The primary goal of this research paper is to evaluate the communication and competitive strategy of Coca-Cola soft drink beverage. Firstly, the product will be described, as it will help understand the company’s focus. Secondly, the communication and competitive strategy audits will be conducted to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of the campaigns. Lastly, strategic recommendations are proposed.
Description of the Product or Service
I will be assessing Coca-Cola soft beverage, as it has high brand image and recognition in the world. The primary reason for selecting Coca-Cola for this assignment is the fact that the company has a significant number of successful campaigns, which contribute to the ability of the brand to develop a sophisticated brand image in the world. Choosing Coca-Cola will help see the campaign creation and the value generation from a different perspective.
Nonetheless, ‘Share a Coke’ campaign was one of the most successful advertisement campaigns, which allowed the company to provide customers with unique and customized products for affordable prices (Grimes, 2013). This campaign encouraged customers to post photos of the personalized Coca-Cola cans in social media, as the clients wanted to share their emotions about the product (Grimes, 2013). In this instance, it could be assumed that the target audience is young people, as they actively use social media for communication and sharing information. Moreover, it could be said that the target market is not limited by the other strict parameters such as gender, sex, and nationality since the campaign is available in multiple countries and covers a significant number of consumers.
Communication Audit
In this instance, communication is an essential element, as it allows providing information about the customers and drawing their attention to the new products (Belch & Belch, 2012). It could be said that the chosen communication campaign consists of multiple elements, which contribute to the development of a suitable brand image. The campaign was actively promoted via social media, website, TV advertisement, and directly on the cans. Moreover, it involves close and secure communication with the customers and encourages them to share purchases on social media (Grimes, 2013).
The mission of the company implies the responsibility and the promises that the company makes to its customers (Belch & Belch, 2011). In the case of Coca-Cola, the mission can be summarized as a desire to refresh the world with new flavors, fulfill it with joy, and “make a difference” (Coca-Cola Journey, 2015, para. 3). It could be said that Coca-Cola was able to cover the primary points of the mission with the assistance of ‘Share a Coke’ campaign, as the customers were actively expressing their positive emotions in the social media.
Lastly, as for the brand assessment, it could be said that Coca-Cola has a well-established brand identity. In this instance, the ‘Share a Coke’ campaign influences positively brand recognition, as it helps create the understanding that Coca-Cola cares about its customers by providing them the ability to personalize their drinks. Nonetheless, brand image plays a critical role in the generation of brand recognition.
Competitive Strategy
Coca-Cola has a well-established 4Ps. In the case of the chosen campaign, the product is Coca-Cola’s original soft beverage (original Coca-Cola). As for the price, it has to remain competitive with its direct and indirect competitors such as PepsiCo. It is evident that Coca-Cola uses multiple marketing vehicles such as social media, website, TV advertisement, and directly on the cans to remain competitive on the market and portray the fundamental values of the company.
As for the place, it is evident that the product’s campaign was present globally. Speaking of customer groups, the campaign was targeted at the younger generation, which actively utilizes social media in their everyday lives. Nonetheless, it was also aimed at older people, as they might also be considered as potential customers.
Moreover, in this instance, the unique selling point is the fact that the company provides the products with the most common names and nicknames such as “gorgeous” and “mum” (Fisher, 2014). Moreover, customers can create customized cans (Buy Your Personalized Bottle, 2015). The taste remains its USP. However, in this case, high attention is paid to the ability to modify the name on the bottle. A competitive angle is the ability of the company to differentiate itself from the competitors (Trout, 2007). The company displays itself as having a close relationship with the customers and caring company.
Strategic Recommendations
As for the recommendations, Coca-Cola has to be able to expand the availability of the names and nicknames for their product line. In this instance, more and more customers will be satisfied with the presence of their names on the products. Consequently, the brand will be actively promoted in social media.
Moreover, the expansion of the variety of the products, which participate in the campaign, will help satisfy and attract more customers, which prefer soft beverages such as Sprite and Fanta. This strategy will allow targeting at more customer segments at the same time, as, in this case, it will also involve the Sprite and Fanta consumers. It could be said that these innovations and modifications of the advertisement campaign will help generate higher revenues and attract more customers to experience the flavor of the traditional Coca-Cola beverages.
References
Belch, G., & Belch, M. (2011). Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Buy Your Own Personalized Bottle. (2015). Web.
Coca-Cola Journey: Mission, Vision & Values. (2015). Web.
Fisher, L. (2014). Has Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke campaign passed its sell-by date. The Guardian. Web.
Grimes, T. (2013). What the Share a Coke campaign can teach other brands. The Guardian. Web.
Trout, J. (2007). Marketing 101. Forbes. Web.