Comparison in communication between pepsi and coca cola in vietnam

Brand Management assignment Comparison in communication between Pepsi and Coca cola in Vietnam Nguyen Thi Kieu Khanh (Kiki) Master class Professor: M Akerib January, 2018 Table of Contents Abstract Introduction .2 Literature review .2 Discussions Products orientation .6 Cultural factors of Vietnam Advertising 10 Conclusion 20 References .20 Table of Figures Figure 1: Main Coke’s products selling in Vietnam Figure 2: Main Pepsi’s products selling in Vietnam (carbonated water – left, noncarbonated water – right) Figure 3: A Coca's billboard “Slim Can, a happy break” in Ho Chi Minh City, 2015 13 Figure 4: "Emoticon board" campaign in 2015, “Be happy” with a happy emotion on the billboard 14 Figure 5: "Have a break, Coca Cola now" message .14 Figure 6: "Tet for Now" billboard, Pepsi Vietnam in 2015 16 Figure 7: "Happy New Year 2015" from Pepsi Vietnam 17 Figure 8: "Tet For Now" advertisement of Pepsi 18 Figure 9: "We are lucky to have wonderful collaborator like Zalo", from Coca Cola Vietnam, 2015 19 Abstract Purpose Coca Cola and Pepsi has been growing more than twenty years in Vietnam with their unique beverages Therefore, they have their own communication to promote their products and targeting to specific audience I would like to analyze their communications relating to product features and marketing communication options to compare the differences between Coke’s and Pepsi in Vietnam Design/methodology/approach – Most of information used from Vietnamese websites and sources; additionally, several videos will be linked via Youtube website Results – The results of the study provide an informed distinguish between Coca Cola and Pepsi, then probably predicting the new communication strategy in the next few years Introduction Since 1994, Pepsi and Coca Cola has run their business in Vietnam with a wide range of beverages promoting to Vietnamese consumers Until now, they are leading to be one of powerful international beverage corporations competing in the Vietnamese market Both of them are 100 percent foreign ownership corporations under Vietnamese laws and regulations; however, Pepsi was certified in 1990s whereas Coca Cola was around 2004 While Coca Cola made a loss in its business during 20 years (1994-2014), PepsiCo has developed the products (Pepsi and 7Up is two first beverages) and targeted to the potential consumers Moreover, PepsiCo Vietnam cooperated with Suntory Holdings Limited (Suntory) – a global beverage and wellness company based in Japan, forming a strategic alliance in Vietnam named officially Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage (SPVB) in the beginning of 2013; meanwhile, Coca Cola Vietnam had a new CEO - Vamsi Mohan to create an important change in 2012 and beginning to have some benefits selling the beverages in Vietnam It is clearly that both Coca Cola and PepsiCo present different type of marketing communication to promote their products in Vietnam, in regarding of culture, style, taste, appearance and reliability Thus, I would like to analyze how PepsiCo and Coke’s use their communications in Vietnam in this paper Literature review Marketing communication According to Brand Management textbook, marketing communications are the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade, and remind consumers—directly or indirectly— about the brands they sell In a sense, marketing communications represent the voice of the brand and are a means by which the brand can establish a dialogue and build relationships with consumers Although advertising is often a central element of a marketing communications program, it is usually not the only element—or even the most important one —for building brand equity The role of communication is essential for the brands to classify the important messages delivered to the consumers It can not only create a strong and closed-knitted relationship with consumers, but also a negative contribution in brand sales Marketing communication process A number of different models have been put forth over the years to explain communications and the steps in the persuasion process Kotler and Keller (2006) described communication into five steps: sender, encoding, message, decoding and receiver The sender should understand the audience deeply before designing the message Fill (2005) explained as the individual or firm who feels the need to deliver the message and selects the combination of symbols, pictures, music or words as a message to be transmitted All the responsibility of the whole process depends on the sender, (how they design the message and deliver the information), encoding (the design of the symbolic arrangement), decoding (how receiver perceives the delivered message), and receiver the person/company receives the message), feedback (receiver’s communication back to the sender) and noise According to Kevin Lane Keller (2013), to persuade a person by any form of communication (a TV advertisement, newspaper editorial, or blog posting) in marketing communication, the following six steps must occur: Exposure: A person must see or hear the communication Attention: A person must notice the communication 3 Comprehension: A person must understand the intended message or arguments of the communication Yielding: A person must respond favorably to the intended message or arguments of the communication Intentions: A person must plan to act in the desired manner of the communication Behavior: A person must actually act in the desired manner of the communication If there is a breakdown or failure in any step along the way, then successful communication will not result Thus, both of these processes are nearly the same with some improvements from the first to the second one Marketing communication options There are four main types of marketing communication options: Advertising and promotion, interactive marketing, events and experiences, and mobile marketing However, I would like to analyze three main ones: advertising, events and experiences, and mobile marketing Advertising Advertising is one of the most critical elements of marketing communication It is the concept of communicating a message about goods and services to specific customers Like Czinkota & Ronkainen (1998) explained “Any form of non-personal presentation of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor, with predominant use made of the media of mass communication” Additionally, certain motivational or “borrowed interest” devices can attract the attention of consumers and raise their involvement with an ad For example, Pepsi frequently uses popular Vietnamese pop celebrities while Coca Cola prefers meaningful contents, and popular music Mobile marketing Mobile marketing is an activity designed for delivery to cell phones, smart phones and other handheld devices As growing technology nowadays, mobile marketing can provide customers or potential targets what they desire Events and experiences Event marketing can be defined as public sponsorship of events/activities related to sports, art, entertainment or social causes Moreover, different kinds of events and experiences can engages the consumers’ senses and imagination, changing brand knowledge into the process Importance of product in marketing communication Product features There are several features of product could be analyzed, but I will concentrate on some relevant factors of product features such as packaging, quality, appearance, taste, design, style and reliability Jewell (2000) explained packaging is the unique way of promotional opportunity, providing a unique opportunity in promotional activities and reminds the customers to buy the product Moreover, Brassington and Pettitt (2005) presented that the information contained in the offering about product identity, use and packaging serve the promotional purpose I would like to classify each feature in details in the following  Packaging Jewell (2000) explained the packaging helps the consumers to choose the product on the basis of colors, logo and style which were used in advertising Thus, packaging is one of the important tools which increases the awareness of the product and distinguishes from other brands  Quality Quality is the symbol of the uniqueness of the goods Quality delivers good values to the consumers, according to Fill (2005), justified with high price as high quality product  Appearance and Style The appearance of the product delivers the meaning to the consumers Style is one of the important opponents for its appearance Brassington and Pettitt (2005) presented that the visual impacts of the product can influence the perception of consumers for its quality  Taste It is an after-purchase activity which considers the consumers choose for the further purchase As Kotler (2006) defined, if the packaging, appearance and style could not justify the taste of the product, it can be a severe issue with the product, leading to consumer’s dissatisfaction  Reliability To explain the credibility of the consumers, reliability is one of essential product features It is an amount of money that the consumers pay for the products with their expectation and probability within a specified time period (Kotler, 2006) In another way, reliability defines as trustworthy products which the consumers trust and buy happily and quickly Culture aspects to communication role Culture is a learned, shared, compelling, interrelated set of symbols whose meanings provide a set of orientations for member of a society, according to Terpstra and David (cited Morrison 2002) Moreover, Brassington and Pettitt (2005) mentioned that culture is the total way of