Running Head: BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA

Kathmandu University School of Management

Balkumari, Lalitpur

BRANDAUDIT

Submitted to:

Mr. Sujan Raja Shrestha

Faculty of Product and Brand Management

Submitted by:

Aarya Kuikel (177051)

Florena Dahal (177021)

Paras Thapa (177118)

Prashamsa Rijal (177086)

Sneha Singh (177112)

Group 3

BBA Year III Semester II

July 14, 2020

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 2

Acknowledgement

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to several individuals for supporting us

throughout our audit. First, we wish to express our sincere gratitude to our faculty Mr. Sujan

Raja Shrestha for his enthusiasm, patience, insightful comments, helpful information, practical

advice and unceasing ideas that has helped us tremendously at all times in our research and

writing of this brand audit. His immense knowledge, profound experience and professional

expertise in product and brand management have enabled us to complete this research

successfully. Without his support and guidance, this project would not have been possible. We

could not have imagined having a better supervisor in our study.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY......................................................................................................................... 4

CHAPTER 1: BRAND INVENTORY ...................................................................................................... 6

1.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 6

1.2 BRAND ELEMENT ................................................................................................................................ 6

1.3 BRAND PORTFOLIO ............................................................................................................................ 11

1.4 PRODUCT LINE AND PRODUCT MIX .................................................................................................. 12

1.5 BRAND POSITIONING ......................................................................................................................... 13

1.6 DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS ................................................................................................................. 14

1.7 MARKET SEGMENTATION ................................................................................................................. 15

1.8 CUSTOMER BASED BRAND EQUITY .................................................................................................. 15

1.9 MAJOR MARKETING CAMPAIGNS ..................................................................................................... 16

CHAPTER 2: BRAND EXPLORATORY ............................................................................................. 20

2.1 QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................................................ 20

2.2 SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................... 21

CHAPTER 3: BRAND DESCRIPTIVE ................................................................................................. 23

CHAPTER 4: PROTOTYPICAL KNOWLEDGE AND ANALYSIS................................................ 25

CHAPTER 5: BRAND STRATEGIES ................................................................................................... 28

CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................................... 32

RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................................................... 34

REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 36

APPENDIX ................................................................................................................................................ 37
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 4

Executive Summary

This study includes the Brand Audit of COCA COLA with an in depth analysis of every

aspect of the brand. The coke brand audit is done to assess its health and reveal sources of equity

and ways to improve and leverage the equity. Within this brand audit, a complete inventory and

exploratory of coke has been conducted along with the expectations of future potential for

growth, budget reality, and recommendations are also included within.

This report includes a detailed brand inventory that provides an up to date itinerary as to

how all the products sold by coke are marketed and branded. A detailed branding inventory

including concentration on brand’s background, value proposition, target market, brand element,

brand’s positioning, marketing mix and brand’s hierarchy are emphasized on this brand audit. In

the coke brand inventory, it was found that coke has started focusing more on differential

marketing from its previous culture of mass marketing.

The brand exploratory recognizes the result of the survey conducted which comprehends

what consumers feel about the brand and brand descriptive which measures the belief and

association of the customers. In the brand exploratory, it was found that participants in the

conducted focus group had strong associations with Coca Cola, and largely associated any

carbonated soft drinks with coke.

As a company that currently functions in over 200 countries and territories, variety and

inclusion are essential to coke’s growth and success. Coke ceaselessly endeavors to reflect and

replicate the diversity of its customer base to have a superior comprehension of its consumers. In

addition, coke has worked enthusiastically throughout the years to create a strong, unique, and

reputable brand image. Because coke is a challenger brand in the beverage industry, the company
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 5

must make more efforts to ensure that consumer’s experiences with the product at least meet, if

not actually surpass their expectations.

Overall, Coke has done an excellent job branding its cola products globally. Given the

analysis of the brand audit, coke will likely continue to experience continued success and

growth; however, the brand will continue to be a challenger brand to PepsiCo and compete

closely with Red bulls. Recommendations to achieve and maintain success include expanding the

brand’s portfolio and consumer knowledge of new products.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 6

Chapter 1: Brand Inventory

1.1 Introduction

Coca-Cola was originated in 1886 by an Atlanta pharmacist, John S. Pemberton, at his

Pemberton Chemical Company. However, the name ‘Coca-Cola’ was given by his bookkeeper,

Frank Robinson. By 1891 another Atlanta pharmacist, Asa Griggs Candler, had secured

complete ownership of the business, and he incorporated the Coca-Cola Company the following

year. The trademark “Coca-Cola” was registered in the U.S. Patent Office in 1893.

