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Coca-Cola's "Share a Coke" Campaign: A Case Study in Integrated Marketing

The "Share a Coke" campaign was a masterclass in integrated marketing, seamlessly blending traditional and digital strategies to achieve its goals. Here's a closer look at how Coca-Cola integrated various marketing channels to create a cohesive campaign that captivated audiences.

Traditional Marketing Channels

Coca-Cola began the campaign by implementing traditional marketing tactics, such as:

• Outdoor advertising : Large billboards featuring popular names were placed in high-traffic areas, generating buzz and excitement.
• TV commercials: Emotional commercials showcased people sharing Coca-Cola bottles with loved ones, emphasizing the campaign's message of connection and belonging.
• Print ads: Colorful print ads in popular magazines and newspapers further amplified the campaign's reach and visibility.

Digital Marketing Channels

Coca-Cola recognized the power of digital marketing and leveraged various online platforms to engage with consumers:

• Social media: The campaign's hashtag #ShareACoke quickly became a viral sensation, as people shared photos of their personalized Coca-Cola bottles on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
• Website: A dedicated website allowed users to search for their names on virtual Coke bottles and share them online.
• Mobile app: A mobile app enabled users to create personalized Coke bottles and share them via social media or text messages.

Experiential Marketing

Coca-Cola went beyond traditional and digital marketing to create interactive experiences that brought the campaign to life:

• Pop-up shops: Pop-up shops were set up in major cities, allowing customers to create their own personalized Coca-Cola bottles.
• Social media events: Coca-Cola hosted social media events, such as Twitter chats and photo contests, to encourage online engagement.
• Partnerships: Coca-Cola partnered with popular brands and events, such as the Grammys and the NBA, to further extend the campaign's reach.

Integrated Marketing Success

The "Share a Coke" campaign was a resounding success, achieving its goals of:

• Brand affinity: The campaign strengthened the emotional connection between consumers and the Coca-Cola brand.
• Social sharing: The campaign encouraged word-of-mouth promotion and social sharing, generating significant online buzz.
• Sales growth: The campaign led to a 2.5% increase in Coca-Cola's total sales.

The "Share a Coke" campaign is a testament to the power of integrated marketing. By combining traditional and digital channels, Coca-Cola created a cohesive and engaging campaign that resonated with consumers worldwide. The campaign's success can be attributed to its focus on personalization, social interaction, and emotional connection. As the world of marketing continues to evolve, the "Share a Coke" campaign will remain a shining example of how integrated marketing can drive brand awareness, engagement, and sales.

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Coca-Cola Marketing Strategy: A 2024 Comprehensive Case Study

Introduced over a century ago, Coca-Cola remains the world’s most consumed soda, illustrating its unparalleled ability to engage and captivate consumers globally. This case study explores the marketing strategy of Coca-Cola that continues to make it the leading manufacturer and licensor of nonalcoholic beverages, offering a staggering 3,500 varieties across more than 200 countries. 

From Pharmacist's Elixir to Global Refreshment Drink

On May 8, 1886, Dr. John Pemberton created what is now known as Coca-Cola. Originally sold at a pharmacy in Atlanta as a medicinal elixir, Coca-Cola has transformed into a global refreshment enjoyed daily by millions. 

What is Coca-Cola's Marketing Strategy?

The strategic marketing decisions made by Coca-Cola are largely responsible for its success. The company's approach includes comprehensive branding , widespread distribution, creative advertising, and innovative customer engagement tactics. Coca-Cola’s overarching vision continues to drive its global agenda, remaining focused on refreshing the world in mind, body, and spirit and making a difference to the people and communities it serves. This vision has enabled the company to maintain direction and momentum through periods of uncertainty.

Coca-Cola Target Audience

• Age : Targets youths (10–35 years) with celebrity endorsements and vibrant campaigns, while also catering to health-conscious older adults with products like Diet Coke and Coke Zero. ‍
• Income and Family Size: Offers various packaging options across different price points to ensure affordability for students, middle-class families, and low-income groups. ‍
• Geographical Segmentation: Tailors its formulas to suit regional tastes, such as sweeter versions in Asia, to resonate with local preferences. ‍
• Gender: Differentiates offerings like Coca-Cola Light for women and Coke Zero for men, focusing on taste preferences linked to gender.

Advertising

From early advertisements in newspapers to groundbreaking campaigns like "I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke," Coca-Cola has always known the power of effective advertising. Each campaign not only promoted their product but also cemented Coca-Cola’s place in the cultural landscape. Coca-Cola’s advertising campaigns are designed to resonate on a global scale while maintaining local relevance. These strategies include:

• Creative Campaigns: Engaging and visually appealing ads that capture the essence of joy and refreshment. ‍
• Emotional Branding : Utilizing regional languages and culturally relevant content to connect emotionally with consumers. ‍
• Celebrity Partnerships: Collaborating with local and international celebrities to widen reach.
• Wide Coverage: Utilizing multiple channels, from traditional media to digital platforms. ‍
• Engagement : Interactive campaigns and social media strategies to engage with a younger audience.
• Sponsorships : Long-standing partnerships with major events like the Olympics, FIFA World Cup, American Idol and popular TV shows enhancing brand visibility and consumer connection globally. ‍

Coca-Cola has also embraced personalization in its past campaigns, from names on bottles to personalized marketing emails, enhancing consumer loyalty and personal connection with the brand.