life which is essential for the marketer to make the product successful Thus, I would like to demonstrate the culture into specific categories, such as language, dress, religion, music and sport Language Following to Czinkota and Ronkainen (1998), language can be described as the mirror of the culture which contains the spoken words and non-spoken communication as the gestures, body language and the eye contact Language is an element to understand other opinions and ideas and then responding in the same medium Dress Dress, in fact, is the outlook of people which sells the personality and presents themselves to others Additionally, certain kinds of clothes in a specific culture would create some meanings from cultural aspects, Martin and Nakayama (2004) explained Religion Religion impacts the habits of people, their outlook on life, the products they buy, the ways they buy them, even the newspaper they read, according to Cateora and Ghauri (2000) Moreover, Garfield and Watson (1998) depicts religion as the confident expressions of the people on different things and trustworthy on things Music According to the favor and preference of the people, culture and companies, music contains different aspect to design the advertisement Furthermore, when music comes to the product, it will be reminded to the consumer’s minds with the lyrics and melodies Sport Sport gathers the society on one platform where people unite and share their opinions, their feelings and spend in their leisure time A favorite sport of a particular country explains the pattern of likes and dislikes of people in their interests Discussions Products orientation Pepsi and Coca Cola have different styles and products in Vietnam which increases the diversity of beverages and competitions There are 14 carbonated and non-carbonated beverage brands in Vietnam presented by Coca Cola’s and 13 by Pepsi’s All these beverages are available in different sizes and packaging from 240 ml to 1.5 liter in the shape of plastic/glass bottle and can As follows, Pepsi and Coca Cola’s will be studied in terms of quality, taste, sizes, packaging and appearance Appearances of Pepsi and Coke’s brands  Coca Cola’s brands No Brands Coca Cola Size and Shape 330-355ml/can, 390ml - 1.5l/PET, 300l/glass Fanta 330ml/can, 390ml- 1.5l/PET, 300l/glass Sprite 330ml/can, 390ml-1.5l/PET, 300l/glass Diet Coke 330ml/can Coca Coca Zero 330ml/can Schweppes Tonic 330ml/can, 10 oz – 33.8 fl.oz/PET Packing Color Transparent Transparent Green White Black Yellow (soda water) Lemon Soda Crush Sarsi Joy – mineral water Samurai – energy drink Sunfill – powdered fruit Dasani – mineral water Nutriboost (fruit milk) Minute Maid, Splash Teppy – fruit juice 10 11 12 13 14 330ml/can, 390ml/PET, 300/glass 330ml/can, 300ml/glass 500ml – 1,5ml/PET Transparent Transparent Transparent 330ml/can, 390ml/PET, 20g/pack Transparent 20g/pack Green 500ml/PET Transparent 297ml/PET Transparent 330ml/can, 327ml- 1l/PET Transparent + Orange Figure 1: Main Coke’s products selling in Vietnam  Pepsi’s brands No Brands Pepsi Pepsi Light Sting (red, yellow) Size in liters 330ml/can, 330ml–1.5l/PET, 330ml/glass 330ml/can 240ml/glass – 330ml/PET Mountain Dew Aquafina Tropicana Twister 500ml/PET – 330ml/glass 500ml – 1.5l/PET 455ml/PET, 320ml/can Packing color Transparent Gray Transparent + Yellow + Red Green Transparent Transparent 7 Tropicana Fruitz 7-up 10 11 7-up Revive Tea Plus Mirinda 12 13 Lipton C.C.Lemon 330ml/can, 390ml–1.5l/PET, 285ml/glass 330ml/can, 390ml/PET 455ml/PET, 330ml/can, 350ml-1.5l/PET, 330ml/glass 330ml/can, 455ml/PET 330ml/can, 390ml/PET Orange Green Green Transparent Transparent Transparent + Yellow Transparent + Yellow Figure 2: Main Pepsi’s products selling in Vietnam (carbonated water – left, noncarbonated water – right) Review of Pepsi and Coke’s appearance in Vietnam According to the Vietnamese’ habits to soft drinks (Vina Research 2013), 61.3% consumers answered Coca Cola when thinking about carbonated beverages in Vietnam, and nearly 99.1% can realize Coca Cola’s brand Meanwhile, Pepsi and 7Up stayed in the second and third with 98.5% and 94.9% Moreover, depending on the geographic areas, the attraction of colors in package can be different from specific regions Southern areas have hot and cozy weather during all year while the North is divided into four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, mainly colder than the South Therefore, Northern people tend to use Coca Cola because of its red and warm color whereas the South is favorable with the blue color of Pepsi, as being opposite with the weather Cultural factors of Vietnam Culture reveals its explanation of thoughts and ideas in the society; additionally, it is different from any other aspects when mentioning to communication Culture is the actions and reactions of people in different