One successful way they have promoted their products is by advertising on TV for example, they have advertised on many channels such as ITV, BBC, Channel 4 etc. Advertising on TV has meant they can attract to a wide audience some people may prefer watching one TV channel than another in which they are bound to come across a Coca Cola ad. As well as TV ads, Coca Cola have also sponsored a variety of shows and events including ‘Wayne Rooney’s Street Striker’ on Sky One and The Olympics. Coca Cola mainly sponsor sporting type events as Coca Cola is seen as sporting drink – a beverage that replenishes the thirst according to their motto: “Adds a refreshing relish to every form of exercise”
Although advertising and sponsoring has cost them, it is a risk they took in order to increase sales and to get more customers
Another promotion they have promoted and is still carried out today it their website . They have put special codes on their products which the person enters on their website to collect points. These points can then be redeemed for hundred of prizes including concert tickets, video games, footballs etc. This promotion is use by Coca Cola to set it aside from their competitors like Pepsi as they don’t offer it.
Another ways in which Coca Cola has successfully met the profit objective is the pricing they set their products at. They don’t want to set the price too high as people won’t be able to afford it. At the same time, they don’t want to set the product too low as their customers may think the product has a low quality. One pricing method they used was physcholigical pricing. About 2 years ago, Coca Cola had the ‘99p’ marked price on their Coca Cola bottle. This was effective as the customers could see the prices on the can itself instead of looking around for it.
A way to ensure that Coca Cola makes a profit is by using cost-plus pricing. This is when you set the price after deducting the costs such as packaging, raw materials, labour etc. This method however I feel isn’t the strongest as it means Coca Cola would have to set a higher price which people aren’t willing to pay. Another pricing they could use it competition pricing. This is setting a cheaper price than your competitors, in Coca Cola’s case, Pepsi. This doesn’t really impact Coca Cola as they’re already the market leaders and there are more people who have brand loyalty towards Coca Cola.
The strongest method I think Coca Cola should use is value-based pricing. This is when you base the price based on what the product is worth to the customers. For example, If Coca Cola think highly of their beverages, then they can set a higher price as they would still be likely to buy it. With this method Coca Cola ensures they are getting the maximum amount of customers whilst at the same time, they are maximising profit.
Portfolio
Having a wide range of portfolio has meant that they can gain different types of customers. For example, they have introduced they diet and zero range such as diet coke and coke zero to attract to customers who are trying to cut down on sugar level and people who are trying to maintain their weight.
There are two ways in which Coca Cola develops their portfolio. The first way is to buy products from other companies. An example of a product they bought is Glacéau Vitaminwater from Darius Bikoff. The advantage of this method is that saves Coca Cola time and money they would have to spend on carrying out market research. Another advantage is that the products are already familiar to consumer therefore they don’t have to spend a lot of money on advertising. However the disadvantage of this method is that it would could them a lot of money buying the products, in Glacéau Vitaminwater, it cost them $4 billion.
The second method of developing their portfolio is to develop their own products. There are many examples of this such as Fanta, Sprite, Relentless, Powerade and Minute Maid. The advantage of this method is that they can target to a wider audience. However the disadvantages of this method are that a lot of time and money is spent on research. They also have to get the product aware to the customers which mean it will cost them on advertising.
Another way Coca Cola achieves their portfolio objective is by innovative. Being innovative has allowed Coca Cola to come up with ideas of products that would appeal to their customers. One example of how they did this was the football shaped bottle. They released this at the time of the FIFA world cup as football talked about a lot during that period of time. This product appealed to football fans which as a lot as it was during the world cup. Another innovative idea they released was the orange bottling. This was effective as the customers could recognise the flavour of the drink without actually reading the label. They put these colours on their limited range such as Coca Cola blackcurrant and Coca Cola vanilla.
Partners
Having a wide range of partners has meant that Coca Cola can attract to more customers making more sales. For example, they have partnered up with Coca Cola so they can sell their drinks at their restaurants. As well as this, the cup that the Coca Cola drinks comes in, has the Coca Cola logo on it making more people aware of them.
Teamwork has meant that the different departments within Coca Cola can team up with different partners in order to release exclusive products to their customers. One example of this was their James Bond packaging. The different departments within Coca Cola responsibility when promoting this new product. For example, the for example the finance department is responsible for the financial data such as how the packaging is going to cost them and how much they’re going to sell the bottle for. Having successful partnership like this has encouraged Coca Cola to partner up with more companies.
Teaming up with partners has allowed Coca Cola to sell in more places. For example Coca Cola have teamed McDonalds and Subway so they can sell their products there. As well as this, the cup that the Coca Cola drinks comes in, has the Coca Cola logo on it making more people aware of them. McDonald’s is the world’s leading fast food restaurant which has many customers. Having Coca Cola sold at McDonald’s has meant that their products can attract to more customers and make more sales making them also achieve their profit objective as well as their partner objective. Another place where Coca Cola sell their products which has allowed them to sell their products is the FIFA world cup. Coca Cola have bought the rights to only sell their products there whether it be Sprite, Fanta or Bonaqua, they all belong to Coca Cola. Coca Cola have taken advantage of this so they set a high price which the people at the World Cup match have no choice but to pay.
Identify and exploit marketing opportunities is a key skill that helps Coca Cola to gather more partners. When identifying marketing exploits then look at opportunities that can be successful and take advantage of it to make profit. One example of how Coca Cola have identified and exploited marketing opportunities again through the James Bond packaging. The reason they exploited it is because James Bond had £11.4 million on its opening weekend. Coca Cola had partnered up with the producers of James Bond and introduce the new packaging. Coca Cola would then give a percentage of this to James Bond
As well as achieving their partners as well, they are also achieving their profit objective as they are attracting to more people which will mean they get more sales
