Coca-Cola

Introduction

Perhaps for once in your life, you sure have tried one of Coca-
Cola products. If you love the brand, it's not news to you that they offer
a wide selection of beverages for all types of customers. Coca-Cola is
one of the leading companies in the soda industry and is also one of the
largest brands in the world that offers non-alcoholic beverages. The
global empire of Coca-Cola spreads throughout over 200 countries
offering an extensive product portfolio of still and sparkling beverages.

While there may be a slight reduction in the popularity of soda drinks

due to the growing demand for healthy beverages and other health
trends, Coca-Cola has also focused on optimizing the product mix to
accommodate the changing tastes of its target market worldwide.
Besides its huge market share, the company is known for its high
customer loyalty and solid brand image. Coca-Cola invests a huge
amount of money every year in promotion and marketing to maintain its
growing brand recognition and nurture customer engagement.

Behind the huge funding on marketing and promotions are various

principles which guide every marketing initiative of Coca-Cola. Here
lies the Coca-Cola marketing mix where it focuses on the four essential
elements as parts of a comprehensive marketing strategy. It includes
price, product, place, and promotion which will be discussed in the next
chapter of this article.

Coca-Cola Marketing Mix: Product

Product is the first component of the 4Ps of marketing of Coca-Cola.

The company boasts an extensive showcase of product portfolio
summing up to 500 still and sparkling brands. With this number, it
provides more than 3000 beverage options. The company's leading
product, Coca-Cola is one of the most popular and valuable brands
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globally. Some of the most famous brands from the company's portfolio
are as follows:

 Coca-Cola. One of the most recognized and top-selling soft drinks

globally.
 Sprite. This is another popular brand from Coca-Cola with a
lemon-lime flavor. This was introduced to the market in 1961.
 Fanta. This beverage comes in an orange flavor and is the second
oldest drink from Coca-Cola that was introduced in 1940.
 Diet coke. Those who are health-conscious opt to choose this drink
as this is a calorie and sugar-free soft drink first made in 1982.
Some call this Coca-Cola light.
 Coca-Cola zero. This is the latest addition to the product portfolio
of Coca-Cola which contains zero sugar.
 Coca-Cola Life. It's a low-calorie beverage containing Stevia leaf
extract and cane sugar.
 Minute Maid. This is a juice drink by Coca-Cola acquired in
1960.
 Ciel. Coca-Cola introduced this non-carbonated purified drinking
water in 1960.
 Powerade. This is a beverage for hydration and energy which
contains electrolytes, carbohydrates, and fluids.
 Powerade zero. Fitness and sports drinks contain electrolytes but
without calories.
 Powerade. This is a beverage for hydration and energy which
contains electrolytes, carbohydrates, and fluids.
 Simply orange. A 100% premium orange juice is available in six
varieties.
 Fresca. A soft drink with a distinct citrus taste and caffeine-free.
 Glaceau Vitaminwater. This is drinking water enhanced with
nutrients and is available in 26 different countries.
 Del Valle. A premium line of nectars and juices exclusively sold in
Central and Latin America.

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Coca-Cola Marketing Mix: Price

Another component of the Coca-Cola marketing mix is the price. The

company follows the price discrimination approach to its marketing mix.
The approach allows the company to charge varying prices for its
products in several segments. Oligopoly is typically a market with a
small number of companies realizing that they are independent in terms
of output policies and pricing. The beverages industry practices
oligopoly having several purchasers but only with limited
manufacturers.

The various price points of Coca-Cola are generally driven by the kind
of consumption. Hence, the pricing power relies on several components
including product usage and location. When Coca-Cola attempts to
penetrate a new market, especially those sensitive to pricing, the
company usually lowers the prices of its products than its competition.
By the time it has solidified its position in the new market, it repositions
its strategy as a premium brand using several promotional initiatives.

Coca-Cola follows a price discrimination strategy in its marketing mix.

This means that they charge different prices for products in different
segments. The beverage market is considered an oligopoly, with a small
number of sellers and many purchasers. And Coca-Cola and Pepsi are
their two most powerful brands. Hence, Coke products are priced
similarly to Pepsi products in the same segments.
Consumers in developing nations like India are price sensitive and may
flip if Coca-Cola prices its goods too high in comparison to Pepsi in a
certain segment. As a result, both parties agree to preserve price parity in
each segment. Coca-Cola also provides discounts on bulk purchases by
bundling items.

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Coca-Cola Marketing Mix: Place

With the success of Coca-Cola, it is no secret that the company has

several global locations where its target market can easily access all its
products. It has an extensive and comprehensive distribution system
selling about 1.9 billion servings every day. Traditionally, Coca-Cola
relied on the company's global bottling partners for packaging and
distribution processes. The system operates across multiple channels.

