A Critical Analysis of Coca-Cola's Marketing Plan for XY Energy Drink

This report critically analyzes the marketing plan for Coca-Cola's new energy drink, XY, focusing on its introduction into the Indian market. It begins with a situation analysis, including a market summary, demographics, needs, trends, and growth, followed by a SWOT analysis identifying the company'...Read More

Coca Cola Marketing Plan
Critical analysis of the Marketing plan for introducing a
new drink XY by the Coca Cola Company
Table of Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 2
Situation Analysis..................................................................................................................... 3
Market Summary...................................................................................................................... 3
Market Demographics............................................................................................................. 4
Market Needs............................................................................................................................. 4
Market Trends........................................................................................................................... 4
Market Growth.......................................................................................................................... 4
SWOT Analysis........................................................................................................................... 5
Strengths................................................................................................................................................... 5
Weaknesses.............................................................................................................................................. 5
Opportunities.......................................................................................................................................... 6
Threats....................................................................................................................................................... 6
Competition................................................................................................................................ 7
Product Offering....................................................................................................................... 7
Marketing Strategy................................................................................................................... 8
Mission....................................................................................................................................................... 8
Marketing Objectives........................................................................................................................... 8
Financial Objectives.............................................................................................................................. 9
Target Markets........................................................................................................................................ 9
Positioning................................................................................................................................................ 9
Marketing Mix............................................................................................................................ 9
Product.................................................................................................................................................... 10
Price.......................................................................................................................................................... 10
Place......................................................................................................................................................... 10
Promotion.............................................................................................................................................. 10
Budgeting.................................................................................................................................. 11
Implementation including implications for Logistics.................................................12
Marketing Organization....................................................................................................... 12
Conclusion:............................................................................................................................... 13
References................................................................................................................................ 13
Bibliography:........................................................................................................................... 15
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Coca Cola Marketing Plan
Introduction
Marketing plan is a foundation of well defined list of actions that has to be taken in
the business as a part of an overall business plan. To be most effective the plan needs
to be formalized in a written “marketing plan” form and this process should move
from general to specific, such as from the vision to the mission to the goals to the
corporate objectives of the organization then towards individual action plans for each
part of the program (Schneider, 2017). A detailed marketing plan outlining different
aspects like the company objectives, brand image and target demographics form the
important parts of any business plan.
Coca Cola is a long established brand and company which has a huge presence
internationally in the beverage industry. However, it also has equally large
competitors which it needs to compete with in the marketplace. India is a large
country and as such is a major market for Coca Cola among the emerging economies.
By investing heavily in a distribution channel in India, Coca Cola has been able to
establish a major presence there, but so has its competitors. This report will first
analyze the current position of the Coca Cola company in India in terms of its market
position and perform a SWOT analysis of the company. It will also aim to formulate a
detailed marketing plan for Coca Cola for the introduction of XY, an energy drink
which is the latest product in the Coca Cola lineup in the country. By performing a
market analysis the report will find the strategy which is most likely to lead to the
success of the product and the brand in the market.
Situation Analysis
To prepare a thorough analysis of the situation in which the Coca Cola Enterprises
Limited finds itself to serve a new energy drink for satisfying unfulfilled client needs.
In addition to identifying the client needs, the company must understand its own
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Coca Cola Marketing Plan
capabilities and the environment in which it is operating. The situation analysis thus
can be viewed in terms of an analysis of the external environment and an internal
analysis of the Coca Cola Enterprises Limited itself. The situation analysis should
include past, present and future aspects (Bhasin, 2017).
Market Summary
Coca Cola is one of the leading food and beverages organizations in India. It entered
in Indian market in 1993 and faced the challenge of establishing a strong distribution
system as Indian market can be divided into two parts, one is rural market and another
is urban market. Indian market is dominated by unorganized retail. Thus, the main
aim of coca cola was to ensure the availability of their newly launched drink within a
distance reachable by consumers.
