3. Explain why the ACCC took legal action against Samsung over the Galaxy smartphone.

4. What is meant by the term 'materialism'?

5. Why are businesses keen to use product placement?
6. Read the case study on Heinz and answer the following questions:
(a) How was the packaging used by Heinz misleading and deceptive?
(b) Do you agree with the ACCC that the penalty should have been higher? Justify your answer.
7. In each of the following examples, state whether there has been a breach of the Competition and
Consumer Act.
(a) A company advertises jumpers and claims that they are made in Australia when, in fact, they are made
in Hong Kong.
(b) A company advertises that the special deal is for one week only, when, in fact, it plans to extend it
indefinitely.
8. Why do you think the collection of data by tracking web users could be considered unethical?
9. Do you consider product placement an ethical or unethical promotion strategy? Give reasons for your
answer.
10. In a recent survey of 350 Australian and overseas marketing managers, 64 per cent responded 'yes' to the
question, 'Is it reasonable behaviour to bend the law if you do not actually break it?' How would you
answer this question? Explain your response.
11. In groups of three or four, critically analyse the ethical issues involved in the following.
(a) Advertising to young children during morning television programs
(b) The use of celebrity figures to recommend products
12. Explain why the sale of imitation and fake art is considered unethical.
13. Read the case study on Villeroy and Boch and answer the following questions.
(a) Why was the marketing of their Rock Desert tableware design considered unethical?
(b) Why wasn't the sale of this imitation art illegal?

Fully worked solutions and sample responses are available in your digital formats.

7.6 Selling techniques

7.6.1 Analyse selling techniques used by
businesses to promote a product - Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is one of the most recognisable brands in the world, but how Who would have ever
did the company become so popular? It's true that they produce a drink thought that brown, sugary,
that people enjoy, but the key to their success is their marketing. What fizzy water with addictive
qualities would become the
sets Coca-Cola apart from other businesses is the memorable promotional
universal product it is today?
campaigns they create that seem to stick around for generations.
The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) uses a wide variety of selling and
promotional techniques to maximise sales. Some examples include
advertising, sponsorship, sales representatives, online advertising, sales
promotions (for example, competitions), product placement and social
media advertising. Some of these techniques are evaluated below.

Coca-Cola's product strategies

Worldwide, TCCC sells more than 3500 different types of beverages
in over 200 countries. Products range from regular and diet
sparkling (carbonated) beverages to still beverages such as fruit
juices and fruit
drinks, waters, teas and coffees, sports and energy drinks, and milk-
and soy-based beverages. There is a drink to suit all tastes and
preferences, aimed at specific target markets. This selling technique -
a targeted product range - is one reason
TCCC is the world's number one seller of still and sparkling beverages.

TOPIC 7 Promoting and selling 1

 CASE STUDY
Targeted product range
Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA), the Australian manufacturer, seller and
distributer of Coca-Cola products, offers a range of sparkling and
still beverages for different target markets, segmented according
to age and gender. Energy drink Mother, for example, targets 18-
to 29-year-old males. The more health-conscious adult market
is served with Diet Coke, which has a primary target market of
females aged over 25 years and a secondary target market of
anyone wanting a low-calorie drink. Deep Spring Natural Mineral
Water was introduced for the 29- to 49-year-old unisex (male and
female) markets who want a healthier, tasty drink which is neither
a soft drink nor water. Fanta and Sprite have as their primary
target markets 12- to 16-year-old teenagers who are seeking fun
with friends. Appletiser is aimed at 25- to 39-year-old females who
want a sparkling apple juice, whereas Powerade and Pump have
as their core market 14- to 29-year-old males who are active in
sports and who want to compete at their best.

