situate their
operating facilities near recycling factory and lowering supply chain.
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Section 1

1.1 Company Overview (Zarlish)

From serving the first Coca-Cola in 1886 at a pharmacy store to becoming one of the top
beverages company across the world, Coca Cola Company has managed to gain significant
recognitions in global market. Dr. John Stith Pemberton produced the Coca-Cola syrup in 1886
and sold his business to Asa G. Candler who acquired complete control and rights over the drink
in 1888 (“The Birth of a Refreshing Idea”, n.d.). The multinational corporation became available
at New York Exchange Market in 1919, when Ernest Woodruff bought it for $25 million (“Who
exactly owns the coca cola company?”, n.d.).
Currently, it is owned by a number of shareholders and investors around the world. Coca
Cola offers a diverse range of non-alcoholic products such as sodas, tea, coffee, juices, and water
in more than 200 countries. The vast range of products target peoples of all ages. However, soft
drinks such as Coca Cola Classic, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite, and Fanta are certainly more
popular among youngsters. Despite having a strong presence in the market, Coca Cola received
serious backlash from consumers due to health concerns. Coke has 10.6 grams of sugar for every
100m (“How much sugar is in a can of Coke?”, n.d). Thus, a high sugar intake can result in
health problems such as obesity. Due to high demand of coca cola classic among youth in US
population, the younger generation’s health was considerably compromised. Therefore, in order
to combat with criticism, they introduced Diet Coke and Coke Zero that are claimed to have no
sugar.

1.2 Corporate’s Vision (Zarlish)

Vision Statement refers to the overall purpose of the organization and explains the current
and future goals that the company set. The Coca Cola Company states that “Our vision is to craft
the brands and choice of drinks that people love, to refresh them in body & spirit. And done in
ways that create a more sustainable business and better shared future that makes a difference in
people’s lives, communities and our planet” (“Purpose & Company Vision: The Coca-Cola
Company”, n.d.). According to James Quincey, the CEO of the Coca Cola company, the purpose
of the business is to have an impact on three divisions that include customers, environment and
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employees (Quincey, 2019,). First, they want customers to love the brand by creating beverages
that people will enjoy. Coca cola wants to provide quality products by ensuring health and safety
of the consumers. Besides that, they would like to expand their product’s horizon more in local
and global markets and build strong partnerships with investors. Lastly, they would like to
participate more in employees’ growth and creating more opportunities for them.

1.3 Competitive Advantages (Zarlish)

Coca Cola gains it competitive advantages by using differentiation strategy. First, the
corporation is offering more than 200 products and also deliver additional seasonal drinks. For
instance, they introduced limited edition coke with cinnamon flavor (“Cola and Sprite Introduce
Holiday Flavors”, 2019). It is well known for its seasonal flavors among loyal customers.
Secondly, it has an advantage over the classic taste that is challenging for competitors to
recreate. Thirdly, Coca Cola Company builds strong relationship with customers and suppliers
by reacting to their desired needs with the help of their service. Coca Cola Foundation present
grants and donations to communities and is known for the supplier diversity which further gives
a competitive advantage to this business over others. Another advantage lies in the geographical
location and segmentation of the product. As a global product, Coca Cola is one of the non-
alcoholic beverages that is widely accepted among consumers for its unique taste, especially
youngsters. It also has a strong market value since the firm invests largely towards advertising
and campaigning programs to maintain its brand image. Although Coca Cola majorly uses
differentiation strategy, cost- leadership strategy is used as well by providing competitive prices
in the market. Coca Cola product prices are relatively affordable. This way consumers have a
choice between variety of products at reasonable prices.

1.4 Microenvironment and its influences (Mahnoor)

Competition analysis:

One of the biggest competitors of Coca Cola is Pepsi Co. In 2020, Pepsi Co experienced
a shocking increase in its earnings and revenues in its North American beverage, topping the
expectation of the analysts. As per the Wall street estimation, Pepsi Co should have experienced
revenue of $20.27 billion, however, in reality, they exceeded the expectations by earning $20.64
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billion (Lucas, 2020). While talking about the future performance of Pepsi Co, it is also
estimated a “4% organic revenue growth” (Lucas, 2020). Pepsi Co is also investing in
advertisements as well as growing its e-commerce business. However, Monster beverage,
another large competitor, seems to crush Pepsi Co’s 200 percent gain and Coca Cola’s 40 percent
increase (Lahiff, 2019). Though the company has been advised to sustain this level of
performance or else they are threatened to big challenges, they still not seem to go into trouble
(Lahiff, 2019). Moreover, Red Bull is also considered to be one of the competitors of Coca Cola
in the US market by being one of the best sellers in America. Red bull sold 7.5 billion cans in
2019 and was contributed by development in the markets such as +9% in the US market
(“Giving Wings to People and Ideas”, n.d.). This shows that the market is vulnerable, and any
action taken by any of the competitors can impact Coca Cola's performance.

