The Coca Cola company - You need to consider the current market, find a suitable segment and develop a marketing strategy for your idea.
AVCE Business Coursework
Andrew Mercer
Unit 3 - Marketing
The Coca Cola Company requires ideas on the development of a new fizzy Coca Cola Drink. It must utilise the flavours and styles of existing Coca Cola Fizzy Drinks, but capture a currently untapped or unfulfilled market segment.
You need to consider the current market, find a suitable segment and develop a marketing strategy for your idea.
Market research -
Identify the most appropriate sources of primary and secondary data and consider which will provide you with the most effective information.
Collect secondary data on the market including demographics, trends, segments and competitors. Refer to the usefulness of marketing information databases for this process.
Use primary sources of information (such as a survey using a questionnaire) to help you come to a decision about your product. Explain why you chose to use a particular method.
Consider the validity of the information you have gathered.
Summarise your findings clearly.
Marketing models -
Product Life Cycle
Boston Matrix
Ansoff's Matrix
Using these models, assess The Coca Cola Companies current portfolio and consider a range of alternatives for the development of product lines and markets.
SWOT and PEST Analysis -
Assess The Coca Cola Company through the use of a SWOT analysis and comment on the results of your findings.
Undertake a PEST analysis in order to gain an understanding of the external environment in which The Coca Cola Company is operating.
Explain how these relate to the development of your strategy.
Marketing Mix -
Your findings should now enable you to develop a detailed marketing mix for your chosen product.
What is the product (including packaging)?
What is the pricing strategy and are there alternatives?
Where is the place it will be sold (including distribution)?
What promotional mix will you use?
Evaluation -
Briefly summarise your strategy and identify some of the potential problems that may occur if your idea was put into action.
Presentation -
Present one aspect of your marketing plan to an informed audience.
Introduction:
The Coca Cola Company has employed me to devise a new fizzy Coca Cola drink that will fulfil an untapped area of the drinks market. I plan to devise a questionnaire to ask members of the public which flavours they 'hope' that The Coca Cola Company will introduce in its famous 'Coca Cola' drinks range. I will then analyse the findings and produce several charts and graphs to show the flavour that the public want to see available on the market.
Ownership:
The Coca Cola Company is a limited company. It has the opportunity to become larger than the other forms of private business organisation. It is allowed to raise capital through the medium of the Stock Exchange, which quotes their share prices, and this creates a fullness of financial possibilities. The initials "PLC" (or plc) appear after the name of the public limited company. Only two people are needed to form a public limited company and there is no stated maximum of shareholders. In The Coca Cola Company's case it is owned by many shareowners, some of whom are members of staff.
The Coca Cola Company's business advantage is:
* Shareholders have limited liability, so it means that the shareowners lose what they put in the business and they receive annual dividends.
* It is easier to raise finance from banks, because The Coca Cola Company has many assets, which means banks are insured their money back or The Coca Cola Company's assets instead of the money.
* Since it has many assets, it is possible to operate on large scale, which means more production and promotion for the product. This leads to The Coca Cola Company's objective to grow the business and also to operate in a wide range of markets. This leads The Coca Cola Company to have a high income, which is a success to The Coca Cola Company's objective, which is Mainly to maximise profits.
* Suppliers feel more confident about trading with legally established bodies
* There are tax advantages associated with giving shares to employees
The disadvantages are:
* Since The Coca Cola Company is a plc, its affairs are public; e.g., accounts and annual returns must be audited. This gives opportunities to competitors to get information about The Coca Cola Company. For example if Coca Cola makes a loss, competitors will know about it and use it to their advantage and potential investors will query on whether they should invest I the company.
* The Coca Cola Company is a large business it has many different departments for different jobs, all these departments have to work together. Information passes between departments can be confusing.
* The Coca Cola Company has many assets, which contain many capitals, which are very costly to use.
* Since The Coca Cola Company is a large business, formatting and running, its costs can be expensive.
* Since The Coca Cola Company is a plc, Heavy penalties are imposed if "rules" are broken.
Objectives:
Public limited companies like The Coca Cola Company will have objectives such as:
* Maximise profit.
* To be the number one product in a given market.