1. "Share a Coke" Campaign

Launched initially in Australia in 2011, the "Share a Coke" campaign is one of the most celebrated and successful marketing strategies in Coca-Cola's history. The campaign was groundbreaking in its approach—replacing the iconic Coca-Cola logo on bottles with common first names. The idea was simple yet powerful: personalize the Coke experience to encourage sharing and create a personal connection with the product. Consumers could find bottles with their names or the names of friends and family, making it not just a purchase but a personalized social experience. The campaign heavily leveraged social media, encouraging people to share their Coca-Cola moments online with the hashtag #ShareaCoke, which amplified the campaign's reach exponentially. After its initial success in Australia, the campaign rolled out in over 80 countries with country-specific names and designs, each resonating with local audiences and cultural nuances.

2. "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" (Hilltop)

Originally aired in 1971, the "Hilltop" commercial for Coca-Cola, also known as "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke," remains one of the most iconic advertisements in the history of television. Conceived by Bill Backer of McCann Erickson, the commercial featured a diverse group of young people from all over the world singing on a hilltop in Italy. The ad's simple yet profound message of hope and unity, expressed through the lyrics "I'd like to buy the world a home and furnish it with love," struck a chord during a time of political unrest and social change. The commercial became more than just an ad; it became a cultural icon, evoking feelings of peace and camaraderie at a global scale. The ad's popularity led to several remakes and re-releases over the decades, including a famous 1990 version featuring the original singers and their children, and a Super Bowl version in 2011.

3. "The Happiness Machine"

As part of its "Open Happiness" campaign, Coca-Cola launched "The Happiness Machine" video in 2010. The campaign featured a specially designed Coke vending machine placed in a college campus that dispensed not just bottles of Coke but surprising acts of "happiness" – from pizza and flowers to balloon animals. The video quickly went viral, thanks to its genuine, unscripted reactions and feel-good vibe. It amassed millions of views on YouTube, bringing widespread attention and goodwill toward the brand. This campaign emphasized Coca-Cola's focus on selling experiences and emotions associated with the brand, not just the product. It highlighted the brand’s commitment to spreading joy and happiness. The success of the "Happiness Machine" led to the creation of similar campaigns globally, harnessing the power of viral marketing and showing the brand's innovative approach to engaging with younger audiences.

Social Media and Digital Marketing

Coca-Cola has evolved its marketing strateg y from traditional mediums to a more integrated, multi-channel approach. The focus is now on building personal connections with consumers and leveraging digital platforms for targeted and engaging marketing campaigns. This shift has allowed Coca-Cola to maintain its relevance. Coca-Cola has embraced the digital age with robust online presence across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat. The brand leverages SEO , email marketing , content marketing , and video marketing to engage a broader audience effectively.

Coca-Cola Marketing Strategy

Coca-Cola employs a dual-channel marketing strategy :

• Personal Channels: Direct interaction with consumers to build personal connections. ‍
• Non-Personal Channels: A mix of traditional and digital media, including newspapers, TV, social media, email, and outdoor advertising, to ensure widespread reach. ‍

Coca-Cola’s Marketing Mix: The 4 Ps

• Product Strategy: Coca-Cola boasts an extensive portfolio of 500 products, positioned strategically within the market to maximize reach and profitability. Coca-Cola’s commitment to maintaining its original formula and ensuring product quality has fostered deep brand loyalty . Even when new recipes were introduced, such as New Coke, the public’s attachment to the original formula brought it swiftly back. To cater to diverse consumer tastes, Coca-Cola has expanded its product portfolio to include juices, teas, coffees, and other beverages. This diversification strategy helps the company penetrate different market segments. ‍
• Pricing Strategy: Initially maintained a constant price for decades, it now employs a flexible pricing strategy to remain competitive without compromising perceived quality. Coca-Cola's pricing strategy is carefully crafted to remain competitive while ensuring profitability.  ‍
• Place Strategy: Operates a vast distribution network across six global regions, supported by an extensive supply chain involving bottling partners and distributors, ensuring global product availability. ‍
• Promotion Strategy: Invests heavily in diverse advertising strategies to maintain brand visibility and consumer engagement across various platforms. ‍ ‍

Coca-Cola's Growth Strategy

• Winning More Consumers : Expanding the consumer base through effective marketing and innovative product offerings. ‍
• Gaining Market Share: Outperforming competitors by understanding consumer needs better and responding quickly. ‍
• Maintaining Strong System Economics: Ensuring profitability and sustainability across the supply chain. ‍
• Strengthening Impact Across Stakeholders: Building a positive influence on consumers, communities, and environments. ‍
• Equipping for Future Success: Preparing the organization to meet future challenges through continuous learning and adaptation.