Customer analysis:

The customers of Coca Cola Classic in the US seem to be children of very young age,
teenagers, young adults, generation X and a little proportion of baby boomers Where Coca Cola
Diet is consumed more by Baby Boomers and Generation X, the trend has been changing, and
now teenagers and young adults are also consuming Diet coke as they become more health-
conscious. Moreover, the customers of Coca Cola are the fast-food retail business too such as
McDonald's, Burger King, Hardees, and KFC. Coca cola focuses on ensuring that the demand of
all its customers are met on time, so they all are satisfied.

Suppliers:

Coca Cola believes in having a diversity of suppliers so they could get a competitive
advantage. The company wants to make sure that they deliver their goods to its customers on
time, and for this sole purpose, they keep many suppliers, so constant deliveries are coming in
and the production process is not being stopped. Coca Cola initiated a Supplier Diversity
Program, which involves first looking for a certified supplier who would provide the company
with high-quality goods. Second, incorporate them into the business. Lastly, communicate the
importance of supplier diversity to all its stakeholders ("Supplier Diversity Policy", 2019). The
diverse suppliers can be the businesses that are in minority, owned by disabled veterans or
women, and also those who classify themselves as LGBTQA.
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Intermediaries:

Coca Cola is a manufacturer and also a supplier of its products. However, the primary
intermediary is the bottling companies, such as Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling company, to whom
Coca Cola sells its beverage bases and syrups to. The bottling companies then produce, label,
and distribute the finals goods to the customers and vending partners (“Coca-Cola System”,
n.d.). Restaurants, grocery stores, movie theatres, and parks then further sell Coca Cola products
to the end customers.

1.6 -Macro environment and its influences (Mahnoor)

Demographic environment:

First, talking about the changing age population, it was noticed that the USA had been
experiencing a slower population growth since 1919, right after the great recession (Tavernise,
2020). Death rates are still increasing and “births fell to 3.79 million” (Tavernise, 2020). Overall,
the United States had a population growth of only 0.48 percent (Tavernise, 2020). Such factual
information demonstrates that the US was experiencing an increase in baby boomers and
millennials, and Generation Z counted for very little of the total population. Baby boomers tend
to suffer from diabetes; therefore, their consumption of sugary food reduces. Coca cola can be
influenced by this since elderly people do not prefer the sugary product, and at the same time the
US is not experiencing a rise in the number of youngsters to whom Coca cola could have
targeted, the demand can likely decrease. However, on the other hand, baby boomers are
considered to be the demographics of the Coke diet. Therefore, as the elderly people increase in
number, their demand shifts from Coca Cola Classic to Coke diet. This is proved when in 2018
Coca Cola relaunched its Coke diet after experiencing losses from its other cokes. It boosted its
sales after more than five years of experiencing losses (“How Coca Cola North America is
Growing its Total Beverage Business in a sustainable way”, 2019). It gives Coca cola a chance to
interact more with its elderly audience and cater to their needs. This, as a result, will add up to
the company's reputation
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Economic environment:

The USA is one of the developed countries of the world, however, it experiences
fluctuations in its economic performance. By the year 2017, the US had a real GDP growth of
2.4%, and it even increased to 2.9% by 2018. However, ever since then, the economy
experienced a slower GDP growth and finally went into recession - 5.9% GDP growth (United
States, n.d.). The factual information on the GDP of a country illustrates the living standards of
its people. Thus, it could be analyzed that since 2019, not enough products and services were
being produced in the US, and similarly, sufficient revenue was not collected by the economy. A
country that produces more can pay higher wages, therefore, after experiencing a fall in
economic growth, the USA does not have sufficient funds to pay its workers. This then leads to
another economic discussion of the economy, that is, unemployment. Since 2010 until 2019, the
unemployment was reducing, however, right after entering in 2020, it again started to experience
a rise in the unemployment rate, reaching 4.4% in March (Herman, 2020). Coca Cola can be
influenced by this since now people are not earning enough to fulfill all their needs and their
consumption behavior would change. Previously where they would consume 2-3 cans a day, they
would now be forced to make it to 1 only.

