Marketing Planning Process for Coca Cola Zero Sugar

This report covers the marketing context of Coca Cola's new soft drink product, Zero Sugar. It includes an explanation of the components of the marketing planning process, PESTEL analysis, micro-environmental factors, and the importance of building a strong marketing mix. Additionally, it discusses segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies for the new product.

MKT4001D
Principles of
Marketing

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................3
TASK....................................................................................................................................................3
Section 1 – Marketing Environment and Planning Process.............................................................3
Explanation of the components of Marketing Planning Process for the new soft drink product........3
Environmental audit in the form of PESTEL Analysis for the new soft drink product......................5
Micro environmental factors..............................................................................................................6
The importance of building a strong and coordinated marketing mix................................................7
Section 2 – Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning..........................................................................8
Segmentation of the new soft drink product......................................................................................8
For B2C markets.........................................................................................................................8
For B2B markets..........................................................................................................................8
Targeting methods that could be used for the B2C market for the new product................................8
Meaning of Positioning and how the new soft drink product will be positioned in the target market
of Coca Cola......................................................................................................................................9
Section 3 – Marketing Mix Analysis...................................................................................................9
7 Ps of marketing for new soft drink product of Coca Cola...............................................................9
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..................................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Marketing planning refers to the advertising strategy that an organization implements
to sell its products and services. It helps to determine what the target market of the company
is, how can the company best reach to its target customers, and what should be the price of
the product that the company is to offer its products at (Westwood, 2022). The following
report will cover the marketing context of a new soft drink to be produced by the Coca Cola
Company. It is a US based multinational company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, US and
dealing in the soft drink products like Pepsi, Inca Cola, Kola Real etc. with variants like Coca
Cola Lie, Coca Cola Citra etc. Now, the company is planning to introduce a new soft drink
product i.e. Coca Cola Zero Sugar taking into consideration the health-conscious attitudes of
the customers.
The report will discuss the components of marketing planning process and a brief
environment audit through PESTEL Analysis for the new soft drink product. It will also deal
with the micro-environmental factors like competitors’ activity. The 7 Ps of marketing mix
will also be covered in context with the new soft drink product of the company. Further, the
STP analysis of the new products will also be dealt with in this report.
TASK
Section 1 – Marketing Environment and Planning Process
Explanation of the components of Marketing Planning Process for the new soft drink product
The marketing planning process can be referred to as a systematic and procedural
approach for planning, anticipating, coordinating the needs and objectives of marketing. It is
a structured approach for implementing and measuring the marketing strategies. The
company chosen in this report is Coca Cola that is a US based soft drink company and the
manufacturer is The Coca Cola Company that is launching a new soft drink product or
variant i.e. Coca Cola Zero Sugar with its existing product range. The Coca Cola Company
has already launched this product in the countries like North America, LATAM, UK, Turkey,
some other Asian regions etc. The following is explanation of components of marketing
planning process in context with Coca Cola Zero Sugar that the company is launching -
 Market Research – Research is considered to be backbone of marketing plan (Cui, Hu
and Xie, 2021). The company is required to identify the customers’ buying habits in

the industry or region where it is going to launch its new product i.e. India. For
example, the Coca Cola Company is launching its Coca Cola Zero Sugar in India by
identifying the market size, market growth or decline, and the current trends in the
market.
 Target Market – The target market of its new product Coca Cola Zero Sugar is India
that the company is going to launch its new soft drink in. The target customers of this
new soft drink would be younger customers within the age bracket of 10-25 and a
secondary market consists of people aged 25-40.
 Positioning – The new products of the company will be positioned as thirst-quenching
and refreshing. It will make a positive difference in the customers’ lives and the Coca
cola sugar free will be associated with having a great time with family and friends
while enjoying the daily life (Lu and et. al., 2021).
 Competitive Analysis – Coca Cola has many big competitors in the soft drink industry
such as Red Bull, Pepsi, Sprite, Dr. Pepper etc. But for the new soft drink i.e. Coca
Cola Zero Sugar that the company is going to launch in India, will have to face the
Indian soft drink competitor’s such as Maaza, Dabur, PepsiCo, Parle agro etc. that the
company will have to consider in its marketing analysis while launching its new soft
drink product.
 Market Strategy – Coca Cola has launched an integrated market campaign for
promoting its new product Coca Cola Zero Sugar. The campaign is running across
TV, streaming radio, local radio and out of home, in-store retail, through online video,
on the social media handles of the company, along with the Snapchat filters and AR
lens etc. The company is utilizing the multichannel marketing stagey to promote its
new product.
 Budget – Coca Cola needs to spend at least $ 100 million on advertising in digital,
print and national TV of India that it is going to launch Zero Sugar soft drink in. It
will invest in premium ad units and will advertise on multiple Media properties across
multiple media formats. The company will develop the metrics to check whether the
marketing strategies and activities are generating sufficient return on investment.
 Metrics – The Company tracks its marketing success with Google Analytics for
website conversions and an Excel sheet for comparing the budget against the actual
Return on Investment of the company (Farza and et. al., 2021). Coca Cola will test the
programs of marketing of its new Zero Sugar soft drink product over the course of a
30-60 day period and will evaluate the results.

