Marketing and Society: Coca-Cola's CSR and Community Development

This report delves into the intersection of marketing and society, examining the core differences between marketing and selling, and highlighting the significance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It analyzes Coca-Cola's CSR activities, which include promoting sustainability through recycled packaging, offering low-calorie products, and employee welfare programs. The report evaluates these initiatives using the added value model of CSR, emphasizing the positive impact on brand image and revenue generation. Furthermore, it suggests that Coca-Cola should expand its CSR efforts to include community development programs, such as educational schemes, women empowerment initiatives, and healthcare services, to create a more substantial and tangible impact on society. The report concludes with a call for Coca-Cola to move beyond activities that primarily benefit the organization, to those that create real-world changes for the betterment of society and the community.

Running head: MARKETING AND SOCIETY
Marketing and society
Name of the student
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1MARKETING AND SOCIETY
Question: a
Marketing is the process of determining the need and requirement of the target customers
and selling the products or services accordingly. However, there is difference between marketing
and selling. While selling refers to the process of pushing the manufactured goods to the
customers, marketing involves determining the requirement of the customers and manufacturing
goods in accordance to that (Gummerus, 2013).
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the concept initiated by the large multinationals
and corporate and small organizations in the further period in taking the responsibilities of their
impact on the society and environment (Carroll, 2015). In relation to this, corporate maintain an
added fund in welfare of the society, community and environment by any means. Though it is
not having any financial profits for the business organizations, but it helps in creating positive
image and impression regarding the brand in the market (Servaes & Tamayo, 2013). It also helps
the government to have good flow of funds in their welfare schemes.
Question: b
Being one of the major multinationals in the world, Coca Cola is having access to huge
fund capital and thus their activities of corporate social responsibility is also more extensive in
nature. They are having their presence in different countries and the approach to the social
responsibility is different (Karnani, 2014). However, their basic objectives of social
responsibilities are to promote sustainability by using recycled and reused materials for
packaging, offering products with fewer calories for their customers and to maintain water
stewardship. Various employee welfare activities are also being promoted by them as part of the
social responsibilities.

2MARKETING AND SOCIETY
The activities of social responsibilities of Coca Cola can be evaluated through added
value model of CSR. According to this model, organizations can have business benefits from the
initiation of the socially responsible activities. This is due to the reason that, the more effective
will be the socially responsible activities, the more will be the positive brand image in the
market, which will help to attract more customers and increase the revenue. In the case of Coca
Cola, their extensive activities are helping in having positive brand image. Moreover, promoting
the healthier products is further helping them to target the health conscious people.
Question: c
It can be suggested that Coca Cola also involve community development compared to
their current practices. This is due to the reason that, majority of their current activities is related
to their organizational strategy such as healthier products and employee welfare. This is not
going to help the society and community. Therefore, they should also involve activities such as
free learning schemes, women empowerment in the rural regions and free health care services in
the disturb areas in order to have more effective activities related to corporate social
responsibilities. It is expected that involving the community development activities will help
Coca Cola to practically change the society in real world situation rather than just leveraging on
the positive brand value. These suggestions will let them to have more prominent impact of their
social responsibilities on the society and community compared to their current practices.

3MARKETING AND SOCIETY
Reference
Carroll, A. B. (2015). Corporate social responsibility. Organizational dynamics, 44(2), 87-96.
Gummerus, J. (2013). Value creation processes and value outcomes in marketing theory:
strangers or siblings?. Marketing Theory, 13(1), 19-46.
Karnani, A. (2014). Corporate social responsibility does not avert the tragedy of the commons.
Case study: Coca-Cola India. Economics, Management and Financial Markets, 9(3), 11.
Servaes, H., & Tamayo, A. (2013). The impact of corporate social responsibility on firm value:
The role of customer awareness. Management science, 59(5), 1045-1061.