Coca-Cola manufactures and sells syrups, concentrates, beverage bases

to bottling operations. The company owns all the brands and is
responsible for brand marketing initiatives. Instead of placing various
retail stores around the world, Coca-Cola maximizes the capabilities of
its authorized bottlers to package, merchandise, and distribute the
beverages to the company's vending partners and customers. The
authorized bottlers also work closely with restaurants, grocery stores,
convenience stores, street vendors, amusement parks, and movie theaters
to distribute Coca-Cola products. Together they effectively execute a
localized marketing strategy for the company.

Coca-Cola, which has been in business for more than 130 years and
operates in more than 200 countries throughout the world, has thus
amassed a massive distribution network. Their place strategy is
highlighted by their extensive distribution network. The Coca-Cola
Company manufactures the beverage using its patented formula and
distributes it to bottlers across the world.
The company controls the brands and is in charge of consumer brand
marketing campaigns and manufacturing and selling concentrates,
beverage bases, and syrups to bottling plants. Their bottling partners
then manufacture packages, and merchandise, and distribute the finished
branded beverages to their vending partners, who finally sell them to
consumers.
Its products can be found in practically every retail shop and
supermarket. Coca-Cola products are sold at 2.5 million stores in India.

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Their products are also distributed in a variety of hotels and restaurants
around the world.

Coca-Cola Marketing Mix: Promotion

The competition is tight in the soda industry, thus most companies spend
a huge amount of money to fund several advertisements and other
promotional initiatives. In 2016, Coca-Cola recorded a marketing
expenditure of $4 billion and increased to $4.1 billion in 2018.

It was also in 2016 where the company launched the Taste the Feeling
promotional campaign which marks a significant turnaround from its
previous marketing approach. Besides televisions and outdoor
advertising campaigns, Coca-Cola has expanded its ads across several
social media channels. Since digital marketing is one of the more
modern ways to promote a product, the company's social media accounts
are utilized to connect with followers and fans and for customer
engagements. In its official YouTube account, there are over 1, 250
promotional videos where customers can view. As competition gets
tougher, Coca-Cola aims to strengthen its reputation in the industry
through its social media platforms.

Surely digital marketing has played a significant role in modern

marketing, however, over the years, Coca-Cola has also been consistent
with its promotional initiatives in marketing strategy. They never deviate
from the fundamental and household message to their customers, which
is happiness. The company executes diverse campaigns, but never
forgets to instill in each ad the underlying theme throughout the
company's history.

Besides the fundamental promotional ads, Coca-Cola also invests in

corporate social responsibility and sustainability to develop a sustainable
manufacturing network and supply chain.

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Coca-Cola is the gold standard in terms of advertising and branding.
Coca-Cola’s promotion strategy focuses on aggressive marketing
through ad campaigns using media channels such as television, online
commercials, print media, sponsorships, and so on. Coca-Cola sponsors
important events such as American Idol, BET Network, NASCAR,
NBA, NCAA, Olympic Games, and FIFA World Cup, among others.
Coca-Cola also airs commercials on television in a variety of national
languages around the world. Coca-Cola started the “Taste the Feeling”
campaign in India in March 2016, intending to remind people of the joy
and happiness that Coke delivers to their life. Coca-Cola has evolved
into a mass-market product that is expected to be available at any time,
anywhere.

In February 2023, Coca-Cola India launched a fresh advertising

campaign for their product Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, titled “Best Taste
Ever?”. The campaign stars popular Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff. In
the video, Shroff appears to be skeptical about the taste of a beverage
that claims to contain no sugar. However, after taking a sip, he is
pleasantly surprised and can’t seem to put the drink down. This
advertising campaign featuring Tiger Shroff has generated buzz and
increased brand awareness for their product Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. By
utilizing celebrity endorsement, the company aimed to appeal to a wider
audience and create positive perceptions of their brand. This campaign is
an example of how elements of the promotion mix, such as advertising,
can be used to achieve marketing objectives and potentially contribute to
revenue growth.

With that last of the 4Ps strategy, our marketing mix comes to an end.
Coca Cola is clearly an extremely successful company that has nailed its
product offerings in terms of quality and variety both. Their pricing is
affordable and caters perfectly to their audience and industry. Their
geographical reach as we saw is commendable, thanks to the many
decades of experience under their belt. With its continued promotions
and signature branding, the company is sure to enjoy its distinguished
position in the market.