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in

stores, vending machines, restaurants worldwide. It

is the world’s most recognizable brand and now

anchors a portfolio of more than 500 brands and

more than 3500 beverages. Coca-Cola is the most

popular and biggest selling soft drinks in history, as

well as one of the best known products in the world.

Even though Coca-Cola may have started in the United States, its popularity is universal.

Today, you can find Coke in every part of the world with 1.6 billion servings per day. In 2009,

9.8 billion cases of their flagship brand were sold worldwide.

1.2 Brand Element

Coca-Cola’s brand elements played a vital role in enhancing the brand awareness. In the

case of Coca-Cola, the main ones are brand names, URLs, logos, symbols, characters,

spokespeople, slogans, jingles, packages and signage. The criteria considered for brand elements
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 7

when building brand equity and the criteria are memorable, meaningful, likable, transferable,

adaptable and protectable.

Brand Name

Coca-Cola’s brand name is highly recognizable among the users. According to a survey

conducted in 2012 on Best Global Brands, around various countries like USA, Canada, France,

Germany and so on, it was found that Coca-Cola was recognized by 90% of the respondents.

Logo

Over the years, the logo of Coca-Cola has changed several times. However, the one thing

common in all of them is the brand name itself ‘Coca-Cola’.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 8

The logos are well recognizable among the audiences and every time the consumer sees

red and white, he is most likely to label it as Coke.

Symbols

In 1969, Coca-Cola script was underlined with the iconic white ‘wave’ known as the

‘Dynamic Ribbon’

Slogans

Coca-Cola had a number of notable taglines in its one hundred-plus years as a company.

In 1886, simplicity was the name of the game as the company debuted the slogan "Drink Coca-

Cola". By 1906, the company dubbed its soda "The Great National Temperance Beverage", in a

nod to the Prohibition era, when the nation was swept up in a movement against drinking

alcohol. In 1922, 1923 and 1924, Coca-Cola was big on appealing to thirsty customers in

increasingly subtle ways. The company's slogans were "Thirst Knows No Season", "Enjoy

Thirst" and "Refresh Yourself".

The years 1927 and 1932 shared a common celestial theme "Pure as Sunlight" and "Ice

Cold Sunshine". By 1939, Coca-Cola decided shorter was not sweeter and adopted this wordy

slogan "Whoever You Are, Whatever You Do, Wherever You May Be, When You Think of

Refreshment Think of Ice Cold Coca-Cola". In 1942 and 1982, the soda company's slogans took

a quasi-philosophical turn "The Only Thing Like Coca-Cola is Coca-Cola Itself" and "Coke Is

It!". Coca-Cola's best known slogans came in 1969 with "It's the Real Thing" and then in 1971

with its catchy "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" song, both were part of the same campaign.
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 9

Coca-Cola has often imbued its slogans with a patriotic theme, including "America's Real

Choice" (1985) and "Red, White & You" (1986). In 1989, Coca-Cola was the "Official Soft

Drink of Summer" and in 2001 the company touted "Life Tastes Good". "Coca-Cola... Real" was

used in 2003 and in 2009 the slogan was "Open Happiness". In 2016 a new slogan was launched

namely “Taste the feeling”.

Packaging

Along with every other brand element, Coca-Cola’s packaging has also changed

drastically. The company has been able to transfer the drink from glass jar to plastic bottles.

Today, they come in different shapes and sizes, considering cans, plastic bottles, and glass jars.
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 10

Coca-Cola’s packaging also differs as per the size and countries. The Coca-Cola bottle

was first introduced as a ‘contour bottle’ or ‘hobble-skirt’ bottle, wide from the center and

slender from below.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 11

1.3 Brand Portfolio

Coca-Cola enjoys huge popularity across the world. The company ranked third in

Interbrand’s 2014 world’s most valuable brands list, with an estimated brand value of $81.6

billion. Coca-Cola places sixth in Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of the world’s 50 most

admired companies. The company’s aggressive marketing strategies, innovation, and extensive

global reach are the reasons for its reputable name.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 12

Coca-Cola has strong brands across its sparkling and still beverages. Six brands of the

company’s sparkling beverages portfolio generated more than $1 billion in revenue each in 2013,

led by the company’s leading brand, Coca-Cola. The company’s still beverages portfolio

includes 11 brands that generated more than $1 billion in revenue each in 2013. The company

has 20 other brands, each generating revenues between $500 million and $1 billion, with more

than half of them in the still category.

