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Despite being a leader in its industry, its fierce rivalry with Pepsi has forced Coca- Cola to maintain affordable price points to appeal to its vast middle class market. The company was criticized by shareholders and analysts in 2011 for maintaining relatively low price points in response to economic recession in the United States. While this point emphasizes the risks to any company of adopting a price-driven strategy, Coca-Cola’s strong global brand allows for brief periods of price drops. Place The concept of “place” has been generally replaced by distribution In the marketing mix system.
Distribution means getting products to customers in a strategic way. Coca-Cola’s distribution process is a key element of its offering. The company’s products are available in cans and bottles in supermarkets and other retail stores around the world. Additionally, the company provides supplies for fountain drinks In many restaurants. It sells its products in thousands of pop vending machines placed in businesses and public buildings. The ease and convenience of getting to the product is important to customer loyalty.
Promotion Coca-Cola invests billions of dollars a year in advertising and promotions around the oral to maintain Its position of Industry leadership against rival Pepsi. Pepsi increased its TV ad budget by 30 percent in 2011 when it fell behind Diet Coke. Coca- Cola spends a good portion of its ad budget on television advertising. It has used polar bear characters and a message of nostalgia and tradition as part of its branding over time. Magazine ads, online and social media have also been used as media for Coca-Cola marketing. Sales promotions at the store are used to drive revenue during slow periods.
Coca cola Is the brand with the highest brand equity. No doubt It has gone through the ups and downs of business to reach that position. The marketing mix of coca cola has been changing over time with more and more products being added such that today it has 3300 products. So what is the marketing mix of Coca cola? Read on. Product The company has the widest portfolio In beverage industry comprising of 3300 products. Beverages are divided into diet category, 100% fruit juices, fruit drinks, water, energy drinks, tea and coffee etc. As per Nelson’s data, Coca cola is the No. Its market presence around 200 countries. Coca cola brands in India are Fantasy, Amaze, Lima, sprite, Thumbs up, Minute Maid, Nimbi fresh, Nested iced tea etc. Price Due to the availability of wide range products the pricing is done according to the market and geographic segment. Each sub-brand of coca cola has different pricing strategy. Their pricing strategy is based on the competitors pricing, Pepsi is the direct competitor to coke. Beverage market is said to be a oligopoly market (few sellers and large buyers), hence they form into cartel contract to ensure a mutual balance in pricing between the sellers.
Place Coca cola is the world’s most favorite brand and is available all over the world. The distribution system of coca cola follows the FMC distribution pattern. The effective distribution network of coke has almost eroded the small and middle level players in the market. In India they have captured even the rural market by extensive distribution and have eroded the market share of Bonito, Calamari etc. Promotion Coca cola adopts various advertising and promotional strategies to create an increased demand in the market by associating with life style and behavior and mainly targeting value based advertising.
You are more likely to see a coke ad individualized for a particular festival or in with a general positive message. Coca cola uses CARS as its marketing tool to gain emotional benefits in consumers mind. The current promotions through CARS include “Support my school” campaign with .NET. It has many brand ambassadors like Shark khan, Writhe Reason, South Indian Actor Visa and Traits , Chamber, Mari khan etc and has signed contract recently with Miriam khan. It allows price discounts and allowances to distributors and retailers in order to push more products into the market.