Marketing Essentials - Task 3: Evaluating Coca-Cola's Market Plan

This report provides a comprehensive evaluation of Coca-Cola's marketing plan, focusing on the introduction of its new Kombucha drink. The analysis covers key aspects such as understanding the target market, including the youth demographic and their online behavior, and assessing the competitive landscape with major players like PepsiCo. The report identifies Coca-Cola's strengths, such as its strong brand identity and extensive distribution network, while also pointing out weaknesses like low product diversification. It examines the marketing channels used, including social media and email marketing, and details the marketing toolkit, sales strategies, and budget allocation. The action plan outlines specific activities, timing, target audience, and associated costs for various marketing initiatives, including Facebook and LinkedIn campaigns. Segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies are also discussed, providing a complete overview of Coca-Cola's approach to marketing its new product.

Marketing
Essentials

TASK 3
Evaluate and produce market plan
Marketing plan is a blueprint that includes various activities such as marketing strategy,
sales forecasting and budget. The main aim of Coca-Cola of making and developing this
plan is to describe objectives of the company and the way of achieving that objectives.
Marketing plan of Coca-Cola can be defined in main 5 steps which are described below:
 Goal:
 The main goal of making this plan is to satisfy customers by offering them
new product called Boost energy healthy drink named Kombucha and to increase
customer volume or base.

Section 1 understand the market
Customers: The target customer of Coca-Cola for offering its new product are
youth and youngster. It wants to provide its new Kombucha drink to the 18-35 age group of
people. For offering and introducing its new product it uses competitive positioning strategy
and take help of direct marketing for reaching their targeted customers.
Customers behaviour: For its existing products it knows their customers
behaviour as which type of drink they prefer the most. It has been analysed that customer
prefer diet coke. They purchase it by from their stores and online. For its new Kombucha
drink. It wants to choose online platform which will become easy for its customers. For
more knowing about its customers it organises customers events.
Competitors: Competitors of Coca-Cola are Dr Pepper Snappale, Pepsico, Nestle
and Parle. These all are the big competitors of Coca-Cola as they provide various and
healthy drinks and uses the best distribution channels for promoting their products. So these
create competition for the company.

Section 2 Identify marketing opportunities
 Strengths: The main strength of Coca-Cola company is it has an incredible brand
identity. It operates in 200 countries across the world which increases its brand value. It
is the winner and have the largest market share which make it differ and unique from its
competitors. It has a lot of customers loyalty which helps them in improving customer
relationship. The other main strength of this company is it has the largest distribution
network which make it able to make a high market presence.
 Weaknesses: It has some weaknesses on which it requires to focus in order to
remove obstacles. It has various competition in which Pepsi creates a major
competition. Product diversification of this company is low as compared to Pepsi. The
other main weakness of Coca-Cola is it is not showing its presence in health beverages.

Section 3 Assessment of potential
marketing channels
For distribution and promotion of its products it uses various channels which
includes social media marketing, advertising, online marketing, marketing via E-mail.
The main aim of choosing E-mail channel is it is easy and cheap way. With the
help of E-mail it can send message to a group of target segment of and keep in regular
contact until customers are ready to purchase. This gives all type of information's as who
has clicked on what etc.
It also uses social media marketing because most of the target people active and
uses these platforms and it helps marketer to build strong relationship with its potential
customers and to approach easily. It can also measure from followers to like and then it can
use links and can contact with them easily. Sites of social media are free but it takes a lot of
time as it requires an individual to active on that 24 hours.

Section 4 Prepare the group
Marketing toolkit: The main strategy and slogan of Coca-Cola are affordability
and availability of the brand throughout the entire world. It uses LinkedIn, merchandise
and leaflets for promoting its brand and product.
Selling: After making all the strategies and plan it focuses on sales and for
effective sales it does sales forecasting
Integrate marketing: There are some ways by which this company can connect
its marketing channels. It has multi channel retailing that merge all retail operations in a
way that make it able the transacting of a customer via many connected channels. It
includes advertising, branding, traditional contents etc.

Cont.…
Marketing research £20,000
Expenses on advertisement £5,000
Social media promotion £35,000
Budget:
Advertisement and marketing expenditure
Overseeing: In this step it establishes areas of roles and
responsibilities of its team and then see that employees are
playing their roles or not. Some areas which are related to
marketing are: brand management, social media management,
digital public relation etc.

Section 5 Marketing action plan
Activity Timing Target
audience
Objectives Cost
Facebook 1 month Targeted
Facebook Ads
& Sponsored
posts.
To get E-mail
sign up
inquiry
100/ month
LinkedIn 2 months VP marketing
and targeted
Facebook ads.
Clicks leading
to downloads
and E-mail
sign up
inquiry.
120/month
E-mail list 1 month Triggered E-
mail nurturing
program
To identify
prospects and
pull down the
funnel.
2 hours
monthly
building up

Produce a detailed coherent evidence-based
marketing plan
Segmentation: Segmentation of Coca-Cola helps them to define the appropriate
services and products for its segmented and potential customer group. It also defines its
vision and objectives. It does geographic segmentation.
Targeting: In this step it determines its select market. It uses traditional targeting
practices of advertising via print and other media sources.
Positioning: Coca-Cola uses competitive positioning strategy in the non-
alcoholic beverage market.

REFERENCES
 ABBASI, H., 2017. Marketing Strategies Of Coke: An Overview. Kaav International
Journal of Economics, Commerce & Business Management. 4. pp.194-199.
 Baker, M.J., 2016. What is marketing?. In The Marketing Book(pp. 25-42). Routledge.
 Blythe, J. and Martin, J., 2019. Essentials of marketing. Pearson UK.
 Cong, M. and et.al., 2018. A Social Media Plan for the Changemakers’ Playground.