Additionally, sustainability is integral to Coca-Cola's growth strategy. The company has focused on reducing its environmental footprint, using resources more efficiently, and promoting recycling. These efforts are aligned with its mission to make a difference, ensuring that growth is sustainable over the long term. 

These objectives serve as the north stars for Coca-Cola, guiding all strategic decisions and initiatives.

Brand Portfolio Optimization

The iconic Coca-Cola logo and the classic bottle design are instantly recognizable worldwide, making branding a cornerstone of their strategy. This section examines how consistent branding across various platforms plays a critical role in Coca-Cola's marketing . Keeping a uniform visual identity and engaging in significant sponsorships have allowed Coca-Cola to remain relevant and beloved by generations. In a significant move to optimize its brand portfolio , Coca-Cola reduced its brand count from 400 to 200 master brands. This strategic decision was aimed at focusing on those brands that align with and support the company's growth objectives. By doing so, Coca-Cola has ensured that it invests in brands with the highest potential for growth and profitability, balancing global, regional, and local brands to cover all drinking occasions.

Managing Missteps With Grace

Coca-Cola’s ability to handle marketing and business errors gracefully, such as the New Coke debacle, shows a brand well-versed in crisis management and responsive public relations.

Lessons for Marketers

• Brand Identity is Essential: A strong, consistent brand identity is vital for long-term success. ‍
• Prioritize Product Quality : High product quality should always be a priority, supporting marketing efforts and building consumer trust. ‍
• Strategic Pricing is Key: Effective pricing strategies can significantly impact brand perception and customer loyalty. ‍
• Explore New Markets: Expanding into new markets can drive growth and help maintain relevance. ‍
• Responsive PR Matters: Managing public relations actively and effectively can mitigate potential damages and boost brand image. ‍

What Makes Coca-Cola’s Marketing Strategy So Successful? ‍

Coca-Cola’s enduring success is attributed to its ability to adapt to consumer needs, maintain a strong emotional connection with customers, and continuously innovate its marketing strategies .

Coca-Cola's success story is a playbook for marketers aiming to build a lasting brand that not only survives but thrives through changing times. By understanding and implementing these strategies, other brands can aim to replicate Coca-Cola's enduring appeal.

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Table of Contents

Coca-cola target audience , geographical segmentation , coca-cola marketing channels, coca-cola marketing strategy , coca-cola marketing strategy 2024: a case study.

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Coca-cola has colossal brand recognition as it targets every customer in the market. Its perfect marketing segmentation is a major reason behind its success. 

• Firstly, the company targets young people between 10 and 35. They use celebrities in their advertisements to attract them and arrange campaigns in universities, schools, and colleges. 
• They also target middle-aged and older adults who are diet conscious or diabetic by offering diet coke. 

Income and Family Size

It introduces packaging and sizes priced at various levels to increase affordability and target students, middle class, and low-income families and individuals.  

Coca-Cola sells its products globally and targets different cultures, customs, and climates. For instance, in America, it is liked by older people too. So, the company targets different segments. It also varies the change accordingly, like the Asian version is sweeter than other countries. 

Coca-Cola targets individuals as per their gender. For example, Coca-Cola light is preferred by females, while coke zero and thumbs up are men's favorite due to their strong taste.

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Coca-Cola initially employed an undifferentiated targeting strategy. In recent times, it has started localizing its products for better acceptability. It incorporates two basic marketing channels : Personal and Non-personal.

Personal channels include direct communication with the audience. Non-personal marketing channels include both online and offline media, such as

• Promotion Campaigns 
• PR activities 

Social Media

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A uniquely formulated Coca Cola marketing strategy is behind the company's international reach and widespread popularity. The strategy can be broken down into the following:

Product strategy 

Coca-cola has approximately 500 products. Its soft drinks are offered globally, and its product strategy includes a marketing mix. Its beverages like Coca-Cola, Minute Maid, Diet Coke, Light, Coca-Cola Life, Coca-Cola Zero, Sprite Fanta, and more are sold in various sizes and packaging. They contribute a significant share and generate enormous profits. 

Coca-Cola Products

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Pricing Strategy

Coca-Cola's price remained fixed for approximately 73 years at five cents. The company had to make its pricing strategy flexible with the increased competition with competitors like Pepsi. It doesn't drop its price significantly, nor does it increase the price unreasonably, as this would lead to consumers doubting the product quality and switching to the alternative.  

