Brand Management of Coca-Cola: A Comprehensive Analysis

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‘Optimum Impression Ltd’.
2019
BRAND MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1 BUILDING AND MANAGING BRAND OVERTIME...........................................................4
TASK 2 BRAND PORTFOLIO AND HIERARCHY MANAGEMENT..................................................9
TASK 3 BRAND EXTENSION AND LEVERAGE...........................................................................14
TASK 4 MEASURING AND MANAGING BRAND VALUE............................................................20
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................... 24
REFERENCE............................................................................................................................. 25
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Brand Strategy..........................................................................................................4
Figure 2: Keller’s brand equity model.....................................................................................5
Figure 3: 5 ways to extend your brand................................................................................6
Figure 4: One Brand Strategy................................................................................................ 11
Figure 5: Brand Management Hierarchy of Coca-Cola..........................................................11
Figure 6: Logo of the Coca-Cola Company.............................................................................12
Figure 7: The cocoa pod inspired the Coke bottle design.....................................................13
Figure 8: Diet coke 5 flavors..................................................................................................15
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INTRODUCTION
The brand is the identity of the product which distinguishes the product of the company
from other similar products of the market. Branding helps in marketing of the product and
make it clearly recognizable in the marketplace. The project focuses on the concept of brand
and relevance of branding for building brand equity. Suggestions are given for the extension
of the brand and its reinforcing strategies are discussed. Further, the portfolio management
is analyzed in the report and brand hierarchies and brand equity are examined with
reference to the portfolio of the organization. The concept and differences of the line
extension and brand extension are covered by the report. In the addition of above,
suggestions are given the weaknesses and the strengths of the brand are critically
evaluated. At last, the measuring and management techniques of the chosen brand are
discussed in the assignment.
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TASK 1 BUILDING AND MANAGING BRAND
OVERTIME
BRAND IS POWER
The brand is considered the asset of the company which increases the value of the product
of the company (Truex, 2018). The brand is the unique logo, symbol, design or combination
of all of these that used to recognize the product. For example, Coca-Cola, Adidas,
McDonald's, Yahoo, Amazon, Colgate, etc. are some famous brand names. Branding is the
process of creating a positive image of the product in the minds of the customers. A
company's brand is the name of the distinctive product which is secured by a trademark or
service mark. This trademark or service mark is provided by an authorized agency which
cannot be used by others after the approval of the application.
Figure 1: Brand Strategy
[Source: telco, 2018]
Brand Equity is a value generated by the brand of the product over the years by satisfying
the customers. It is the value premium gained by the company by making its product
memorable by providing a quality product in the market (Finkle, 2016). There are various
methods for creating brand value such as marketing campaigns, interacting with the
customers, etc. The brand of the company is its intangible asset which is used to measure
the creditworthiness of the company. The major advantage of the brand name is that it
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creates awareness about the product in the market. It builds up the identity of the product
by which it is distinguished from similar products. Once a customer is satisfied with the new
brand, the company can take advantage of customer loyalty towards the brand. The
customers become more loyal followers of the brand when they see the brand more often
in the marketplace. A well-established base of loyal customers can bring a hike in the sale of
the product by suggesting the brands to others. This will result in the outside marketing of
the product by the customers themselves which will reinforce the purchased merchandise in
the customer's mind. A customer of a foreign country also identifies a local product with its
brand name. Thus the product become famous worldwide by establishing a positive brand
image (Lauren, 2018).
In order to strengthen the image of the product brand, CBBE Model of Keller can be used.
CBBE model stands for Customer-based brand equity model which is a brand equity
pyramid.
Figure 2: Keller’s brand equity model
[Source: Bhasin, 2018]
According to the model, brand identity is the first step which aims at creating awareness of
the brand. Market research is made in this prospect to understand the customers who are
using the brand and what they think about the brand. The next step is brand meaning which
is answering the question ‘what are you?' The brand is explained by Philip Kotler as the
impression and image that the customers hold about the product. The third step is a brand
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response which is related to the question ‘what do customers feel or think about you?'
Customers make judgments about a product which is new in the market. These judgments
are of four types, i.e. quality, credibility, consideration, and superiority. The product should
be unique, effective and useful for getting a positive response from the customers. The last
step of the model is Brand resonance which is based on the question ‘what type and extent
of association customer would like to have with you?' it is the highest step in the CBBE
model which is associated with building up customer loyalty. Once the customer likes the
product, they will repeat their purchase with the same brand. The company has the chance
to gain extra value for the next purchase of the same customer. The company can earn
more profits by developing a healthy and good relationship with its customers (Boman,
2018).
Brand extension is the technique of leveraging the strengths of the existing brand for
increasing the sales of the new product (Kenton, 2018).
Figure 3: 5 ways to extend your brand
[Source: VanAuken, 2016]
There are various ways through which a brand can be extended by the companies. Some of
them are as follows:
 Manufacturing the product or supply the services by the company itself.
 Manufacturing the product or supply the services by acquiring other company.
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 Sourcing the products or services from some other organization but selling them
under the company's brand name.
 Using brand licensing by making available the company's brand to some other
company to extend the brand into new categories.
 Through a joint venture or an alliance with other company and supplying the
products and services.