Market Demographics
Coca Cola is so popular across the globe. Greater than ninety percent of the people
across the world are aware of the coca cola's logo which is white & red based
(infoscout.co, 2017). The demographic factors affecting Coca Cola include:
Age- Coca Cola targets all age groups. Coke is considered as a cool drink and often
used in parties whereas for the adults the Coke is considered as a classic
Income- Coca Cola's products are not expensive and is affordable by all the people be
it high class or middle class.
Ethnicity- People from different cultural backgrounds also uses Coca Cola's products
and even pair them with their traditional food. For example, in the U.S pizzas are
paired with Coke.
Location- Coca Cola has marketed its products globally. It is a well-known beverage
in almost all the countries, cities and communities. The widespread marketing of
Coke has led Coke to be the market leader in the industry.
Market Needs
The Company needs all kinds of consumers either from rural market or from urban
market. The company also require larger portfolio for growing faster (Vinay Kamath,
2017).
Market Trends
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Coca Cola Marketing Plan
Due to government investment, liberalization and the growth in size of the middle
class, the Indian market has shown a very strong grown trend in the two decades from
1990 to 2010 (Chhabra and Kiran, 2012), and this growth is expected to continue in
the near future. .
Market Growth
The Coca cola enterprises limited have seen a very good growth for almost a decade.
However, as the per capita consumption of beverages in India is only 5% of that in the
USA, it represents a huge opportunity for the company. With the increasing affluence
and growth of the Indian middle class sector, the demand for international goods and
brands is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years (Forbes.com, 2017)
SWOT Analysis
Below we will analyze Coca-cola the Companys strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats as to help plan and focus on its key points and issues inorder to form a
full proof marketing plan into introducing the new drink of the Company.
Strengths
 Coca-Cola is one of the most famous brands of the world and provides a
very wide range of available products in different markets.
 It is one of the most valuable companies in the world with a total value of
80 billion dollars.
 Coca-Cola has the largest Market share in the beverage industry there are
only two competitors in this specific industry in which Coca Cola is
leading.
 Coca Cola marketing strategy has been state of the art marketing strategies
which provide and competitive advantage to Coca-Cola across different
markets.
 Coca-Cola has a loyal customer base which is loyal to its taste as well as
other products.
 Coca Cola distribution network is huge and it delivers the product across the
globe in different countries. By having a huge network Coca-Cola has been
successful in developing a specific market presence.
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Coca Cola Marketing Plan
 Due to it’s position as the largest beverage manufacturer the company can
take advantage of economies of scale to increase efficiency of production as
well as demand lower prices from its suppliers.
Weaknesses
 It has a huge competition with Pepsi and it is lacking innovation just like
that she is having.
 Coca Cola product diversification as compared to other brands is very low
which a weakness of the specific company is.
 The changing consumer preferences as well as the emergence of a health
conscious market may prove to be a disadvantage to Coca Cola whose
products are considered to be a major contributing factor to growing obesity
rates among the developed countries.
 Coca Cola does not provide any kind of health beverages which other
companies are focusing on. The specific strategy has reduced the overall
market share of Coca-Cola by a large margin.
 The popularity of beverages owned by the Coca Cola Brand like Fanta and
Sprite cut into the profits of the Coca Cola product and are actually
competitors within the aerated beverage market. This means that the
popularity of these products come at the cost of decline in profitability of
the other products by the Coca Cola brand.
 Coca Cola has been always in issue for the water management. Coca-Cola
water management policies are not effective and they have been facing
criticism over the last year.
Opportunities
 By diversifying the product coca Cola can easily increase level of
implementation as well as market share towards the specific societies across
the globe. By increasing your overall diversification coca Cola can easily
increase its level of market share as well as in your product range launches
which would directly increase the company's sale.
 By expanding its business to the developing Nations Coca-Cola can
increase its business by manifold.
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Coca Cola Marketing Plan
 Coca Cola can improve its supply chain across the different parts of the
world as it is not the most effective supply chain for delivering beverages
across the continent as well as world.
 By creating a market for the specific letter selling products Coca-Cola can
improve its overall efficiency SLS productivity in the specific market.
 Coca cola can take advantage of its large portfolio of products to allow the
lesser known products to maintain it’s market share in the event of its main
products falling out of favour among consumers.