Market Orientation refers to the approach to business that prioritises identification of the
needs and desires of the customers and development of the products and services that provide
customer satisfaction (Vrontis and et. al., 2021). Market orientation includes improvements in
the customers’ service and product support so as to solve the concerns raised by the
customers. Coca Cola serves the customers a broad selection of the non-alcoholic ready-to-
drink beverages that they want to drink throughout the day. In context with the new soft drink
product of the company i.e. Coca Cola Zero Sugar, the company follows the Customer
orientation of market orientation by understanding the entire supply chain of its customers in
the target market i.e. India for its current new product.
So, Coca Cola has first identified the needs of customers such as the health conscious
attitudes of the customers regarding the demand of Zero Sugar soft drinks so as to launch this
product in various parts of the world and now in India. For the Coca Cola zero sugar, the
company uses Customer-based approach of market orientation and not a product-based
approach. It maintains close relationships with the customers through market research by
creating the new product that is focused on its market segments top ensure customer
satisfaction.
Environmental audit in the form of PESTEL Analysis for the new soft drink product
PESTEL Analysis is a business framework that is used by the marketers to analyse
and monitor the macro-environmental factors so as to measure their positive or negative
impact on the organisation or industry to improve the performance of marketing or business
(BANJAR, 2021). The following is the PESTEL analysis of new soft drink product of Coca
Cola –
 Political – The political factors like tax laws, foreign trade laws, labour laws etc. put
pressure on the company to comply with the laws regarding all its products. Such as
Coca Cola is facing cost pressure due to the rise in tariffs on steel and aluminium. The
countries like Cuba and North Korea have banned the purchase or sale of Coca Cola.
So, for its new product i.e. Coca Cola Zero Sugar, the company will have to face the
political factors of India in transferring or exporting the product or in setting its price
so as to suit its political conditions.
 Economic – Its products are distributed among hundreds of countries that have
different economic factors like change in inflation rates, interest rates, economic
growth or decline etc. including India. Coca cola is already dominating the market

with 50% market share in the carbonated beverage market. The people are looking for
healthy alternative links as a result of which the company has introduced the new
product which will have to meet the economic regulations of India like effect on
prices due to change in inflation rates of the country.
 Social – As India is a cultured country like Japan and China, the company may have
to face the negative social attitudes as the people of India are not as health conscious
as that of America that who swap sugary drinks and preferred the Zero sugar soft
drinks of Coca Cola.
 Technological – Machinery have helped the company in launching its new product.
Apart from this, Coca Cola will use the social media technology to connect with the
audiences so as to promote its newly launched soft drink product. The photos of new
product of the company have trended in the social media sites like Facebook,
Instagram etc. and are advertised by famous celebrities.
 Environmental – Coca Cola has already faced substantial criticism for draining off the
ground water in India where it is going to launch its new soft drink. The Company is
launching the new product for raising concerns about the environment protection from
the plastic use bottles. For launching the Zero sugar Soft drink, it will need water
accessibility that is important for soft drink development (Tokody, 2021). It is using
the water smart farming methods like RAIN and CARE so as to use as less water as
possible.
 Legal – As many countries have already issued a range for sugar usage in beverages,
coca cola is required to consider it while launching its new zero sugar product.
Caffeine quantity has also been fixed for most countries including India that the
company will also get affected by for its new product. Coca Cola has already faced
legal consequences due to the quantity of caffeine in its beverages in various countries
and thus it is introducing the new caffeine-free Zero Sugar product drink (Coca Cola
PESTLE Analysis, 2022).
Micro environmental factors
The company has many big competitors in the soft drink industry that also offer the
similar products and share the same audience with this company. The major competitors of
the company include Red Bull, Fanta, Sprite Gatorade, Dr, Pepper Mountain dew etc. As the
company is going to launch its new soft drink product i.e. Coca Cola Zero Sugar in India, it

