Ch. 11- Developing and Managing Products

Coca Cola first began as a simple company that just sold Coke. Although they advertised

heavily their one innovation and everlasting one was Coca Cola. However with new markets on the rise, and more people demanding different things to satisfy their needs, Coke began to make new drinks to satisfy their target market. This is known as product development. Product development is “ a marketing strategy that entails the creation of marketable new products; the process of converting applications for new technologies into marketable products.” This is exactly what Coke did for various drinks. When people began to ask for a citrus flavored drink then they came out with Sprite. When the trend of dieting came along they came up with the new drink known as tab. This was targeted towards women who wanted to lose weight. Although Tab was fairly popular when it came out, however it was still later killed off in its maturity stage. Then later it was adopted into diet coke. When the fans of Coke wanted something with even less sugar than Coke Zero was made. This product development was a

major success for Coca Cola. It still continues in its growth stage today. However not all new products are always good. Some products hit a decline stage in which its sales drop continuously over some time. When the “new” (different formula) Coke was announced, then customers who were loyal to the brand were outraged causing Coke to lose a lot of money and bring back the Coca Cola classic. Developing products for new markets is always important, however sometimes you can't beat the classics.

Ch. 8 - Segmenting and Targeting Markets

Coca Cola is very well known for being one of the largest companies in the soft

drink business. However they also target many other people by giving them a wide variety of products that each group's want. They segment their markets due to different analysis. Coca Cola has created a product line of over 400 different products in it to satisfy the needs of the customers. Geographic segmentation begins with the region of a country or the world. Figuring out how to target to them and what specifically to target. Such as in countries such as mexico and in the continent of south america glass bottles are used rather than plastic, also instead of corn syrup cane sugar is used as the sweetener because it is more available there than it is here. Also Coca Cola uses different languages on their cans , bottle, and glasses, to produce ads in different cultures and countries to appeal to the

people. They also segment the market by demographics. The use of age, gender, income and ethnic background is used to discover their target market. Although Coca Cola is marketed for everyone their still must be different uses for their drinks. Such as Coca Cola zero which has zero calories is target to the people that are trying to live a healthy lifestyle. Also Powerade a drink made for athletes. This all ties in with their lifestyle and how they choose to live. Coca Cola has even made Dasani water which is for people who prefer water over any other drink. This is segmenting the market by psychographics. This is how they've made themselves popular with the world. Because of these different ads for different cultures, and their large product mix they are able to hit many different product markets that are wants of the public. Although till this day original coke is the most popular of all their products.

Ch. 15- Marketing Communications

Marketing Communications is very important to Coca Cola. This is because Coca Cola’s

main way they got so popular was through contact with the consumers. They have used both visual and aural advertisements and promotion in order to sell their product. One of the top ways they began to advertise was through newspaper. Coca Cola was one of the earliest to companies to advertise heavily and they did it through pictures in newspapers. Also magazines have been used by Coca Cola to contact its target market. A very popular one is how they advertise through television. These advertisements and commercials ensure to get people to buy Coke and know exactly what they are trying to sell. Coca Cola is very popular by communicating with its target. They have shown massive success with this many times over the years. During the prohibition era, they released an advertisement in the newspaper stating Coca Cola was the next best thing to liquor. During the 60s and 70s Coca Cola communicated with its target market through the sound of music, this allowed them to move from the wholesome 50s to the era of teens and rock. They have later on used the internet to further advertise Coca Cola through the use of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,

Pinterest and even Google+. They mainly have stuck to product advertising and competitive advertising. Their largest rival being Pepsi Cola. Coca Cola is creative with their ads because they always move with the times and always stick to their mission statement. The reason they've also sold so much in the past is because there is Coca Cola everywhere. They have a large push strategy that uses aggressive personal selling to wholesalers and retailers. Their cola is everywhere due to popular demand of people and wholesalers. They have even been the drink of most movie theatres in America.Their Coke freestyle is in most movie theatres and food establishments now. In the beginning they have communicated with their market through newspaper and imagery , and now they own the market and communicate with the world through tv, movies, pictures, and promotions.

