Marketing Planning Process: Coca Cola

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION3

MARKET SEGMENTATION3

CONSUMER AND TRADE ATTITUDES4

BUSINESS PROCESSES6

Bottling System6

BCG MATRIX7

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE11

Future Development12

IMPORTANCE OF THE MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS14

REFERENCES18

Marketing Planning Process: Coca Cola

Introduction

The original Coca-Cola Company was established in the US in 1886. The Coca Cola Company is the largest soft drink concentrates and syrups manufacturer in the world which operates world widely in almost all the countries in the world. Coca-Cola remains the largest single brand in the UK, in value terms, with estimated sales in excess of £600 million in 2000 in the off-trade, outselling brands like Walker's Crisps and Persil. Furthermore, "in 1999 the international branding consultancy, Interbrand, declared Coca-Cola the world's most valuable brand, worth $83.8 billion".

Market Segmentation

Coca-Cola has a Clustered demand for its products; the identifiable clusters are that the consumers are interested in price, quality, variety and health consciousness. The possible bases of segmentation therefore are age, income, household size, usage rate, brand loyalty and perceived risk. Therefore potential market segments are that they are looking at younger children with pocket money to household mothers who do the family shopping, they want families with reasonable disposable income and therefore quality at competitive pricing is comfortably afforded(www.thecoca-colacompany.com).

Coca-Cola adopts a mix between Mass Marketing and Concentrated Marketing approach to its consumers therefore pursuing a multiple segmentation strategy. In selecting their target markets Coca-Cola analysed the segments with the greatest opportunity and the number of these segments they should pursue.

Therefore in using their multiple market segmentation they have marketed Coke and Diet coke to a broad spectrum of consumers, and other products such as Sprite and Fanta that appeal to narrower groups of customers therefore they have targeted a broad range of consumers to gain large market share. Additionally they have chosen to pursue a small number of segments, as there are few variables to segmentation that will reduce brand loyalty, and so maintaining extensive competitive advantage. (inventors.about.com)

Consumer and Trade Attitudes

Carrying out some primary market research in two of the biggest supermarkets in the UK, Sainsbury's and Tesco, we found out that consumer are very brand loyal to Coca Cola. We took a sample of 100 people in each supermarket buying coke (not how many) on a Saturday evening

That evening, more than 50% of the sampled people bought Coca Cola and Diet Coke and one of the reason was because they "simply like the taste and we only buy this drink" although Pepsi prices are lower than Coca Cola's products. An interesting thing we noticed that day was that the consumer don't actually spend much time in the drink section, they simply go and purchase what they are looking for. This means they are not price sensitive at all and are extremely brand loyal. (Pendergrast 2000)

Although there was some promotions by Pepsi (buy two for £1), the consumers actually buying Coca Cola products did not actually "notice" the promotion. From our questionnaires we found out that 68% of the consumers don't get influenced by the promotions offered by the soft drinks ...