Marketing Report: Coca-Cola's Marketing Functions and Market Plan

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Coca-Cola's marketing strategies, focusing on the roles and responsibilities of marketing functions, the application of the marketing mix, and the development of a basic market plan. It examines the importance of marketing in the wider organizational context, including its interrelation with production and finance departments. The report compares Coca-Cola's marketing mix with that of PepsiCo, highlighting differences in product offerings, pricing strategies, distribution channels, and promotional activities. It also explores the impact of people and processes on customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the report delves into Coca-Cola's B2B and B2C marketing approaches, emphasizing the importance of market research, product development, and promotional activities in achieving business objectives. The conclusion summarizes the key findings and their implications for Coca-Cola's marketing effectiveness and overall success in a competitive market.

Marketing

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................3
P1) Roles and responsibility of marketing functions..................................................................3
P2) Role and responsibilities of marketing in wider organisational context .............................5
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................6
P3) Marketing Mix......................................................................................................................6
TASK 3 ...........................................................................................................................................9
P4) Market plan...........................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................13
.............................................................................................................................................14
.......................................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Marketing refers to the process or activities undertaken by an organisation for better
promotion of its product or services for increasing overall sales and productivity (What is
Marketing?, 2019). Scope of marketing has increased and get developed to meet the changing
demands of dynamic environment and now, marketing not only focuses on increasing sales but
include all other activities carried out for providing maximum satisfaction to customer to
maintain better relations with them, which ensures increase in profitability (Chaffey and Ellis-
Chadwick, 2019) . For this assignment, Coca cola company is taken which is an American
multinational manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage syrups and
concentrates. This project includes role of marketing and its functions, compare ways in which
organisations use marketing mix and at last include a basic market plan to achieve business
objectives.
TASK 1
P1) Roles and responsibility of marketing functions
Marketing is a process used in an organisation for achievement of desired goals through
meeting the customers needs to increase the overall sales of product or service which will results
in higher productivity and profit.
Nature of Marketing Consumer oriented – The main purpose of marketing is to satisfy human needs and
desire of customers thus, only those goods should be produced by manufacturer which
meets the expectations and needs of consumer to earn better profits. Art as well as science – Marketing is a art as it involves understanding and analysis of
human behaviour to satisfy their needs and marketing is also a science as it includes
different techniques for making right goods available at right place on right time (De
Mooij, 2019)
 Goal oriented – The ultimate goal of marketing is to achieve the objectives of both
buyers and seller through satisfying consumer needs and generating higher profits for
seller.

Marketing plays a very vital role in promoting product and services of organisations thus,
results in higher sales and profit, but scope and role of marketing has highly-developed and now,
it not only includes promotional activities but also include all other tasks like conducting market
research, formulation of marketing plan, development of product as per the needs of customers,
development of distribution channel and also includes maintaining long lasting and effective
relations with consumer for earning higher profits. Current trends of marketing includes
integrated online, social and mobile marketing facilitating a ease for customers in buying of
product .Thoughtful and effective leadership is also a current trend of marketing. Future trend of
marketing is more focused on Artificial Intelligence for providing better services and attention to
customers. The main roles and responsibilities performed by marketing department during
marketing process are as follows:
Setting marketing strategy and planning – It is the responsibility of marketing manger
to adopt or formulate a marketing strategy which properly coordinates with overall company's
strategy and objective. Proper planning is also done by marketing team for timely achievement
of goals (Horton, 2019).
Market analysis and research – Timely research is conducted by marketing department
to analysis the current trend and demand of customers so that most suitable product or services
can be delivered to full fill the desire and needs of customers.
Product development – marketing department is responsible for product development. It
analysis customers needs and preference and provides information about current trends to
production department, so that they can produce a service or product having all those feature
which are needed by customers. Marketing team makes use of marketing mix technique to
analysis the factors that can influence purchase of its product.
Promotional activities – Marketing team is responsible for communicating with
customers to make them aware about advantage, benefits and features of product to attract more
customers for purchase of product. Promotion is be done through aggressive advertising, social
media, online websites and also through organising different seminars and promotional events.
These activities helps in maintaining better relations with customers thus, ensures higher sales
and profits (Halbheer and et. al., 2019).
Coca cola is operating in a highly dynamic environment and also having a number of
competitors thus, to run its business successfully, Coca cola is having a very effective marketing