 

  

Chapter 10 - Product Concept

Coca Cola has been alive now for over a century. A large percent of the world recognize the Coca Cola name and the taste of the drink. Even after a century, Coca Cola still remains a king on top of all other soft drink companies. With over 3,000 drinks to choose from this company has hit everyone's

taste by producing different flavors. So how have they stayed a giant after all these years? Their product. It's always innovative and able to gain popularity in every generation that come about. One thing about their product is first the shape of the bottle. In the year 1915 Coca Cola had created a glass bottle that no matter who a person is they can always tell the difference between a bottle of coke and any other product. This bottle was even able to be recognized in the dark. It was also patented so that no one can ever steal the unique shape of Coca Cola. Another thing about the bottle is the label. It uses persuasive labeling. It focuses much more on its name than any other information found on the bottle/can. It also is a convenance product. Coca Cola has always been cheap for everyone to buy and everyone to love. When it first started out it was five cents. Over a hundred years

has passed and still it is only $1.00 - $1.50. This is still very economical. To some this has also become a specialty product. If they can't find Coca Cola they will try their hardest for its their favorite drink. Lastly in its product development Coca Cola has created over 3,000 drinks for its product mix. Their product line extension has increasingly grown over the years because they always listen to what the people want. This has developed large product line extension over the years with the creation of Coca Cola, Sprite, Fanta etc. This is how Coca Colas product development has been monumental with making the company the success it is today. 

Ch. 17 - Personal Selling and Sales Management

When it comes to Coke and personal selling, Coca Cola at times sells itself. Coca Cola uses a

customer-centric sales technique that allows them to build their relationships with customers. One way they do this is with advertising. One of their largest campaigns and most popular is “share a coke”. This campaign involves the use of over  1,000 popular names all over the world. This creates a relationship between Coke and people in a certain way that other companies do not relate to their customers. Another way they enhance their interactions with people is through the use of their own website. Coca Cola allows you to interact with their website to learn the origins of your name and also allows you to order a specific bottle of coke. They also allow you to interact with them by contacting them on twitter. Coca Cola is known to answer their clients through social media. When they sell to smaller parties such as 7/11 or deli’s they offer promotions and sales that allow their brand to show much better than any other. Throughout the years Coca Cola has done needs assessments. These are tests that analyze the customer’s specific needs and wants with a different range of options. One way they have fixed the wants of certain people is by giving them over 100 different choices of flavors of water and soft drinks. this fixes the

wide variety base of all the people who drink coca cola instead of pushing them to a different soda brand. These different steps allow Coca Cola to sell personally and to manage their sales throughout the years. They continue to make more than their quota making them Coke a cash cow in the marketing world.

Ch. 16 - Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

The most infamous advertisement in all of marketing history. "Id like to teach the world to sing" became an instant classic showing the world what Coca Cola really meant. Which meant to bring all sorts of people together no matter where they are from and who they are. The idea came to an adman that was stuck at an airport due to delays. A whole lot of angry passengers were riled up and ready to cause a huge commotion. However, instead they all began to share a coke. The adman noticed that once everyone passed around Coca Cola they all calmed down and everyone seemed to talk to each other and enjoy each others company. Coca Cola literally brought together a group of people. Thus the greatest advertisement in history was  born. This song became so popular it was actually re-recorder by a band which then was sold widely around America as a record.

Ch. 16 - Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

Coca Cola goes hand in hand with advertising. The reason it is what it is today is because it works so hard on its advertisement to hit certain target markets in order to make sure people know the name and know what the company stands for. They spend about 2.9 billion dollars a year when it comes to just advertising. Although it may seem like a lot of money, it's worth it because of how much they make off of it. It all started out during the 1930’s and prohibition era. One of their first ad campaigns was by stating that Coke was the best alternative to alcohol for those who wanted a good drink. It was an instant success as people felt compelled to buy Coca Cola. One of their next ad campaigns that dominated the marketing of the world was Santa Claus. Although many believe that Coca Cola

turned him to wear red and white, it is not true. However Coca Cola did develop his image and created the big bellied, jolly, bearded old man that we know as Santa Claus. Whenever most people think of Santa they think of christmas and Coke. This ad campaign was extremely popular with families as it created ties with Coca Cola and people. Coca Cola continues to make more advertisements that continue to connect with the times. Once the fad with losing weight and keeping healthy came along they created the diet coke. The diet coke campaign was a major success with the people who wanted to drink healthier and watch their weight. They also sponsor events such as, sporting events, concerts and continue to grow to make sure their ads are all over.  Their “mean joe greene” ad in the 70s was extremely popular showing people that Coke can bring out the soft side even in the most toughest of people.Their newest campaign “open happiness” has been a hit when it comes to connecting with people. They've used different methods of ads to do this. They've given away free coke to college students. Gone around the world to get people to connect with one another so that everyone can open happiness. Which is also part of their mission statement. Coca Cola has become an empire when it comes to advertising. Making sure that we all know who they are and what they stand for. Always changing with the times, their advertisements connect people with people and more importantly people with Coca Cola.