* To maximise sales.
* To expand.
* To operate in a wide range of markets.
* To give satisfaction to customers.
* Have a good reputation.
* To provide the freedom for workers to express themselves and suggest ideas to help the business.
* Achieve best possible financial return on capital.
* Boost or maintain share market values.
These objectives will ensure The Coca Cola Company's success as a business. From the statistics I have, it shows that The Coca Cola Company is a very successful business.
Statistics Of The Coca Cola Company:
The above graph shows the statistics of The Coca Cola Company's last ten years.
The above graph shows the statistics of The Coca Cola Company's during the past twelve months.
Functional areas:
Every public limited company has organisational functions these are the main activities of the following areas at the Coca Cola Company, which allow it to exist and become a successful business.
The factors of production:
LAND- buildings (site where the business is located).
LABOUR- managers, workers (any jobs roles that need to be filled).
CAPITAL- equipment, machinery needed.
ENTERPRISE- the willingness to take risks to earn a profit.
Finance:
The finance department is in charge of and deals with money. The Finance department keeps records of all financial documents this involves reporting and recording expenses spent and profit made, asset value and cash flow (money that goes in and out of the business). Since The Coca Cola Company is a limited company the finance department must, each year, file with Register of Companies a set of audited accounts. These will include a director's report, auditor's report, profit and loss account, balance sheet, source and application of funds and an explanation of these accounts. It is also necessary to file an annual return giving details of the directors, shareholders and other information required by law. All this information will be kept on file at Companies House and is opened to inspection by members public.
This department is in charge of giving budgets to other departments (by doing this it makes sure that the business reaches break even and no less in really bad circumstances). This is also, so that the other departments keep to their main objective and responsibilities and do not waste money.
Managers see these targets and compare them with other past targets to find how successful the business is. The targets help the finance department to make plans for the future that will help the business to achieve its objectives. For an example the finance department gives research and development, a budget of £50,000. The research and development department will use this money within one financial year and not over-drawing (not taking more money). But under circumstances if research and development department required more money to develop a new drinks, the finance department will analyse research and development's plans for producing a new drinks and if they think it will be successful finance will give the money needed. Through this the departments would have achieved their objectives (e.g. making a profit, good reputation, achieve best possible financial return on capital). They way that The Coca Cola Company deals with exchanging of money is by S.A.P, which is an electronic payment system. For example if Tesco purchases a quantity of Drinks from The Coca Cola Company. The Coca Cola Company can bill Tesco straight away. This process is time efficient and is a straightforward process.
Production:
The production department produces the products; any activities associated with production are wealth creation. A simple example of wealth creation would be the production of a drinks. The difference between all of the costs of the production and the price of the finished drinks represents the wealth that has been created. The contribution of all those involved in its development have added value to this process and helped to create that wealth.
In production there has to be an input, which is transformed to an output. The transformation is taken through by processes, these add ...
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Production:
The production department produces the products; any activities associated with production are wealth creation. A simple example of wealth creation would be the production of a drinks. The difference between all of the costs of the production and the price of the finished drinks represents the wealth that has been created. The contribution of all those involved in its development have added value to this process and helped to create that wealth.
In production there has to be an input, which is transformed to an output. The transformation is taken through by processes, these add value to the output such as materials and Labour so that the finished product can meet customer needs. The output could either be a service or a product. The business will need to have a system to ensure that the production process and the product itself are of constant high quality production.
This is diagram shows a flow of production:
Stage 1- Stage 2- Stage 3
Machine A's
Machine B's
Machine C's/People
Before production takes place, a brief is done, to find out what to produce. Then it is backed up by primary and secondary research. Then Marketing department basically takes place, "what product should be "produced", for what "price", where to locate it "place" and how to "promote it", This will help The Coca Cola Company to achieve their objective to give satisfaction to customers through selling them a certain product for certain price, will also help them operate in a wide range of markets.
Marketing:
The charted institute of marketing defines marketing as:
"The management process responsible for identifying anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably."
The marketing department is responsible for:
. Carrying out MARKET RESEARCH.