Place Strategy 

Coca-cola has a vast distribution network. It has six operating regions: North America, Latin America, Africa, Europe, the Pacific, and Eurasia. The company's bottling partners manufacture, package, and ship to the agents. The agents then transport the products by road to the stockist, then to distributors, to retailers, and finally to the customer. Coca-Cola also has an extensive reverse supply chain network to collect leftover glass bottles for reuse. Thus, saving costs and resources.

Coca-Cola’s Global Marketing

Promotion Strategy  

Coca-Cola employs different promotional and marketing strategies to survive the intense competition in the market. It spends up to $4 million annually to promote its brand , utilizing both traditional and international mediums for advertisements.   

Classic Bottle, Font, and Logo

Coca-Cola organized a global contest to design the bottle. The contest winner used the cocoa pod's design, and the company used the same for promoting its shape and logo. Its logo, written in Spencerian script, differentiates it from its competitors. The way Coca-cola uses its logo in its marketing strategy ensures its imprint on consumers' minds. 

Coca-Cola’s Gripping Advertisements

Localized Positioning

The recent 'Share a coke' campaign, launched in 2018 in almost fifty countries, has been quite a success. The images of celebrities of that region and messages according to the local language and culture of the area target the local market. 

Coca-Cola Advertisement Featuring Celebrities

Sponsorships 

The company is a well-recognized brand for its sponsorships, including American Idol, the NASCAR, Olympic Games, and many more. Since the 1928 Olympic Games, Coca-Cola has partnered on each event, helping athletes, officials and fans worldwide. 

Coca-Cola as Official Olympics Partner

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With technological advancement, social media and online communication channels have become the most significant part of the Coca-Cola marketing strategy. It actively uses online digital marketing platforms like Facebook , Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat to post images, videos, and more.  The Coca Cola marketing strategy primarily includes SEO , email marketing , content marketing , and video marketing .   

Coca-Cola’s Instagram Posts 

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Comparative Analysis of Effectiveness of Coca-Cola Integrated Marketing Communications Tools

• Thesis for: MS Public Relations & Advertising
• Advisor: Dr Mujahid Mansoori

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Case Study: Coca Cola Integrated Marketing Communications

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Comparative Analysis of Effectiveness of Coca-Cola Integrated Marketing Communications Tools

This research study is unique in measuring the comparative effectiveness of IMC tools used by Coca Cola. To achieve this purpose, a set of hypotheses were focused on comparison between IMC tools. To answer the hypotheses, a review of literature related to IMC was conducted, resulting in a conceptual framework. Methodologically, a survey was conducted with random sampling technique. Following careful analysis, the findings reveal that advertising, sales promotion and direct marketing were most effective in creating brand awareness, influencing purchase intention and increasing consumption. In contrast, public relations and Internet were effective in forming positive attitude towards the brand. Furthermore, public relations and Internet were the least popular choice of the respondents in terms of creating brand awareness.

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Integrated Marketing Communications: A Case Study of Coca-Cola

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Coca-Cola Company’s Integrated Marketing Communication Tools Report

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Introduction

Modern market is highly competitive and to survive companies should create a positive image of their brand. There are some different ways of positive image creation; still, one of the most effective ones remains the integrated marketing communications. The development of the technologies made it possible to use the Internet as the additional way of coordination of promotion efforts. Taking the Coca-Cola Company we are going to discuss it as the example of the company that managed to build and maintain positive brand image by using a broad range of integrated marketing communication tools.

Before shifting to the Coca-Cola Company example of a positive image building by means of integrated marketing communications tools, it is necessary to give the definition to the integrated marketing communications and state its role in a brand positive image creation. Peter, J.P. and Donnelly, J.H. (2004) give such definition to integrated marketing communications, they state that “the goal of integrated marketing communications is to develop marketing communications programs that coordinate and integrate all elements of promotion – advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, and publicity – so that the organization presents a consistent message” (p.113). In fact, integrated marketing communication tools are aimed to manage the sources of the company’s brand with existing and potential consumers of the company’s products. It should be mentioned that it is easy to understand the main idea of the integrated marketing communications, even though it is not so easy to implement its tools in life (Peter and Donnelly 2004, p.113).

Integrated marketing communications play a prominent role in positive brand image creation as people usually consider the company through the products it produces; at the same time, people are influenced by television, Internet and other kinds of mass media and already know the products without buying them. The integrated marketing communications help the brand company to deliver the message to the consumer about its products and leave a positive image by means of mass-media advertising, cable TV, DVDs, direct mail, the Internet, podcasts, or special-interest magazines. Moreover, the brand company may turn to specialists and they will provide advertising campaigns, sales promotion, or communication with public as well as will use other methods to create a positive image of the company (Pride, Hughes and Kapoor 2009, p.426). Coming out of the information mentioned above, it may be concluded that the integrated marketing communication is the main method of a positive brand image creation as it “influences or directly affects the behavior of the selected audience” (Kitchen and Pelsmacker 2004, p.7).