Chapter 14 marketing and retailing - visit

I walked into 7/11 and right away I noticed that Coca Cola signs were already at the front of the door. With different sale promotions and prices. Then while walking in I also noticed that even then there was still small advertisements around the Coca Cola products, making sure that you saw all their other products available and it was marked with the slogan "refresh". Which happens to be one part of Coca Colas mission statement. "To refresh the world." Another thing that I noticed was that Coca Cola wasn't the only thing being sold there by the Coca Cola company. There was Sprite, Fanta, Dasani water, Evian water and many many more selections.  So Coca Cola really does make sure that all its soft drink products and water products get to all the stores and in a large quantity. Also I noticed that one weakness as explained in the chapter is that not only did they sell Coca Cola at 7/11 but they also sold Pepsi. Pepsi being coca colas biggest rival. This makes it more difficult for Coca Cola to advertise in a store such as 7/11 or other large chain stores because the stores have other companies that pay them to also sell inside their stores. So this is a weakness in selling wholesale to such stores. However besides that fact. It seems that they do very well there being a Coke product the brand is very popular and not difficult to sell. 

Ch. 14 - Marketing Channels and Retailing

“A marketing channel is a business structure of interdependent organizations that reach from the point of production to the consumer." This is Coca Cola’s most successful point in business, their distribution network. Where there are people there is Coke. This came to be true after learning that even in the poorest of countries one can always find Coca Cola. They make sure that their products reach all over their target markets. One way that they have expanded their network all across the globe is through the use of small retailers. They use small retailers such as bars, restaurants and supermarkets to get their drinks into the hands of consumers and also for drinking on the premise itself. Another way that Coca Cola sells all its products is through distribution channels. These channels help actually distribute the Coca Cola products to large chain retail stores, such as Wal-Mart , Costco , BJ's and many more. This being the most profitable to the company because its all sold as wholesale. The only downside to this strategy

is that these stores normally always also sell other brands of soft drinks such as Pepsi. So this does not allow Coca Cola to be its number one priority when it comes to marketing in the store. Another form of distribution that Coca Cola has come up with is their creative ideas of vending machines. They offer different vending machines to get their product and name more recognized than it already is. They have used different ad campaigns through these vending machines such as the “hug me” machine in which case , people hug the vending machine in order to get a free drink. Another great way that they get Coca Cola into the hands of the people and get them to consume it. One other most popular method is through the use of their newer models of vending machines known as the Coca Cola Freestyle. This vending machine has a touch screen interface that allows you to choose from over 100 different Coca Cola soft drinks

in one machine! This gives the user the ability to have options in what they would like to drink instead of going to a different company of soft drink. They offer a wide variety of flavors and drinks to hit all their target markets in one machine. Which proves that how they sell and get products into the hands of the people is just as important as what they actually sell. They place all these vending machines in great locations where they will have lots of foot traffic and pit stops. The whole importance of retailing and using the right distribution channels is to be able to place the product into the consumer's hands, because customers want convenience anywhere they are. Coca Cola’s distribution networks are vast and worldwide. This gets them to the top and has them everywhere there is people. Allowing them to continue to climb new heights in success.

Ch. 6 - Consumer Decision Making

Consumer decision making process is extremely vital when it comes to a company

prospering fully. Coca Cola analyzes the Consumer decision process in order to analyze how and why clients purchase Coke over any other soft drink.Understanding the behavior of customers makes it easier to see where the market is headed in the near future. Coca Cola will never actually be a need but only a want. So in order for them to tap strongly into the want recognition they use their brand name that is so recognized and easily accessible. in order to affect consumer decision making they target all types of culture. Such as becoming apart of certain meals for others, making it a full part of the culture of others. Also they do not target a specific social class. Coca Cola’s soft drinks at times can be even cheaper than water. Making it easily accessible to the poor , but still making it a

classic drink for the rich. Another thing that they do is they get involved through the use of their advertisements to stimulate the want in the market. They have given themselves a name to share Coca Cola with the world. Different advertisements sharing that no matter where you are, whether it's at a party, with friends or with family, coke is the all occasion drink for a good time. Being passed down from grandfather to father to son, makes Coke a Classic in the socialization process. The relation to Coke and consumer involvement is everything because it is not  need , so it can not sell itself. As they target different cultures, and subcultures, they never forget about targeting the rest of the world.

Ch. 5 - Developing a Global Vision

Coca Cola just as other companies have stressed their importance when it comes to global marketing.