1.4 Product Line and Product Mix

Coca-Cola serves over 500 brands over 200 countries. In it, there are more than 3500+

beverages.
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 13

1.5 Brand Positioning

The positioning strategy used by Coca-Cola has allowed them to paint a suitable image of

themselves in the mind of their customers as the only “Real One”. They have designed their

positioning strategy so as to draw an effective picture of their products offered for their

customer. Once they had decided the market segment they wanted to target and compete in, they

clearly developed a picture of that targeted market segment and properly defined their products

as part of their positioning strategy. Through their positions strategy they emphasized on their
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 14

distinct and unique characteristics with relation to their competitive brands stressing on their

individuality. They associated their product with the customer’s values and knowledge

highlighting their benefits. Their positioning strategy also included comparison of Coca-Cola’s

products with those of their rivals, like Pepsi, so that drive their customers to believe that Coca-

Cola’s products had higher quality and standard.

1.6 Distribution Channels

According to official statistics, an amazing 1.9 billion products of Coca-Cola are sold

around the world every day.

The Coca-Cola Company is a global business that operates on a local scale, in every

community where they do business. The term is second most well-known after okay, making it

recognizable in nearly all communities and cultures across the globe. The Company is able to

create a global a global reach with local focus because of the strength of its system, which

comprises the Coca-Cola Company and their more than 250 bottling partners worldwide.

The system has numerous legal and managerial departments and sections, all independent

of each other, and it does not own or control all of it bottling partners worldwide.

While it is generally perceived that Coca-Cola runs all its operations globally it, this

processes it done through various local channels. The Company manufactures and sells

concentrates, beverage bases and syrups to bottling operators. It still however, owns the brand

and is responsible for consumer brand marketing initiative. The bottling partners manufacture,

package and distribute the final branded beverages to customers and vending partners, who then

sell products to consumers.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 15

All bottling partners work closely with suppliers- grocery stores, restaurants, convenience

stores, amongst many others- to execute localized strategies developed in partnership with Coca-

Cola. More precisely, although Coca-Cola is a global company, its products never have to travel

far to reach the final consumer, making the product more local than you may think, the product is

made local to the market where it is sold.

1.7 Market Segmentation

There are three broad marketing approaches used by Coca-Cola segments and targets its

consumers. They are:

1. Mass marketing

2. Differential marketing

3. Niche marketing

The most apparent method used by Coca Cola is with no doubt the differential marketing

method as Coke satisfies a range of different markets. For example, Diet Coke satisfies the

weight consciousness, rather than other product lines such as regular coke, sprite, Fanta, and so

on. Each group of beverages satisfies a particular group of people.

1.8 Customer Based Brand Equity

In the Coca Cola Cases, we will point out some facts of Coca Cola using emotional

branding strategy in Keller Model.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 16

Relationship

Response

Meaning

Identity

1.9 Major Marketing Campaigns

“Life tastes good”- 2001

This campaign featured everyday moments made special with Coca- Cola in TV and

radio in more than 200 countries. Its main theme was “Everyday Optimism”.
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 17

“The Coke side of life”

"The Coke Side of Life" is something that people can buy into wherever you live,

whatever you believe in or whatever culture you come from. It was anchored with the

“Happiness Factory” animation advertisement.

Open Happiness
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 18

Open happiness campaign was a modification of the “Coke Side of Life” campaign. It invited

people around the world to refresh themselves with a Coke and continue to enjoy the simple

pleasures of life. The campaign included point of sale, promotions, outdoor and print advertising,

and digital and music components. It aired in 100 markets across a wide range of media and

appeared on “American Idol”, “Super Bowl” and “Academy Awards”. The jingle/music played a

central role in the campaign.