The Coca-Cola Company is one of the world known brands that uses integrated marketing communications as the method of its positive image creation. Discussing the problem closer, the main integrated marketing communication tolls will be discussed to illustrate how Coca-Cola uses them in practice. There are two directions of integrated marketing communication tools which are used by the Coca-Cola Company, the first one is the creation of a positive image of the brand and the second on is “to get the message out about beverages” (Kurtz 2008, p.488). This stage is important as without knowing what customers value and how they understand the company’s image today, it will be impossible to improve the company’s brand tomorrow.

Using media advertising, the Coca-Cola Company usually tries to stress the values people take care of, such as friends and family. Remembering the advertising campaigns of the Coca-Cola, people usually remember the family that drinks Coca-Cola together, or friends who spend time in the company of the Coca-Cola. Remembering the slogans of the Company, such as Always Coca-Cola , Taste it all , Play Red Hot Summer, Enjoy , Life tastes good , Make It Real , Live on the Coke Side of Life and Open Happiness , it may be concluded that the brand name associates with positive moments in people’s life. Moreover, the Christmas advertising campaign appeared in 1931 and this image of the Christmas drink remains in people’s mind till now (The Coca-Cola Company). The mentioned image of positive, friendly and family drink of the Coca-Cola brand was created by means of integrated marketing communications on different levels.

The Coca-Cola Company used the other tool of integrated marketing communication for positive brand image creation, such as sponsorship. According to Guy Masterman and Emma H. Wood (2006) the use of sponsorship and events as an integrated marketing communication tool is not new, still, it is very powerful and influential one. The Coca-Cola Company was the sponsor at the first modern Olympic Games which took place in Athens in 1896, in Amsterdam in 1928, at the 2002 Winter Games at Salt Lake City and some other events which were extremely popular in the society (Masterman, G and Wood 2006, p.235).

Modern world is too fast and busy and there are people who do not watch TV because they have no time for this. Still, they want to be aware of the cinematography novelty and they watch films when they have time. The Coca-Cola perfectly decided the problem of influence on these consumers via the use of Coca-Cola beverages in the film industry. The Coca-Cola Company pays film companies for placing its products in the scenes where they are suitable. The Coca-Cola Company establishes the following aim in the media advertising, “Our goal: to become as critical to your marketing as you are to ours” (Mitchell 2003, p.29).

The Coca-Cola Company usually uses sales promotion, such as discount, the offers like two bottles on the price of one, piggy-back promotion, the price-pack deal, price deal in specific supermarkets, loss leader promotion, and contests/sweepstakes/games. The consumers like different kinds of sales promotion and willingly take part in the offers. One of the main secrets of the Coca-Cola Company is the perfect collaboration and mix of the integrated marketing communication tools that placed the company on the high level.

In conclusion, the Coca-Cola Company is one of the most world known brands that managed to create a positive brand image by means of using integrated marketing communication tools. Looking on the existing market situation and considering from the personal experience, it is possible to say that the Coca Company managed to create a positive brand image successfully. The Coca-Cola Company was able to develop such communication program that easily coordinated and integrated the all elements of marketing promotion. Thinking on the beverages, people usually think of the Coca-Cola. The main integrated marketing communication tools used by the Coca-Cola Company are ads, public relations, sponsorships and the sales promotion. The perfect mix of different tools and implementation it in life is one of the main secrets of the company success.

Kitchen, PJ & Pelsmacker, P 2004, Integrated marketing communications: a primer , Routledge, Oxford.

Kurtz, DL 2008, Contemporary Marketing , Cengage Learning, Stamford.

Masterman, G & Wood EH 2006, Innovative marketing communications: strategies for the events industry , Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.

Mitchell, A 2003, Coca-Cola spearheads a marketing revolution , Marketing Week , vol. 26, issue 34, pp. 28-29.

Peter, JP & Donnelly, JH 2004, Marketing management: knowledge and skills , McGrow-Hill, New York.

Pride, WM, Hughes, RJ, & Kapoor, JR 2009, Business , Cengage Learning, Stamford.

The Coca-Cola Company, 2010, Official site, Web.

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IvyPanda. (2021, December 14). Coca-Cola Company's Integrated Marketing Communication Tools. https://ivypanda.com/essays/coca-cola-companys-integrated-marketing-communication-tools/

"Coca-Cola Company's Integrated Marketing Communication Tools." IvyPanda , 14 Dec. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/coca-cola-companys-integrated-marketing-communication-tools/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'Coca-Cola Company's Integrated Marketing Communication Tools'. 14 December.

IvyPanda . 2021. "Coca-Cola Company's Integrated Marketing Communication Tools." December 14, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/coca-cola-companys-integrated-marketing-communication-tools/.

1. IvyPanda . "Coca-Cola Company's Integrated Marketing Communication Tools." December 14, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/coca-cola-companys-integrated-marketing-communication-tools/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Coca-Cola Company's Integrated Marketing Communication Tools." December 14, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/coca-cola-companys-integrated-marketing-communication-tools/.

