Marketing and Society: Case Study of Coca-Cola

This assignment provides a comprehensive analysis of The Coca-Cola Company's marketing strategies and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. It discusses the company's use of sustainable agriculture as a CSR activity, its market research, and efforts to reduce environmental impact through technological advancements in aircraft design.

Running head: MARKETING AND SOCIETY
Marketing and Society
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1MARKETING AND SOCIETY
Question (a)
Marketing is known as the process of management that enables an idea to travel from
the creator to the customer (Armstrong, 2015). It makes sure that the product that is being
created reaches out to the market and the consumers use it. Marketing involves 4 main stages
and they are-
 Product Development
 Pricing
 Distribution
 Promotion
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the duty that an organization or business
performs towards the society. Every organization has certain policies which make
contributions towards the society and this in return adds to the betterment of the overall
image of the company (Tai & Chuang, 2014). It is essential for organizations to make sure
that they contribute positively to the society and their motives should not be only to reap
profits from the market. The CSR lends social, environmental and economic sustainability to
an organization’s stakeholders and the society.
Question (b)
The Coca-Cola Company has always faced the issue that it causes harm to the existing
water and land resources. The company has always faced the issue that the drinks they
manufacture are hazardous for human health. The various CSR activities that the company
uses include the multiple sustainable agriculture process that are being implemented by the
company. The Coca Cola Company claims that more than 80% of the resources they use are
from the sustainable sources. They practice sustainable agriculture in association with various

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communities and hence it also empowers the members of those communities financially
(Sustainable Agriculture, 2018). The practices they have taken up are in accordance to the
CSR model but the issue that comes up is that their activities are not directed towards the
larger part of the society. Though their sustainable agriculture model empowers certain
communities and enables them to earn from the agriculture but such steps are not enough for
the wider social changes that CSR should primarily target.
Question (c)
The Coca Cola Company uses sustainable agriculture mainly as their CSR activity but
it is to be noted that a company of such grandeur should have more such practices that will
create a positive image. The brand has immense value in the market and hence they should be
more engaging in their CSR activities so that people feel good about the organization
(Stobart, 2016). The company can start raising funds from their sales and contribute the same
to various social causes such as education, welfare of the people, green drives and free
products for the poor. The company needs to create an emotional appeal in the market and
these practices will enable them in doing so, the customers will be happy to buy their
products and feel a wave of satisfaction among them because of the indirect contribution they
make for a better society. The organization has a bad reputation for producing drinks that are
carbonated and harmful for the health. They should start health drivers in the localities son
that people can change the image they have of the organization in their mind.
Question (d)
Market research for a company is essential and it is recommended that the outcomes
that are achieved from the report should be used. The market research enables a company to
know about the market to which it caters and the various trends that are prevalent in the
market (Malhotra, Birks & Wills, 2013). The market research report provides the company

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insights of the consumer base. The market segmentation can be reviewed for the company
based on the report from market research so that it reaches out to a wider consumer base. A
company may be catering to a certain segment of the market however it may have potential
buyers in other segments too. These changes in the market plan will make sure that the profit
is maximized and the company outs to the utmost level in the market. It is believed that the
market place is changing everyday and people are opting for the various new brands that are
entering into the market. For an existing organization to know of such changes in the
consumer behavior and have an upper hand in the market, it is essential for them to adhere to
the changes that are suggested in the market research. It essentially provides a competitive
advantage to the organization. An example of this is the business operations of Woolworths
Supermarkets in the country of Australia. The retail company in order to cater to the needs as
well as the requirements of the customers provides regular discounted sales. In addition to
this, the company Woolworths Supermarkets in order to capture the customer base provides
products belonging to different brands under one roof. Moreover, the prices of the products
sold by them are kept lower than the ones offered by other competitors of the company like
Coles, Amazon and others. The company also conducts regular surveys in order to
understand the needs as well as the requirements of the customers and stocks its stores with
those kinds of products. Therefore, it would not be too far-fetched to say that these are some
of the methods which have enabled Woolworths to emerge as one of the largest retail
companies of Australia.
Question (e)
Airlines have become much more efficient and pro-environment in its approach in
recent times. Planes have worked on its technology and it is seen that it is constantly
developing itself in a way that low energy is consumed and fuel efficiency is increased. Some

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planes have small heightened tips at the end of each wings of the plane, these are known as
Winglets and they essentially cut down 10-15 % fuel emission (Gavrilović et al., 2015).
Unlike previously, nowadays when the flights are kept on ground and they prepare for the
take off, they use only one engine. This leads to conserving fuel and making sure that energy
is not wasted. The flight operations have been mechanized using automation and such
technological advancements have enabled in reduced use of the fuel. The emission level of
airplanes have also been reduced efficiently and it is said that unlike a decade back planes no
more emit such huge amounts of toxic into the air. The efficiency can be seen in the interiors
of the plane too as there are various low energy consuming monitors for the consumers
instead of LCDs. It is estimated that the planes in the upcoming decades will become much
environment friendly and the cost of flying will subsequently come down.

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Reference
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., & Brennan, R. (2015). Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson Education. ISBN 978-1292017518
Gavrilović, N. N., Rašuo, B. P., Dulikravich, G. S., & Parezanović, V. B. (2015).
Commercial aircraft performance improvement using winglets. FME
Transactions, 43(1), 1-8. Retrieved from:
http://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/1451-2092/2015/1451-20921501001G.pdf
Malhotra, N. K., Birks, D. F., & Wills, P. (2013). Essentials of marketing research. Pearson.
Retrieved from: http://wwwdocs.fce.unsw.edu.au/marketing/amj_12_2_harris_br.pdf
Stobart, P. (Ed.). (2016). Brand power. Springer. ISBN 1349128406, 9781349128402

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Sustainable Agriculture. (2018). The Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved 13 March 2018, from
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/sustainable-agriculture
Tai, F. M., & Chuang, S. H. (2014). Corporate social responsibility. Ibusiness, 6(03), 117.
Retrieved from: http://file.scirp.org/pdf/IB_2014091916083406.pdf