situations and countries Culture is a pattern of beliefs and lifestyles Moreover, it is the combination of norms, values, and symbols Therefore, when a brand invests to a specific country, it obviously understands the culture of that country to communicate the products effectively  Language In fact, Vietnamese is Vietnam’s mother tongue and English is official language English has become the part of Vietnamese culture in big cities, such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, especially associated with educated people Many Vietnamese residents can understand few simple English words; therefore, Vietnamese language is important and dominated in Vietnam PepsiCo and Coca Cola are indeed be careful to present the language in their advertisings Thus, they usually take an advantage of Vietnamese words to create catchy and mnemonic rhymes like poems  Dress The traditional costume of Vietnam is “ao dai”, which only presented in specific important events and occasions, like Tet holiday Thus, when Coke and Pepsi communicate with the audiences on Tet, they will try to use this traditional costume, occasionally Additionally, both focus on youth as a target to promote the beverage products The characters can wear both informal and formal clothes depending on the situation and advertisement, which not violate Vietnamese customs and laws  Taste In fact, Vietnam is divided into three areas: North, Middle and South region; however, Hanoi (North area) and Ho Chi Minh (South area) is the main target audiences of Pepsi and Coca Cola beverages, which have different tastes Therefore, Coca Cola and Pepsi have met some difficulties in promoting their products The South residents tend to eat sweeter than North ones; thus, they are favorite with Pepsi more than Coca Cola; whereas, North residents prefer Coca Cola because of its light taste  Religion In Vietnam, some of Vietnamese people have non-religion, although they usually go to the churches to pray in specific occasions Some are religious in Buddhism, Catholic, Christians, Hindu or other local religions Thus, Coca Cola and Pepsi Vietnam frequently are careful with their messages and advertisements on public Until now, they have not had any scandals relating to religion in Vietnam  Music William Congreve, in The Mourning Bride (1697) expressed “Music has charms to sooth a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.” Music is a magic tool for any advertisements attracting consumers effectively For example, Coca Cola has usually used a typical song “Taste the Feeling” for their advertisements; therefore, several consumers would realize the song came from Coke’s ads Additionally, Coca Cola Vietnam created a Vietnamese Coke’s song with Vietnamese lyrics for advertising their beverages on TV commercials Meanwhile, Pepsi cooperated with Trang TV (an online creative Vietnamese channel for youth) to publish a new song for celebrating the National Day in 2016, hashtag #YeuNguoiVietNam (#LoveVietnamese)  Sports Vietnamese consumers are likely to make fun, love their country and nation pride, especially football Thus, Coca Cola had a campaign with its slogan “Eat football, sleep football, drink Coca Cola” for World Cup 2014 (as beverage sponsorship), whereas, PepsiCo sponsored for football/baseball team an amount of money to prepare for SEA Games 23 in 2005, “Drink Pepsi is to support Vietnam national team targeting to international arena” message, increasing the liking of Vietnamese people Advertising Advertising part is covered is along with three media which includes TV, newspaper and outdoor advertising Outdoor media further contains billboards, transit advertising and street furniture advertising Moreover, advertising is one of the most suitable tools to increase the attractions of the consumers in a communication program Television commercials Television nowadays has played an important role to promote Pepsi’s and Coca Cola’s brands in Vietnam Both Vietnamese men and women know carbonated beverages via TV commercials, 93.1% and 95.3%, respectively Furthermore, both of them have decided to target specific consumers, especially PepsiCo is considered as Pepsi for youth, a slogan of “Generation Next” more than twenty years However, Coca Cola Vietnam has sent the messages not only for youth but also Vietnamese families First, Tet holiday is an important event happening around January or February (lunar calendar) in the country, which the families unite and stick together Therefore, they usually focus on the warmth and close-knitted relationship of families to engage Vietnamese consumers to each other by using their beverages Its target audience to Vietnamese family and the children’s study/work or get marriage far away from their home Similar to Christmas holiday in Western countries, Tet is the union of families As a