STRATEGIC MARKETING MANAGEMENT

Strategic Marketing Management

Strategic Marketing Management

Task 1:

The Coca-Cola Co is the global leader in terms of manufacturing, marketing and distribution of soft drinks. It sells about 400 brands of beverages in more than 200 countries. Approximately 74% of company volume sales stem from outside the US.

The original Coca-Cola Company was established in the US in 1886. The Coca Cola Company is the largest soft drink concentrates and syrups manufacturer in the world which operates world widely in almost all the countries in the world.

Coca-Cola remains the largest single brand in the UK, in value terms, with estimated sales in excess of £600 million in 2000 in the off-trade, outselling brands like Walker's Crisps and Persil. Furthermore, "in 1999 the international branding consultancy, Interbrand, declared Coca-Cola the world's most valuable brand, worth $83.8 billion". (Harris, 1986, p1) In outlining an appropriate marketing mix the organisation has to consider the product, distribution, promotion and price, therefore developing a marketing mix for each customer group

The carbonates market in the UK is dominated by relatively few companies. These are, in the main, subsidiaries of global conglomerates such as the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo. Indeed, Coca-Cola, BSD and own-label alone account for well over two thirds of the carbonates market volume in the UK. The proposed sale of BSD, in which PepsiCo already has a 10% share, is likely to make one of these groups even stronger in the UK market.

Coca Cola Company's major brand in the UK and in the world is Coke or simply Coca Cola. Other major brands of the Coca Cola Company in the UK portfolio include Diet Coca-Cola, Cherry Coca-Cola, Fanta, Lilt, Sprite, Dr Pepper and Schweppes. Dr Pepper, which has been on sale in the UK since 1982, is reported to be most popular among younger teenagers in the UK.

There is a lot of competition in this market as there are several different companies selling different brands of soft drinks. Keeping an eye on competition is becoming one of the key roles of the government as firms merge and expand in the hope of dominating rapidly growing international markets. Coca Cola Company's direct competitor is PepsiCo. This is not only in the UK but world wide. (Gelfand, 1997, p112)

Competition is so intense in this sector of the market that Virgin Drinks recently complained to the competition authorities about Coca-Cola's trading practices in the UK, which are already under scrutiny in other parts of Europe. The argument centres on the way in which Coca-Cola grants bonuses and discounts in the independent sector. Such is the power of Coca-Cola that a can of Coke was recently selected to be a part of the European Eurowatch shopping basket to track pricing trends.

As the marketing of Coca-Cola became increasingly international in nature, it was realized that multi-local production of advertising in each market would involve considerable duplication of efforts and enormous expense. Therefore, the company decided to adopt a strategy of rising pattern advertising from a universal ...