Brand Management Report: Marketing Strategies of Coca-Cola

This report analyzes the brand management strategies of Coca-Cola, focusing on the advertising company Optimum Impressions Ltd. It examines the stages of building a successful brand, including defining the target audience, brand mission, and value propositions. The report delves into Coca-Cola's brand portfolio strategy, hierarchical management, and brand extension, and discusses how to measure and manage brand value. It highlights strategies for brand equity, including quality products, consistent brand image, and listening to customers. The report also explores brand reinforcement, revitalization, and the role of the marketing department in creating brand equity, providing a comprehensive overview of Coca-Cola's approach to brand management. The report also discusses the case study of Cadbury's brand management strategies.

Brand Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Building and managing brands...............................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
Brand Portfolio and Hierarchy Management.........................................................................5
1. Analyse the organisation’s brand portfolio strategy...........................................................5
2.Hierarchical management of brands in Coca- Cola.............................................................5
3. Analyse strategies for managing equity of brands.............................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
Brand extension and leverage ................................................................................................7
1. Strengths of the brand that can be leveraged......................................................................8
2. Weaknesses that may need attention providing some possible suggestions......................8
3. Collaborative and partnership agreements.........................................................................9
Task 4 ............................................................................................................................................10
Measuring and managing brand value..................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERERNCES............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Brand management is the effective process of maintaining and improving the image of
the brand in market by considering important aspects like cost, customer satisfaction and
competition (Ashworth and Kavaratzis, 2010). It is an effective marketing tool which is used for
analysing the company's actual position in context to number of targeted customers and image of
brand and adopt certain strategies for effective management of brands. Proper brand
management of the company provides positive and effective outcomes which helps in higher
sales of particular products, enables company to earn higher profits. Chosen organisation in the
Task 1 is optimum impressions ltd which is a private limited advertising company which is
conducting business all over UK. Brand which is selected for evaluation is the Coca- Cola
company. It is carbonated soft drink company which has many drinks under the same brand
name such as Thums-up, Pepsi, Sprite Maaza, kinley and may more. The project will discuss
about the brand equity and the stages of building a successful brand. It will also determine
organisation portfolio strategy and hierarchy management along with the brand extension and
leverage of brand within the respective organisation. It also discusses about the various
techniques for measuring and managing brand value in order to create a good image in the
market.
TASK 1
Building and managing brands
Introduction
Optimum Impression Ltd. Is a private limited advertising company is doing business in all
over UK and got launched in front of United Kingdom's market in middle of 2003. An article
has been prepared by marketing manager of Optimum Impression Ltd. Which will aid in
developing a whole new marketing brochure of the company.
Brand is a unique shaped design or a symbol that helps a company to carry a different identity
in front of its competitors. Brand name can create loyalty, trust and faith among the customers
depending upon how its advertised and promoted. Value of the brand is described by brand
equity (Brodie and et. al., 2013). Brand equity generally refers to the premium that a company
generates from its products with a recognizable name in market. It also helps the company to
make products with superior quality and reliability which enables them for high success and
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growth.
Stages of building a successful brand
Brand is a power for companies as with the help of successful brand it increases the sales of
products and also enhances good image in the market. Determine target audience- When building the brand, optimum impressions should
identify their target audience and makes the mission which meets the customer
requirements in the best possible manner. They should also categorise the audience on
the basis of demography, age, interest and behaviour which would help them to target
segments effectively (6 Simple Steps For A Successful Brand Building Process. 2018). Define brand mission- Mission statement of the brand defines the purpose of its
existence. Before building the trust of customers on the brand, respective companies
should define the purpose of its existing and value it provides to the consumer. Research Competition- When successfully building the brand optimum impressions
should analyse the number of competitors in the market and the offerings they can
giving to customers (Balmer and Chen, 2017). It makes the company to provide
products and services different from their competitors and makes the product better
than the others. Create value propositions- Companies always focus on making their brand unique and
valuable to the customers. As there is lot of competition in the market companies need
to add value in their brand to stand out from the market. Determine brand guidelines- Brand guidelines helps to determine its characteristics and
set specific rules of the company on how to properly interact with its customers.
Developing the guidelines for the optimum impressions helps to set a definite pattern of
logo and tag lines which properly structures the brand tone and makes their business
more recognizable. Market the brand- Last step for companies is to market their brand in front of
customers. Marketing of the brand should be done with the use of various channels such
as email, web and also advertise their brand on social media pages in order to make the
customers aware about the product and stand apart from its competitors (BuilDe,
Chernatony and Martínez, 2013).