2. Developing the right MARKET MIX.
Businesses (The Coca Cola Company) carrying out market research to identify customers needs. This can be done by:
. Primary research: asking customers ( new research).
2. Secondary research: using existing information.
The marketing department is also responsible for developing the businesses,
Marketing Mix. This means that they must get the right:
* PRODUCTS - what features does the product have that make it suitable for the target market? The Coca Cola Company adds its logo to the package, and adds a certain quality to the drinks, this brings satisfaction to the customers.
* PRICE - should the products be priced higher or lower than those of competitors? In local areas, most corner shops sell The Coca Cola Company's drinks at the same price as competitor.
* PLACE - where will customers want to buy the products? The Coca Cola Company sells its products to shops (business) that deal with beverages e.g. corners shops, super stores (Iceland, Sainsbury, Tesco, Asda, Safeway), petrol stations etc. these business are usually visited by customers on a daily basis.
* PROMOTION - where should the products be advertised, to suit the needs of the business's target market? The Coca Cola Company advertises its products on television, Internet, billposter, sponsoring a well-known peron and by hanging posters.
This would help The Coca Cola Company to achieve ones of its objectives, which is "to be the Number one product in a given market". By achieving this objective it would lead them to achieve the other objective, such as "maximising profit", etc.
Research and development:
The research and development department is the department that researches new products and develops the old products. To remain successful, business must constantly work to create new and better products and processes.
Research- this involves carrying out investigation to come up with new idea, e.g. by carrying out brainstorming, examining competitors products or carrying out research in laboratory.
Development- this involves turning the findings of the research into useful products or processes.
If The Coca Cola Company had a mishap with a drink, the research and development department would try to correct the mishap. The research and development department must work closely with the marketing and production departments in particular this is because marketing and production are the beginning and end of producing a product.
As you can see from the table above this is the life cycle of the product while being produced.
* The INPUT would be from the Marketing department.
* The PROCESS would be from the production department.
* The OUTPUT would be the product or waste.
Therefore because there is a mishap from the output, this has to be due to a fault in the input (The marketing department) or the process (the production department) and must be corrected.
Culture:
The Coca Cola Company is a mixture of Cultures such as:
ROLE CULTURE is doing a job that is very important to the organisation, it is having power over a group. This job is an internal job of the organisation it is controlled by having procedures and rules that member of staff should not break or they will lose their position in the organisation. Relating this to The Coca Cola Company, marketing directors, who are in charge of market research for new product such as a drinks, this information (research) has to be confidential.
POWER CULTURE is a business being dominated by an individual. The management director dominates The Coca Cola Company, (refer to the organisational structure).
TASK CULTURE focus on getting the job done. Groups or teams within this cultural are not fixed but are made up of individuals brought together to achieve a specific task. The Coca Cola Company production department has a task culture. It works as a team to package the drinks. Packaging the drinks is done as a team. A member of the production team packages the drinks and then the drinks is passed by machinery to another member of the production team who packages the finished drinks in boxes. These boxes are then stacked in many counters on a machine. These stacks are the wrapped with cellophane, so boxes don't fall off. Finally these stacks are taken by another member of the production team using machinery to the storage.
PERSON CULTURE places the emphasis on the individual rather than the organisation and its objectives. For example if any member of staff has any suggestions for improvement, their suggestions are taken to account and if successful they will be used.
The Coca Cola Company's Culture arises from the traditions, beliefs and values. This is how The Coca Cola Company's adopted the paternalistic management. The cultural values are very strong and can impose important constraints on the business activity. For example, The Coca Cola Company finds, it would be unwise to try to sell products that are seen to insult religions or people, and it would be foolish to try to make people adopt working practices that are disapproved of by the cultural grouping. The reason why The Coca Cola Company is successful is because it makes best use of its opportunities, which therefore allows decision making understood.
The Research:
As I am employed by The Coca Cola Company to find and implememt a drink that the public want and will buy, I must firstly conduct Market research to specify what the consumers wants and needs. I tend to do this by asking a series of questions to the general public, however due to the lack of time in which this drink has to be launched I have to significantly reduce the time spent on this, usually this process takes months to achieve a satisfied result and many 100's of questionnaires distributed nation-wide across the United Kingdom using a varied cross-section of the public. This can be very costly and time consuming for the Company.
