Coca-Cola is a company with a long history and solid reputation. The drink with the same name is widely recognizable and can be found in countless places across the globe. Its success, apart from everything else, implies a sophisticated marketing strategy. According to Armstrong and Kotler (2020), it can be described as a marketing mix consisting of four Ps: product, place, promotion, and price. Consequently, closely inspecting each piece will provide a comprehensive overview of the company’s marketing strategy for the Coca-Cola drink.
Product
The product comes as the first of four marketing mix components of Coca-Cola. As a leading company’s product, Coca-Cola soft drink belongs among the most valuable and recognizable global brands. It has obtained a great cultural value, which obliges the company to be consistent with the product’s design, style, and features. The strategy adheres to the principle of universality through the introduction of the same ingredients, accurately matching every element on a worldwide scale (Arab, 2018). In addition, the product is being sold in a variety of packages, ranging from bottles and cans to specialized drink dispensers to which company provides after-sale services.
Two famous brands’ variations from the company’s portfolio are Coca-Cola light and Coca-Cola Zero. They were created because the drink contains high amounts of sugar and calories. Since the company warrants the product’s safety and is strongly concerned with its image, it decided to alter the drink’s formula to make it more accessible to different population groups. Consequently, health-conscious people choose Coca-Cola’s light version as this is a calorie-free drink first introduced in 1982 (The Coca-Cola company). Coca-Cola Zero – the latest addition to the Coca-Cola product line – contains zero sugar. Overall, the range of Coca-Cola variations allows the company to compete successfully in the market.
Place
As a second P, the placement strategy of Coca-Cola follows a distribution pattern. The company owns all its brands and solely develops brand marketing initiatives (Arab, 2018). However, as a matter of tradition, Coca-Cola relies on its global bottling partners for packaging and distribution (Arab, 2018). Their products are not limited to any country’s class or region, being distributed respectively to retailers – from mega super stores to local shops – and the wholesaler.
The system’s functioning is organized through multiple channels. Coca-Cola produces and sells drink bases, such as syrups and concentrates, to bottling operators. Instead of placing different retail stores worldwide, Coca-Cola chose to maximize the capabilities of its authorized bottlers to package, merchandise, and distribute the product to the company’s customers and vending partners (Arab, 2018). In addition, to distribute Coca-Cola products, the authorized bottlers cooperate with a variety of partners, including different stores, restaurants, and places of entertainment. Altogether they manage to execute the chosen company’s marketing strategy effectively.
Promotion
The competition is tight in the soft drinks industry – companies spend substantial amounts of money on funding various advertisements and promotional activities. Coca-Cola’s promotional strategies are primarily based on creativity and innovation (The Coca-Cola company). They mainly target consumers of different ages that experience different health issues; in this context, diet and other health-oriented elements are used for the promotion (Arab, 2018). As competition becomes more challenging, Coca-Cola focuses on strengthening its image in the industry through various social media platforms.
Besides outdoor advertising campaigns and television, Coca-Cola has launched its ads across digital social media channels. Since digital marketing can be considered one of the most modern ways of product promotion, the company utilizes its social media accounts for customer engagement, such as connecting with Coca-Cola’s fans and followers (The Coca-Cola company). In the meantime, Coca-Cola invests in internal sustainability and corporate social responsibility to maintain a sustainable supply chain and manufacturing network. The company promotes happiness as the fundamental message to their customers and households (The Coca-Cola company). Consequently, despite the company executing diverse campaigns, it never forgets to include this underlying theme in every ad it launches.
Price
The price is the last component of the given marketing mix. Coca-Cola incorporates the price discrimination approach, allowing the company to adjust prices for its products in different market segments (Arab, 2018). The beverages industry practices oligopoly – a market with a few companies independent in terms of pricing and output policies (Arab, 2018). Consequently, the companies in the industry possess several purchasers and a few limited manufacturers.
The kind of consumption generally drives the numerous price points of Coca-Cola. Consequently, the company’s pricing power relies on components, such as location and product usage. When it attempts to enter a new market, especially if it is sensitive to pricing, Coca-Cola usually decides to lower the prices of its products to be more competitive (Arab, 2018). Only when it solidifies its position in the new market does it start to utilize the strategy of a premium brand with various promotional initiatives. Overall, Coca-Cola’s pricing strategy is very flexible and sensitive to market fluctuations. When there is a reduction in the price of competitors, Coca-Cola responds with a decrease in its prices as well in order to sustain healthy competition.
Conclusion
The inspection of Coca-Cola’s marketing mix in terms of product, place, promotion, and price has yielded a lot of important information about the company’s marketing strategy regarding this product. Firstly, the company diversifies it and remains consistent despite the variations in design and style. Secondly, it utilizes a complex distribution pattern based on tradition and experience. Thirdly, the company actively engages in various promotional activities to maintain the product’s image. Lastly, it incorporates flexible pricing policies to withstand ever-increasing competition. Overall, Coca-Cola’s success provides a robust example of marketing strategies that can serve as a guideline or inspiration in a business field.
References
Arab, N. (2018). Relationship between dimensions of brand equity and 4Ps of marketing mix – place, product, promotion, & price: Coca Cola – consumer based qualitative survey. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(2), 165-187.
Armstrong, G. & Kotler, P. (2020). Marketing: an introduction (14th ed.). Pearson Education.
Brands & Products. (n.d.). The Coca-Cola company.