Role of marketing department in creating brand equity
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 Marketing department plays a vital role in creating brand equity by creating a positive
image in the minds of the customer by performing various duties.
 It promotes company's products in the market by advertising them on television and
newspaper and also provides promotional offers which attracts the customer towards the
product.
 They are responsible for conducting the research about the opportunities available in the
market which leads to production of products according and enhances a good brand
image in the market.
MAIN BODY
The case discusses Cadbury's brand management strategies in detail that how to properly
strengthen its brand equity and position its product best than the competitors. Cad bury faced
the problem of packaging and quality of its products but they are able to position themselves on
the top by adopting successful strategies which enables them to overcome brand crisis
(Christiaans, 2012).
Successful strategies for brand equity
 Quality products- This is the core or the backbone of the whole brand. Cadbury focused
on providing quality products to the customer for repeated purchase by the customers.
In addition to increase in the product segments company doesn't comprise with quality
of products.
 Consistent in brand image- Cadbury focused on creating and communicating a
consistent brand image. Cadbury targets every segment of customer from children to
adults. It understands their needs and demands and with the help of proper advertising it
attracts the customer towards their product and made a good image in the minds of
customer.
 Listen to customers- Cadbury perceives a high brand equity by properly listening to
customer problems such as problem in packaging and quality was solved by changing
packing of chocolates in good quality aluminium foil which would also protect from
worms and maintains high quality in its products.
 Brand extension- It is a process of developing and marketing a new product under the
well established brand name (Dempsey and Gruver, 2012). Cadbury has extended it
products from simple dairy milk to variety of chocolates as well as introduced drinks
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under the same brand name to attract the customers and take the advantage of well
established brand image in market.
Reinforcing and revitalising the brands
Brand reinforcement focuses on maintaining the brand equity by keeping its good image among
existing and new customers. It includes regular monitoring and control of product to keep a
check on the changes in taste and preferences of customers.
Cadbury has adopted best strategies to remind customers about several innovations done by the
company.
 Advertising- Company has taken the benefit of advertising its products which attracts
children's to adults and makes the brand rooted in the minds of customer.
 Events and sponsorship- Company conducts various events with the objective of
reminding the customers about the product as well as brand ambassador Amitabh
Bachchan, has reinforce the credibility of the company through its actions and
connected with all the target segments. (Esch and et. al., 2014)
 Promotion- This is done by the company by giving special offers and discounts on its
products to retain the existing and attract new customers.
Revitalising the brands
It is the marketing strategy adopted when the product reaches the maturity stages and profits
have declined. It is an attempt to bring the product back in the market and generate revenue.
Cadbury dairy milk shots chocolate and batman bar comes under the revitalized brands which
has lost its profit of share in the market. Company is innovating its business to make the
products come back in the market and earn profit..
CONCLUSION
It has been analysed that branding greatly helps in marketing products of the company
by providing them a competitive edge in respect to their competitor. It also helps in building
customers faith and loyalty towards products which enables them for repeated purchase. Brand
also inspires employees within the organisation by communicating vision and mission properly
which enables them to work hard in reaching potential goals and objectives. It has greatly
helped in business practice by functioning according to the consumer needs and attaining higher
profits for the business. It differentiates its products from competitors and allows brand to
succeed its business operations.
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TASK 2
Brand Portfolio and Hierarchy Management
1. Analyse the organisation’s brand portfolio strategy
Brand portfolio strategy- This is the effective strategy used by the organisation which is
operating and regulating more than one brand products and services under certain particular
brand (Hollebeek, 2011). Chosen organisation is Coca- Cola, company deals with various
products such as Thums-up, Sprite, Maaza and many more under one particular brand. In this
context, respective company uses different strategies for properly managing its brand portfolio- Well defined brand role- It is required for the specific company to define the role of
particular brand which makes it unique and valuable from others. Coca- Cola defines the
specific purpose of every product in its portfolio in order to be ahead of its competitors.
This is required for gaining success and growth of business. Umbrella sub brands- In this strategy coca-cola manages its portfolio of brand by selling
two or more products under same brand name and its functions serve the needs of
different customer segments. Coca cola sells coke and diet coke same brand under two
categories for effectively managing the success and growth of business (Hwang and
Kandampully, 2012).