In my Questionnaire I asked the following questions -
. Are familiar with the drink Coca Cola? I asked this to determine the popularity of our drink.
2. How often do you drink Coca Cola in a week? I asked this to find out how much Coca Cola this person drinks.
3. Are you happy with the Coca Cola drinks series so far? If not, please state why. I asked this to see if the company are keeping to the standards of the general public, if not, our market research team have the consumers complaints and are requested to deal with them accordingly.
4. Would you like it if Coca Cola where to bring a new flavour of drink out on the market? This is the question that matters most in this research and the answer is crucial.
5. What flavour, out of the following would you like to see on the market in the near future? This is another crucial question for this market research and has potential to change the whole course of this research.
I distributed 30 of these questionnaires outside different retail outlets located in Chorley, Lancashire.
If I was to have more time on this research I would ask the questions in a number of different regions, including, the north, south, east, west, north-west, north-east, south-west, south-east. In order to get a varied result pattern. I would probably distribute 250-350 questionnaires in each region, using a varied cross-section of people (varied ages, varied cultures, varied sex, various gender, etc...).
All of the above queations will be classed as PRIMARY RESEARCH because it is collected first-hand by a representative of The Coca Cola Company.
Secondly, I conducted some SECONDARY RESEARCH of the selling rate of the Coca Cola drink in a moderatly busy, high street store in Chorley, Lancashire. I asked a series of questions to the shopkeeper-
. Do you get many people buying any of the Coca Cola drinks? I asked this because it is relevent to my research.
2. Do you think Coca Cola Is still the Number one drink in this area, judging by your sales? I asked this because I was curious and to find out the status of Coca Cola in this area.
I have also searched the internet for financial reports for The Coca Cola Company, this is classed as secondary research as I have aquired the information from a 'second-hand' perspective.
The Results:
PRIMARY RESEARCH - my results where as follows;
Are familiar with the drink Coca-Cola?
Yes
30
No
0
How often do you drink Coca Cola in a week? (330ml can)
Once
2
Twice
3
Three
5
Four
Five
6
Six
8
Seven
3
More
2
Are you happy with the Coca Cola drinks series so far? If not, please state why-
Yes
28
No
2
Why -
Price of products
Would you like it if Coca Cola where to bring a new flavour of drink out on the market?
Yes
27
No
0
I am not bothered -
3
What flavour, out of the following would you like to see on the market in the near future?
Strawberry
6
Summer Berry
1
Lemon and Lime
4
Tropical
9
Graphs and Charts Showing some of The PRIMARY DATA which I have collected-
I have realised that-
. 2 out of the 30 people I asked are not happy with the price of Coca Cola products.
2. that the majority of people I asked, wanted to see the 'Summer Berry Coca Cola Flavoured Drink' available in the near future.
3. that 27 out of the 30 people wanted a new Coca Cola drink out on the market.
4. the majority of people asked, drank 6 cans (330ml) of Coca Cola a week.
5. all the people asked in this questionnaire are familiar with Coca Cola.
Although, this is a very small scaled market research, I am confident that I have enough information to complete this given assignment.
SECONDARY RESEARCH- my results are as follows;
Do you get many people buying any of the Coca Cola drinks? - the answer I received was - 'Yes, many people buy Coca Cola from our shelves, in my opinion the new Vanilla Flavoured Coke is selling like hot-cakes'.
Do you think Coca Cola Is still the number one drink in this area, judging by your sales? - the answer I received was -'in the fizzy drinks market, probably yes, but the number one drink, with regard to sales has got to be, natural spring water'.
With these answers, I have a few personal opinions:
. If The Coca Cola Company where to bring out a new flavour of drink at the current time, in my opinion, this is un-wise as the new Vanilla Flavour Coca Cola is Still cashing In for being new and its full potential has not yet been extinguished from the market.
2. If the Coca Cola Company where to bring A soft, Non-fizzy Coca Cola drink on the market, this could rival sales of natural spring Water and quite possibly 'take-over' the non-fizzy side of the beverage market.
I have forwarded my opinions to the Marketing and Productions Manager.