They must compete with other companies to dominate the word of marketing. Coca Cola has been successful with their “where there is people there is Coke” campaign. Coca Cola’s distribution network is one of the largest around the world. It is estimated that 94% of people all around the world recognize the cursive red and white lettering that is Coca Cola. They use effective global marketing

strategies to advertise their products in different places , with low prices and lots of promotions. Using the four p’s to successfully market to the entire world. One impact that this multinational firm has is that it has more than 900 plants around the entire world, employing thousands. This helps the workers of the world become financially stable and independent. Also globally Coca Cola helps raise the GDP ( Gross Domestic Product) of different countries. Another issue that they like to focus on are external environmental issues. One of the largest ones being obesity. So one thing that Coca Cola does to affect this world’s issue is to get them active. Coca Cola has partnered up with different health organizations to bring light upon the issue and created several programs to get people more active than staying home and drinking more calories than they are burning. They also have created lower calorie drinks and advertise their most profitable water dasani which is sold around the world to give people options. Another global issue is the environment. Coca Cola’s new “ plant bottle” which gets rid of the process of adding petroleum to the bottles, helps the environment and is 100% recyclable. They are the world leaders at sustainable water use, and industry leaders in packaging , energy and climate protection. Sustainability for the environment is part of their 2020 vision. Another

global vision Coca Cola is trying to impact is the workplace for women across the world. Their goal for 2020 is to “ enable the economic empowerment of five million women across the world. They also are large advocates of human rights. They have a vision and have accomplished a great safety records for the employees that work for them. With all this Coca Cola's global vision is to move forward and positively. When it comes to the world's issues such as gender equality , obesity and environment. Coca Cola is changing itself to recognize the different target markets in the world. Also using promotion and advertisement to effectively carry out their global marketing strategy to be a more productive company that sells products and that helps shape the world into a better place.

Ch. 4 - The Marketing Environment

The marketing environment is affected by many different factors. It can be social , environmental or

even political. How ever companies must come up with ways to overcome these different factors in order to succeed in the world of business. Coca Cola for example is affected by its environmental impact. As the world continues to grow one question on everyone's minds is, what does big business do to protect the environment? For instance Coca Cola is improving on the way they produce their plastic bottles , as an improvement on the environment and to satisfy the demands of society. To improve their bottle they would like to use less raw materials that go into their production of plastic. They would like to remove petroleum from the process and introduce their new “plant-bottle”. This would be less costly, eco friendly and popular with the public. Another concern for the marketing environment is age. Coca Cola does not target a certain age, because they are popular with both the

old and the young. For the young Coca Cola is known as “cool” young drink to be drank anywhere with anything. As for the old it is a drink that they all grew up with. It stays being a classic drink with the same refreshing taste as when they were young. They also do not target a certain income for customers. Coca Cola's products are cheap enough for the poor to enjoy and good enough for the quality a rich person would love. These components allow them to target a variety of groups of people.  With the advancement of technology Coke has only grown even bigger due to the quick use of the media to advertise more and connect with their customers / clients via Facebook,twitter, Instagram,Pinterest and google plus. This helps because all over the world Coca Cola is the number one drink to be drank. Thus the saying “ where there are people , there is coke.” they have a large distribution network that allows them to be in the most remote of areas or in large cities. One of the largest issues in the marketing environment for Coca Cola is the obesity issue. As the country fights against obesity (one of our nation’s largest issues) they are faced with a change in the way they market their drink and a new issue to resolve. As a result of this issue Coca Cola has created new drinks with little to no calories. They’ve also

launched a new ad campaign to pull the nation together on the epidemic. Coca Cola has also joined with pro sports teams to gets up and active known as “play ball” campaign. Through all these efforts Coca Cola shows how they would like to fix their end of the deal when it comes to obesity. They affect the entire market by targeting everyone.  They meet the needs of the people, the government and society as a whole in order to be the success that they are today.

