In this essay, we embark on a comprehensive brand analysis of the coca cola company

3.1 CAMPAIGN: HOLIDAYS ARE COMING CHRISTMAS CAMPAIGN 7

3.2 CAMPAIGN: SAYITWITH EMOTICANS 7

3.3 CAMPAIGN: TASTETHE FEELING 8

3.4 CAMPAIGN: SHARE A COKE 9

The Coca-Cola Company, a global beverage giant with a history spanning over a century, stands as an iconic exemplar of brand excellence Instantly recognizable, universally beloved, and deeply woven into the fabric of popular culture, Coca-Cola's brand is a phenomenon that transcends borders and generations The ability of this renowned company to create and maintain a brand identity that resonates with consumers on a profound level is a testament to the power of effective brand management In this essay, we embark on a comprehensive brand analysis of The Coca-Cola Company, delving into the origins of its brand, the key elements that contribute to its enduring success, its marketing strategies, and we would break the brand down by using SWOT matrix.

1 Background

The Coca-Cola Company is a multinational beverage corporation that was founded in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States It was created by John Pemberton, a pharmacist, who developed the original formula for Coca-Cola syrup The company's flagship product, Coca-Cola, was initially marketed as a medicinal drink with ingredients like coca leaf extract and kola nut Over the years, Coca-Cola has grown to become one of the world's most recognizable brands and beverages The company expanded its operations globally and introduced various other popular products, including Diet Coke, Sprite, Fanta, and many more

Coca-Cola is known for its distinctive red and white logo and its iconic glass bottle design The company has a rich history marked by numerous innovations and marketing campaigns In the early 1900s, Coca-Cola began bottling its beverages, allowing for wider distribution and accessibility It played a significant role in shaping modern advertising practices and popularizing the image of Santa Claus through its holiday campaigns Coca-Cola has continually adapted to changing consumer preferences and diversified its product portfolio to include various non-carbonated beverages, such as juices, teas, sports drinks, and bottled water The company operates in over 200 countries worldwide and employs thousands of people

Throughout its history, Coca-Cola has also been involved in social initiatives and sponsorships, supporting sports, entertainment, and community programs It has become ingrained in popular culture and has a strong presence in global events like the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games The Coca-Cola Company has faced challenges and controversies throughout its existence, including issues related to health concerns, environmental sustainability, and labor practices However, it remains one of the world's largest and most successful beverage companies, maintaining a dominant position in the global market.

2 Marketing 4Ps strategy

2.1 Product

Product is the first component of the 4Ps of marketing of Coca-Cola The company boasts an extensive showcase of product portfolio summing up to 500 still and sparkling brands With this number, it provides more than 3000 beverage options The company's leading product, Coca-Cola is one of the most popular and valuable brands globally Some of the most famous brands from the company's portfolio are as follows:

Coca-Cola - One of the most recognized and top-selling soft drinks globally.

Sprite - This is another popular brand from Coca-Cola with a lemon-lime flavor This

was introduced to the market in 1961.

Fanta - This beverage comes in an orange flavor and is the second oldest drink from

Coca-Cola that was introduced in 1940.

Diet coke - Those who are health-conscious opt to choose this drink as this is a calorie

and sugar-free soft drink first made in 1982 Some call this Coca-Cola light.

Coca-Cola zero - This is the latest addition to the product portfolio of Coca-Cola which

contains zero sugar.

Coca-Cola Life - It's a low-calorie beverage containing Stevia leaf extract and cane sugar.

Minute Maid This is a juice drink by Coca-Cola acquired in 1960.

Ciel - Coca-Cola introduced this non-carbonated purified drinking water in 1960.

Powerade - This is a beverage for hydration and energy which contains electrolytes,

carbohydrates, and fluids.

Powerade zero - Fitness and sports drinks contain electrolytes but without calories.

Powerade - This is a beverage for hydration and energy which contains electrolytes,

carbohydrates, and fluids.

Simply orange - A 100% premium orange juice is available in six varieties.Fresca - A soft drink with a distinct citrus taste and caffeine-free.

Glaceau Vitaminwater - This is drinking water enhanced with nutrients and is available

in 26 different countries.

