Digital World Marketing & Communications: A Coca-Cola Case Study

This report provides an analysis of Coca-Cola's marketing and communication strategies, focusing on the elements of the marketing mix and the importance of market research for a successful product relaunch. It examines the initial marketing strategies of Coca-Cola, including product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence. The report identifies primary and secondary research methods suitable for understanding customer preferences, emphasizing the value of interviews, surveys, and existing reports. A research plan is developed, incorporating both strengths and weaknesses, to guide the relaunch of a Coca-Cola product, highlighting the significance of adapting marketing approaches to the digital world. This analysis offers valuable insights into effective marketing practices and strategic planning for commercial success. Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students.

Marketing & Communications in
a Digital World

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
1) Elements of the marketing mix...............................................................................................1
2) Identification of Research.......................................................................................................2
3) Research Plan..........................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is that action of the business which is related to the promotion and sales of
products and service which also includes the market research and advertising (Backman, 2019).
Communication in marketing is spreading of a message or media which the marketer can utilize
for the communication with the targets. In this project the chosen organization is Coca Cola
which was established in USA in 1886. This organization was established by Asa Griggs
Candler. Its finished product is the combination of water, sweeteners and soda. Its drink is
available in all kinds of shapes and size of containers example bottle and cans. This project will
explain the seven elements of marketing mix on the for the time the coca cola launched its
product. In this project the relaunch of that product is planned for which a marketing strategy is
identified and for that methods of research. This project will also explain why other methods
which are not selected and why they are not appropriate for this relaunch. In this a marketing
plan is going to be created which helps the business in carrying out a research for different
methods and for the development of a successful marketing strategy.
MAIN BODY
1) Elements of the marketing mix
The marketing mix consists of the following 7 P’s which will explain the marketing strategy
of Coca cola at its first launch as follows,
Product:
In the beginning the first launched product of this company was known as the “new
coke” which was the different from the original coke that the consumers. The company
perceived to create a higher quality of product than its competitors. It was successful for a lot of
years by the as the formula of this coke was different from the original coke the consumer started
protesting after 99 years (Krizanova and et.al., 2019).
Price:
The prices of the first products of this company were fixed and channelled through
retailers and wholesalers which bought the products at low cost from the company and sold to
the consumers for lower prices. The quality of the product which the company maintained
influenced the customers for purchasing the products at high prices. Due to which competitors
with lower prices stole the customers of the company.
Place:
1

Its main market was USA fast food industry. At the beginning of its operations the
company utilized the offline stores for allowing the customers to gain easy access to its products
(Duffett, 2020). The preferences of the customers were to buy the products on stores were other
items were available, this gave the retailers and wholesalers opportunity to sell the products at
high prices.
Promotions:
Back then when other media platforms were not available the company utilized its
products packaging as its promotional activity.
People:
This company hired individuals which could produce the best quality of products. This
organization also had employees working for the company which played an important role in
improving the quality of the final product (Grudzewski and et.al., 2018). The target individuals
of this product where mostly people from the age of 15 to 40 as this product was preferred with
other fast foods (Marketing mix of Coca Cola – Coca cola marketing mix. 2019).
Process:
The production process of the first product of this organization at its launch had different
process than the regular formula. This product consisted of concentrate, in combination with
filtered water and sweeteners. At the beginning the customers enjoyed it but later protest as they
wanted the original product of coke.
Physical Evidence:
This organization sold its products in distinct colour package which helped the customers
to identity its products very easily. The company placed them in special shelves which provided
the company distinct colour and design.
2) Identification of Research
Before the relaunch of the product of this company it needs to conduct a market research for
understanding the customers preferences on the relaunched product. The research methods which
can be used are of two types primary and secondary. These researches can be explained as
follows,
Primary Research:
Some of the commonly used primary research methods are, interview, surveys and
observations. In the interviews the participants could be volunteers which are customers and also
2

the employees of the organization. They will be asked certain questions, their answers to the
marketing questions will be the information that is going to be essential for the business. Surveys
also consists of questions which will have limited number of options which will accurate and
quantitative information regarding the product (Sabaitytė and et.al., 2019). Observations is the
method in which the researcher will observe the current market trend and analyse how the
marketing of the relaunch will be affected by it.
Secondary Research:
It is the type of research which consists of already complied, gathered, organized and
published by others. Methods of secondary research consists of referring to the already existing
reports, studies by government, trade associations and other businesses. Referring to the existing
articles, books and journals for information is much easier and cost saving method of research
which will provide the research viable data which can be implemented with relation to the
performance of the relaunched product. Secondary research can provide a lot of data required for
the market research on the relaunch of coca cola product (Adebiyi and Bello, 2018).
Multiple methods of research will be providing more result of information which can be
helpful for the relaunch of the product. The answers to the interview question to the customers
will provide the researcher the actual idea of the customer preferences. The answer to the
question about the similar products to the coca cola will help the business identify the customer’s
choice of competitors (Adebiyi and Bello, 2018). Survey questions will also be effective as it
will provide the actual percentage of the different choices which the customers prefer. Secondary
research from the books and journals will be an easy source of information for collecting the
desired data for the marketing of relaunch (Zephaniah, Ogba and Izogo, 2020). Other methods
such as observing the trend is not a very effective method as it may provide invalid information
or outdated information which will not be viable for the company to start the relaunch of the
product with security.
3) Research Plan
GANTT CHART
3