Share a Coke

Share a Coke was a multi-national marketing campaign of Coca-Cola which began in

Australia in 2011. There was a rebrands the traditional Coke logo, replacing "Coca-Cola" from

one side of a bottle with the phrase "Share a Coke with" followed by a person's name. The

purpose of the campaign was to create a more personal relationship with consumers and inspire

shared moments of happiness.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 19

Taste the feeling

It was an integrated advertising campaign bringing together Coca-Cola Light, Coca-Cola,

Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Life that started in 2016 with its soundtrack used in UEFA Euro

2016 ad campaign and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics which rolled out across more than

200 countries world-wide.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 20

Chapter 2: Brand Exploratory

2.1 Questions

Online Survey and Follow up Interview

Online survey

Date: 7th July, 2020; Circulated from 9 am till 9 pm

Number of respondents: 101

1. When said ‘soft-drink’ what is the first brand that comes to your mind?

2. Which soft-drink brand do you usually prefer when there is any kind of

gathering/events?

3. When said “Coca Cola” what words said comes to your mind?

4. Do you remember seeing/hearing any advertisement of Coca-Cola?

5. If yes, where?

6. What kind of advertisement of Coca Cola do you remember?

7. Does seeing/listening to an ad of Coco-cola makes you crave for it?

8. Would you prefer Pepsi over Coca-Cola?

9. If yes, why?

10. Do you find the price of Coca-Cola reasonable?

11. Would you still choose Coca-Cola over any other soft-drink if the price range increases?

12. Questions related to Coco-cola’s attributes?

13. Which of the following international campaigns/taglines of Coca-Cola are you familiar

with?
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 21

14. Which of the following Nepali taglines/campaigns of Coca-Cola are you familiar with?

2.2 Summary

We conducted an online survey and received 101 responses to know about the overall

understanding of our brand Coca-Cola, among which 48.5% were male, 48.5% were female and

the remaining 3% were others, and later also conducted a follow up interview of few random

individuals. From the responses of the participants the major things we found out were:

1) Individuals had strong associations with Coke as a soft drink brand.

2) People choose Coke over other soft drinks

Participants when asked about Coco-cola, the instant reply was Coke. They have a strong

association of coke as a brand of coco-cola. 93.1% respondents were sure about seeing or

listening to an ad of coke, 5% were not sure and 2% didn’t know about the ad at all. Most of

them mentioned they remember watching the ad either on television or social media and later

came posters and newspapers. Now we wanted to know if the ads they saw made them want to

go and get a bottle of coke or themselves so for this 54.5 % of the population of the survey had a

positive response. Since we know Pepsi being the biggest competitor of coke, we asked the

participants if they were willing to buy a coke instead of Pepsi or other sofdrinks just in case the

rate of coke rises, the respondents replied with a negative response since they would prefer coke

over Pepsi or other soft drinks. And this question was followed by if they prefer Pepsi over coke

why would that be and 39% responses were ‘If coke is not available’ and 27% of people

responded with ‘prefer taste of Pepsi’ and the remaining had other reasons.
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 22

Participants had a strong association with the color of the brand i.e. red and white and

also mentioned that whenever they see the color red and white they suddenly associate with the

brand of Coca-Cola even if the color represents other product. ‘Taste the feeling’ ad campaign

was the most recognizable ad campaign i.e. 75.2 % knew about it followed by ‘Open Happiness’

by 56.4%, ‘Share a coke’by 32% of the total population, ‘Life tastes Good’ by 20.8%, ‘Can’t

beat the feeling’ by 17.8 % and lastly ‘The coke side of life’ by only 6.9%. Talking about the

local context, the Nepali ad campaigns that the participants recognized the most was the ‘Jigree’

campaign by 71.3%, second most recognizable was ‘Man kholau Coke sanga’ by 63.4%, ‘Khana

J Hola Swad Badauna Coca-cola’ by 44.6%, ‘Ama Bina K Ramailo’ by 38.6 %, ‘Coca-Cola, Cap

ma Car Offer’ by 15.8% and the least recognized ad campaign was ‘Diusai Jhap Jhap, Coke le

Up’ by 13.9%.