CASE STUDY
New product launch - Coke Zero
Coca-Cola Zero - which has the taste of Coca-Cola with zero
calories because it uses artificial sweeteners instead of sugar
- has been one of the most successful TCCC product launch
since 2005-6. The drink was originally targeted primarily to health
conscious, 18- to 39-year-old males. The advertising of Coke
Zero was modified to its primary target market by referring to it as
'calorie-free' instead of 'diet'. This was because the target market
tended to connect the word 'diet' with female drinks; 'calorie-free'
was thought to give the product a more masculine image. For this
reason, Coke Zero was sometimes nicknamed 'Bloke Coke'.
Market research from 2015 onwards, however, showed some
confusion about the perceptions of sugar content within Coke
Zero. Competitors put similar products to consumers and TCCC
made moves to present its consumers with new alternatives.
TCCC announced that a new product, Coke No Sugar, would
enter the market, with the international rollout commencing
in Australia in 2017. Coke No Sugar clearly brands itself as
containing 'no sugar', whereas some felt Coke Zero indicated
zero calories, zero kilojoules or zero sugar, while others were
largely unsure. TCCC wanted to make a firm stance on what the
product is and was, with the branding of Coke No Sugar firmly
aligning with a clear status fitting with their goals of 'continuing
on a journey towards finding a recipe which tastes closer to Coke'. Coke Zero was launched in 2006, which also
meant many years of product research had advanced since then and, as such, a product that was better-tasting
was now available.
After initial upset from consumers, later statements from TCCC stated that Coke Zero would still be available
in Australia but that TCCC thought people would love the taste of Coca-Cola No Sugar so much that, eventually,
Coke Zero might be gradually phased out. TCCC adopted the safe strategy that throughout the rollout of their
new product, and until the market was secured, consumers will be able to purchase both Coke Zero and Coke
No Sugar.

2 Jacaranda New Concepts in Commerce Fourth Edition NSW Stages 4 & 5

Coca-Cola's branding
A reason the Coca-Cola brand in particular is so successful is that it has focused on building its brand,
instead of its product. Coke is described as something that brings family and friends together, encourages
sharing and brings happiness, rather than just a soft drink.
Consider the Coca-Cola brand colours, for instance. They were chosen for an important reason. Studies
show that the colour red triggers impulse buys, while the swirling white letters within the logo fill the mind
with thoughts of liquid and a sense of movement.
Coca-Cola is one of the most recognisable brands in the world. In fact, around 94 per cent of the world's
population can instantly identify Coke's red and white logo, even if the name of the brand isn't present.

Coca-Cola advertising
Since 'Coca-Cola' was released onto the Australian market in 1937, TCCC has used advertising campaigns
as a major selling technique. Originally targeted at older age groups, the target market was modified in the
1950s to concentrate on teenage and young adult consumers. For the past 60 years, teenagers and young
adults have grown up believing that this product is a part of their lives: 'The Coke Side of Life'. Coca-
Cola has achieved strong brand loyalty due to the huge amount of money TCCC spends on advertising
each year. Various types of media are used to advertise the Coca-Cola brand in general, and Coca-Cola
drink in particular. For example, newspapers, magazines, the internet, television, radio, posters and
billboards are all used.
Even though nearly everyone knows what Coca-Cola is, the company still spends billions of dollars on
this fonn of promotion.
While many wouldn't see the point in dedicating such a large part of their budget to this form of
promotion, advertising constantly keeps the product in the public's mind and reminds people that they need
a nice cold carbonated drink. The effectiveness of their advertising campaigns is that they train consumer's
brains to associate the brand with a good feeling (such as happiness, relaxation and friends) rather than a
soft drink. Coca-Cola has appealed to many different cultures and ages as a result of their advertising. This
is due to the fact that no matter what the people in the advertisement are doing, the commercial portrays
them enjoying themselves.

Coca-Cola's packaging
Sometimes, the shape of the packaging
Which soft drink do you think of when you see this
can become part of the product itself.
advertisement?
One of the most easily recognised
shapes in the soft-drink market is the
distinctive 'pinched in at the waist'
Coke bottle. In 1977, Coca-Cola
argued that the 'distinctively shaped
contour' had become so well known
that it was granted trademark
protection by the United States Patent
Office.
If you think of Coca-Cola when
looking at the silhouette of the bottle
shown in the figure, this advertising campaign was successful. The image was indeed part of a
campaign run by the company. Besides the shape of the silhouette, nothing suggests this is an
advertisement for Coca-Cola. No colours or logos are used. Yet your mind instantly thinks of Coca-
Cola's product. This advertisement is only successful because of previous marketing campaigns run by
the company. The company's creative marketing strategies have been a key reason Coca-Cola has
dominated the soft-drink market for over 100 years.

TOPIC 7 Promoting and selling 3

 Coca-Cola sponsorships
TCCC has a long history of sponsoring major
The Coca-Cola Company sponsored the 1928
events, organisations and projects around the world. Olympic Games in Amsterdam, and has supported
Among their most well-known sponsorships are every Olympic Games since. Coca-Cola supplies
American Idol, Apple iTunes, NASCAR, NBA, Olympic athletes, officials and spectators with its
Rugby Australia, and the Olympic Games. They seek beverages during the Olympic Games.
to be aligned with the things that people care about.
Since many of their consumers are passionate about
sports, these sponsorships give Coca-Cola a unique
opportunity to refresh their brand and celebrate with
sports fans around the world.