will have to face the competitive rivalry with the Indian soft drink companies as well such as
Dabur, Maaza, Pepsico and Parle Agro etc.
Recent competitor activity of Coca Cola
The biggest competitor of coca cola is PepsiCo that is the second largest beverage or
soft drink company according to 2021 with a market share of 25.9%. In competing with the
PepsiCo, the Coca Cola had got competitive advantage in terms of superior marketing
strategy and a more diverse product range than PepsiCo.
The importance of building a strong and coordinated marketing mix
The extended marketing mix refers to the composition of 7 elements of marketing
aiming to work together for achieving the objectives of marketing strategy (Cheetham, 2021).
For Coca Cola Zero Sugar, 7 Ps of marketing mix are as under –
 Product – Coca Cola Zero Sugar
 Place – India, Physical i.e. stores, restaurants cafes etc. and online distribution.
 Price – Coca Cola will follow a Competitive pricing policy for its new product.
 Promotion – Ad campaigns through television, online commercials, print media and
sponsorships etc.
 People – Coca Cola has more than 86000 employees helping the company in
promoting its new product.
 Process – The Coca Cola system consists of Coca Cola Company and its nearly 225
bottling partners that will help in preparing, packaging, selling and distributing the
new zero sugar soft drink.
 Physical Evidence – The logo of Coca Cola is visible on the new drink with other
promotional material such as carbonated water, natural flavours etc.
The above elements of the marketing mix will be leveraged by Coca Cola in promoting its
new product which will help the company in enhancing the effectiveness of business’s
marketing effort.
Section 2 – Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning
Segmentation of the new soft drink product
Market segmentation is the process by which a mass market is divided into
identifiable and unique segments consisting of shared needs and characteristics (Ramšak,
2022). The following is the segmentation of new product of Coca Cola -

For B2C markets
The company segments its customers on the basis of demographic as well as
geographic segmentation including countries, units including cities, region, and
neighbourhoods etc. The company also focuses on countrywide product distribution of goods.
Such as for the new product i.e. Coca Cola Zero Sugar, the company has segmented its
customers on geographic basis i.e. the regions of India.
For B2B markets
Coca Cola also offers beverage and marketing services to dozens of franchised
bottlers around the world. They sell the bulk quantities of finished products such as the
grocery store chains, cinemas, food service operators and caterers etc. supporting the B2B
transactions with them. For B2B markets, Coca Cola segments its customers on the basis of
geographic segmentation as its business customers are from different countries.
The approaches of Coca Cola differ in segmenting its B2B and B2C segmentation as
the company segments its B2C segments on the basis of demographic as well as geographic
segmentation but segments those of B2B by geographic segmentation. This is because the
business customers and household customers of the company are from different countries but
demographic segmentation is followed for B2C as it provides products based on the
demographics like to the cross cultural males and high income group people.
Targeting methods that could be used for the B2C market for the new product
Targeting refers the selection of the target market of company and target customers
after segmenting the market into identifiable segments (Currier, 2022). In case of Coca
Cola’s new product i.e. Coca Cola Zero Sugar, the company will target younger generation
customers within the age bracket of 10-25 and a secondary market will consist of people aged
25-40. In terms of the geographic segmentation, the target market for the new product of the
company is India as the company has launched its new product in India this time.
From among the youngsters, the new product of the company primarily targets the
male segment i.e. young and cross-cultural males as they tend to go out more and enjoy the
drinks with friends in India. Coca cola follows the Demographic Targeting method in which
behavioural advertising is done to target the online advertisements at the customers on the
basis of demographic information. For launching the new products, the company has taken
into consideration the demographic factors like health conscious attitudes of its customers,
focused on Youngsters primarily the cross-cultural males.

