Coca Cola (Coke) Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Coca Cola (Coke) Report - Essay Example Contents Contents 3 1. Introduction 4 1. Introduction Coca Cola boosts of having the highest brand equity in the world. According to surveys, one of the most recognized words in the world is â€Å"Coca Cola†. The product Coca Cola continues to dominate the carbonated drinks market despite sturdy headwinds and is well ahead of its competitor Pepsi. Considering a slow but steady move towards non-carbonated healthy drinks, the product has faced mounting pressure to boost and enhance its promotional activity across the globe in order to maintain market share which has seen a decline from 2005-2010 (Euromonitor International, 2011). This report shall investigate and describe the promotional mix and strategies that have enabled the Coca Cola brand to uplift and maintain the leadership of its carbonated Coke beverage across the globe. 2. Promotional mix From partnerships with renowned international brands to using celebrities in advertisements to keep the youth hooked, Coke has effec tively been promoted through all promotional media. In 2006, for instance, Coca Cola distributed approximately 70 million codes of songs inside Coke’s packs which were redeemable at Apple’s i-tunes store (Telecomworldwire, 2006). ... The diamonds had three shapes namely round, marquise and princess each of which corresponded to personalities attached to Vanilla Coke, Lemon Coke and Coke Light respectively (Hargrave-Silk, 2004). This was one of the most expensive promotional campaigns of its times beating its rival products such as Pepsi. This strategy also reflects how Coke’s lifestyle-oriented promotions aim at aspiring young, exuberant, contemporary men and women. The attributes of the Coke drink are reflected in its advertisements. For instance, one of the ads depicted a confident, bold and sexually appealing customer at a restaurant where Coke was sponsoring a giveaway (Hargrave-Silk, 2004). As mentioned earlier, Coca Cola has effectively used psychological marketing in its promotional mix. The company has also partnered with Parts Connection (a motor trade dealer) whereby a can of Coke is given with every purchase worth $100. The can is worth $1,000 of petrol (Motor Equipment News, 2009). At the end o f a particular period, the labelled cans can be used for drinking Coke (Motor Equipment News, 2009). This has given cash starved customers another reason to purchase spare parts from this dealer. The product has such a huge fan following that some of the company’s promotional efforts have fallen short of its customers’ expectations. As part of its regular line of promotion, the Coke brand has been running an online loyalty program for its Coke fans which has become a source of disappointment for its loyal fans. These fans claim to have collected several codes from bottle caps in return for points only to discover that few of the expensive products (against which the points are redeemable) have run out of stock