Threats
 Coca Cola raw material is water which is directly facing issues as Coca-
Cola is always criticized for managing the waste water. as the water sources
are reducing Coca-Cola is also facing problem in finding specific water for
the cold drinks.
 The focus on health consciousness and government legislation may lead to
the brand falling out of favour in the market with other health focused
brands coming in to capture the market share.
 Different coffee chains like Starbucks as well as other indirect competitions
are rising which are directly decreasing the overall effectiveness of Coca-
Cola in the customers mind.
 The marketing strategies used by the brand have often been focused on
children and has led to a negative feedback from parents and schools who
are concerned with the health consequences of drinking too much of aerated
and sugary drinks. This perception of the brands products may persist
leading to these drinks being made less easily available to some segments of
the population.
Competition
The food & Beverages industry is a competitive industry. PepsiCo is the biggest
competitor of Coca cola, In addition, Groupe Danone, Krafts foods, and Nestle are
some of the other major competitors of an organization (Forbes.com, 2017).
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Coca Cola Marketing Plan
Product Offering
The Product XY is an energy drink, the company manufactured to use after physical
training for revitalizing the body and an aid to enhancing performance, during the
training. The new XY drink provides that required kick-start to your body and an
additional supply of carbohydrates for immediate recovery.
The ingredients of the products include:
 Glucose Fructose Syrup,
 Orange juice from Concentrate,
 Citric Acid,
 Sodium Benzoate, and
 Packaging: Plastic (275 ml) cans 250 ml.
Marketing Strategy
Marketing strategy is the comprehensive plan outlining the step by step plans of the
company to attract potential consumers and retain its existing loyal consumers. It is a
well put together market strategy that makes a product plan successful and profit
Mission
The road map of the company serves the action to refresh the world, to inspire
moments of optimism and to create value and make a difference (The coca cola
company, 2017).
Marketing Objectives (Please read this, and rewrite the marketing
objectives)
The main marketing objectives of Coca Cola Company are to be known as a company
that conducts its business responsibility ethically to accelerate the sustainable growth
process in order to operate in the future world (coca-colaindia.com, 2017). With these
objectives, the various branches of the company present globally forms a foundation
in their decision making process. The marketing objectives of Coca Cola also includes
the following:
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Coca Cola Marketing Plan
1. To put emphasis on the social aspects of Coca Cola
2. To remain on top of the media advancements
In order to launch the new XY drink into the market, Coca Cola’s objectives are to
reach each and every Indian in urban and rural areas through extensive marketing.
(Request :I need these topics below to be well cited and well
written, they have to sound and feel like the same researcher
writing the work. Please follow my above assignment written
so far. I need you to rewrite my Marketing strategedy and,I
need you to find apt citations and premium definitions for the
headings below product,price, place, promotion etc… the forur
P’s on marketing)
Financial Objectives
Financial objective of a firm is an objective in which the targets are measured in
monetary terms such as certain increase in percentage of profits and amount of profits
that need to be obtained within a specific time period (Zeff 2013). Mainly, financial
objectives are different from other types of objectives such as objectives of
recruitment, retention objectives, public relations objectives, the attainment of which
cannot be measured in monetary form.
Coca Cola has the financial objective to target 35% operating margin by the year
2020, which is a 12% points increase over the year-to-date operating margins of 22%.
The company seeks a long term fee cash flow conversion target of 95%-100%. The
aim of Coca Cola is to produce less capital expenditure and at least $95 of operating
cash. The company all across the globe targets to double the number of its soft drink
servings it distributes to more than 3 billion per day by 2020.
Target Markets
Target market can be defines as a particular segment of the whole market to which a
product, service and marketing campaign is targeted. It is a subset of the whole of the
market for a product or a service (Venter, Wright and Dibb 2015). Target markets
consists of consumers who share similar kind of characteristics such as income,
location, age, lifestyle, social background and desire for a product or service and are
most likely to but a company’s market offerings.