1.6 - Market segmentation and targeting (Filza)

When it comes to market segmentation of Coca Cola (classic and diet) segments its
market with a mixture of geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural. Geographic
segmentation Coca Cola is a drink that is sold all over 200 countries in the world except two
countries Cuba and North Korea due to political disputes. In USA since 1886 Coco Cola has
been the considered to be everyone’s much-loved choice of beverage (De Luce, 2020). However,
we can say that Coca Cola is available more in urban areas than rural. Also, they try to sell their
chilled Coke in countries or cities with hot climate to try and increase their sales e.g. in the US
this would be Texas or Los Angeles. For demographic segmentation Coco Cola segments
regardless of gender. Coca cola Classic and Diet Coke are products that can be consumed by
both male and female. Coco Cola tries to target every person in the world who likes sugared or
sweet drinks however, it is extremely popular or more focused towards people with the age
group of 12 to 26 (Perch, 2020). In regard to income Coca Cola provides a product for each
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income group depending on the size of the bottle/can and packaging. Those who prefer to buy a
glass bottle of Coca Cola would be being a higher price than those who just get a regular can. In
general, there are different prices of Coca Cola for every income group. As for psychographic
segmentation Coca Cola targets people with different lifestyles, e.g. in 1982 Coca cola
introduced a drink called “Diet Coke” for those consumers with a healthier lifestyle ("Coca-Cola
Beverages & Products”, 2020). Lastly, Coca Cola targets behavioral segmentation by offering
special cokes during different seasons. For example for Christmas holiday season Coca cola
introduced a new flavor known as Coca Cola classic combined with cinnamon exclusively for
the holidays seasons

Market Positioning (Filza )

Coca Cola distinguishes its place in the mind of the consumers by responding to their
wants as they claim to be as consumer focused as possible. They try to ensure this by being able
to provide a soft drink that is suitable for every lifestyle and taste. 'We’re listening carefully and
working to ensure that consumers are firmly at the center of our business so we can continue to
grow responsibly. If we embrace where the consumer is going, our brands will thrive, and our
system will continue to grow’ ("New Focus on Choice”, 2017). This statement made by James
Quincey the CEO of Coca Cola ensures that they will try to differentiate themselves from other
soft drink brands by offering the best to the consumer as he considers it to be the key to the
growth of the company. Coco Cola is very known for its promise of “Taste the Feeling,” which,
helps its consumers to differentiate Coca Cola from other soft drink brands.

Marketing Mix (Filza)

Coca Cola’s marketing mix targets to achieve the aim of providing a cold beverage that
can be enjoyed by people all over the world with different lifestyles and tastes. Coca cola classic
is offered in different sizes at different prices, also available in a lot of flavors such as Coca Cola
cherry ("Coca-Cola Beverages & Products”, 2020). The other product Diet coke is known to be
the most popular diet soft drink and is available for those who prefer a healthier option. Diet
coke is also available in a number of flavors such as Diet coke with lemon, Diet Vanilla coke and
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recently Diet Coke with Splenda. Coca Cola is provided in different shapes of cans and bottles to
help satisfy all customers. The product is known for its unique logo that can be recognized by
people all over the world. This logo is written in Spencerian script that helps it differentiate from
other competitors. The company has the had standard logo from 1923 and it had been decided
that even if the packaging changes the core logo of the company would remain the same
(Fellouni, 2016). Coca Cola is known for its ubiquitous and consistent logo as it known as the
worlds most recognized brand (De Luce & Aydan, 2020).
When it comes to the price, Coca Cola charges a price that everyone can afford. They
charge special prices for different products in distinctive segments. Coca Classic and Diet coke
the prices differ depending on the restaurant, mall or supermarket. For example, in the United
States of America in 2020 a 20 oz bottle of Coca Cola classic or Diet coke costs $1.99 in K mart.
Whereas the 20 oz bottle of Coca Classic or Diet coke costs $1.79 in Walmart. The prices also
differ upon size of the can and is more expensive when coke is obtained in a glass bottle. For
example, in Target a Coca Cola 6 x 7.5 can costs $2.99 and 6 x 8 oz glass bottle costs $4.99
(Staff, 2020). When it comes to place, Coca Cola operates in over 200 countries in the world and
has numerous distribution channels even within America. Lastly, Coco Cola advertises its
products through different platforms such as advertisement of television, social media, billboards
etc. Coco Cola is known for its intensive advertisements and it uniquely promotes it product in
different countries to help attract as many consumers as possible.