Participants has a very strong association with the brand and there were least to no

complaints at all about Coke including the pricing, packaging and marketing strategy. Every

respondents provided with a positive review of the brand though there was one or two

participants who said that they didn’t like the ‘Jigree’ campaign since it was more about bringing

plastics to the environment causing environmental degradation but had a positive overall they

were satisfied with the brand in a follow up interview. Three of the participants in follow up

interview also associated Momo and Priyanka Karki with coke and said either these two remind

me of coke or coke reminds me of these two. When asked ‘ Do you think others will prefer

coke?’ all of them replied with a yes they will prefer coke and they also mentioned that the

participants usually prefer coke than other soft drinks during any gathering and when asked their

guests about their preference they would mostly choose coke. Few of the participants also
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 23

mentioned that the kids would rather prefer Fanta over coke so they change the preference

according to their guests.

So the participants who are also a customer of Coco-Cola mostly instantly mentioned

Coke and not the other brands of Coco-cola like Fanta, Sprite and they were also not very

familiar with the ad of other Coco-cola product as much as they were familiar with Coke. They

also didn’t have any complaints regarding the brand in an overall context.

Chapter 3: Brand Descriptive

3.1 Summary of the survey

In Nepal, the cold drink has been most commonly associated with Coca-Cola, which we

observed in our survey regarding soft drinks. When asked what is the first brand that comes to

mind about soft drinks, 71% replied “Coca-Cola” or “Coke”, 18% replied “Sprite” or “Fanta”,

which is other variations of the brand Coca-Cola and the remaining 2% had other answers.

When asked about their soft drink preference during a gathering or an event, 71%

replied “Coca-Cola”, 9% replied other variations such as “Sprite” and “Coke”, 19% preferred

other options such as Mountain Dew, Real juice, water among others and the remaining 1% had

no particular preference regarding soft drink.

When asked about what words comes to your mind when said “Coca Cola”, the most

common response was “Refreshing”, Chilled”, “Chiso bhanekai coca-cola” and “Momo”. People

also associated Coca-Cola with words like summer; red, fizzy, thirst quenching as well as with

words like jigri, sugar, gastrisitis and Ramdev.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 24

When asked about what adjectives would you use to describe advertisement of Coca-

Cola, 32.7% attributed it as delightful, 34.7% attributed it as casual, 19.8% responded funny,

8.9% emotional and 4% responded none.

When asked about question regarding attributes of Coca-Cola, most people responded

highly positive to the statement “Coca Cola tastes better than any other soft drink”. The

statement “Packaging of Coca cola is impressive and handy” also had an overall positive

response. The statement “Color 'red' and 'white' always reminds of Coca Cola.” Also had a

strongly positive response.

The best reason for having cold drink is "quenching the thirst", followed by quality, taste,

for delight and other interest and hobby. Consumers are found to give higher preferences to the

quality and taste in the choice of Coke, moderate level prefer to price and advertisement and

lower prefer to the other factors.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 25

Chapter 4: Prototypical knowledge and analysis

The prototypical knowledge association structure for Coca-Cola is based on the

conducted survey as well as a follow-up interview to understand in detail the reasoning and

answers provided in the survey.

Consumers around the world can instantly identify the red and white logo of Coca-Cola.

Few brands have succeeded in having such a strong rapport globally. This has been made famous

by its brand tagline ‘Chiso Bhanekai Coca-Cola’. Effective branding elevates a product or

organization from being just one commodity amongst many identical commodities, to become

something with a unique character and promise.

Coca-Cola, imported from India, was first introduced into Nepal in 1973, with local

production of Coca-Cola beginning in 1979. Bottlers Nepal Limited (BNL) is the only bottler of

Coca-Cola products in Nepal, and has two bottling plants; namely Kathmandu and Bharatpur.

Coca-Cola entered Nepal being the first mainstream International soft-drink brand. The focus of

Coca-Cola has always been stay relevant to our consumers by focusing on their needs and

consumption patterns and connecting with them through our products.

In 2008, for the first time, the beverage major roped in the youth icon, Nima Rumba, as

its brand ambassador to drive the “Ramailo Chha Coke Jindagi” campaign in Nepal. The “Chiso

Bhanekai Coca-Cola” is also one of the most famous campaigns in Nepal where they directly

associate that phrase to coke. BTL Nepal’s other ambassadors have also been youth icons like

Priyanka Karki for the coke and momo campaign. We could see that the promotional tactics of

staying relevant and targeting the youths has become successful as people did associate relevant

words like refreshing, chilled as well as momo when thought of coke.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 26

We could see majority of the youth perceiving coke as a refreshing summer drink

however there are few controversies related to Coca-Cola Nepal.