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Pepsi
Pepsi Product Strategy:
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The product strategy and mix in Pepsi marketing strategy can be
explained as follows:
Pepsi cold drink is the main product of the company Pepsi Co is the
Carbonated Soft Drinks. Pepsi is the leading product in this field. The
brand started in 1898 as Pepsi-Cola and the new brand came into
existence in 1961. The products in the Pepsi marketing mix are mainly
carbonated beverages, along with fruit juices, snacks etc. The other soft
drinks apart from Pepsi are the ones like Mountain Dew & 7up. They
have a different targeted customers. The company has also ventured in
the areas of chips and wafers like Lays, Cheetos and Kurkure which
carter to the various sections of the people. They have stringed up a lot
of variety of products within these products like Diet Pepsi, 7Up Revive
to name among a few. The company has further ventured into the
products like Lipton tea and the Tropicana juices. Pepsi Co are catering
to a wide variety of markets and are making their presence felt in almost
all the kind of food and beverage sectors.
Unlike the Coca-Cola brand which is a sole beverage company, PepsiCo
products include both food products and beverages so that it can gain a
competitive advantage with its various brands like Pepsi, Mountain
Dew, Quaker Oats, Cheetos, Lays, Kurkure, Lipton and Tropicana etc.
in the market.

Pepsi has paid special attention to product innovation and the tastes of
targeted customers in different locations. With time the company has
undergone several changes with some becoming instant hits and some
seeing failure.

The Pepsi marketing strategy makes sure that the product strategy
adopted by the brand is the best and will help the company to sell Pepsi
Products in the market. Pepsi is a beverage company that sells different
soft drink variants to its targeted customers.

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  PEPSI TWIST
 PEPSI LIME
 CRYSTAL PEPSI
 NITRO PEPSI
 DIET PEPSI
 PEPSI VANILLA
 PEPSI ZERO SUGAR – for health-conscious people

Pepsi Price/Pricing Strategy:

Below is the pricing strategy in Pepsi marketing strategy:
Pepsi products are priced according to the demand of the customers.
The price in the Pepsi marketing mix would be complete only after
studying beverages, snacks and other products offered by the company.
The CSD are priced at different rates depends on the competition and the
customers pocket. They have various sizes of bottles offered at various
rates. This are priced according to the quantity of the drinks supplied.
The promotion is also done keeping in mind the targeted customers. The
Tropicana beverages offered by Pepsi Co are priced a bit high as they
are targeted to the health conscious people. They are promoted in the
same way, showing the health conscious people and the people are made
to relate this drink to the people who work out or the people who are
concerned to with the healthiness of a drink. Lipton is also a bifurcation
of this segment but they are mainly targeted to the niche customers.
They are priced accordingly, a bit high as a reason of that. The chips and
other things are priced accordingly, depending on the quantity one wants
to buy. The marketing mix pricing strategy of Pepsi is mostly driven by
its most important competitor Coca Cola and the demand from
customers.

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The PepsiCo pricing policy in the PepsiCo marketing mix ensures that
all its brands have adopted pricing strategies relevant to their products.
The company understands the importance of a strong pricing policy that
is aligned with what the targeted customers are willing to pay.

The brand image of Pepsi is that of an affordable drink and that is what
makes it so popular amongst the masses. The company sells products in
different sizes and packages like Pet bottles 1L, 2L, 1.5L, 330ml, and
0.5L, Can 300ml and Glass Bottles 1L and 300ml etc so that customers
can buy according to their needs and budget.

Pepsi Place & Distribution Strategy:

Following is the distribution strategy in the Pepsi marketing mix:
Pepsi and its products are available in more than 200 countries
worldwide. The places where Pepsi products are sold are mainly the
areas where they find the targeted customers are available. The CSD are
available all over the places. The distribution strategy in Pepsi marketing
mix is focuses through distributor relationships and the extensive
network of retailers, grocery stores, restaurants, supermarkets etc spread
globally. With the growing presence of ecommerce & food delivery
apps, the beverage is available for customers. Pepsi products are easily
available to all the people and very easily. Same goes for the chips like
lays and kurkure as they are demanded by each kind of people and are a
kind of substitute of the food they have. Tropicana are available at
selected outlets as they have a specific kind of customers. Lipton also
gave a specific kind of customer base thus they are available at selected
outlets. These outlets are mainly the supermarkets or the stores where
the targeted customers are visiting the most.
PepsiCo has spread its product presence to nearly 200+ countries across
almost all urban and rural locations far and wide. The company has 36
bottling plants to manufacture and bottle the Pepsi variants. PepsiCo’s
original soft drink product Pepsi Cola was the second-most carbonated
drink sold in the United States after Coca-Cola. It has gained a strong
share amongst the targeted customers in India.
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Promotional Strategy of PepsiCo Marketing Strategies

The image of Pepsi is that of a drink for the younger and trendy
generation as well as an apt beverage for health-conscious people. The
Pepsi marketing strategy has adopted niche promotional strategies,
creative ideas, catchy slogans, public relations, various brand
ambassadors and a unique blue logo to boost the image, visibility and
brand awareness amongst the customers.

