Marketing Mix

Coca cola is the brand with largest brand euity. No doubts it has gone through the ups and downs of business to reach that position. The marketing mix of coca cola has been changing over time :

Product :

The coca cola company has the widest range of products. it is the number one brand in sparkling beverages , juices and retailed packed water.it has its market presence around 200 countries. In India coca cola is one of the most selling products amongst other beverages.

Price

Due to availability of wide range of products the pricing is done according to the market and geographic segmentation. Coke has a different pricing strategy as compared to other coca cola products . its pricing strategy is based on the competitors pricing , Pepsi is the direct competitor to coke. Beverage market is said to be an oligopoly market(few sellers and large buyers ), hence they form into cartel contract to ensure a mutual balance in pricing between the sellers.

Place :

Coca cola is the world’s most favorite brand and is available all over the world. The distribution system of coca cola follows the FMCG distribution pattern. The effective distribution network of coke has almost eroded the small and middle level players in the market. In India they have captured even the rural market by extensive distribution and have the market shares of various brands.

Promotion : coca cola adopts various advertising and promotional strategies to create and increased demands in the market by associating with lifestyle and and behavior by mainly targeting value based advertising . You are most likely to see a coke ad individualized for a particular festival or in general with a positive message. Coca cola uses CSR as its marketing tool to gain emotional benefits in consumers mind . the current programs through CSR include “Support my school “campaign with NDTV. It has many brand ambassadors like Shahrukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Amir Khan etc . it allows price discounts and allowances to distributers and retailers in order to push more products into the market. It employs both push strategy through promotions and pull strategy though advertisements and campaigns .

Coca-Cola is using all elements of promotion in its various Ad campaigns like Happier tomorrow, Aamir Khan “Thanda matlab Coca – Cola” campaign, Open Happiness etc. Different mediums used by Coca – Cola for Integrated Marketing Communication are:

 

Advertisement- Coca-Cola uses the concept of aggressive advertising to promote its products They mainly does national advertising through traditional media such as: TV, newspapers, magazines, billboards, bus stops, and etc. The company is also using the new methods such as websites and blogs to supply more information about the company and its products. Big names of Indian film industry became the brand ambassadors of the company. Coca – Cola’s slogans and TV commercials have always been memorable like “Thanda matlab Coca-Cola”, “Coca-Cola piyo sir uthake”, “Jo chahe ho jaaye Coca-Cola enjoy” and “brrrrrr”.

Public Relations- the company has its own website where consumers can view press releases, executive speeches, and statements which address law-suits, rumours, stories, and new products etc. Coca – cola also undertake CSR like “Support my School” campaign with Sachin Tendulkar. Coca – cola also sponsors various cricket tournaments and music events.

Sales promotion- Coca – cola generally uses under the crown sales promotion. In "My Coke Reward" was a very successful sales promotion campaign. It also uses merchandising goods, free goods or free tours for sales promotion.

Personal Selling- Cola-Cola has highly trained sales team, the company primary used personal selling for business to business sales. The company sells its products to retail stores using intermediaries, it can also be called Interpersonal communication, direct- face to face communication. Coca- Cola also sells its products to restaurants, part of the restaurants sell only Coca-Cola Coke.

 Direct Selling – Coca-Cola uses direct marketing in many ways. It partners with various restaurants, movie theatres etc. to carry its product. Eg. Mc Donalds. Coke also uses mobile graphics and test to appeal to markets on a personal level

Last, Coca-Cola uses viral marketing. The brand became a giant because of individuals telling their friends, family, or co-workers about how great Coke products were. Today, the company can still use viral marketing to their advantage. For instance, when Coke produces a new product, and someone on their lunch break purchases that new product, and enjoys it, they will tell others in the office about how great the new product is. This will cause others to purchase the product, and in-turn increase sales.