Brand Management: A Case Study of Coca-Cola

This report analyzes the concept of brand strategy using the case study of Coca-Cola. It discusses the emotional and symbolic connections, cultural meaning, brand equity, communication strategies, and brand performance of Coca-Cola.

Running head: BRAND MANAGEMENT
BRAND MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF COCA-COLA
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report intends to analyse the concept of brand strategy in the particular light of the case study
of the firm Coca-Cola. The report begins by discussing the emotional connection that the customers,
particularly the teenagers or the youngsters share with the soft-drinks offered by Coca-Cola. The
report next analyses the symbolical connection that the soft-drinks offered by Coca-Cola have share
with the customers and it is seen that it is deeply ingrained in the social practices followed by the
teenagers. The report also analyses the manner in which the soft-drinks ingrains within itself the
cultural traditions of the teenagers or the youngsters. The communication process which is being
used by the firm, namely, the different kinds of digital marketing strategies and also the manner in
which the usage of different kinds of practices like use of recyclable plastic for packing and others
have helped in the creation of a positive brand image for the firm have also been discussed. Lastly,
the report concludes by highlighting the manner in which these aspects of the brand strategy used
by Coca-Cola have contributed towards the enhancement of the performance of Coca-Cola.

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Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
Emotion and Brands..............................................................................................................................3
Symbolic Meaning of Brands.................................................................................................................4
Cultural Meaning of Brands...................................................................................................................4
Brand Equity..........................................................................................................................................5
Brand Communication...........................................................................................................................5
Brand Performance...............................................................................................................................6
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................7
References.............................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
As opined by Ware (2014), the notion of brands can be defined as a specific commodity or
service which is being manufactured by a business enterprise under a particular name. Holmberg et
al. (2016) are of the viewpoint that the notion of brand can also be defined as the overall experience
of the customers regarding a particular business enterprise or the commodities or services offered
by it which distinguishes it from the ones offered by its rivals. This is important because of the fierce
business competition that the different business enterprises are presently facing in the business
markets of their operation. The resultant effect of this is that the contemporary business enterprises
are taking the help of different kinds of brand strategies for improving the prospects of their services
or goods and thereby earning a higher amount of profitability (Spicer, 2013). In this regard, mention
needs to be made of the company Coca-Cola which over the years had been able to develop a
unique brand image for the soft-drinks offered by it through the usage of adequate brand strategies.
This report will analyse the concept of brands and brand strategies through the usage of the case
study of the company, Coca-Cola.
Emotion and Brands
Heding, Knudtzen and Bjerre (2015) have noted that the brands in order to become
successful and also to enhance the experience of the customers need to establish an emotional bond
with them which in turn is likely to boost the sale or the demand of the same in the business market.
The company, Coca-Cola over the years had used the slogan or catchphrase “Share a Coke- Share a
feeling and Hug me” for the purpose of creating an emotional appeal for its customers (Coca-
cola.com, 2019). More importantly, it had been seen that through the usage of this slogan and other
similar advertisement campaigns the concerned brand had been able to create an emotional
attachment with its customers, especially the youngers and the teenagers who are its primary target
market (Cavazzana et al., 2017). The resultant effect of this is that the youngsters or the teenagers
like to bond over a bottle of Coca-Cola or the other soft-drinks offered by the concerned firm and it

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forms an integral part of the different social gathering of the individuals. As a matter of fact, it had
been seen that this unique social or emotional bonding that the customers share with the soft-drinks
offered by the firm under discussion here is one of the major reasons for the extensive success
gained by the concerned firm (Hackley & Hackley, 2017).
Symbolic Meaning of Brands
Franzak, Makarem and Jae (2014) have argued that the symbolical meaning of a brand
denotes the subtle ideas or the notions for which a brand stands for or the ideas that the services or
commodities offered by a firm often represents. In the particular context of the firm Coco-Cola it can
be said that the soft-drinks offered by the concerned firm represents a way of life for the customers
or a kind of social currency which distinguishes the drinkers of the soft-drink offered by the firm
from the individuals who do not drink the same (Chaston, 2015). More importantly, the soft-drinks
offered by the concerned firm are representative of the cultural traditions of the people and also the
manner in which they indulge in jolly or enjoyment during social interactions or gatherings (Banutu-
Gomez, 2014). This is perhaps one of the major reasons why the different advertisement campaigns
of the firm under discussion here show the characters of the advertisements drinking the soft-drinks
offered by the firm during social gatherings and having a great time.
Cultural Meaning of Brands
According to Aktaş, Taş͓ and Oğul (2016), the contemporary business enterprises so as to
gain a higher amount of financial returns or success generally ingrain the cultural attributes of the
target market for which the services or products are intended for. In the particular context of the
firm Coca-Cola, it is seen that the soft-drinks offered by the concerned firm had ingrain the cultural
traditions of the target market on which they primarily focus on, namely, the youngsters or the
teenagers (Baker et al., 2014). More importantly, it is seen that the for the teenagers or the
youngsters social gathering or bonding over a soft-drink forms an integral part of their cultural
traditions. The resultant effect of this is that it is precisely this cultural aspect of the teenagers or the