team. It not only operates in B2C (business to customers) modes but also having B2B (business
to business) mode of relations to increase its sales. Marketing plays an important role in
attracting both customers and other businesses. In B2B mode, all marketing is dedicated to fulfil
the needs and interest of customers (which are professional buyers) on behalf of their
organisations rather than for themselves and in B2C, marketing aim at fulfilling individual
consumers needs rather than needs of professional buyers.
P2) Role and responsibilities of marketing in wider organisational context
Marketing function plays a important role in identifying potential source for success of an
product at marketplace and promotes the distinct features of product to make it superior than
other products of competitor. Marketing is an integral part of every organisation for timely
achievement of goals and objective, but marketing alone is not sufficient to meet the goals
efficiently and on time. Proper collaboration and interrelations of different department with
marketing ensure much better results through properly coordinating all the activities of
organisation (Eckhardt and et. al., 2019). Interrelation of different functional units with
marketing function in Coca cola is provided below:
Marketing and production – Performing timely market research is an important
function of marketing department which provide information about latest trends and taste and
preference of customers. This information collected by marketing function is communicated or
delivered to production department which helps in developing and creating new and more
innovative features in the product. Thus,it become easier for marketing team of Coca cola to
attract more customers for a better and superior product. Thus, effective coordination in
marketing and production department helps in increasing sales and provide better satisfaction to
customers (Chitty, D'Alessandro, and Gray, 2019).
Marketing and Finance – Finance department is responsible for allocation of funds
between different department as per their needs. Marketing functions includes many activities
like market research, promotional activities, etc. thus, require a adequate amount of finance to
meet its expenses. Finance department provide sufficient amount of money for marketing
function which will ultimately results in more sales and profit. Hence, finance department and
marketing of Coca Cola are closely interlinked as finance department provide money for
marketing and in return marketing creates higher profits and earn better revenue for finance
department (Kingsnorth, 2019).

TASK 2
P3) Marketing Mix
Marketing mix is basically a set of action or tactics that are used by a company for better
promotion of its brand or product. In earlier times, their were only 4Ps (Product, Pricing,
Promotions and Placement) in marketing mix but as the complexity of business environment
increases and with time environment has become more dynamics therefore, 3 more elements
(People, Process, Physical evidence) are included in it to make it more effective in achieving the
desired objective and goals of the organisation. For better understanding of marketing mix a
comparison of marketing mix of Coca Cola and Pepsi co is provided below:(Fallin-Bennett and
et. al., 2019).
Marketing
Mix
Description Coca Cola Pepsi co
Product Product is the item
that is built or
produced by an
organisation to
satisfy customer
needs. Product can
be tangible or
intangible. Services
are the intangible
product in which
no physical goods
are transferred from
buyer or seller.
Coca cola is a very famous brand
and providing nearly 3900
beverage choices to its customers.
Some of the most famous
beverage includes Fanta, sprite,
lemon lime flavoured soft drink,
etc. for attracting individual from
all age groups it now also
providing sugar and calorie free
soft drink. Good brand name
make it easy for Coco cola to
introduce new products and also
helps in attracting more
customers, making it a customer
king in the market (Steinhoff
and et. al, 2019).
This also deals in
carbonated soft drinks like
Pepsi, mountain dew, 7 up
and providing many
beverages including fruit
juices. It is also also
providing snacks to its
customers like Lays,
Cheetos and Kurkure
(Pepsi Marketing Mix
Strategy, 2019).
Price It is the amount that
is charged from the
Coco cola sets price of its product
after proper analysis of its cost of
It priced its product
according to the demand

customers for the
product or services
offered.
production and also keeps in
mind the price offered by its
competitors. To attract more
customers, it mainly offer its
product at reasonable price and
also provide discount on bulk
purchase. Skimming pricing
strategy is used by coca cola as it
charge a high price but up to that
level only as allowed by its
competitors to recover maximum
money without affecting its
demand. (COCA COLA
MARKETING MIX, 2019).
of customers and giving a
tough competition to Coca
Cola. Economy pricing
strategy is used by Pepsi
co to target mass market.
Place It denotes the place
or location where
sales of product is
taking place or
where services are
rendered.
It is having an extensive beverage
distribution channel and its
product are getting sold in more
than 200 countries of world and
are easily available at almost all
retailer shop making it easy for
customers to purchase its
products. It sells an average of
1.9 billion servings each day.
Pepsi co is having a
extensive network of
retailers, grocery store,
restaurants, supermarkets
etc. to distribute its
product globally.
Promotion These are the
activities carried
out for encouraging
sales and for
improving brand
image.
Coca cola is making use of both
traditional and modern channels
to promote its brand and product.
Their promotion strategy includes
TV ads, outdoor campaigns, and
promotion across internet and
social media.
Main target of Pepsi co is
youngsters therefore they
promote their product or
services using a famous
movie star or sports person
and make use of all media
channels for displaying

advertisement.
People It includes
behaviour of
employees,
management and
other stakeholders
towards customers.
Employees of coca cola company
is having a standard uniform and
they always focus on providing
friendly and prompt services as
lot of customers rely on good
services before buying any
product.
Pepsi is providing a
positive atmosphere and
timely training to its
employees so that they
will treat customers
properly and maintain
good relationship with
them (Epstein, 2019).
Process This concept
mainly used for
services that how
services are
consumed and also
includes the
distribution and
packaging process
of product.
Coca cola is providing its drink in
different sized bottles therefore
customers can make purchases as
per their needs and drinks are
mainly provided in plastic bottles
therefore becomes easy to store
and distribute them. It is having
an effective distribution system
ensuring uninterrupted supply of
product.
Pepsi co is making use of
an effective distribution
and packing process and
providing its product in
different size of packets
which are easy to carry.
Physical
Evidence
It created by
making use of
signs, symbols and
artefacts which are
representative of a
brand or company.
Coca cola is making use of a
symbol for creating its brand
image. Every bottle of coco cola
is containing information about
its contents and date of
manufacturing in a form of a
label stick to the bottles for
providing all needed information
to customers. The aura of the
outlets is always pleasant thus,
ensuring a pleasurable time for
For attracting more
customers and to create its
existence in the market it
is making use of an
attractive logo which is of
blue colour to make
distinct appearance in
market.