Coca Cola targets its offerings, marketing campaign and marketing efforts towards all
the sections of the society at urban as well as rural areas of the world. Coca Cola
doesn’t target a particular segment. The main consumers of the products of Coca Cola
are people firm age group of 12 to 30 years. Therefore, the company mainly targets at
the youngsters. Targeting is not based on gender but according to the results of
research, the products of Coca Cola are liked and preferred by both the genders
equally.
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Coca Cola Marketing Plan
The energy drink that the company is going to launch is target towards youths since
such kind of energy drink is consumed mainly by the youth section of the society.
Positioning
According to Weinstein (2013) the term positioning refers to occupying a distinctive
place in the minds of the target customers. It is a marketing strategy that is aimed to
make a special place in the consumers mind, relative of rival brands. Positioning is
done either by distinguishing the features form that of a competitive firm or by
creating a suitable image which includes premium or expensive, luxurious or
utilitarian and entry level using various mediums for advertising.
Coca Cola has successfully positioned itself within the market of soft drink all over
the world by adopting various strategies. The major question that the brand faces it
whether to keep the same positioning or to develop strategies according to the 200
nations where the company sells its products. The comoany uses strategic positioning
to have the same brand image and reputation all over the world.
Marketing Mix
Marketing mix is a set of tactics or actions used by a company to promote its product
in brand in the market (Armstrong et al., 2015). The 4 Ps of the marketing mix are
product, price, place and promotion. Nowadays, additional Ps are used in marketing
mix which are packaging, people, positioning and politics.
Product
Product refers to the offerings of a company to its target market (Huang and Sarigöllü
2014). Products can be tangible or intangible. Intangible products are referred to as
services. The products offered by Coca Cola are Coca Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Diet Coke,
Coca Cola Life, Dasani and Minute Maid.
The new product that Coca Cola is introducing in the Indian market is XY drink,
which is an energy drink.
Price
Price refers to the monetary value of a particular product or service (Khan 2014). It
depends on target segment, cost of production, capability of the market to pay demand
and supply and various other factors.
Strategy of 2nd degree price discrimination is flowed by Coca Cola and the products
are priced similar to that of the products of Pepsi in a perticular segment.
The price of XY drink can be set as Rs. 42 for the 600 ml bottle.
Place
Place refers to the point of sale and the medium though which the goods are
distributed to the target customers (Armstrong et al., 2015).
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Coca Cola Marketing Plan
The goods of Coca Cola are transported to the wholesalers from the distributers. The
wholesalers then distribute the goods to the retailers according to the demands.
The new product launched by Coca Cola will be distributed in the similar way and the
distribution will be high in the initial stage.
Promotion
Promotion refers to the marketing campaign that is carried out to create awareness
about a product or a service (Armstrong et al., 2015). Promotion can be carried out in
various ways depending on the nature and characteristics of the target market.
The promotional strategy of Coca Cola in India is focused on aggressive marketing
through ad campaigns, which uses print media, TV and online ads, sponsorship etc.
The promotion of the new product will be done through online medium of advertising
since it is the most common and medium for as campaigns in the present day.
Budgeting
Budgeting is referred to the process of pan that is created to spend the available
money and this spending plan is known as a budget (Roncalli, 2013). The spending
plans allows in deciding whether the money available is enough or not for doing a
particular task.
The total budget of XY drink must include all the cost related to development,
production and promotion. The profit margins need to be increased to cover
marketing, consumer and development issues.
Everything should fall in like Order, so please make sure the
following topics below:
*Implementation, including implications for product
design ,
*the Implementation including implications for Logistics
AND the conclusion all connects to your Premium re-written
work.
Implementation including implications for Product Design
Product designing is one very important part of marketing strategy. Characteristics of
Product Design include (Bloch, 1995):
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Coca Cola Marketing Plan
1. Functionality: The product must optimally perform the main task or function
for which it is purchased by the buyer. For instance, the main function of a
energy drink is to high up the energy level quickly. So, the energy drink must
consist the ingredients for energy quickly.
2. Productivity: The product must be produced with a required quantity and
quality at a defined and feasible cost.
3. Reliability: The product must perform properly for the designated period of
time without any malfunctions, breakdowns or failures.
4. Aesthetics: Product must look, feel, sound, taste or smell good. It must be
attractive, compact and convenient to use. The packaging should also be made
appealing and colourful to audience.