Personal selling at Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola employs many salespeople to represent
the company in order to communicate, sell, service
and build relationships with customers such as
small food outlets and stores. In 2019, TCCC spent
millions of dollars hiring sales representatives to
rebuild relationships with customers. The company expanded its team of sales reps to visit stores weekly
as opposed to monthly, encourage them to buy more stock and advise customers on how to boost
consumption of their products. Immediately after this strategy was implemented, sales rose 2 per cent after
falling
11 per cent the previous year. The company believes that once the rollout of this strategy is complete,
sales will increase further due to the face-to-face relationships where sales reps can really understand
customer's needs, take their orders and make sure their fridges are arranged appropriately to optimise
sales.

Coca-Cola product placement

Since Coca-Cola is such a part of everyday life, it's no wonder that the brand has found its way into
many film scripts and onto sets. The beverage has often been a subtle part of many different films
through the years, from silent films to foreign movies, and from classics to big-budget blockbusters.
Sometimes it's a Coca-Cola sign or vending machine and sometimes characters are talking about or
drinking the product.
TCCC is selling its products in more than two hundred countries and is a market leader in most of these
markets. From the point of view of profitability, Coca-Cola generated US$3 l .86 billion from operations in
2018. These figures were achieved partially because of their effective marketing strategies.

COMFACT
In its first year, about 10 servings of 'Coke' were sold per day. Today, approximately one billion servings are
consumed worldwide every day. This equates to about 11 500 serves every second of every day.

Product differentiation
• Product features; e.g. bottle shape
• Advertising to reinforce image
• Recognised brand name, symbol, logo and colour

Product pricing
• Reduce prices for specific promotional activities and supermarket sales
• Premium pricing for niche products
• Bulk pack pricing

Product niche focus

4 Jacaranda New Concepts in Commerce Fourth Edition NSW Stages 4 & 5
• Targeted promotion strategies; e.g. SMS messaging to 18-30-yea:r-old generation
• 'Mother' energy drink for 18- to 20-year-old males

TOPIC 7 Promoting and selling 5

 C:Ii] Resources
Digital document Worksheet 7.7 Strategies for product selling and promotion (doc-32724)
Weblinks The Coca-Cola Company
Intellectual Property Australia

7.6 Activity: Research and communication

1. Use The Coca-Cola Company weblink in the Resources tab to view a number of Coca-Cola
advertisements. What is the message The Coca-Cola Company has adopted in its advertisements?
2. A business can have a product's name or symbol registered as its trademark. The 'Dynamic Ribbon' device
and the Contour Bottle are trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company.
(a) What is meant by the term 'trademark'?
(b) What icon is used to show that the name or symbol is a registered trademark?
(c) Why would a business want to protect its trademark?

7.6 Exercise: Knowledge and understanding

To answer questions online and to receive immediate feedback and sample responses for every question, go
to your learnON title at www.jacplus.com.au.

1. Outline Coca-Cola's current target market.

2. Select three selling techniques used by The Coca-Cola Company and explain how each one helps the
company increase its sales.
3. The successful formula for "Coke" is not the ingredients of the drink but its superior selling techniques.' Do
you agree or disagree with this statement? Give reasons for your answer.
4. 'Any business that neglects to develop effective selling techniques will almost certainly experience low levels
of sales and reduced profit levels.' Why is this so?
5. What are the advantages to The Coca-Cola Company in diversifying and selling water and alcoholic
beverages?

Fully worked solutions and sample responses are available in your digital formats.

7.7 The effectiveness of selling techniques used for

a particular product or service
7.7.1 Monitoring and evaluating selling techniques
It is very important for a business to constantly monitor the effectiveness of its selling techniques. Any
downturn in sales can be very costly to a firm's profit. Any increase in sales should also be quickly analysed
so that the reasons for it occurring are understood.
The usual ways to evaluate a selling strategy is to closely monitor sales and to compare results to past
performance, and to compare the products and results of any competitors.

CASE STUDY
An interview with Alegria Bartock, Omni Electronics Pty Ltd
Interviewer: What does Omni Electronics produce?
Alegria: Omni manufactures a range of home theatre systems including digital receivers and integrated digital
televisions.
Interviewer: Alegria, what is your role in the business?
Alegria: I am the Sales Manager.

6 Jacaranda New Concepts in Commerce Fourth Edition NSW Stages 4 & 5