customers.
TASK 3
P4) Market plan
It is written report which outlines the complete market strategy and planning of an
organisation. It provide detail information about objectives, mission, vision, budgets, monitoring,
controlling and all other aspects (Shareef and et. al., 2019).
Overview
Coca cola is a well known brand of America operating successfully in international
market headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a manufacture as well as retailer of non-alcoholic
beverages and for gaining more competitive strength, it is planning of offering a new product I.e.
“Lemon flavoured coke”. It will have a natural flavour of lemon with low calorie and cane sugar
(An Overview of Coca-Cola, 2019).
Mission – It represents the long term goal or target of an organisation. Mission of Coco
cola company is “ To create value products and make a difference to refresh the world in mind,
body and spirit” (Mission, vision and values, 2019).
Vision – The vision of Coco cola is, “to become a highly effective, lean and fast –
moving organisation of world to maximize its returns and profit”. The main of coco cola is to
attract maximum number of customers to increase its productivity and profitability (Mission,
vision and values. 2019 ).
Objectives – Coca cola is coming up with a new product, Lemon flavoured coke to achieve the
following objectives:
 To increase market share and sales by 10 % in coming one year.
 To generate 15% more revenue and profits in 1 year to strengthen its position in the
global market.
STP Model
This model is very useful in developing marketing strategies through providing
information about targeting customers, segmentation of market and also reflects the position of
brand in the minds of consumers. Coca cola is launching a brand new soft drink,“ Lemon

flavoured coke” and for effective implementation of this project, STP model is used which is
described below:
Segmentation: Under this process market is divided or split into parts so that
organisation can select most suitable market. Coca cola is making use of geographical
segmentation for its new product and their main focus is on potential customers of Urban area, as
urban people are become more health conscious thus, the new product is having a very low
calorie to attract health conscious people (King, 2019).
Targeting – It is a process through which organisation selects their potential customers
to whom they want to sell their product or services more. Earlier Coco cola targets only
youngster, but now it is also focusing on children and aged people therefore, providing a natural
flavoured coke with low calories and sugar.
Positioning: This process aim at crating an image of product or brand in minds of
customers for attracting them for making purchase of product. Coca cola has achieved and
maintaining a good image in minds of customer thus, it become easy for them to launch a new
product. For better positing of its new product it is making use of social media and digital
marketing (Charlton and Cornwell, 2019).
SWOT Analysis – this tool is used by an organization to analyse its internal strength and
weakness and also provide information about external opportunity and threats thus, helps an
organisation in gaining better results. Coca cola launching a new coke thus, it become necessary
for them to conduct SWOT analysis.

Strengths Weaknesses
 It is having a global presence and a
good brand name thus, can easily
attract potential customers.
 Having fantastic marketing strategies
which helps in wining people hearts
and maintaining customer loyalty.
 Effective distribution system and vast
network of suppliers and retailers.
 High level of competition from Pepsi
and other competitors
 Lack in product diversification as does
not provide snacks and other food item.
Opportunities Threats
 Having opportunity of offering more
healthy product and implementing
product diversification.
 It is facing a threat of water usage
controversy as it is getting criticised for
its water management strategy.
Budget
Following budget is prepared by Coco cola company to meet all the expected expenses of
its new product Lemon flavoured coke (Laczniak and Murphy, 2019).
MARKETING BUDGET (£)
PARTICULARS Ist Year IInd Year IIIrd Year IVth Year Vth Year
Initial money 5000 6600 14300 14460 18870
Investment 10600 9600 24840 7640 13760
TOTAL 15600 16200 39140 22100 32630
MARKETING OUTLAY
Promotion 4646 3559 4693 3975 2111
Sales publicity 2365 2900 1452 1592 1050

Direct selling 3345 1900 3961 1300 4644
TOTAL 10356 8359 10106 6867 7805
Controlling and Monitoring
Proper execution of controlling and monitoring is must to keep a check on performance
and working of each activity. It helps in tracking whether all activities are performed on time or
not. Mangers of Coca cola has implemented an effective controlling strategy to measure the
performance and success of new product (Slimane and et. al., 2019).
CONCLUSION
From this assignment, it can be concluded that marketing is a vital part of every
organisation which promotes its sales and increase its profitability. There are many roles and
responsibility of marketing function which lead to effective achievement of targets. Marketing
function is also related with other departments to coordinate all the activities. Marketing mix
plays an important role in providing right product at right place and to right customers. At last
conclusion can be made that market plan helps in effective planing and lead to achievement of
objectives.