Del Valle - A premium line of nectars and juices exclusively sold in Central and Latin

2.2 Place

A vast distribution network has been built up by Coca-Cola, which has been in operation for more than 130 years and is present in more than 200 nations worldwide Their wide distribution network highlights their location strategy Latin America, North America, the Middle East and Africa, Europe, and Asia-Pacific are the four geographic divisions through which it works With the assistance of 225 bottling partners and 900 bottling facilities, The Coca-Cola Company has expanded its footprint to 200 countries worldwide

The beverage is created by the Coca-Cola Company using their proprietary recipe, which is then sold to bottlers all over the world The business owns the brands, manages consumer brand marketing initiatives, and produces and distributes syrups, concentrates, and beverage bases to bottling facilities

Global Ventures and Bottling Investment Group non-geographic sectors are also a part of The Coca-Cola Company The "Coca-Cola System," which refers to the business and its bottling partners, makes it feasible for the brand's location and distribution strategy Coca-Cola's place mix consists of the following.

Coca-Cola Distribution Network: The corporation depends on its authorized bottling

partners to manufacture, package, merchandise, and distribute the finished Coca-Cola goods to the different retail outlets as part of its marketing plan.

Franchising Model: The company produces and distributes its goods via a franchising

strategy The Coca-Cola Company produces and distributes concentrates as the foundation for beverages to its authorized bottling partners, who are in charge of the bottling processes all around the world These bottling partners combine these beverage bases with sweeteners and filtered water to create the final branded drinks The Coca-Cola Company has exclusive area relations with the approved bottlers, who may sell the finished goods to its vending partners in bottles and cans.

Outlets: Products from Coca-Cola are available everywhere in the globe, including cafes,

street sellers, theaters, convenience stores, shops, amusement parks, hotels, and vending machines Additionally, the business distributes concentrate for making soda drinks to large restaurants and food service wholesalers.

Reverse Supply Chain: The company's extensive distribution network is employed as a

reverse supply chain to gather the glass bottles left over from retail establishments The

corporation reuses these discarded glass bottles to create reusable Coca-Cola bottles, conserving resources and incurring significant savings.

2.3 Price

Coca-Cola uses a dynamic pricing strategy, which means that it adjusts the price of its products according to the market conditions, such as demand, supply, competition, seasonality, and customer segments

Their pricing is affordable and caters perfectly to their audience and industry

Coca-Cola follows a price discrimination strategy in its marketing mix This means that they charge different prices for products in different segments The beverage market has a small number of sellers and many purchasers And Coca-Cola and Pepsi are their two most powerful brands Hence, Coke products are priced similarly to Pepsi products in the same segments; and both parties agree to preserve price parity in each segment.

Coca-Cola also offers discounts and promotions to attract and retain customers Coca-Cola also provides discounts on bulk purchases by bundling items.

2.4 Promotion

Since there is fierce rivalry in the soda sector, most businesses invest a sizable sum of money to support numerous commercials and other promotional activities Coca-Cola reported spending $4 billion on marketing in 2016, and $4.1 billion in 2018.

The corporation also introduced the Taste the Feeling promotional campaign in 2016, which was a substantial departure from its prior marketing strategy Coca-Cola has increased the reach of its advertisements beyond television and outdoor advertising campaigns to include many social media platforms The company uses its social media accounts to communicate with customers and connect with followers and fans because digital marketing is one of the more contemporary methods of product promotion Customers can view more than 1,250 promotional videos on the company's official YouTube channel Coca-Cola hopes to improve its standing in the market through its social media channels as competition intensifies.

Modern marketing has undoubtedly benefited much from digital marketing, but Coca-Cola has also consistently used promotional programs as part of its marketing strategy over the years They never stray from their clients' basic and common message, which is happiness The corporation runs a variety of ads, but never forgets to incorporate the overarching concept that has run throughout the company's history into each advertisement.

Coca-Cola invests in CSR and sustainability in addition to its standard advertising campaigns to build a sustainable industrial network and supply chain.

3 Campaigns

3.1 Campaign: Holidays are coming Christmas campaign

Most of people associate Coca-Cola with Christmas We sing the ‘Holidays are Coming’ tune and look forward to seeing happy red Santa’s plastered across their televisions The TV advertisement originally captured our festive hearts launched in 1995, when people watched a fleet of Christmas trucks known as ‘Christmas Caravans’ bring joy to awe-eyed children.