There are many well-known companies which extended their brands as a part of their
strategy for gaining competitive advantage in the market. For example, the personal
computer manufacturing company Apple extended its brands into smartphones and MP3
players. Exotic sports car making company Ferrari extended into theme parks. Fender, the
manufacturers of guitars also now makes earbuds.
Brand reinforcement is the technique of sustaining old customers and attracting new
customers. It is majorly concerned with building and maintaining brand equity by
developing actual relationships with the customers (Miller, 2016). The brand of the
company can be reinforced by being consistent in the market and communicating
consistently with the customers. It is the marketing strategy where the brand stays in the
mind of the customers when they continuously see the brand in the market. This builds the
positive image of the product that if the product is continuously seen in the market then it is
having sale and customers are buying the product. Another way is to use social media for
creating an international brand image of the company. Social media is a vast network means
through which a wide range of customers can be approached by the company. A brand can
also be reinforced by using various colors, logos, symbols, signs, graphics, etc. in the brand
of the company. Brand reinforcement can be understood with the famous example of Pizza
Hut which organizes a campaign back in 2013 from 11th February to 13th February for
increasing its brand visibility. According to the program, Pizza Hut declared 24 gifts which
include a pizza-scented perfume and a $20 gift card that would be delivered on Valentine's
Day.
Marketing strategies play an important role in building the brand equity of a company.
Marketing programs help in creating awareness about the product in the market which
leads in developing customer-based brand equity. Marketing involves communication with
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the customers which helps in understanding the current state of the product and the
improvements required by the customers. There are various methods through which the
marketers can develop brand equity of the company. The advertisement is one such method
of marketing which can be done through television, radio, magazines, newspapers, etc.
These types of advisements facilitate in approaching a wide range of customers at a single
time. Association with other companies, countries and distribution channels can also be
useful means of marketing where the new product gets the benefit of the image of an
already established brand. For example, Nokia took advantage of the strong brand image of
its Nokia mobile phones for introducing mini laptops which were referred to as the Nokia 3G
Booklet.
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TASK 2 BRAND PORTFOLIO AND HIERARCHY
MANAGEMENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The report evaluates the brand portfolio of Coca-Cola, Hindustan Unilever Limited and its
hierarchy management is also discussed. Further, the strategies used by the selected
company are examined in relation to the brand equity management by the company.
INTRODUCTION
The Coca-Cola Company is the manufacturer of Coca-Cola or coke which is a famous soft-
drink manufacturer company of United States. The company was established 132 years ago
in 1886 and has it's headquartered in Atlanta. The main competitors of the comp0amya are
Pepsi, Classiko Cola, Mecca Cola, and Qibla Cola.
BRAND PORTFOLIO STRATEGY
The total range of the brands and products offered by a company is called the brand
portfolio of the company. Brand portfolio is the umbrella under which different brands of
the company are operated (Robertson, 2018). Brand portfolio strategy includes the
development of an optimal brand structure by sub-branding, endorsing brands, and
branded services or products.
Brand Portfolio Strategy of Coca-Cola
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The main focus of Coca-Cola Company is to push up its revenue and growth with the
association of 200 plus nations. The company increases its volume and kept their beverages
at an affordable price in the emerging markets. Price-mix strategy is used in the developing
markets by offering premium and small packages like glass and aluminum bottles. The
company invested more than $250 million in the marketing of the products. In 2015, the
first global marketing campaign of Coca-Cola "Taste the feeling" was organized for
supporting the entire Coca-Cola Trademark of Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Coca-Cola
Life. One brand strategy was chosen by Coca-Cola which enlarges the iconic image of the
company. This strategy aims at reinforcing company's commitment to offering more choices
to the customers with more clarity. Through "one brand strategy the company focuses on
one single iconic brand campaign rather than multiple brands (The Coca-Cola Company,
2016).
BRAND MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY
Brand portfolio decisions are strategic in nature which affect the whole brand structure and
marketing strategy of the company. There are mainly two models of brand portfolio, i.e.
House of the brand and Branded house. The brand portfolio model chosen by Coca-Cola is
branded house model.
House of brand
House of the brand model is the model where the company chooses various brand names
for its different products. This model is more common than the branded house model where
the brand has its own identity and personality. The main advantage of this model is that
each brand gets proper attention from the managers and every brand has their own
individual strategy. The failure of one brand does not affect the image of the other brand.
Branded House
Branded house model is the model where the company advertises all of its product under
one brand name. This strategy model is also known as mono-brand portfolio model. The
major advantage of this model is that the firm gets the economies of scale by channeling the
entire resources more efficiently towards the brand. The promotional cost of new products
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is lower in this model as the company gets the advantage of the positive image of the
existing brand.
Coca-Cola “One brand” strategy
Figure 4: One Brand Strategy
[Source: Hepburn, 2015]
The main purpose of introducing the “One brand” strategy by the company is to make the
choices of customers easier and simpler. Coca-Cola has innovated its brand into various
categories which include a range of lower sugar and no-calorie alternatives, each with their
own identity. Coca-Cola introduced Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar under its brand for
satisfying customer preferences.
Figure 5: Brand Management Hierarchy of Coca-Cola
[Source: Bhasin, 2018]
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