I have also searched the internet for some financial details about The Coca Cola Company. Please see the following sheets.
The Market Mix:
This consists of the FOUR P's, and is the next step in the marketing segment of this assignment.
* PRODUCTS - What features does the product have that make it suitable for the target market? The new Coca Cola drink should be stylish and modern in design and must have two versions available- diet/caffeine free and normal, should be sold as a 330ml can, 500ml bottle and a 2 litre bottle.
* PRICE - Should the products be priced higher or lower than those of competitors? The price should be a promotional/introduction price to start off with, on selected 500ml bottles, a starter price for this should be £0.50 for the first few months or on aelected number of batches. The regular price should be £0.35 for 330ml can, £0.75 for a 500ml bottle and £1.19 for a 2 litre bottle.
* PLACE - Where will customers want to buy the products? The Coca Cola Company will sell its product to beverage retailers, prefably well known supermarkets and stores who will buy in bulk.
* PROMOTION - Where should the products be advertised, to suit the needs of the business's target market? The Coca Cola Company will advertise its new product by, the television, magazine advertisements aimed at ages 15- 25years, both male and female, internet, posters and sponsership (presently- football in general on ITV).
Marketing Analysis Techniques:
P.E.S.T Analysis-
A P.E.S.T Analysis is an analysis of the external factors which can affect firms.
Political
Economical
Social
Technological
These factors are beyond the firms control and can sometimes be seen as a threat, as some external factors can be disasterous for businesses, others can be opportunities.
POLITICAL -
* Government
* Laws
* Tax Policy
Theses can define the way the company is run, and the informal and formal rules that the firm must follow to stay a legitamate business.
ECONOMICAL -
* Inflation
* Economic Growth
* Interest rates
These can affect the capital of the company, the purchasing power of the potential buyers.
SOCIAL -
* Population Growth Rate
* Age
* Gender
These affect the customers needs and the size of the potential market.
TECHNOLOGICAL -
* New ideas
* Recent technology developments
* Rate of technological change
Theses can influence decisions of the company and possibly reduce the minimum efficient production levels.
I am going to try and implement the P.E.S.T Analysis into The Coca Cola Company-
POLITICAL -
* Health and safety
* Tax policy of the PLC companies
ECONOMICAL -
* Competition from rival beverage companies
* Higher taxes
SOCIAL -
* Health
* Age range is only 15 - 25 years
* Both gender
TECHNOLOGICAL -
* Lower costs
* Quicker and more effcient production
* Distribution between countries
Advantages of using a P.E.S.T Analysis:
The advantages of using the P.E.S.T Analysis is that,
* The company can analyse how the company is doing in terms of the political, economical, social and the technological side of their business.
* Used to summerise the external envioment that affects a company.
* The company can establish any threats they might encounter in terms of the above categories.
* The company can be prepared for any opportunities that they might encounter.
The Product Life Cycle:
Each product has a life span, tis can be implemented into a PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE.
Businesses should manage their products efficiently over time to ensure they deliver products that the customer wants.
The basic PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE has four stages.
INTRODUCTION -
In this stage, market growth is very slight.
it is highly unlikely that a company can gain any profit at this product stage, and this stage must be carefully monitored to ensure that the product starts to grow, if the product lacks growth then the company's best option is to withdraw the product from the market and conduct research into 'what went wrong'.
GROWTH STAGE -
This stage Is the rapid growth of the products sales and the company's profits, profits arise due to an increase in the output and possibly better prices. At this point, the business has shares which are relatively cheap, prospects of a good product (as the product is rising), which will increase the market share of the company, making the company more bigger, larger and have more capital.
Significant promotional techniques are required in this stage to ensure the public knows about this product to furthur enchance growth.
MATURITY STAGE -
This stage is common for most products.
This is where the product is no longer growing, but staying at a constant rate of growth.
This may also be when the company faces rivals (other companys with similar product), this stage must be monitored very carefully to find a market segment which has been relatively unfurfilled or a oportunity to furthur develop or expand the product. This stage Is the last chance to get profit.
DECLINE STAGE -
In this stage, the market is shrinking.