 Distinctive products against competitors- Company should create and make the image of
brand in such a way which makes it different from competitive products. In this
procedure it assists company in developing and making unique products in their portfolio
and achieve higher sales.
2.Hierarchical management of brands in Coca- Cola
It is way of summarising the branding strategies by displaying the number and nature of
distinctive and common brand elements across company's products. Coca- Cola can get support
from hierarchy management in developing a number of techniques which can easily differentiate
from its rivals.
Management hierarchy of Coca-Cola-
 Umbrella Brand- It is known as family branding where two or more products are sold
under the particular brand. Diet coke and Coca-cola comes under the umbrella brand.
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This strategy is used by the companies to market their products and enhances brand
position in the market.
 Products- In this company offers variety of products such as Maaza, Thums-up and
many more in order to serve the target market by using specific strategies of branding to
create more customer base (Jiang andIles, 2011).
 Endorsed sub brands- In the present context, Coca cola should hire a famous
personality so that right approach for the promotion can be used to increase profits and
enhance customer targets.
3. Analyse strategies for managing equity of brands
Value of the brand is described by brand equity. It is described by consumer perception
and experiences within the brand. Brand equity refers to the premium that the company earns
from its products with a recognizable brand image in the market. It also develops relationship
among firms and customers by building strong loyalty towards the products of the respective
company.
Strategies for managing equity of brands Proper and effective communication- In today's multicultural environment brand equity
cannot be managed without powerful communication strategy. Respective company
should properly communicate its brand products to attract customers, financiers for
success and growth of business. Proper image and reputation- Companies has to make a standard reputation in front of
the customers for their high business growth. To protect the reputation of brand company
should quickly respond to customer questions and problems which creates a good image
in the minds of customer and which enables them to make repeated purchase of the
product (Kavaratzis, Warnaby andAshworth, 2014). Effective Collaboration- Proper and effective branding depends on productive
collaboration among the team members. It makes the staff members work together and
solve complex branding problems, resolve all types of problems and develops effective
products accordingly. It also leads to exchange of ideas and suggestions between the team
members which greatly contributes to effective business performance.
 Legal and ethical decision making- Companies should make legal and ethical business
decisions in context of customer satisfaction. This would help the respective company in
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managing the brand equity which helps them to operate legally and ethically which also
enables them to build trust and long term relationship with customers.
Keller brand equity model It is also known as Customer based brand equity model which tells the company on
building brand equity by understanding customer requirements and implementing
strategies accordingly. Respective company used this model to understand the
requirements of different customers and worked hard to provide good quality products. It
describes four steps for building strong brand equity (Gratwohl and et. al., 2011). Step1 Brand Identity- It is one of the important aspect which defines specific identity and
is totally different from competitors. Company should create specific identity in its brand
such as superior quality and richness in its product makes it highly differentiate from
others. Step 2 Brand Meaning- It defines the clear meaning and purpose of brand which helps to
reduce confusion in the minds of customer and defines brand goals and objectives in a
proper manner. Company has cleared the meaning of its brand by targeting large
customer base from children's to old people and understand their requirements properly. Step 3- Brand Response- It defines customer response towards particular product which
enables company to identify needs and requirements of customer. Brand has carefully
addressed the needs of customers.
 Step 4- Brand Resonance- The main function of this step is to build image of the brand
in the minds of the customer. Respective company has loyal customer group base and
they feel connected to brand due to high attachment with all target segments.
TASK 3
Brand extension and leverage
Chosen brand from the coca cola organisation is Thums-up. It is the popular brand of coca-cola.
Brand extension- It is a marketing strategy used by the companies to sell their products.
Company which has already good image in the market will make use of same brand name to
market different product category. From simple coke to Maaza, kinley, Nestea was the brand
extension done by coca-cola. It helps the company to increase higher profits by attracting larger
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customer base. It also creates innovation in products in order to increase its brand awareness and
meet customer expectation (Li and Kambele, 2012).
Brand leveraging- It is the strategy to use the power of an existing brand to support
company's entry into a new but in a similar product category by communicating valuable
information about the product to the consumer. For coca cola company from simple coke to diet
coke was the introduction of new product but into a similar product category is the brand
leveraging adopted by them.
1. Strengths of the brand that can be leveraged
Brand leverage is the strategy which uses company's existing strength to enter in a new
product category. Coca-Cola is a famous brand which will allow thumps-up to properly enter in
the market and capture larger market share (Santos,and et. al., 2013).