Meaning of Positioning and how the new soft drink product will be positioned in the target
market of Coca Cola
Positioning refers to how the company is going to communicate its products to the
chosen audience segments. While the segmentation and the targeting are about customers,
positioning is primarily about the products of the company from the customer’s perspective
(Wang and et. al., 2021).
The products that coca cola offers are said to bring joy to its target market. The
company will position its new product as a thirst quenching, refreshing and a soft drink for
health conscious customers. So, the company will position its new drink as a high-quality
drink offering positive experience to the customers.
Section 3 – Marketing Mix Analysis
7 Ps of marketing for new soft drink product of Coca Cola
Marketing mix is considered as a strategic marketing tool which enables the company
achieve its goals by targeting the market. In relation to Coca Cola, the marketing mix has
been explained as under -
Marketing Mix Components New Soft Drink Product
Product - It refers to good or
services that are made or
offered by the organization in
order to satisfy the wants of
the customers.
As regard with the Coca Cola, it is introducing new soft
drink product i.e. Coca Cola zero sugar in India by
considering the health conscious attitudes of people people.
The product will be sweetened in the bottles and cans with a
blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium. Together, it
will create a great taste with Zero Sugar and Zero calories.
Price - This indicates value of
the products and services for
which the customers willing
to pay and make better deal.
Coca Cola Zero Sugar will be price on the basis of the
Competitor’s pricing. The company offers its products to
the high-income group people who are its target audience
and who frequently visit restaurants without compromising
with the quality of products. Although the target market of
Coca cola is mainly 15-35 age group, it is creating the new
product to be enjoyed by all age group including middle age
group as well.
Place - It refers to the point of
sale of the product and service
The company has good collaboration with the wholesalers,
distributors and retailers who assist the company in

of company (Venkatesan and
Lecinski, 2021).
providing the product of the company to the customers.
Coca Cola sells its products via brick and mortar stores,
websites, application and many more places. So, the Coca
Cola Zero Sugar will also be provided through physical
stores like restaurants, cafes, at airports and supermarkets
etc. and through online delivery as well.
Promotion - This refers to
communication that are made
by the organization to their
customers regarding the new
products in order to make
them aware about the
features, quality, price of the
product.
Coca Cola promotes its products mainly through Television
commercials, print media, online commercials and by the
sponsorships etc. For promoting its new Zero sugar soft
drink product, it has conducted a television and print and
online advertisements by the brand ambassador and actress
Kriti Sanon for launching its new product in India (COCA
COLA MARKETING MIX, 2022).
People - These refers to the
customers and employees of
the organization who have
direct relation with the
products and services of an
organization.
Coca Cola is having a strong employee base of almost
86000 employees. It mainly focuses on strategic human
resource management. These employees serve the company
in promoting its existing as well as newly introduced
product. The marketing staff of the company is providing
competitive advantage in terms of their best marketing
efforts in promoting the Coca Cola Zero Sugar.
Physical Evidence - it refers
to the process of delivering of
the product to the end users
which includes process of
manufacturing of the product
and reachable to the
customers (Schlegelmilch,
2022).
In relation to Coca Cola, it provides quality beverages to the
customers that have a good packaging. This helps in
enhancing the experience of the customers and increase
their satisfaction level. The new Coca Cola Zero Sugar, like
other soft drinks of the company, will have a logo of Coca
Cola with required details like ingredients that will be
promoting the brand by proving to to be a Zero Sugar and
Zero calories and Zero Caffeine soft (Marketing mix of
Coca-Cola, 2025).
Process - it refers to the
evidence that is perceived by
the customers when they
The partnership of Coca Cola with the bottling partners
enables the company in in having a large distribution
network. Coca Cola Zero Sugar will also be processed

consume the products of the
company (Ofori, 2021).
through preparation, packaging, selling and distribution and
bottling etc. so as to provide customer satisfaction by
effective marketing through appropriate packaging and
bottling of the drink.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be analyzed that deciding a proper marketing mix
strategy helps the marketers in promoting the brand in an effective manner and in conducting
the marketing activities according to marketing plan. The companies must conduct an
environmental audit to identify various positive or negative forces that impact the launch of
new product in the target market of the company. For this, they can use different business
frameworks like PESTEL analysis. It is imperative for the company for preparing a
marketing plan so as to provide a basis for the marketing activities for launching a new
product. For launching a new product in the new market, the company must specify all the
components of marketing mix regarding that particular product for deciding its price, place of
distribution, method of promotion etc.

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