The company must decide whether to re-launch this product, with for example - a new name, features, new packaging or better advertising or to end the product.
In The Coca Cola Company, the Coca Cola drinks can be made into A PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE. I am going to attempt the product life cycle for all available Coca Cola drinks on the market.
INTRODUCTION
GROWTH
MATURITY
DECLINE
Vanilla Coke
Lemon Coke
Coca Cola Original
Cherry Coke
Advantages of using Te Product Life Cycle:
The Advantages of using The Product Life Cycle are,
* To determine where your product is going in terms of the market.
* To see if the product is successful or not.
* To see if the product is making a loss or a profit.
Ansoff's Matrix:
This focuses on the firm's present and potential products and markets (customers).
This offers strategic choices to achieve the objectives of the firm, by considering ways to grow via existing products and in existing markets and possible new markets, there are four PRODUCT/MARKET combinations to consider.
MARKET / PRODUCT
EXISTING PRODUCT
NEW PRODUCT
EXISTING MARKET
MARKET PENETRATION
NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
NEW MARKET
MARKET DEVELOPMENT
DIVERSIFICATION
MARKET PENETRATION - The firm markets their existing productsto their existing customers. The product is not altered and the company does not seek any new customers.
MARKET DEVELOPMENT - The firm markets their existing products in new market. This means that the product remains the same, but marketed to a new audience.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT - This is a new product to be marketed to the firms existing customers. Here the firm develops and innovates new ideas/product offerings to replace the older products.
DIVERSIFICATION - This is where a firm develops and markets a completely new product to a new audience. There are two types of diversification, RELATED and UN-RELATED diversification. RELATED diversification means, that the firm remains in the same market or industry that the firm is familiar in, UN-RELATED diversification means, that the firm has no previous experience in the market or industry that they are innovating a new product in.
Ansoff's Matrix is one of the most well-known frameworks for deciding Market Growth.
The product I am planning on innovating is under PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT of Ansoff's Matrix.
This strategy that The Coca Cola Company has undertaken, can leverage the customers/ company's relationship by innovating a new product, this strategy is more risky than simply increasing the company's Market Share.
Advantages of using Ansoff's Matrix:
The advantages of using Ansoff's Matrix are,
* Suggests how a business tends to grow (growth strategy)
* Shows what the business is trying to achieve.
* Shows what product and what audience the business is trying to target.
Boston Matrix:
This is a method of analysing the current position of the products within a firms portfolio, in terms of market share and growth within their market place.
The BOSTON MATRIX points out, the importance of market share and that firms want products that can support each others development.
MARKET SHARE
HIGH
LOW
MARKET GROWTH RATE
HIGH
STARS
POBLEM CHILD
LOW
CASH COWS
DOGS
STARS - this is a 'high-flying product' , which sells a lot.
CASH COWS - Popular product, always sells.
DOG - A Product that doesn't sell much or not at all.
PROBLEM CHILD - A new product, which can become a dog or a star.
The Boston matrix can be implemented into the PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE,
There are several problems related to the Boston Matrix, these are-
* There is a assumption that higher rates of profit are directly related to high rates of market share. This may not always be the case.
* Boston Matrix is usually only applied to STRATEGIC BUSINESS UNITS (SBUs), theses are areas of business rather than products.
* There is an assumption that SBUs will cooperate. This is not always the case.
* The main problem is that the Boston Matrix complicates a decision. This is where a firm must be carefull, and only use the Boston Matrix as a planning tool and always rely on the Companys 'gut Feeling'.
In general Coca Cola is a CASH COW, although Vanilla Coke and Lemon Coke are PROBLEM CHILDS, these products will eventually become CASH COWS in the near future. This is because Coca Cola is a very well-known product,majority of people like this drink, it is very unlikly that any of its products will become DOGS, although Cherry Coke is declining slowly.
Advantages of using The Boston Matrix:
The advantages of using The Boston Matrix are,
* This is a business portfolio strategy.
* Tbis shows 'where your product is' in terms of market share.
* Helps exploit the most profitable products and dismisses the non-profitable products.
SWOT Analysis:
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
This tool is a very effective way of identifying a company's strengths and weaknesses, and examining the possibilities of opportunities and threats that the company will likely face.