consequence, they create several meaningful impressions and story-tellers for Vietnamese watchers Second, both target to Vietnamese teenagers and youth who like to use the beverages during their hangouts and spare time In fact, reaching to 76.1% consumers usually drink carbonated water during Meeting/Hangouts with friends, 75.8% in parties or 58.8% in family/acquaintance meetings 10 Thus, I would like to analyze two television commercials of Coca Cola’s and PepsiCo targeting to their potential consumers with detailed contents and messages in 2016 and 2017  Coca Cola Coke promoted Tet 2016 (Link Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li04_rRO3cY) with the typical gathering of the Vietnamese family in 30 seconds In detailed, Coca Cola sent “Together gather, make Tet” message via Coke’s can and 1.5l plastic bottle with unique symbols Additionally, Coca Cola played its own Vietnamese songs through the ad All members of the family, on the ad, seem to separate each other by doing different stuffs; therefore, the main character tried to unite others to prepare Tet celebration together and have Coca Cola drinks Another short TV commercial from Coca Cola Vietnam for Tet 2016 (Link Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCVVInf6-6s), “Good taste of Tet, engage with happiness” purposing on family meals at home The more together the members of the family eat at home, the more they can stick together Moreover, the meals of the family will be delicious when tasting with Coca Cola Or even “Making that meal moment special with Coke” (Link Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjuMzsVcR-U) with Vietnamese dubbing in 30 seconds, Coca Cola advertised a special moment in family When someone gets sad, she does not like to eat, but hearing the turn-on sound of Coca Cola 1.5ml bottle, she gets excited to eat with the drink Furthermore, targeting to Vietnamese young people, Coca Cola publicized a 30-second TV commercial with message “Re-energize with Coca Cola” (Link Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L3aJ35Q_OY ) It focused on Coke’s glass to reenergize the spirit of the girl (main character) because of hot weather Personally, I think these TV commercials of Coca Cola are not special, but the design of the Coke’s can for Tet holiday was impressive The swallows’ flocks unite and create several symbols of Tet, a lunar new year in Vietnam Moreover, Coca Cola tend to present infamous Vietnamese people to create the most comfortable and happy moments in daily situations TV Commercials in 2017 In 2017, starting with « Making that meal moment special with Coke » in 30-second TV commercial (Link Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olTb7Vkia64&pbj), Coca Cola presented the union of friends drink a 1.5ml Coke’s bottle to have a good taste of meals Additionally, the music in the beginning is Vietnamese song (owned by Coca Cola Vietnam) and then “Taste of Feeling” song in the last seconds Then, around January and February yearly, Coca Cola started to bring another 51-second TVC Tet (Link Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t0Uj-3rZXM ) in a message of “Coca Cola, for a new start” A new beginning is a giver giving the good things to others, shooting new things, gathering old friends, or catching the opportunities, like a bottle of Coke for his dad, his sister, his friends, his crush More than that, Tet is for a new beginning for 11 everything Coca Cola tried to send the message with several shapes of the product to suit with the specific situations A highly meaningful official 3-minute-36-second TVC Tet 2017 with the same message “A new start with Coca Cola” (Link Youtube with English subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th9ykiev8pA ) received tons of great feedbacks from Vietnamese people, including me Following Coca Cola, the consumers can start a new beginning for a relationship which cannot be healed Like brother and brother on TVC, they were close but they are not any more Coca Cola reminded them of old and good memories from each other to miss their promises and remember their relationship again As illustrated, Coca Cola, like a story teller, creating touching stories with ordinary Vietnamese people to touch the souls who miss their homes  PepsiCo Suntory A fact that PepsiCo has frequently advertised their beverages with young and popular Vietnamese ambassadors in Vietnam showbiz such as Ha Anh Tuan, Dong Nhi, Dan Truong, Kasim Hoang Vu, My Tam, Kimmese, etc to present a young spirit and generation who desire getting better of themselves, overcoming the difficulties to be in success Then, Pepsi would be a companion with the generation to support Vietnamese young people TV Commercial in 2016 To promote Tet holiday, Pepsi tried to bring “Tet Reunion” message (Link Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC4-d9lSDu4 ) to promote the “Spring Buses – Tet Reunion” program with website http://tetsumvay.vn for Vietnamese people reuniting for Tet Moreover, Pepsi presented some famous Vietnamese ambassadors together singing a Vietnamese song for Tet celebration; meanwhile, showing every situation of every person who is missing their families Not many people can buy a ticket coming home for Tet; thus, receiving the free tickets is one of the most wonderful and meaningful moments Meanwhile, targeting to Vietnamese young people, Pepsi decided to send a message “Drink Pepsi, fulfill the meal” (Link Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=m5gRGaMghsM ) They promoted the drink with famous Vietnamese pop singers in two main shapes: Pepsi glass and 1.5ml bottle Comparing to two groups, one owns Pepsi which turns the meal more delicious than before, and one does not know that Then, a big bottle came to turn all the plates into great meals Additionally, Pepsi also promoted Pepsi Emoji in 5-second video on their websites and Facebook page (Link Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P5GECf2to0 and https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=rriJ2pSM1mo ) to “drink Pepsi, fulfill the meal” with the emotions eating traditional food quickly TV Commercial in 2017 To welcome a lunar new year of 2017, Pepsi advertised a 50-second TV Commercial (Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQdQ1GumNEE ) to express “Tet-reunion giver” In 12 details, when a son (the main character) came home with a pack of Pepsi can, he found out his dad was working on the railway It means the family did not gather all the members The son tried to find his father and helped him to throw the wood away from the railway Thus, the son is the giver, who tried to gather all the members of the family and celebrate Tet holiday in happiness and warmth Outdoor advertising Concentrating on Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Coca Cola and Pepsi Vietnam have different communications in billboards Almost of Coke’s billboards are horizontal whereas Pepsi prefers vertical billboards, and sometimes they created with a purpose  Coke’s In Ho Chi Minh City, Coca Cola advertised “Slim Can, have a full break” on Bach Dang Street It showed several shapes of Coke’s with two young models, as illustrating to Vietnamese young people However, the products are smaller than the models Figure 3: A Coca's billboard “Slim Can, a happy break” in Ho Chi Minh City, 2015 Moreover, with a message “Share a Coke, share a feeling Get away from the boredom by doing normal things in an abnormal way, like texting”, Coca Cola Vietnam designed series of chat stickers into Coke’s can, attaching with emoticons Advertising Emoticon Board, Coca Cola tried to focus on young people, especially, usually using social networks and mobile 13 phones to connect with friends daily, on attached link In fact, 77.6% of this target uses mobile phones more than computers; including messages contain 65% of time Furthermore, they will use their phones in summer frequently because of summer holiday Thus, Coca Cola put a vivid billboard on the crowd street in Ho Chi Minh City to attract the drivers’ attentions (picture below) Figure 4: "Emoticon board" campaign in 2015, “Be happy” with a happy emotion on the billboard “Emotion board” happened in Ho Chi Minh City, in 2015 (Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h952HXDQulc) Additionally, Coca Cola Vietnam brought an impressive art of poster came from Vietnamese artist, with “Have a break, Coca Cola now” message, locating mainly at Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City This below billboard delivered a positive message of relaxing moments and encouraged people to think about Coca Cola as a companion and sharer in their recreations 14 Figure 5: "Have a break, Coca Cola now" message  Pepsi Meanwhile, Pepsi Vietnam advertised its product in a bigger size than a group of model with a message “Do differently, Live Young for Now with Pepsi” as its online advertisement (Link Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxEIZpRPQmk ) Thus, almost of the 15 billboards, posters relate to their advertisements with specific messages, targeting to young generations Figure 6: "Tet for Now" billboard, Pepsi Vietnam in 2015 As illustrated, Pepsi sent a “Tet for Now” message for Tet holiday by designing a lucky coin as lucky money for lunar new year with a Pepsi can and a wish for this new year shines (like a firework, as image) More than that, Pepsi advertised its logo at Hoan Kiem Lake, a center of Hanoi, where any Vietnamese people would love to have a walk around the lake Every Pepsi’s logo symbolized as every sun shining at night at the center of the lake Additionally, the 2015 number, Pepsi designed zero into a lucky