1.7 Gap Analysis (Filza)

Even with its dominant market share, Strong brand image, and unparalleled distribution
system Coca Cola has its threats and weaknesses that create a gap. The gaps faced by Coca Cola
are identified as:

Health gap
Coca Cola has received a lot of backlash for not caring about their consumers health.
Many studies have been conducted that consumption of soft drinks such as Coca cola Classic and
Diet coke lead to obesity and early death such as, as per the study conducted by Harvard, if a
person increase their consumption of sugary drinks, they are likely to die from heart diseases.
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Another study conducted by the American heart association suggested that consumption of Coca
Cola increases the risks of breast and colon cancer (LaVito, 2019). Coca tried to address these
health concerns by introducing “Diet Coke” a product they claimed contains zero calories.
However, according to a New York Times article, the consumption of Diet coke is more harmful
than Coca classic as it may lead towards early death. This is because a new research was
conducted that found that regular consumers of artificial sugary drinks such as Diet coke are
26% more likely to die from early death (Jacobs, 2020). Hence Coca Cola fails to promote a
product that is considerate towards the health of its consumers.

Sustainability gap
Coca Cola tries to provide its customers with a drink which is refreshing but at the same
time cheap so that it can target the mass consumers. While doing so they often do not measure
their carbon footprint and end up contributing greatly towards climate change. In 2019, an audit
was conducted that suggested that Coca Cola contributes the most to plastic waste in the whole
world (Nace, 2020). The organization had collected 475,000 pieces of waste product out of
which 11,732 items collected belonged to Coca Cola, making it the number one brand with
plastic waste. The consumers of today’s world are more cautious of what they chose to spend on.
Up to 73% Coca Cola’s consumers that comprise of Millennials and Generation Z are willing to
pay an increased price for the product if they increase their actions towards being more
sustainable (Cardello, 2020). This shows that in order for Coca Cola to remain customer focused
and maintain its position in the market it needs to take more severe actions that can help increase
sustainability.
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SECTION 2

 2.1 – Summary of Proposed Strategy (Zarlish)

Coca Cola can implement certain changes to improve their brand value. People have
already perceived Coke Classic and Diet as sugary products. The firm should try to do product
positioning in a way that that their perception changes about health and sustainability issues.
They can provide recyclable bottles and try to reduce artificial sweeteners. Moreover, they can
opt for segmented pricing and decrease environmental costs. Other than that, they should
campaign the drinks with environmentalist and health conscious celebrities and situate their
operating facilities near recycling factories.

2.2 Segmentation/target market strategy and justification (Filza)

When it comes to segmentation Coca Cola is quite successful in segmenting its market
and targeting the right customers. However, there are some ways it can improvise. Coca cola can
improve its geographical segmentation by providing products in rural areas as well. Although
Coca Cola mostly sells its products in Urban areas, selling in rural areas can help gain more
customers. There is a huge population of people in United states who stay on the country sides
and these kind off people work long hour shifts in the hot weather. A can of cold refreshing Coca
Cola classic will be very appealing to these people after a hot day under the sun. Hence, by
providing their product in the rural areas they can gain those customers as well. Coca Cola can
account for sustainability by improvising on the behavioral segment by having a campaign on
Earth day that promotes a more recycling. For psychographic segmentation, since Coca Cola
targets the youth, most of them are health conscious and have a hectic lifestyle. Coca Cola can
use this opportunity to target students with hectic lifestyles by promoting Diet Coke. A product
that is less in calories and easy to go. If discounts are offered on a bundle of can of diet cokes,
students who are on a budget will be attracted towards such a product. Coca Cola can also focus
on segmenting their loyal. So, if Coca cola can manage to increase loyalty of customers, the
brand image of the company can improve.
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2.3 Intended positioning (value proposition) and justification (Filza)