Ch. 18- Social Media and Marketing

The use of social media has changed the way many companies market their products. Now instead of just telling people to buy the products they are able to create trends  

through hashtags ,letting others follow it to market their product. Coca Cola uses certain sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and pinterest to market the Coca Cola product to millions. Facebook primarily is used to update photos , or update statuses to let people know what you are up to. Instead Coca Cola uses the social media site to keep the people up to date with the brand (which is easy to do because of its legacy) and also to produce new ads and share it with the world. During the olympics Coca

Cola released its polar bear ads to gain positive attention from its audience showing not only that they care , but also they care about the world around them. Normally they also use polls or ask a question its sixty million plus followers around the world hoping for feedback on ways to improve. This creates a relationship with customers.The way the Coca Cola company optimizes the use of their twitter account is giving the people the ability to use their mention, so the company can hear the complaints anyone has against them. Furthermore they fix these complaints by actually responding to people and letting them know that they’ll be fixing the issue. This helps build an understanding between Coca Cola and its clie

nts. Between its 700,000 followers a lot of them are answered which helps build customer satisfaction. They also tweet inspirational quotes to give followers a great start and end to their day. Creating relationships between the company and the people. The last use of social media that Coca Cola uses is pinterest. They use different boards on pinterest to connect with all sorts of interests. There's a board  the olympics and sports. All these to attract fans to a certain base. There's even a board where Coca Cola uses images from real peoplesfacebook pages and tumblrs to advertise the real world of Coca Cola. All these uses of social media makes Coca Cola king at crowdsourcing. They use the actual consumers to market products. They also use it to monitor and to effectively listen to their consumers. Through the use of social media Coca Cola is able to make impressions and connect with the entire world.

 A modern take on the  advertising of Coca Cola. Continuing with there mission statement to share happiness around the world one coke bottle at a time. Their advertisements always moving with the times that we live in. In a world of technology it is easy to spread anger and hate. However in this advertisement Coca Cola claims that through their soft drink everyone can " open happiness". As you can see Coca Colas marketing plan and mission statement fit together like a puzzle piece. Making Coca Cola the GENIUS in advertisement it is today.

Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

When walking into a small deli here in New York City searching for a drink , chances are that you will end up seeing and buying a Coca Cola. When walking into a small deli anywhere around the United States chances are you still will see a whole aisle of Coca Cola and most likely purchase a Coca Cola product. Even in third world countries, such as Africa you can stop at a small shop in the middle of nowhere and still purchase a Coca Cola. This is a complete advantage to the Coca Cola company due to the fact that they have the world's most extensive distribution system in the entire planet! They have been able to supply Coca Cola to billions of people all around the world. Even in the places competitors would have no interest in placing their products. Another competitive advantage is that Coca Cola has been around for a very long time. It has been around since 1892 making it the most trusted brand of drink and having its name and logo recognized everywhere.

Although they are one of the oldest soft drinks available they continue to grow and expand with different flavors and brands of  drinks, such as Sprite, Dasani, Fanta, Powerade, Honest tea and many more. This planning allows Coca Cola to sell more and more product of different varieties. However still Original Coca Cola is the most popular. Also the secret ingredient to Coca Cola makes it better than any other cola soft drink. Which also leads to their marketing genius in advertising. Such as “ The Secret Formula” Ads.

Creating a vast amount of advertising throughout the century making it most popular and better known than any other brand out there. Lastly another strategic advantage that Coke does better than anyone else is their production plan. It takes a fraction of the actual retail price of a coke to actually make one. Making the Coca Cola Company much more money. Their strategic planning of making their name more known , having their product distributed everywhere, and their production prices have made Coca Cola the extremely successful company it is today.

Ch. 1 - Overview of Marketing (Brief History and Mission Statement)

Coca-Cola history began in 1886 when the curiosity of an Atlanta pharmacist, Dr. John S. Pemberton, led him to create a distinctive tasting soft drink that could be sold at soda fountains. He created a flavored syrup, took it to his neighborhood pharmacy, where it was mixed with carbonated water and deemed “excellent” by those who sampled it. Dr. Pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, is credited with naming the beverage “Coca‑Cola” as well as designing the trademarked, distinct script, still used today. Coca Cola today is now worth 74 billion . Coca Cola products are consumed to about 1.8 billion drinks a day!

John Stith Pemberton

John Stith Pemberton

the inventor of the Coca-Cola beverage. In his day Pemberton was a most respected member of the state's medical establishment, but his gift was for medical chemistry rather than regular medicine. He was a practical pharmacist and chemist of great skill, active all his life in medical reform, and a respected businessman.Born on January 8, 1831, in Knoxville, in Crawford County, Pemberton grew up and attended the local schools in Rome, where his family lived for almost thirty years. He studied medicine and pharmacy at the Reform Medical College of Georgia in Macon, and in 1850, at the age of nineteen, he was licensed to practice on Thomsonian or botanic principles (such practitioners relied heavily on herbal remedies and on

purifying the body of toxins, and they were viewed with suspicion by the general public).

The Coca Cola mission today is “To refresh the world - in mind, body and spirit… To inspire moments of optimism - through our brands and actions… To create value and make a difference everywhere we engage”