Various strengths which Thumps up a product of Coca- cola to leverage-
Good return on capital expenditure- Thums-up is popular product of Coca cola that
has performed well in various geographical areas. Superb performance of well established brand
will allow thumsup to attract customers in a very short time period. As well as it doesn't have to
spend much on branding and advertising approach and make the customer aware about the new
product.
Low investment on research- As Thums-up is a product of Coca cola, company doesn't
have to invest much on research as they are well aware of the customer needs and demands. This
will allow the brand to capture large market without much investment on analysing customer
demands.
2. Weaknesses that may need attention providing some possible suggestions
There are some identified weakness of Thums-up which needs to be rectified which enables
to capture larger market share. Not popular with health conscious people- Thums-up is not popular among the people
who are highly conscious about their health because of level of sugar and some of the
individuals feel that carbonated drinks will disturb their state of health which will cause
them disease. Internal brands/ Similar product category- Their are various products similar to
thumsup in such as Pepsi, sprite etc. which makes consumer to easily switch to other
products. Brand should maintain quality and taste in their drinks for customer retention.
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Suggestions to overcome the weakness or to become superior against their competitors.
 Brand should come up with sugar free products which would attract the customers who
are health conscious and would likely capture larger market share and enhances good
image in the market.
 As there is wide variety of similar products brand should maintain high quality and taste
in their drinks which satisfies customer needs which will reduce customers switching cost
(Som and Blanckaer, 2015).
3. Collaborative and partnership agreements
Branding is an effective process for companies as it helps them to differentiate its
products from competitors. Collaborative and partnership agreements are the actions and
decisions taken by the organisation to share resources to accomplish a mutual goal. In general,
collaborative partnerships is an agreement between two parties who agree to share resources,
knowledge and finance.
Thums-up, a brand of Coca- Cola company has collaborated with McDonald's in order to
enhance good market image and attracts large number of customers. In this context Coca cola
sells their coke to McDonald's and they provide coke to the customers with their burger service.
This leads to efficient collaboration as both the companies maintains strong relationship with
customers and provide quality products which provide them maximum satisfaction. This way
both the companies can earn high level of profit and revenues.
Spotify and Coca-Cola company are making a strategic partnership to promote music
streaming services. It provides a technology platform to the customers to provide access to music
they love. Partnership will discover new music and also allows to connect with other music
lovers around the world. The partnership will focus on global expansion of technology and music
Brands are managed collaboratively and in partnership both at domestic and global level as when
they comes in collaboration with other companies it leads to sharing of resources and knowledge
in order to attract more customers and high profits as when it collaborated with McDonald's it
leads to higher revenues for the company and functions effectively and when the brand comes in
partnership at the global level it leads to expansion of its operations in a better and functions its
operations more successfully
Brand Vulnerability- When the brand is functioning in the environment it is influenced by its
uncertainty and becomes vulnerable asset to the organisation. Thums-up brand can become
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vulnerable because of the ingredients used in the drink which causes medical problems to the
customers as well as when compromising the quality and taste, Thums-up can loose its image
from the market. Brand can be superior to its competitive products by offering products
according to the consumer demands with a reasonable price and this way they can be ahead of
rivals.
Task 4
Measuring and managing brand value
In today's competitive environment organisation needs to manage and measure their
value of brand in the market and adopt certain strategies which enhance their brand value in the
market. Various approaches of valuing brands Cost based approach- Under this approach value of the brand can be measured by
comparing the cost with the historic data. This is mainly concerned with creating or
replacing the brand. Financial based approach- It is a kind of approach which focuses on replacing of old
products or modifying them to enhance brand value of the product. Research based approach- It is based on facts and figures of the current market
situations where company targets market value. It analyses customer behaviour and
attitude towards the brand (Wallace and de Chernatony, 2014).Company uses various
techniques which helps them to evaluate their brand in different ways- Brand value- Brand is an intangible asset to the business. Actual net present value of the
cash flow which is directly associated with the brand is known as its brand value. It
becomes the responsibility of the organisation to measure their value of brand in order to
formulate strategies accordingly (Dempsey and Gruver, 2012). Brand value can be
measured by cost based approach in which company compares the present cost records
with the historic data in order to determine the present value of brand. It is useful for the
valuation of assets which can be replaced. For example, when Coca-cola introduce new
coke there was a huge protest from the people as the company has compromised with
taste of the drink. This was a sign of brand value of the product and forced company to
reintroduce original coke named coca cola classic.
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