In order to regain value proposition Coca Cola needs to realize that its target customers
are Millennials and generation Z, who are very health conscious. Hence to regain the trust of
consumers Coca Cola needs to take more severe actions to address these concerns of consumers
and ensure that it is a consumer – focused business like it claims to be. Although Coca Cola is
already taking actions such as introducing Coca cola classic plus fiber that lowers absorption
(Cardello, 2020). However, what Coca Cola can do is, introduce campaigns that have the aim of
reducing a person’s sugar intake and help reduce the rate of obesity in the United states.
Promoting their healthier options such as Diet Coke and maybe organizing marathons such as a
10-kilometer run can help Coca show consumers that they do care about their well-being. When
it comes to sustainability as mentioned before 73% of people are willing to pay higher prices for
more sustainable products. Coca cola can take measures such as using recycled material in
production. This will help Coca Cola achieve competitive advantage over its competitors as they
will be able to reduce cost of production. Apart from that Coca Cola cam start collecting the
plastic waste it disposes into the environment. Even though, it will be costly the company will be
able to attract more customers.

2.4 Proposed Marketing Mix Strategies

Product (Zarlish)

Since Coca Cola is already offering variety of products and managed to create a brand image
among people. As mentioned earlier, people are more concerned about the product effects on
overall environment than the taste. According to a survey done in United States, 51% of citizen
would still buy coca cola even if it comes in bottles or recyclable packaging (Bandoim, 2020).
This shows that people are more concerned about the environment than the product itself. Coca
Cola can try to come up with recyclable bottles or cans that consumers can refill. In addition, the
product is not just about the packaging, it is also about the effects on our health. Since coca cola
classic has high number of artificial sweeteners, the company should consult with the chemist to
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find a substitute or decreasing the artificial sweetener quantity without compromising on the
taste.

Price (Zarlish)

Firstly, the company can opt for segmented pricing by having different prices for each
product. There is a perception among consumers that healthier products are always expensive.
Therefore, in order to make people believe that diet coke is healthier, Coca Cola Company can
increase the price for diet coke and reduce it for classic. In that way, consumers will be able to
differentiate that one of them has lower sugar content thus beneficial for you. Moreover, coke is
really popular among youngsters so in order to garner more attention towards diet coke, they can
offer student discounts for buying a packet. Lastly, coca cola should try reducing the external
cost which includes the overall environmental costs as well. Once the external cost is reduced,
the perception about coca cola’s products will improve in the market, since people will recognize
that coca cola is trying to be environmentally friendly and socially responsible. Therefore, if the
external cost will be low, coca cola can offer lower prices to its customers.

Promotion (Mahnoor):

Coca Cola must interact with its customers to ensure that the brand image it has lost
because of being considered as unsustainable and unhealthy can be regained. It can be done by
posting and publishing videos of the manufacturing process of its products online. Upon viewing
such videos, the customers can be reassured about the health safety of this drink. Similarly,
promotions have a significant impact on a consumer's thinking too, hence, by marketing its brand
in collaboration with a brand ambassador, who can be a baby boomer as well as a youngster,
Coca Cola can create an idea into the people's mind that 'if they can drink, so can you.'
Additionally, Coca Cola can also hire ambassadors who are environmentalists and advocate
indistinguishable beliefs of sustainability and are popular at the same time, so when people
watch the advertisement in which those ambassadors are being cast, their perception towards
Coca Cola improves. Since people consider even Coke diet to be sugary, amendments made into
the production process after consultation with the chemists and doctors as mentioned earlier can
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then help Coca Cola promote its better and improved version of Diet Coke. Advertisements can
be on aired and published on social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. During the
trade fairs and exhibitions, Coca Cola can then introduce its improved version as well as market
its already existing products.
Place (Mahnoor):
Coca Cola can situate its operation facilities near a recycling factory so as soon as the waste
is collected, those can be then recycled on spot, making the company more environmentally
friendly. Similarly, Coca Cola can have its warehouses near to its customers or even bottling
plant so the pollution created by the automobiles used for rounds of delivery can decrease.
Instead of sending vans and trucks repeatedly to the desired location, by situating near to the
suppliers and intermediaries can reduce the use of the automobile, hence, making Coca Cola
more sustainable. Another suggestion to Coca Cola could be to cut down a few steps of its
supply chain. If soft drinks are kept unused for a long period, the sugary effect tends to double,
therefore, if Coca Cola has a stream of many suppliers and retailers, there are high chances that
unused Coke can become sweeter over time due to the nature of the ingredient. By reducing its
intermediaries, the goods can be reached to the customers quickly, reducing the sugary effect.