This is a SWOT Analysis of The Coca Cola Company that I have prepared-
STRENGTHS-
* Well known, world wide company.
* Most used Fizzy drinks company.
* High Market Share.
* High Profit margin.
* Good quality beverages.
* World-wide factories.
* Very Efficient Production rate.
WEAKNESSES-
* Could improve the distribution channels.
* Too high of a price.
OPPORTUNITIES-
* More well known products.
* More cash cows.
* Produce a unfurfilled product.
* Change area of expertise to a variety, other than Beverages.
THREATS-
* Rival Company's.
* Market share decreases.
* Economical.
Key points of a SWOT Analysis-
* A SWOT Analysis examines the Company's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
* This will help a company, focus on the Strengths, Improve the Weaknesses, to take he greatest opportunity when faced with an Opportunity, and to be prepared and aware of all possible threats.
* A SWOT Analysis is a good technique which can help a Company grow into a much bigger, larger, more competive and more profitable business.
Advantages of using The SWOT Analysis:
The Advantages of using The SWOT Analysis are,
* A SWOT Analysis analyses the businesses overall strategic posistion and its envioment.
* Shows the business their strengths and allows the business to improve them.
* Shows the business their weaknesses and allows the business to improve and 'work on them'.
* Shows the business its potential threats and allows the business to prepare for them.
* Shows the business their possible opportunities and allows the business to make full use of them.
* The SWOT Analysis can be used in conjunction with the P.E.S.T Analysis.
* The SWOT Analysis is a very popular 'Marketing Strategy' and is used by many businesses and marketing students because it is quick and easy to learn.
* The SWOT Analysis is a very good technique, which can help a business grow into a stronger, larger, more competitive and more profitable.
My Marketing Strategy:
As I am attempting to bring a new a Coca Cola Drink into circulation into the beverage market, I will need a successful market strategy for my new drink in order to appeal to the public and to either break even or gain a profit.
I wish to create a Cash Cow (Boston Matrix) in the long-term market but create a Star (Boston Matrix) in the short-term in order to receive my profit or break even.
My Product:
I am going to produce a 'Summer Berry' Coca Cola drink, as the majority of public wanted in the questionnaire I asked. The Coca Cola Company will sell this product in 330ml cans, 500ml bottles and
2 litre bottles. The Coca Cola Company will also sell this product to public houses, hotels and restuarantes in barrreles and canisters.
The products design will be modern in colours and style, wil include the trademark 'Coca Cola Design'.
I have researched the other Coca Cola Drink designs to make sure my design is similar,yet different, to other products of The Coca Cola Drinks range.
- This is the 'Original Coca Cola', 330ml can, it is bright, clearly states what the product is and has the trade-mark Coca Cola design.
- This is 'Cherry Coke', 330ml can, it is a jazzy design, bright background with dark text, the design clearly states what the product is and shows the Trademark Coca Cola Design.
- This is 'Diet Lemon Coke', 330ml can, this is a very modern design, it clearly states what the product is, it does have the Trademark Coca Cola Design on the reverse of the can.
- This is the advertisement label for 'Vanilla Coke', although the 330ml can is similar to this design, it uses strong vibrant colours, note the magnolia/vanilla colour. The Trademark Coca Cola Design is on the reverse of the can.
In all the above design, I have noticed the colour red; this is vibrant and makes the product stand out from a beverage shelf in a shop or supermarket. The colour red is un-officially The Coca Cola Drinks ranges colour, I will implement this in my design.
- Design Number One -
I have made-up this design on Microsoft Paint 2000, this is a basic idea that I had in mind. A Bright, vivid design, I have implemented The Coca Cola Company's Trademark name, and what flavour the drink is. I have added several images of 'berries' imprinted on the can, and then added abit of excess of colour into the design.
I will now ask a group of people 'What they think of my design?'
I will ask this question in the form of a questionnaire, I asked this question to 15 people of varied ages, if I was to do this with more time and resources available to me, and I would conduct a much larger scale survey.
What they think of my design?
Yes, it is fine
6
No, it is awful...
9
Suggestion to make it more attractive:
Black is not a good colour for background.