Now known as the ‘Holidays Are Coming’, the momentous campaign has been integrated across all of Coca-Cola’s channels, from using social media to spread awareness (#HolidaysAreComing) to a real-life tour of the Coca-Cola Christmas truck in the UK Previously, the ad has traditionally focused on the classic drink but in 2018, the brand shifted the campaign’s focus to Coke Zero in a bid to appeal to a younger, more health-conscious audience

Naturally, Coca-Cola has had to adapt all of its marketing campaigns to real-world events They did this particularly well with the ‘Holidays Are Coming’ campaign in December 2020, responding to the Coronavirus pandemic This ad was crowned the most successful Christmas ad of the year by Kantar, being named the most powerful, most enjoyable, generating the most love, and ad with the strongest branding

3.2 Campaign: Say it with Emoticans

Coke has not been the most drank beverage among Vietnamese youth, while always being the most liked brand, as competition has increased with new flavours and fancy packaging It is consequently more important than ever for Coke's company to convert the passion of 8 million young drinkers into actual purchases Teenage communication now centered around contest-based processes did not appear to be effective Coca-Cola had to switch from a push strategy to a pull strategy in order to achieve a significant shift Teenagers in Vietnam dislike being told what to do Their pals frequently have the most effect Coca-Cola made the decision to transform Coke into the essential source of teen energy Coca-Cola wanted Coke to be the common language among teenagers

Coca-Cola was aware that expressing how they feel to their friends through postings, SMS, amusing videos, emoticons, GIFs, memes, and chat stickers in particular gives teenagers a boost of critical energy They are freed from being bound to messages thanks to such chatting platforms They have developed into a common language that unites

teenagers In actuality, 78% of our teenage population uses cellphones, with 65% of that usage being for mobile texting

This time, the goal was to influence adolescents by increasing brand advocacy Coca-Cola chose to make teenagers and themselves the brand's ambassadors, even if deploying a pricey teen idol and an expensive media package (including PR, social media, and several events) seemed to be the usual in the market.

Coca-Cola started a campaign called "SAY IT WITH A COKE - EmotiCokes to express what you feel" that was inspired by emoticons, a form of communication that is utilized in many popular messaging programs Coca-Cola made Coke's new Emoticans the most popular sticker style of the summer 2015 via the Zalo mobile messenger Teenagers use mobile texting more frequently throughout the summer as more free time becomes available.

Impressive results for the campaign:

- A partnership with Zalo allowed Coca-Cola to reach the vast majority of Vietnam's teenagers, who currently account for 85% of Zalo's user base.

- 1.1 billion media impressions have been made during the campaign.

- With 2 million downloads in the first week of release, Emoticoke stickers surpassed Zalo's record for the most downloaded branded sticker set of all time At the conclusion, 11.7 million copies of the Coca-Cola sticker had been downloaded, which is ten times more than the sticker that is now most popular on Zalo As a result, Coca-Cola gained total control over the mobile market and once again won the hearts of teenagers across the country.

- With an average of 10 EmotiCokes shared per user, over 52 million EmotiCokes were shared via Zalo chat applications That indicates that each kid has recommended Coca-Cola to pals more than ten times! The "Share a Coke" campaign from last summer, which was regarded as the most successful Coca-Cola promotion in Vietnam, saw a 30% increase in sales as a result.

3.3 Campaign: Taste the Feeling

The “Taste the Feeling” campaign of Coca-Cola is a global marketing strategy that was launched in 2016 to unify all the variants of Coca-Cola under one slogan and one brand identity The campaign aims to celebrate the simple pleasure and emotional connection that people experience when drinking any Coca-Cola product, whether it is Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, or Coke Life

The campaign involves various elements, such as:

- 10 television commercials that feature different stories and moments of people enjoying Coca-Cola in various settings and occasions The commercials are accompanied by a new song titled “Taste the Feeling”, which was developed by the Swedish DJ and producer Avicii in collaboration with the singer Conrad Sewell.

- More than 100 campaign images that capture the authentic and real moments of people drinking Coca-Cola around the world The images were taken by renowned fashion and commercial photographers, such as Guy Aroch, Nacho Ricci, Anna Palma, and Alexi Lubomirski.

- A new visual identity that emphasizes the iconic red disc and the Spencerian script of the Coca-Cola logo The visual identity also includes a new audio signature that mimics the sound of opening a Coca-Cola bottle and drinking it.

- Interactive digital activities that allow people to customize their own Coca-Cola cans and bottles with messages of optimism and hope, such as “Open to Change”, “Open to Kindness”, or “Open to Love” The campaign also uses social media platforms, such as TikTok, to reach younger audiences and create viral content for its products.

- The “Taste the Feeling” campaign is one of the most comprehensive and effective marketing campaigns of Coca-Cola, as it showcases the universal appeal and value of its products The campaign has helped Coca-Cola increase its sales, brand awareness, customer loyalty, and competitive advantage in the beverage industry.