People have also associated Coca-Cola with words like sugar and gastritis. The health

related concern with Coca-Cola has always been an issue in the global scale and same can be

seen in Nepal as well. Coca-Cola has partnered with the All Nepal Football Association in the

past for the Coca-Cola Cup to connect with young footballers across Nepal and promote healthy

active lifestyles. However, looking at the response from the people, this issue of health is yet to

stay no matter the counter-campaigns that Coca-Cola has done.

Another controversy that raised for Coca-Cola Nepal would be when Ramdev, a yoga

guru mentioned that the drink would be an ideal toiler cleaner due to it being a carbonated drink

and even showed the demonstration of it. People had briefly referred to it as toilet cleaners and

not a soft drink. However, the taste and innovative campaigns have definitely helped overshadow

this issue. People referred to coke advertisements as delightful, emotional and funny which

would be a big checkmark of success of coke advertisement message.

Targeting the major Hindu festivals of Dashain and Tihar, the campaign under the tagline

‘Mann kholaun Coke sanga’, which translates to ‘Let’s open our hearts with Coke’, the Coke

labels featured 15 different relationships – buwa (father), aama (mother), didi (older sister), dai

(older brother), saathi (friend), among others. For the campaign duration, Coke had removed its

logo and labelled different relationships on its bottles trying to target the emotional bonding

among family members especially during festivals.

One of the most recent backlashes that Coca-Cola faced was when it launched it’s jigree

pack campaign. The beverage giant was able to create the intended buzz about its new offering
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 27

by mobilising all the celebrity power Nepali Instagram had to offer. But in the two weeks since

the new bottle launch, criticism against Coca-Cola Nepal and the celebrities endorsing it has also

been accumulating on social media. The most comprehensive snapshot of the worst plastic

polluting companies around the world audited more than 187,000 pieces of plastic trash apart in

six continents by the Break Free From Plastic, a global movement envisioning a future free from

plastic pollution. Months after the audit was published, Coca-Cola, for the first time, revealed it

used three million tones of plastic packaging in one year, and pledged to reduce their plastic

usage.

In a response to The Post, the Coca-Cola representatives defended the company’s

decision to launch the new product in plastic bottles, calling it a “packing innovation” because

the bottles are “completely recyclable and do not consist of single-use plastic.”

The taste and the attractive media campaigns of Coca-Cola have always wanted people to

have more of it even though the health issue relating to too much sugar content and obesity is

always there. Coca-Cola has even become addiction for people where they find themselves

having coke daily even if they are aware about the unhealthy concerns. Coca-Cola Nepal has

always been a household name in the soft drink market around the world and especially having

majority of market shares in Nepal. Coca-Cola needs to address the health issue more effectively

and think about alternatives. Though it has a healthier version of “Diet Coke” and “Coke Zero”,

they also have their own health controversy, as they are even considered more harmful to health

than normal coke. The environmental issue with this company being one of the global leaders in

plastic pollution is ever increasing as well. We can see people becoming more health-conscious

and environmental conscious with the progress of time, hence if Coca-Cola fails to address this

issue effectively then it can be a huge cost for the brand in the coming years.
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 28

Chapter 5: Brand Strategies

Brand Strategy is the long-term plan for the development of a successful brand to

achieve specific goals. A well-defined and executed brand strategy impacts all aspects of the

business and is also connected to consumer needs, emotions, and competitive environments.

Companies as successful as Coca-Cola, as well as small brands and even businesses that sell

services to other companies, all benefit from a proper brand strategy. As a result of brand

strategy, people develop a particular perception about a company that drives their buying

decisions. This feeling equates to brand equity. The stronger people feel about a brand, the

stronger the brand equity.

Coca-Cola gives a comprehensive example of an effective brand strategy. The brand that

started as a syrup mixed with carbonated water is now a global, multibillion-dollar brand. They

became successful after a properly planned and consistently executed strategies.

After they built a product they started off with their strategies to establish themselves and

attract customers. They started handing out coupons for a free sample of Coke as a step to build a

relationship with their customers. This goodwill gesture of a give-away became the first Coke

marketing campaign.