5. Durability: The product must perform flawlessly for a longer period. For
instance, the energy drink should give energy till last moment.
6. Simplicity: The design of the product must be simple. The simpler the design,
the easier it is to produce and use.
Implementation including implications for Logistics
Logistics is applied my many number of companies big and small, it is the whole
process of integrating, designing, financing, managing and improving the movement
of products throughout the supply chain. It includes purchasing, manufacturing,
storing as well as transporting the products. This means it keeps in check both the
inbound movement of raw materials, parts, components and other supplies (Bloch,
1995) and it also includes the outbound supplies in the form of work-in-process as
well as finished goods. Logistics also involves the flow of products for returning,
recycling as well as material reuse and waste disposal. Different functions of logistics
that coca cola enterprises limited apply are elaborated below:
 Order processing
 Ware housing
 Materials handling
 Transportation
Keeping all the above in mind the logistics are implemented for a successful product.
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Coca Cola Marketing Plan
Marketing Organization
Marketing Organization constitutes various fields (areas) and jobs. Coca cola is one of
the finest firms to the employees and for them to start and run their careers in this
company; they have the slogan, i.e. one company; one team; one passion; this slogan
says about the work culture of coca cola. It binds all the employees together and keeps
them working together. The company supports new ideas and creates a good, familiar
working environment where valuing the ideas, work and growth of an employee is
one of its main factors. It is the basic success mantra of modern corporate firms. The
kind of firms that are dealing with their employees in a fair and square process, will
eventually be the best firm in any segment. Coca cola was successful at this campaign
and running its activities.
Conclusion:
In order to ensure the success of the XY energy drink product Coca Cola will need to
formulate and execute a successful marketing strategy which will help it diversify it’s
product range. The SWOT analysis of the company shows that Coca Cola should look
to take advantage of it’s strength as the current market leader, it’s extensive
distribution network, and it’s brand reputation. The main challenges for the company
will be ensuring that the Coca Cola brand image carries over to the new product since
it is diversifying into health drinks, and to maintain it’s appeal to loyal customers. By
diversifying it’s product range Coca Cola has the opportunity to refresh it’s brand
image in the modern marketplace where customers are becoming increasing health
conscious. It’s main competitor Pepsi will also be challenging the company in this
market and Coca Cola will need to find a way to differentiate itself through innovative
marketing. If it manages to do this then it will be able to position itself as the leader in
key emerging markets which is poised for huge growth in the coming years. However,
diversifying into a different markets will also bring in more competitors and other
companies like Starbucks and Costa will also be vying for the consumer’s mind share
in this area. A major concern recently for Coca Cola is the management of water
resources for which it has been receiving a bit of negative press recently. In order to
succeed in the coming years the company will have to manage these resources
judiciously and formulate an ecologically friendly approach to sourcing the scarce
natural resources which will become more precious in the future.
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Coca Cola Marketing Plan
References
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Buchwitz, L.A., Trifts, V. and Gaudet, D., 2015.
Marketing: an introduction.
coca-colaindia.com (2017). Coca-Cola Journey | Refreshing India one story at a time.
[online] The Coca-Cola Company. Available at: https://www.coca-colaindia.com/
Huang, R. and Sarigöllü, E., 2014. How brand awareness relates to market outcome,
brand equity, and the marketing mix. In Fashion Branding and Consumer
Behaviors (pp. 113-132). Springer, New York, NY.
Khan, M.T., 2014. The concept of'marketing mix'and its elements (a conceptual
review paper). International journal of information, business and management, 6(2),
p.95.
Roncalli, T., 2013. Introduction to risk parity and budgeting. CRC Press.
Venter, P., Wright, A. and Dibb, S., 2015. Performing market segmentation: a
performative perspective. Journal of Marketing Management, 31(1-2), pp.62-83.
Weinstein, A., 2013. Handbook of market segmentation: Strategic targeting for
business and technology firms. Routledge.
Zeff, S.A., 2013. The objectives of financial reporting: a historical survey and
analysis. Accounting and Business Research, 43(4), pp.262-327.
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