Pepsi’s promotional strategy includes the use of the following

promotional tools

Traditional Media
Pepsi is a drink for the masses and it has rightly used traditional media
like television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards and hoardings
to promote the brand across all sections of society.
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Sponsorships
Pepsi has made sponsorship deals for several sporting events like
National Hockey League, National Football League, UEFA Champions
League, Carolina Hurricanes and Major League Soccer etc.

Social Media Platforms

Pepsi uses social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and
Instagram by hosting contests, using the hashtag strategy and connecting
with the young generation. It also routinely posts recipes that will go
perfectly with Pepsi.

Comparison of pepsi and coco-cola

marketing mix
Coca-Cola Vs PepsiCo: Pricing Strategy

Pricing Strategy of Coca-Cola -

Coca-Cola's pricing is based on the value that its products create for
customers in different situations. The pricing strategy of Coca-Cola is
what they refer to as "meet-the-competition pricing": Coca-Cola
product prices are set around the same level as their competitors because
Coca-Cola has to be perceived as different but still affordable.

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Pricing Strategy of PepsiCo -

Pepsi is taking this value-based pricing strategy a bit further with its
“Hybrid Everyday Value” model. This pricing strategy is an effort to
make customers buy Pepsi not only when it is on sale. They have
various sizes of bottles offered at various rates. This is priced according
to the quantity of the drinks supplied. The promotion is also done
keeping in mind the targeted customers.

Promotion of pepsi and coke

Memorable Campaigns

Pepsi’s advertising campaigns are a lot different than Coke's. This

brand likes to experiment with the latest developments and work
with current celebrities. Pepsi’s advertisements are either
purely witty or catapulted by its rivals, with a tint of humor.

Pepsi is also big in terms of the celebrity collaborations they make

for their advertisements. Over the years the brand has associated
with a whole range of big names from the singing and acting
industries. People like Britney Spears, Cindy Crawford, Cardi B,
and more have already been roped in by the brand so far, which
resulted in multiplying the overall sales of the brand.

Memorable Campaigns of Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola has had its share of brilliantly made ad campaigns that not
only went on to drive a considerable amount of sales but also have the
brand etched in the minds of the customers. One such advertisement
campaign is “Share a Coke with.” This campaign introduced the coke
bottles listed with people’s names on them. It went really well with the
customers, who not only wanted to see their name printed on Coca-Cola
bottles on TV ad commercials but possess the actual bottle with them as

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a souvenir. The campaign resulted in around 7% growth in the
consumption of coke by young adults.

The advertisement “Holidays are coming” is yet another one of the

famous Coke campaigns that went on to be a huge success. With the
idea of holidays, most people associate the feelings of positiveness, joy,
homecoming, summer or Christmas holidays. Therefore, this is another
campaign that hits on the people’s emotions of coca-cola, as a drink,
which is associated with fun, relaxing, vacation and together, feelings of
warmth, friendship, and brotherhood.

Product comparison of pepsi and coke

When you look at Coke and Pepsi, it is clear that these companies are
different not only in their products but also their advertisements and
packaging. They are different in, what Seth Godin says in his book, their
storytelling.
In their products, you can notice that the taste of Pepsi’s products are
quite sugary whereas those of Coca-Cola have a raisin-vanilla taste.
Another difference between Pepsi and Coke is the message delivered to
their customers in all their adverts. Coca-Cola emphasizes relationships
while Pepsi focuses on entertainment like sports and music.

Even in their packaging, Pepsi and Coke make sure their customers have
a variety of products that they can select.

Coke packs its products in cans and plastic and glass bottles in different
quantities as mentioned above whereas Pepsi packs its drinks mostly in
cans and plastic bottles in limited quantities. This article on
differentiating your offerings will assist you to guide your organization
on how it can differentiate its products.

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Place comparison of Pepsi and coke

Pepsi

Makes product available in customer shopping area.Pepsi have exclusive

contract with independent/online distribution and retailer with some
hotels and restarunts. Pepsi interactive vending machines are placed in
many foreign states which is for play games and watch Pepsi
commercials and to charge our mobile phones these types of vending
machines are very popular in America and Mexico they had introduced
these types of vending machines to increase their sales

Coke

Distributors ,wholesalers and some retailers disrtribute their bottles and

cans to retail outlets, milk bar and corner stores , restaurants , petrol
stations and newsagents

They create cococolastore.com an online shop designed to expand

coke’s

Distribution of branded merchandise

They had also introduced some coke vending machines in many

countries such as Italy , Germany , Spain and in Northern parts of
California to increase their sales in these countries

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