coin as a picture above to bring the unique symbol for “Happy New Year 2015” 16 Figure 7: "Happy New Year 2015" from Pepsi Vietnam Through these billboards, Pepsi tends to promote mainly on their beverages (large image, large logos), not the characters whereas Coca Cola seems to in contrast Experiences and events  Coke’s Then, Coca Cola set up an interactive billboard on the crowd streets at Ho Chi Minh City The transporters and walkers suddenly paid much attention to funny and happy messages on the billboard These experiences were recorded and publicized on Youtube (link above) and becoming viral in few hours Moreover, Coca Cola Vietnam implemented “Reuse the bottles” experience (Link Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4jGPnS5uCE ) because every bottles have their lives after Cokes The consumers can reuse the Coke’s bottles, instead of throwing to garbage, by using the caps of Coca Cola as sprinklers, containers or some entertaining products for children As a result, they were giving away 40,000 caps in Vietnam to promote this experience and then rolling out to cross Asia More than that, Coca Cola Vietnam has been developing its strategy to prioritize the government’s priorities and pressing necessities of local communities, which lead to positive social and economic changes They focus on public private partnership of enterprises, the government, and civil society organization, especially in the field of water, well-being, women and local capability development for SMEs Take SMEs as detailed example, Coca Cola Vietnam collaborated with the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD) under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the US17 ASEAN Business Council (USABC) to organize the program "Supporting SMEs in Vietnam for Sustainable Development It aims to improve the performance of SMEs by providing training and mentorship on supply chain management, business innovation, and corporate social responsibility The businesses who participate in the training and mentorship program then can apply the best knowledge, business model, and practices in their field of activity  Pepsi Pepsi is not only “young” in business, but also “young” in community purpose With a slogan “We cannot be a successful company if we are not a good citizen for community”, PepsiCo Vietnam has been leading to contribute the society For example, “ Golf Tournament” in 2017 has raised VND 825 million in total Then, Pepsi in collaboration with the Sponsoring Association for the Poor Patients of Ho Chi Minh City has used this donated amount to bring clean, safe and drinkable water by providing 74 water filtration systems to more than 1,600 students in schools and around 7,000 Patients at medical centers in Tan Tru district, Long An province Figure 8: "Tet For Now" advertisement of Pepsi Additionally, recognizing that not all Vietnamese families can afford to fly their loved ones home for Tet, PepsiCo introduced the “Tet for Now” campaign in 2013, transporting 240 youth via Pepsi-branded buses During 2013 to now, Pepsi helped thousands of Vietnamese students and workers to go back home for Tet, the country’s holiday to celebrate the lunar New Year and reunions with family and friends Another experience is “Challenge with Pepsi” from Vietnamese celebrities Pepsi sent a message for Vietnamese young people “Do differently, live for now” For example, My Tam – a diva tried to shake Pepsi can for a while then putting it to the refrigerator; after few minutes, Pepsi came to a greater taste; meanwhile, Dong Nhi – a famous singer tried to sing under the water, a unique experience Both of them did differently and felt good Then, if someone wants to try differently, come and visit Pepsi’ website to share their experiences 18 Furthermore, Pepsi Vietnam has frequently sponsored for TV show such as Vietnam Idol 2015 to encourage talented young people to make the dreams come true Mobile marketing Both Coca Cola and Pepsi have used mainly Facebook pages for their online communication connecting with target audiences Sometimes, they have promoted their programs via its official website, linked via Facebook pages  Coca Cola’s Mentioned above Emoticon Board, Coca Cola, the very first time, used this campaign in Vietnam They, in collaboration with Zalo app – a number-one social media on mobile phone with 30 million Vietnamese users (85% is main target audience of Coke’s), to design and promote series of chat stickers for Coca Cola The main special theme for these stickers is that every sticker designed into a Coke’s can, attaching with emoticons and similar emotions Then, the users can share their online Coca Cola cans to friends As a result, Coca Cola was successful with Sticker Emotican (on Zalo), increasing the attractions of Vietnamese young people to choose their beverages