Implementation of the research:
In the primary research for the marketing of the coca cola’s relaunched product this
organization has developed certain primary research which includes interviewing randomly
selected participants. This will help the researcher to analyse the different information which will
be derived from the answers of those questions. In this research the results will provide the
analysation of the company’s competitors. Asking the participants about the products which they
prefer in substitution to the coca cola drink will provide clear picture to which brands are
preferred more in place of the organization. This is how the coca cola will understand the
competitions in the market. Asking the participants about how do they identify the products of
the coca cola will help the company understand which marketing techniques of the company has
been effective.
Critics on the research:
This marketing research has some strengths and some weaknesses as follows,
Strengths:
The research which has been conducted will help the business to strengthen its position
in the market. It will provide the company the minimum risk in any investments it makes in the
upcoming future. It will help the organization in the identification of the threats and
opportunities. With the help of this research the competitor’s strengths, weaknesses will be
analysed. It will provide the organization with strategic planning and also spot the emerging
trends.
Weakness:
The marketing research methods which will be used will be also a cost incurring affair
for the business. It will be a lengthy and time-consuming process resulting in negativity. The
4

scope of this research is very limited to only the marketing of the organization. The practical
value of the organization is very limited and will require lots of effort. Prediction of the
customers behaviour will not be easy with limited questionnaire.
CONCLUSION
This project concludes that marketing and communication is very important even for the
launch of an already branded product. The main objective of this project is the identification of
the effectiveness of the marketing mix of Coca cola in the beginning of its launch. This project
also identifies the requirements of the research which will help the business solve marketing
issues in the company. In this project the implementation of the marketing researching plan is
discussed. This project is the analysation of the effective marketing plan in the commercial
business prospective.
5

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Adebiyi, R.A. and Bello, S., 2018. Perception and practice of Integrated Marketing
Communication (IMC) among selected marketing communication agencies in Nigeria. Acta
Universitatis Danubius. Communicatio, 12(1).
Backman, J., 2019. Marketing and communication plan, CASE: Riihisoft Oy, RIIHI DMA.
Duffett, R., 2020. The YouTube marketing communication effect on cognitive, affective and
behavioural attitudes among Generation Z consumers. Sustainability. 12(12). p.5075.
Grudzewski, F., and et.al., 2018. Virtual reality in marketing communication–the impact on the
message, technology and offer perception–empirical study. Economics and Business
Review. 4(3). pp.36-50.
Krizanova, A., and et.al., 2019. The effectiveness of marketing communication and importance
of its evaluation in an online environment. Sustainability. 11(24). p.7016.
Sabaitytė, J., and et.al., 2019. Decision tree modelling of E-consumers’ preferences for internet
marketing communication tools during browsing. Economics and Management.
Zephaniah, C.O., Ogba, I.E. and Izogo, E.E., 2020. Examining the effect of customers’
perception of bank marketing communication on customer loyalty. Scientific African, 8,
p.e00383.
Online
Coca Cola Product Life Cycle Analysis. 2021. [Online]. Available Through:<
https://www.ipl.org/essay/Coca-Cola-Product-Life-Cycle-Analysis-
F3258NFC48R#:~:text=Coca%20Cola%20%E2%80%93%20PLC%20The%20product,
%2C%20growth%2C%20maturity%20and%20decline.>.
Marketing mix of Coca Cola – Coca cola marketing mix. 2019. [Online]. Available Through:<
https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-mix-coca-cola/.>.
6

PART B
Presentation
7

This product is the coca cola diet products which is much healthier than the regular coca cola
product. Income is also one of the most important fact which effects the target segment of this
organization. For tackling the customers of different income status this company has product of
different sizes and packages for different price levels (Abulehyeh and Al-zoub, 2017). This is
done by the company for making the products affordable for everyone, including the students,
families and middle class. Geographical segmentation for this organization is that it sells its
8

products in more than 200 countries. For different countries the coca cola company has to pursue
different strategies which will help the business of the organization. For example, in America
and China the company its products are very different from each other. In USA the product is
matured and its does not require as much marketing as before. In China the market is less
explored thus, the company has to do a lot of marketing activities.
Price the wide range of products of this company allows the company to set up different prices
according to market and the geographical segment. All the sub brands of coca cola have different
pricing strategy which is based completely for the competitors of pricing. In this organization the
pricing is very essential as there are direct competitors of which have similar products giving the
industry the feature of oligopoly market.
Place in the marketing mix of coca cola suggest the position of the organization. It is a world-
famous brand and is available almost all over the world. Due to which the distribution of coca
cola follows the pattern called the FMCG (Khamdamova and Matchanova, 2020). It has a
effective distribution network which allows the company to provide its products in small and
middle levels of the market as well.
Promotions of the coca cola revolves around various types of advertising and promotional
strategies which helps the business to create an increase in demand of its products. The market in
which the company operates is easily influenced with visuals and individual positive messages.
9

Internet marketing: This organization like most of the companies use internet for the marketing
of its products, with the help of a website which allows the customers to navigate information.
Strong relationship is developed with the customers with the help of this product.
Product life cycle explains the division of the time through which the product goes through from
its inception to its demise. The different stages of the Product life cycle for coca cola as follows,
Introduction: It is the stage in which the product is developed and introduced in the market as a
new product which helps the business in meeting the customer’s needs with quality product for
meeting he customer’s needs towards their quality of product and also produce the least possible
cost for ordering the highest level of profit for the organization (Coca Cola Product Life Cycle
Analysis. 2021).
Growth: In this stage the product under goes different strategies for reaching effectiveness.
Maturity: it is the stage in which the product is providing the best outcomes to the business
(Middlestadt and et.al., 2018).
Decline: Is the final stage of the product in which it peaks the at the maturity phase but then
starts to decline.
10