Coca-Cola Marketing Case Study

From the star ‘Coca-Cola’ drink to Inca Kola in North and South America, Vita in Africa, and Thumbs up in India, The Coca-Cola Company owns a product portfolio of more than 3500 products . With the presence in more than 200 countries and the daily average servings to 1.9 billion people, Coca-Cola Company has been listed as the world’s most valuable brand with 94% of the world’s population recognizing the red and white Coca-Cola brand Logo . Moreover, 3.1% of all beverages consumed around the world are Coca-Cola products. All this because of its great marketing strategy which we’ll discuss in this article on Coca-Cola Marketing Strategy .

Coca-Cola –

• has a Market capitalization of $192.8 Billion (as of May 2016).
• had 53 years of consecutive annual dividend increases.
• with the revenue of over $44.29 billion, is not just a company but an ECONOMY.

The world knows and has tasted the coca cola products. In fact, out of the 55 billion servings of all kinds of beverages drunk each day (other than water), 1.7 billion are Coca-Cola trademarked/licensed drinks.

Marketing history

Market research in the beginning.

It all started 130 years ago, in 1886, when a Confederate colonel in the Civil War, John Pemberton, wanted to create his own version of coca wine (cola with alcohol and cocaine) and sent his nephew Lewis Newman to conduct a market research with the samples to a local pharmacy (Jacobs pharmacy). This wasn’t a new idea back then. The original idea of Coca wines was discovered by a Parisian chemist named Angelo Mariani.

Pemberton’s sample was sold for 5 cents a glass and the feedback of the customers was relayed to him by his nephew. Hence, by the end of the year, Pemberton was ready with a unique recipe that was tailored to the customers taste.

Marketing Strategy In The Beginning

Pemberton soon had to make it non-alcoholic because of the laws prevailing in Atlanta. Once the product was launched, it was marketed by Pemberton as a “Brain Tonic” and “temperance drink” (anti-alcohol), claiming that it cured headaches, anxiety, depression, indigestion, and addiction. Cocaine was removed from Coke in 1903.

The name and the original (current) Trademark logo was the idea of Pemberton’s accountant Frank Robinson, who designed the logo in his own writing. Not changing the logo till date is the best strategy adopted by Coca-cola.

Soon after the formula was sold to Asa G Candler (in 1889), who converted it into a soda drink, the real marketing began.

Candler was a marketer. He distributed thousands of complimentary coca-cola glass coupons, along with souvenir calendars, clocks, etc. all depicting the trademark and made sure that the coca cola trademark was visible everywhere .

He also painted the syrup barrels red to differentiate Coca-Cola from others.

Various syrup manufacturing plants outside Atlanta were opened and in 1895, Candler announced about Coca-Cola being drunk in every state & territory in the US.

The Idea Of The Bottle

During Candler’s era, Coca-Cola was sold only through soda fountains. But two innovative minds, Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead, secured from Candler exclusive rights (at just $1) for bottled coca cola sales.

But Coca-Cola was so famous in the US that it was subjected to imitations. Early advertising campaigns like “Demand the genuine” and “Accept no substitutes” helped the brand somewhat but there was a dire need to differentiate. Hence, in 1916, the unique bottle of Coca-Cola was designed by the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana. The trademark bottle design hasn’t been changed until now.

Coca-Cola Worldwide

In 1919, Candler sold the company to Robert Woodruff whose aim was to make Coca-Cola available to anyone, anytime and anyplace. Bottling plants were set up all over the world & coca cola became first truly global brand.

Robert Woodruff had some other strategies too. He was focused on maintaining a standard of excellence as the company scaled. He wanted to position Coca-Cola as a premium product that was worthy of more attention than any of its competitors. And he succeeded in it.  Coca-Cola grew rapidly throughout the world.

Coca-Cola Marketing Strategies

The worldwide popularity of Coca-Cola was a result of simple yet groundbreaking marketing strategies like –

Consistency

Consistency can be seen from the logo to the bottle design & the price of the drink (the price was 5 cents from 1886 to 1959). Coca-Cola has kept it simple with every slogan revolving around the two terms ‘Enjoy’ and ‘happiness’.

From the star bottle to the calendars, watches and other unrelated products, Candler started the trend to make Coca-Cola visible everywhere. The company has followed the same branding strategy till now. Coca-Cola is everywhere and hence has the world’s most renowned logo.

Positioning

Coca-Cola didn’t position itself as a product. It was and it is an ‘Experience’ of happiness and joy.

Franchise model

The bottling rights were sold to different local entrepreneurs , which is continued till now. Hence, Coca-cola isn’t one giant company, it’s a system of many small companies reporting to one giant company.