Imitation of the product began as Coke started getting popular. It isn’t a new thing as

after the success of certain product. It started bottling operations and also started building its own

distribution network so that Coke could be sold far outside the bounds of its native Atlanta,

Georgia. They had to be fixated on a certain bottle design so that consistency could be

maintained, to dodge anything that could threaten the brand integrity of Coke. Without a

consistent appearance, a brand's ability to build loyalty is questionable.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 29

The evolution of the Coke brand has followed a series of logical steps when put together

comprises a brand strategy.

The Psychology of Color

Color is a visual element but more so a psychological one which can trigger different

emotions. Coca-Cola is famous for its white script on a distinct red background. The color red is

said to portray power, excitement, energy and passion. This color also stimulates the appetite.

The color red also triggers impulsive buys. Due to these characteristics or emotions that this

color evokes it is considered a great strategy to use when it comes to food or beverage branding.

The white script in the bright red background holds a very high significance for the brand

as study shows that 94% of the population recognize it through the logo. This wasn’t the case in

the past because due to the variations in Coca-Cola’s “one true red” and their different logos for

their drinks that differed from country-to-country, state-to-state and even from store-to-store

made it seem like the products were competing among themselves than belonging to the same

family. Once these issues were dealt with, the Coca-Cola family became consistent in its

branding leading it to become the leading soda in the world. Coca-Cola has claimed that its name

is second to “okay” as the most understood term in the world.

Coca-Cola’s visual branding strategy

Coca-Cola has been able to convey their messages very loud and clear with their

advertisements. The advertisements of Coca-Cola, have great content to support their vision

statement. Every commercial connects with the audience at their level. They let their consumers

know that the product that has been created is for them and there is no age limit for it. Coca-Cola
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 30

is a global brand and it has been able to promote themselves so well with their communications,

packaging’s and with their statement “Sharing and Happiness”. Their advertisements are always

very well known all over the world. Such ads speak a lot about the brand creating a branding that

is very visual. They create ads that cater to a wide segment of the population, making sure that it

yields justice to them one at a time.

Although they are an American brand their popularity is no less in other countries that

they have been reaching out to. By having their brand name written in Chinese, having

individual name’s rather than just the brand name in Australia. They have been able to create

great stories that focus on the individual as they create stories and not just mere advertisements.

Emotional Branding Strategy

Coke’s advertisement, although about the product, is executed in such a way that

increases their customer interaction. It isn’t only about the product but also about the individuals.

Emotional Branding directly appeals to the consumer’s emotional state and needs. Coke’s very

famous Share a Coke, Share a feeling campaign is a prime examples of how soft drink

companies use emotional branding strategies.

Putting out names or use of Ama to create an emotional appeal is very much noticeable

here in Nepal. Squeezing the sides of the soda dispenser to get a free coke was also a campaign

that had been introduced by Coca-Cola. They are connecting to people in a personalized level

and creating this emotional bond which makes people more inclined towards the brand.
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 31

One brand Global Marketing approach

‘One Brand’ global marketing strategy was launched with the aim of uniting Coca-Cola,

Diet Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, and Coca-Cola Life under the iconic Coca-Cola brand

positioning in one global creative campaign, “Taste the Feeling.” Taste the feeling uses a

universal storytelling as well as everyday moments to connect with their consumers all over the

world. It is all about celebrating the experience and the simple pleasures of drinking any Coca-

Cola in accordance to the consumers taste, feeling and lifestyle. Through the ‘One Brand’

strategy they redirected from multiple brand campaigns, to one single brand campaign that

celebrates both the product as well as the brand.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 32

Conclusion

With an epic international presence, operating in more than 230 brands in nearly 200

countries, with around 70% of the company volume and 80% of the company profit come from

outside the United States, Coca-Cola’s core ‘global’ brands are mainly standardized. Although

the company may strive for a completely standardized strategic approach, drawing on the

associated economies of scale, in reality they are following the Integrated Adapt Stand approach.

The company’s effectiveness and profitability is obviously well supported by their strong

competitive position and market share in their primary product market – Coca-Cola. Other

brands like Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta have also been internationally recognized and profitable.

Its’ international success Is achieved by the company’s strategy and tactics, which complement

each other and work in harmony providing the optimum return bounded by efficiency. The

company is thriving as it is both effective and efficient.

Coca-Cola is implementing Differentiation and Cost Leadership strategies. In terms of

Differentiation, the firm attempts to be diverse from its competitors by adding something to its

product that will provide a unique value to its customers. This is attained through well-designed

and managed marketing activities resulting to perceived superior quality product and high brand

image and recognition.

