Marketing strategy and understanding competitors

A company's marketing strategy can be characterised by its planning and decision making in order to achieve its goals. These goals can be summarised in a mission statement.

Coca-Cola’s mission statement is

“to refresh the world in mind, body and spirit, to inspire moments of optimism and happiness through our brands and actions, and to create value and make a difference.”  

(The Coca-Cola Company, 2016)

Main competitors are listed in a table below, they are categorised into: generic competition (which are non-branded, cheap, but same kind of product), product form competition (can perform the same needs and therefore be a substitute) and brand competition (direct competitor brands offering same product).

Generic Competition	Product Form Competition	Brand Competition
Supermarket cola products (Albert Hein, Plus, Jumbo)	Nescafe (Nestle) Red Bull (Red Bull) Lipton Ice Tea (Unilever) Evian (Danone)	Pepsi Cola (PepsiCo) Mountain Dew (PepsiCo) Dr Pepper (Dr Pepper Snapple)

(Ad Brands, 2015)

The Coca-Cola Company positions itself as a market leader (the most popular and valuable beverage distributor), the single player enjoying the largest share in the market of carbonated beverages worldwide, with an astounding 48.6% as of 2015. (Statista, 2016) It is a company that is well-known across the world. Coca-Cola Classic – their core brand – leads this recognition. It provides key customer needs such as to satiate thirst, low affordable price, unique taste, availability (it can be purchased everywhere in any store or restaurant, fast food chains, gas stations or even schools), and lastly, convenience (very easy to grab and convenient to drink).

Perhaps one of the differential advantages the company has over its competitors is its emphasis on the message given by its former marketing officer Sergio Zyman in 1999: in order to think globally, a company must act locally. The Coca-Cola Company is aware of the differences in consumers’ experiences, in regards to their personal preferences and location. Therefore, the company is adjusting its approach to provide the appropriate marketing activities and beverages to connect with them, through its more than 250 independent bottlers and distributors around the world. (Vrontis & Sharp, 2003) Another advantage is its unique selling prepositions, such as “Live the coke side of life” or “Taste the feeling” relate to fun and happiness and therefore make the product a part of daily life everywhere. This then leads to high degree of customer loyalty. (Blogger, 2012) On the summers of 2013 and 2014, the Coca-Cola Company released a campaign called “Share a Coke”, where Coke bottles were personalized with consumer names and nicknames such as “Star”, “Bestie”, “Legend”, “Buddy” in place of the classic Coca-Cola logo. (The Coca-Cola Company, 2014) This definitely appealed to customers as there were more than 150 million personalized bottles sold, with over a thousand names on them, and 998 million impressions on Twitter. No other brands have done this therefore this is Coke’s differential advantage: creating special moments of happiness and memories for customers. (Hepburn, 2016)

The Coca-Cola Company may utilize the market penetration strategy to increase sales in current markets with Coca-Cola drinks. This is done by amplifying both the quantity and quality of their advertising to share stronger, more impactful ads, especially creating an association between Coca-Cola and Christmas on an annual basis. This infamous Coke Christmas advert has boosted sales during this festive period. (Oakley, 2015) Moreover, “Taste the Feeling”, the Coca-Cola Company’s first global marketing campaign was developed in 2015 to support the entire Coca-Cola Trademark of Coke. (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016) 

Bibliography

Ad Brands. (2015). Sector: Soft Drinks and Non-Alcoholic Beverages. Retrieved September 13, 2016, from AdBrands.net: http://www.adbrands.net/sectors/sector_softdrinks.htm

Blogger. (2012, November 16). Cola War: Coca-Cola targeting and positioning. Retrieved September 10, 2016, from Blogspot: http://softdrinkcolawar.blogspot.nl/2012/12/coca-cola-targeting-and-positioning.html

Hepburn, M. (2016). The Share a Coke story. Retrieved September 10, 2016, from The Coca-Cola Company website: http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/stories/share-a-coke

Oakley, T. (2015, March 28). Coca-Cola: Ansoff Matrix. Retrieved September 8, 2016, from themarketingagenda.com: https://themarketingagenda.com/2015/03/28/coca-cola-ansoff-matrix/

Statista. (2016). Coca Cola Beverage Market Share 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2016, from www.statista.com: http://www.statista.com/statistics/387318/market-share-of-leading-carbonated-beverage-companies-worldwide/

The Coca-Cola Company. (2014, August 4). IS YOUR NAME ON A COKE BOTTLE? Retrieved September 10, 2016, from The Coca Cola website: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/coca-cola-unbottled/is-your-name-on-a-coke-bottle-find-out-here

The Coca-Cola Company. (2016, April 27). Five Strategic Actions. Retrieved September 8, 2016, from www.coca-colacompany.com: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/five-strategic-actions

The Coca-Cola Company. (2016). Our Mission Statement and Company Values. Retrieved September 7, 2016, from www.coca-cola.co.uk: http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/about-us/mission-vision-and-values#

Vrontis, D., & Sharp, I. (2003). The Strategic Positioning of Coca-Col in their Global Marketing Operation. Retrieved September 10, 2016, from Academia website: http://www.academia.edu/389600/The_Strategic_Positioning_of_Coca-Cola_in_their_Global_Marketing_Operation