Personalization & Socialization

Unlike other big companies, Coca-Cola has maintained its positioning as a social brand. It talks to the users. Coca-Cola isn’t a company anymore. It’s a part of us now. With its iconic advertising ideas which include “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” & “Share a Coke”, it has maintained a special spot in the heart of its users.

Diversification

Coca-Cola, after marking its presence all over the world, took its first step towards diversifying its portfolio in 1960 by buying Minute Maid. It now operates in all but 2 countries worldwide with a portfolio of more than 3500 brands.

Coca-Cola Marketing Facts

• Logo & bottle design hasn’t changed since the start.
• During its first year, Coca-Cola sold an average of 9 drinks a day.
• Norman Rockwell created art for Coke ads.
• Coke has had a huge role in shaping our image of Santa Clause.
• In the 1980s, the company attempted a “Coke in the Morning” campaign to try to win over coffee drinkers.
• In 1923, the company began selling bottles in packages of six, which became common practice in the beverage industry.
• Recently, it was in the news that Verizon acquired Yahoo for around $5 billion which is more or less the same amount the Coca-Cola Company spends on its advertisements.
• The number of employees working with the Coca-Cola Company (123,200 to be exact) is more than the population of many countries.

Go On, Tell Us What You Think!

Did we miss something?  Come on! Tell us what you think about Coca Cola Marketing Case Study  in the comment section.

A startup consultant, digital marketer, traveller, and philomath. Aashish has worked with over 20 startups and successfully helped them ideate, raise money, and succeed. When not working, he can be found hiking, camping, and stargazing.

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5 Inspiring Examples of Integrated Marketing Campaigns

What do effective integrated marketing campaigns have in common?

Integrated marketing campaigns can be a tricky art to perfect. We live in a multi-media world, which means that new media and old media sit alongside one another, sometimes competing, other times working collectively - in the case of integrated campaigns they work together.

However despite saying all of this, what is it that actually leads to successful results? Consistent branding and messaging, frequency of communications and deciding on your primary medium are collectively important points to factor in. Let’s take a look at some of the most impressive integrated campaigns:

#1 Compare the Market - Baby Oleg

On Christmas Day 2013, comparethemarket.com released a television advert revealing new character Baby Oleg. In January 2014 the campaign went into full swing with an advertisement promoting a cuddly toy to accompany the cute Meerkat. Following this announcement a blog was created for Oleg online, for customers to read, encouraging emotional involvement: http://www.comparethemarket.com/meerkat/blog/oleg/ .

Connecting the character from the advertisement with the audience has been achieved by creating a toy and the blog, turning Oleg into a character that can create emotional involvement - integrated collectively these separate parts to the campaign have driven consumer engagement successfully.

More recently, in August we were shown Baby Oleg’s life journey.

The continuous roll out and development on this character throughout the year has proven consistency of the brand and messaging - key factors in creating a solid campaign. These friendly Meerkats have almost become part of everyday life, as they quite literally pop up everywhere.

#2 O2 - Be More Dog

Originally launch last year O2’s ‘Be More Dog’ campaign, which featured a ginger cat trying to live a dog’s life had been a huge success for the brand. Granted - being ‘more dog’ has nothing to do with mobile phones, but the quirkiness of the integrated campaign is what led its success.

To promote its revamped priority app in May 2014 launched a £7m campaign using England rugby players, Mike Brown and Alex Goode attempting to Be More Dog: in this, we see the cat become a motivational speaker.

As well as television and cinema, the campaign also features outside and online executions, with geo-located mobile advertisements and homepage takeovers on a range of websites, including MSN and YouTube. The O2 priority app in itself is a marketing tool, offering consumers the chance to buy tickets and experiences before anyone else.

This integrated marketing campaign from O2 is so clever it not only intrigues users due to its kooky nature and offers them something extra in the form of priority.

#3 Three.co.uk - Sorry for all the holiday Spam

Launching a package for customers to use their phone in 16 destinations worldwide like they would at home, with no extra cost for data led to 3 having to make one large apology... to the entire nation.

Due to their poor deal, it mean't everyone was constantly on social media whilst on their holiday, encouraging a shed load of holiday spam: photos of beaches, swimming pools, sunsets, tanned legs and of course, food. Along with this there a website was created dedicated to the cause: http://www.stopholidayspam.com .

The first part of the campaign, the television advertisement was enough to get viewers’ attention, but then came customer engagement and interaction. As predicted or at least as the marketers over at 3 had hoped consumers got involved and took holiday snaps using the hashtag #holidayspam. Of course some of those social media posts wouldn’t have been done consciously because of 3, which makes the campaign so clever.

Relevance is the key to this integrated campaign - it was successful by people being able to relate to it, whether they were on holiday, or fed up of everyone else’s holiday spam. The campaign was also consistent with the hashtag #holidayspam included in every part of the marketing collateral.