Figure 9: "We are lucky to have wonderful collaborator like Zalo", from Coca Cola Vietnam, 2015 Moreover, “Cook with Coca Cola” is a guideline of cooking some meals with Coca Cola drinks, publicized on its official website For example, if the housewives want to bring a unique taste of rice, chicken wings, or meat, it is better with Coca Cola – carbonated water 19  Pepsi Meanwhile, Pepsi has promoted its website with the latest entertainment news, the hottest music charts, and the newest upcoming activities and events for young people via Pepsi Pulse (www.pepsi.com.vn), which is an interactive website and the first constantly updated website of a brand in Vietnam As its target purpose, this online communication focuses on online young generation After all, both Coca Cola and Pepsi Vietnam presented unique and different communication options to Vietnamese consumers who paid a lot of attentions during Tet holiday and summer holiday Until this period of February, Pepsi and Coca Cola are together promoting their beverages on Tet intensively with new TVCs, deep insights and creative messages Conclusion According to Vietnam Report 2017, Suntory PepsiCo is one of the most trustworthy company contributing sustainable community and guaranteed products, ranked #3 amongst beverage companies, and #1 amongst the non-alcohol beverage companies in 2017; whereas, Coca Cola has not been listed Thus, PepsiCo somehow has stepped a higher stage than Coca Cola Vietnam However, when discussing about communications between Coca Cola and Pepsi Vietnam, there are several differences in product features, TV commercials, outdoor advertising, and online marketing communication, influenced by Vietnamese culture From my point of view, I am impressive with Coca Cola’s TVCs more than Pepsi, in Tet commercials with meaningful message and insight More than that, the taste of Coca Cola feels better than Pepsi, perhaps because of geographic area (living in the Northern region) References Brassington and Pettitt (2005), “ Essentials of Marketing”, Pearson education limited, Essex, UK Dam Thi Ngoc Trang, Hoang Ha Phuong, Giap Van Zay, Ung Duc Long, Pham Quoc Anh (2013), “Analyze the marketing strategy of Pepsi”, 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Management”, Global Edition, Pearson Education Limited Kotler, P & Keller KL (2006), “Marketing Management”, 12th Edition, Pearson Education, Inc., New Jersey, USA Martin and Nakayama (2004), “Intercultural communication in contexts”, The McGrath Hill company, New York, USA Pepsi Vietnam, collaborating with Trang TV, sang a Vietnamese song https://www.facebook.com/Pepsivietnam/videos/887272854738385/ Digital Talk, “Give Coca Cola, give emotions” http://digitalk.vn/case-study/trao-coca-cola-trao-cam-xuc Sieuthitt, “The price of beverages” http://sieuthitt.com/bang-gia/bang-gia-nuoc-ngot The Coca Cola Co., “Supporting SMEs, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke4TELcdg6Q Coca Cola Vietnam”, The Coca Cola Co., “Sustainable projects in Vietnam”, https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=0WMD_kTU9Y0 Vina Research (2013), Report of Soft drink using habits http://vinaresearch.jp/upload/userfiles/files/W%26S_Report_Softdrink%20using %20habit_2013.pdf Suntory Pepsico, Friendship challenge golf tournament https://suntorypepsico.vn/en/csr/activity/suntory-pepsico-friendship-challenge-golftournament-spfc-2017-and-hand-over-ceremony Pepsico, “Tet for Now” reunites families across Vietnam” 21 http://www.pepsico.com/live/story/pepsi-tet-for-now-reunites-families-acrossvietnam020620141325 Suntory Pepsico, Mizuiku, “I love clean water” project https://suntorypepsico.vn/en/csr/activity/activities-mizuiku-i-love-clean-water-projectoct2017 Vietnamnet, “Top 10 trustworthy beverages companies in 2017” http://vietnamnet.vn/vn/kinh-doanh/vef/cong-bo-top-10-cong-ty-uy-tin-nganh-thuc-pham-douong-nam-2017-406971.html Vietnamnet, “A twenty-year loss of Coca Cola in Vietnam” http://vietnamnet.vn/vn/kinh-doanh/coca-cola-lich-su-20-nam-thua-lo-o-viet-nam277593.html Zing VN, “Coca Cola collaborated with Zalo to public special stickers for youth” https://news.zing.vn/coca-cola-bat-tay-zalo-tung-bo-sticker-dac-biet-cho-gioi-trepost555965.html 22 ... informed distinguish between Coca Cola and Pepsi, then probably predicting the new communication strategy in the next few years Introduction Since 1994, Pepsi and Coca Cola has run their business... Pepsi and Coca Cola? ??s will be studied in terms of quality, taste, sizes, packaging and appearance Appearances of Pepsi and Coke’s brands  Coca Cola? ??s brands No Brands Coca Cola Size and Shape 330-355ml/can,... (Vina Research 2013), 61.3% consumers answered Coca Cola when thinking about carbonated beverages in Vietnam, and nearly 99.1% can realize Coca Cola? ??s brand Meanwhile, Pepsi and 7Up stayed in