2.5- Conclusion (Mahnoor)

In order to regain its brand image, Coca Cola needs to focus on becoming more
environmentally concerned and sustainable. The people today are becoming more educated than
they had been before, thus, Coca Cola needs to keep in mind that every action of theirs is
analysed by those people. Those analysis can either improve or worsen its image. Hence, the
promotional strategies that target those analysists and well knowledge people will provide a path
for the company to make its way out of the danger zone. Coca Cola also needs to also expand its
distribution channel, marketing its product outside urban areas i.e. rural areas. If the company,
instead of targeting its product as Coca Cola classic to the whole populations segments the
market, more revenue can be earned by them. It can target different versions of Coca cola classic
to people of different occupations too, such as students, office going or even teachers. With the
help of its marketing mix, adjustments made in the pricing or even its product can allow Coca
Cola to overcome the challenges it has been facing. Promotional strategies such as associating
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the brand with an ambassador can aid Coca Cola in changing a person’s negative perception
about them.

References

Amadeo, K (2020, April 4). US Economic Outlook for 2020 and Beyond. Retrieved from
https://www.thebalance.com/us-economic-outlook-3305669
Bandoim, L. (2020, January 27). What Consumers Really Think Of Coca-Cola's Plastic Bottles.
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really-think-of-coca-colas-plastic-bottles/#4d7ef1ef1f19
Cardello, H. (2020). Can A Rebounding Coke Finally Get Ahead Of Its Public Critics?.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/hankcardello/2019/10/31/what-coke-can-do-to-keep-its-
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Coca-Cola System - Our Company | The Coca-Cola Company. (2020). Retrieved 5 May 2020,
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Coca-Cola System (n.d.). The Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved 3 May 2020, from
https://www.coca-colacompany.com/company/coca-cola-system
Cola and Sprite Introduce Holiday Flavors. (2019, October 21). Retrieved from
https://www.coca-colacompany.com/news/coca-cola-and-sprite-introduce-holiday-flavors
De Luce, I. (2020). Coca-Cola is sold in all but 2 countries on Earth. Here’s what their ads look
like around the world. Retrieved 4 May 2020, from
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Appendix

1.6 Market segmentation and targeting (Filza)

When it comes to behavioral segmentation the company also launched a campaign with
Coca Cola Christmas trucks tour that tour 19 different locations in the US (Faull, 2019).When it
comes to differentiated target marketing Coca Cola although is a product which beloved by
everyone all over the world and tries to target the masses. It is mostly focused towards the youth
or young generation this comprises of millennials, generation Z and generation X. However, it
does try to also Target the older generation or young generation who is health conscious by
offering zero calories soft drink known as Diet Coke.

Market Positioning (Filza)

In addition to the what was mentioned before, recently Coca Cola introduced a new
strategy known as “One Brand” strategy with the aim off recognizing that consumers need Coca
Cola in different ways. The aim of “One Brand campaign” was to ensure that instead of
confusing customers with different brand campaigns. Coca Cola should come up with a single
brand campaign that will make help create a greater and more specific image in the minds of the
consumers in terms of both the product and the brand ("Coca-Cola Announces, "One Brand"
Global Marketing Approach", 2020).

1.7 Marketing Mix (Filza)

When it comes to distribution the main way that the product reaches the market is when
Coca Cola being the manufacturer makes and sells the soft drinks and syrups to the bottling
 20

operations. These bottling partners then produce, package, merchandise and then distribute the
ending product to the customers or place them in vending machines. These drinks are then sold
to customers in various places for example – grocery stores, restaurant, cinemas and amusement
parks ("Coca-Cola System,” 2020).

Section 1.5 Macro environment (Mahnoor)

Moreover, when discussing the income distribution, it was found that since the great
recession, the American households seem to hold a good financial position, however, the
distribution still does not seem equal as the richer are still getting richer, and the poorer are still
losing money (Wealth in America: Inequality Persists in Household Wealth, 2019). Thus, the
influence on Coca Cola will depend on how they cater to the customer’s needs.
Section 1.5 Macro environment (Mahnoor)
The inflation rate of the US will be 1.9 in 2020 and increase to 2.0 in 2021 and 2020
(Amadeo,2020). The spontaneous reaction to this would be reduced consumption. The
consumers, instead of fulfilling their luxury needs would first want to fulfill their basic needs,
that is, hygienic food and equipped medical care. This could also be a threat to the company
since consumers might become habitual of not purchasing soft drinks