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youngsters that the brand under discussion here focuses on for the soft-drinks that it offers to them.
Furthermore, it had been seen that the concerned brand had been able to gain a significant amount
of success by integrating the cultural aspects or the traditions of the teenagers or youngsters and
this in turn had made the soft-drinks offered by the concerned firm a symbolical representation of
the culture of the teenagers or the youngsters itself (Cavazzana et al., 2017).
Brand Equity
As stated by Sharma (2016), the concept of brand equity is the commercial value which the
derives from the customer’s perception of a service or commodity offered by a particular firm rather
than the actual values or the benefits offered by the concerned service or commodity itself. In other
words, the concept of brand equity can be defined as the value that the firms are being able to
derive from the name of a brand or for that matter its reputation in the business market of its
operation (Ware, 2014). In the particular case of Coca-Cola, it is seen that because of the different
kinds of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities or measures that it had followed over the
years and also on the score of its rich past history, the concerned firm enjoys a positive brand image
in the beverage or the soft-drink industry (Cavazzana et al., 2017). More importantly, the
environmental stand taken by the firm, namely, the usage of recyclable plastic material for the
manufacture of bottle, taking into the health concerns of the customers and others have contributed
in a significant manner towards the enhancement of the brand image of the concerned firm (Coca-
cola.com, 2019). These in turn had substantially enhanced the brand equity or the customer
perception towards the concerned firm and also the soft-drinks offered by it as well.
Brand Communication
Coca-Cola actively takes the help of the different kinds of digital marketing strategies like
social media marketing, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), content marketing and others for the
purpose of communicating with its customers (Chaston, 2015). In this regard, it needs to be said that
the firm under discussion here takes the help of the different kinds of digital marketing strategies for

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conveying the information regarding the diverse kinds of soft-drinks offered by to the customers and
also for informing the customers regarding the business practices followed by it. More importantly,
it is also seen that the concerned firm regularly takes the help of different kinds of advertisement
campaigns for influencing the buying behaviour of the teenagers or the youngers who are its primary
target market or customer base (Heding, Knudtzen & Bjerre, 2015). As a matter of fact, the
concerned firm actively takes the help of different kinds of digital marketing strategies because of
the fact that they are not only affordable in nature in comparison to the traditional marketing
measures but also because of the fact that they enable the concerned firm to reach out to a much
larger customer base (Cavazzana et al., 2017). Furthermore, it is also seen that the concerned firm in
order to effectively maintain a positive market por public image takes the help of different kinds of
public relations experts. Moreover, Coca-Cola in their marketing or promotional advertisements also
focus on the fun and entertainment aspects that the soft-drink offered by it is likely to provide to the
customers.
Brand Performance
The firm Coca-Cola, which specialises in the manufacture in different kinds of carbonated
soft-drinks is one of the largest business enterprises of the world and is presently operational in
more than 200 nations of the world (Coca-cola.com, 2019). Furthermore, it is seen that the revenue
earned by the enterprise had increased in a steady manner over the years and for the year 2018 it
was more than US$31.85 billion (Coca-cola.com, 2019). As a matter of fact, in the year 2015, the
enterprise under discussion here was the 3rd “best global brand” just after Apple and Google (Coca-
cola.com, 2019). In addition to these, the sale of the different soft-drinks offered by the enterprise
had also increased over the years and for the year 2018 it sold more than 1.8 billion bottles of soft-
drinks on a daily basis (Coca-cola.com, 2019). Moreover, the popularity as well as the growth
attained by the concerned enterprise becomes apparent from the fact that it is one of the most
valuable brands of the world and for the year 2017 its brand value was more than US$69.73 billion

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(Coca-cola.com, 2019). On the score of these aspects, it can be said that the brand under discussion
here had been able to maintain a steady performance over the years.
Conclusion
To conclude, the intense business competition that the business enterprises are facing
within the business markets of their operations had made it imperative for them to use different
kinds of effective brand strategies. Furthermore, it had been seen that the usage of an effective
brand strategy enables the firms to not only attain a market position but also enhance the financial
performance of the services or products offered by them as well. These aspects of the brand
strategy become apparent from the above analysis of the brand strategy of the firm Coca-Cola.

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References
Aktaş Arnas, Y., Taş͓, I., & Gürgah Oğul, İ. (2016). The development of brand awareness in young
children: how do young children recognize brands?. International Journal of Consumer
Studies, 40(5), 536-542.
Baker, T. L., Rapp, A., Meyer, T., & Mullins, R. (2014). The role of brand communications on front line
service employee beliefs, behaviors, and performance. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, 42(6), 642-657.
Banutu-Gomez, M. B. (2014). The role of culture, language, and ethics in global business. European
Scientific Journal.
Cavazzana, A., Larsson, M., Hoffmann, E., Hummel, T., & Haehner, A. (2017). The vessel’s shape
influences the smell and taste of cola. Food quality and preference, 59, 8-13.
Chaston, I. (2015). Internet marketing and big data exploitation. Aukland, New Zealand: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Coca-cola.com, (2019). Home. Retrieved from https://www.coca-cola.com/
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engagement. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 23(1), 16-23.
Hackley, C., & Hackley, R. A. (2017). Advertising and promotion. Sage.
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Holmberg, C., Chaplin, J. E., Hillman, T., & Berg, C. (2016). Adolescents' presentation of food in social
media: An explorative study. Appetite, 99, 121-129.

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Sharma, A. (2016). What personal selling and sales management recommendations from developed
markets are relevant in emerging markets?. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales
Management, 36(2), 89-104.
Spicer, C. (2013). Organizational public relations: A political perspective. Routledge.
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