From my research I have discovered that the majority of the public I asked didn't like my design, and the rest thought that it was suitable for its purpose.
I have decided to alter my Design to a much more toned down version:
- Design Number Two -
I have decided to go for a more basic, yet affective design.
This shows a plain, metallic background colour and a colourful berry bush drawn, with the new 'Coca Cola' and the flavour 'Summer Berry'.
I have decided to use this design.
The Advertisement Campaign:
If I wanted complete success with my product, I would have to advertise effectively and correctly, to do this, I would need to produce television, magazine, posters and billboards advertisements.
I Have Researched the Prices of some variations of advertising:
ITV
Maximum cost of a
Audience
30 second slot at
(Number of ITV households '000)
weekday peak times
( £ )
Carlton/ LWT - London
74,000
4,565
Central TV - Midlands
35,000
3,668
Granada TV - North West
21,000
2,590
Yorkshire TV - Yorkshire
5,000
2,301
Meridian - South and South East
28,000
2,134
HTV - Wales and West
5,000
,842
Anglia TV - East
20,000
,665
Scottish TV - Central Scotland
1,000
,400
Tyne Tees TV - North East
5,000
,184
West Country TV - South West
6,000
660
Ulster TV - Ulster
3,000
491
Grampian TV - North Scotland
2,000
479
Border TV - Border
,200
271
Newspaper or Magazine
Cost of full page
( £ )
Average sales per month
Daily Express
20,825
,220,055
Daily Mail
26,208
2,151,207
Daily Mirror
27,500
2,390,208
Sun
34,700
3,842,376
Daily Telegraph
38,500
,133,931
News of the World
38,300
4,365,032
Radio Times
3,700
,405,862
TV Times
9,600
981,811
Cosmopolitan
3,560
461,080
Mizz
5,210
38,381
Just Seventeen
7,930
30,080
Options
5,150
46,692
There are several methods of advertising available, these are:
* PERSUASIVE - glamorous images and persuasive language used to encourage consumers to buy the company's product.
* INFORMATIVE - used to make consumers aware of the existence and identity of the product. This may provide technical information.
* CORPORATE - where a company promotes its name and image rather than an individual product. This overall benefits the company's sales.
* GENERIC - when a group of manufacturers promotes a whole industry or type of product.
* COMPETITIVE - where companies subtly imply that the rival firms' products are inferior to their own.
For my Advertising campaign I have decided to:
. Advertise a full-page spread in -
* Cosmopolitan -
Price - £13,560
Average sales - 461,080
I have decided to advertise in this magazine because it is mostly read by 17-23 year old girls/boys; this is our prime target for the audience of this product.
* Just Seventeen -
Price - £7,930
Average sales - 130,080
I have decided to advertise in this magazine because it is mostly read by 15-20 year old girls; this is our prime target for the audience of this product.
* News of the World -
Price - £38,300
Average sales - 4,365,032
I have decided to advertise in this newspaper because it is read by varied audiences.
2. Produce a Television Advertisement -
* Carlton/ LWT - London -
Price - £74,000
Average viewings - 4,565,000
I have decided to advertise here because it is widely viewed by great members of the public giving a wider variety of audience.
This is the poster I am going to have on posters and billboards.
I have drawn this because I thought it looked 'Cool!!'.
I also thought that I have made a good and catchy slogan up.
Evaluation of my advertising strategy:
In terms of publicity I think I achieved the full potential of what I could have achieved.
I am pretty optimistic that this strategy will be successful.
I am going to start this product on a price promotion/ introductory price to get people 'hooked' on this product, then raise the price to the standard price.
I am optimistic also, in terms of my product being a STAR (Boston Matrix) and later becoming a CASH COW (Boston Matrix).
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/info/
www.cocacola.co.uk
www.cocacolacompany.com
Understanding industry Fifth Edition by Michael Barratt and Andy Mottershead.
AVCE Business year one portfolio by Andrew Mercer, tuition by Ian Swift and John O'Conner.
I certify that this is solely my own, produced work and all text copied from a textbook/ web-site was altered accordingly
Name - ANDREW MERCER
Signature -