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 33

Further, Cost Leadership is achieved not only through economies of scale, but also

through learning, knowledge and experience in production and operational processes, and

through effective/efficient distribution networks and manufacturing systems. Coca-Cola is using

a number of strategies. Initially, it used the Market Penetration Strategy and become established

in its home market by increasing market share and product usage. Then, it used a Market

Development Strategy by expanding its operations into foreign markets. Later, it developed new

products, both at a national and international level and then started operations in the carbonated

soft drinks market.

This also ensures that Coca-Cola has a comprehensive product portfolio in each market,

increasing the likelihood of a purchase of a Coca-Cola Company branded product. This portfolio

is well managed and enables the best fit between the company’s strengths and weaknesses to the

opportunities found in the environment.

In considering the strong competitive position of the firm in a highly attractive market, it

is suggested that Coca-Cola should protect its Position. This can be achieved by concentrating

efforts on maintaining its existing strength by investing to grow at maximum rate.

Coca-Cola should maintain its marketing orientation not only in its strategic approach but

also in its tactical day-to-day operations. It should constantly undertake market research to

enable it understand the environment in which it operates and allow it develop products that

satisfy customer needs. This goes in line with the definition of marketing (both at national and

international level), which is about identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumer

requirements.
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 34

Coke is a unique challenger brand to Pepsi and has the potential to continue to be a

market leader in the cola industry.

Recommendations

Being a student of brand management the following recommendations will enable the

Coke brand to achieve and sustain market success as well as provide them competitive edge.

Recommendations include expanding the brand’s product portfolio and consumer’s knowledge

of the new products, incorporating real-life/ non-celebrity endorsers to promote the products and

the brand, creation of a memorable jingle that will echo within the consumers as well as

increased participation in interdependent community events. Moreover, as the popularity of

social networking sites continues to raise, coke will need to ensure its efforts across all social

media platforms are sustained continuously.

Last but not least, implementing a rewards program for consumers to earn points towards

future buying will aid in consumer retention and help with product consumption. Anything that

coke can do to improve the lives of its consumers or make buying habits easier should be at the

forefront of all decision making. The overall goal of accomplishing the above-mentioned

recommendations include increasing brand awareness, recognition, memorability, and eventually

create a stronger brand image. It is also highly recommended that the coke brand maintain the

highest level of honor, respect, and dignity when improving its brand position in the

marketplace. Likewise, Coca -Cola should utilize corporate strategies that capitalize off their

strengths and work to minimize their weaknesses.

Some recommendation suggested are written below,

BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 35

• Establish more internet presence especially in Asian countries like India, etc.

• The price offered for Coca-Cola is need to be monitored due to the challengers arise and

several consumers tend to find any soda that has best price for value for them. So it is

needed to do benchmarking on challengers’ pricing strategy.

• The volume is the most important thing for consumers in which they tend to find the

huge size for them to sharing. This can be point out several things. The marketing

program is already good to target full market coverage, but it is needed to take more

focus to the Coca-Cola with large or sharing size.

• Even though the consumers tend to find the biggest volume possible, it is needed to

consider the diminishing marginal utility which will lead to lower consumer satisfaction

if the portion given too much.

• The environmental issue with this company being one of the global leaders in plastic

pollution is ever increasing as well. We can see people becoming more health-conscious

and environmental conscious with the progress of time, hence if Coca-Cola fails to

address this issue effectively then it can be a huge cost for the brand in the coming years.
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 36

References

Emotional Branding Strategy – Coca Cola Cases. Coca Cola Emotional Branding Strategy.

(2020). Retrieved 14 July 2020, from https://cocacolabranding.wordpress.com/emotional-

branding-strategy-how-to-apply/.

Study.com. (2020). Retrieved 14 July 2020, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-

brand-strategy-definition-examples-development.html.

The Psychology of Color: How Coca-Cola Captured Hearts around the World.

Strategicfactory.com. (2020). Retrieved 14 July 2020, from https://strategicfactory.com/about-

us/blog/the-psychology-of-color-how-coca-cola-captured-hearts-around-the-world.html
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 37

Appendix

Charts:
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 38
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 39
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 40
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 41
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 42

Questions:
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 43
BRAND AUDIT OF COCA-COLA 44