3.4 Campaign: Share a Coke

The ambitious Share a Coke campaign was introduced by Coca-Cola and the Ogilvy marketing firm at the start of 2012 One of Coca-Cola's best marketing initiatives was the "Share a Coke" campaign, which demonstrates how consumers can interact with a brand by customizing the logo with their name

Marketing Goal: Boost sales during the summer and energize the youth market by encouraging them to "talk more about Coca-Cola, then consume more" (more talk, more consume).

Communication Objective: Share a bottle of Coca Cola with your friends, be it a close friend, an old friend or even a new friend, with the “Share a coke” campaign.

Young people frequently use each other's names when speaking to one another, and utilizing names is the easiest approach to strike up a conversation.

Youth psychology, on the other hand, is "individualism" that enjoys expressing itself Everyone wants to see their name in public relations campaigns and their picture in the newspaper

The campaign's central premise is to connect, reunite, and share cozy moments with friends over a can of Coca-Cola Coca-Cola products' packaging was altered in order to spark discussion both online and offline.

Coca Cola started printing 150 of Australia's most popular names on coke bottles to remind people here of a friend they haven't heard from in a long time, or even just a new friend with the message: "If you love/ want to meet/ miss/ like/ haven't seen Liam in a long time/ , please share a can of soft drink (with Liam's name printed on the bottle) with him" (Originally: "If you have a crush on/ want to meet/ miss/ haven't met/ LIAM, share a coke with him" )

- Print ads about the campaign appeared on page 3 of “The Australian” newspaper.

- Coca bottles are placed in refrigerators across Australia, allowing customers to find bottles with their names printed on them, take pictures and send them to Coca-Cola for a chance to appear on this brand's TVC TVCs with images of volunteers “sharing a coke” with their friends are broadcast on Australia's biggest weekend sporting events – AFL (Australian Football League), and NRL (National Rugby League) (coverage reaching 30% of the Australian population).

- Cola has employed an application that allows users to construct a virtual Cola bottle with their name printed on it or insert their friends' photographs in Coca-Cola's TVC Facebook is the primary social network channel Coca-Cola is still taking suggestions from customers about which names to keep printing on Coca-Cola bottle labels through Facebook and mobile water kiosks throughout the campaign A whopping 50 new names were added after 65,000 individuals voiced their ideas, raising the total number of distinctive names printed on Coca bottle labels to 200.

- Participants in the program make their own Coke bottle replicas and TV commercials including their friends' names and photographs, which they then post on Facebook Thousands of shares with new names then started to surface Coca-Cola has 18 sales kiosks set up and ready to ask customers for the names of the people they want their information shared with After 65,000 people voiced their opinions, 50 new names were added and put on Coke bottles.

The campaign's outcome is outstanding The most prosperous summer season ever in 2011 was made possible by a 7% increase in Coke consumption 18 million views on social media platforms represented the campaign's earned media effectiveness Facebook

traffic soared by 870%, and the Coca-Cola page at that time was the most talked-about in Australia and the 23rd most talked-about worldwide The campaign's most significant impact was on the attitudes of young Australian consumers toward the company, which improved Coca-Cola's reputation.

4 SWOT analysis

4.1 Strength

Strong Brand Identity

Coca-Cola, a world-class company with a brand strength index of 93.3 out of 100, is known for its creativity and quality in product packaging, design, and content, as well as its significant impact on television and online marketing campaigns.

Strong Brand Value

Coca-Cola, founded in 1886, is a globally valued brand valued at 97.7 billion U.S dollars Its unique strategies, including customized bottle designs and festive season designs, have increased brand value and earned it the 6th best global brand ranking by Interbrand.

Global Reach

Coca-Cola, a global beverage company with sales in over 200 countries and 1.9 billion daily servings, has achieved international success by providing affordable refreshments to over 16 million customers With over 500 new products, Coca-Cola focuses on satisfying consumer demands and adding value to its customers.

Distribution System

Coca-Cola operates a global business with a vast distribution network, with 225 bottling partners and 900 plants worldwide The company produces and sells beverage bases, concentrates, and syrups to bottling companies, who process, package, and distribute the beverages to partners and clients Coca-Cola sells directly and indirectly.

4.2 Weakness

Aggressive competition

Coca-Cola faces intense competition from other beverage companies, such as Pepsi, Dr Pepper Snapple, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Nestle, Redbull, Unilever, Heineken, and Diageo In addition, Pepsi is the biggest rival of Cola Had it not been Pepsi, Coca-Cola would have been the clear market leader in the beverage.