#4 Lidl - #lidlsurprises

The most recent Lidl Surprises, ingenious campaign rolled out on the 4th September on television, print and outdoor - accompanied by a larger than normal social media boost.

The TV advertisement shows customers enthusiastically looking at, and purchasing wholesome goods at a little market, which in fact turns out to be a Lidl market - this is followed with the #lidlsurprises tagline, because everyone loves a pun.

The hashtag/tagline has been integrated throughout all channels connecting all elements together. There’s also an interactive website dedicated to #lidlsurprises where you can spin to receive the surprise result of a recipe to cook: https://www.lidlsurprises.co.uk .

The entire campaign is amongst Lidl’s efforts to step away from traditional media, moving into engaging and interacting with its customers on social media and in stores. Mixing both traditional and digital media together offers a smooth transition to a more up to date modern approach for Lidl’s marketing efforts.

This campaign is definitely a step in the right direction, putting Lidl right up against UK supermarket giants like Tesco and Asda. It is difficult to determine the full extent of the success this campaign has achieved yet. Despite this, the social media buzz surrounding it was significant.

#5 Coca-Cola - Coca-Cola Life

Recently, Coca-Cola launched a new product to its long standing line of soft drinks, called 'Coca-Cola Life' along with a month long campaign. Coca-Cola Life fits in the same kind of category as Coke Zero and Diet Coke - another one of Coca-Cola’s attempts to release a healthier option to its main heavily sugary product.

The campaign is being rolled out across 7,000 outdoor locations nationwide with billboards, bus and digital screen ads; these are all being supported by print, digital, experiential and point of sale activity. Although television is not being used the buzz on social media since the drinks’ launch has been mainly positive.

Along with all of the above, Coca-Cola launched a competition - on Saturday 20th September a pop-up shop opened on South Molton Street, London offering customers to not just have a taste of the new Life drink, but also give them a chance of winning a Coca-Cola Life prize - one of those being a long weekend in New York City. Of course, to fulfil the campaign’s integrated position those who were not able to visit the pop-up shop still had the chance to enter the competition by sharing a Coca-Cola Life moment picture online and using the hashtags #CocaColaLife and #comp.

The product is yet to be proven as a success, but as a campaign it’s fulfilling every specification to be a great integrated marketing campaign.

There’s a few lessons that can be learned from these integrated marketing case studies; one of those being that it doesn’t matter if you mix up the media within your campaign, in fact it’s largely positive, you just have to ensure that there is brand consistency across the entire roll out.

The way in which the message is communicated can also alter the effectiveness of the campaign, as can choosing which media should be at the forefront or the driving factor behind your strategy. It can all become a difficult balance to get right but it’s crucial that you do get it right.

[ Editor's note : Thanks to Maggie for selecting and describing these case studies of integrated campaigns so well. For our advice on creating better integrated campaigns, see our integrated campaign planning guide and template for Expert members.]

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Sep 7, 2024 17:50 UTC

Sep 7, 2024 at 17:50 UTC

Case Study: The Coca-Cola Company v. Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. & Ors.

“An assignment deed, once executed, grants the assignee exclusive rights to the intellectual property, including trademarks. Any unauthorized use or export of the trademark by the assignor constitutes infringement, and such disputes fall under Indian jurisdiction if the goods are manufactured in India.”

Citation: (2009) 164 DLT 59

Date of Judgment: 20 th October, 2009

Court: High Court of Delhi  

Bench: Manmohan Singh (J)

• On September 18, 1993, Bisleri International sold various intellectual property rights, including trademarks, formulation rights, and goodwill for brands such as Thums Up, Limca, Gold Spot, Citra, and Maaza, to Coca-Cola Company. This transfer was part of a larger transaction between the parties, and the case in question specifically concerns the Maaza brand.
• After the sale of rights, Bisleri International retained the use of the Maaza trademark for countries outside India, where it was already registered.
• On November 12, 1993, Bisleri International assigned the trademark and license agreement related to Maaza with their affiliate, Bisleri Sales, which was responsible for making the beverage base for Maaza.
• In March 2008, Bisleri International discovered that Coca-Cola Company had applied for registration of the Maaza trademark in Turkey. This led Bisleri International to issue a legal notice to Coca-Cola Company in September 2008, accusing them of breaching their agreement by seeking trademark registration outside India. The notice also renounced the existing licensing agreement and aimed to prevent Coca-Cola from using the Maaza trademark.
• Coca-Cola claimed that Bisleri International had disclosed Maaza’s formulation information to third parties, specifically Varma International and M/s Indian Canning Industries. This disclosure was allegedly in violation of the agreement between the parties. As a result, Coca-Cola sought the impleadment of both Ramesh Chauhan and Vishal Varma as necessary parties to the case.
• Coca-Cola filed a suit for a temporary injunction under Order 39, Rule 1 and 2 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) to prevent Bisleri International from using the Maaza trademark and to stop the alleged unauthorized disclosure of the formulation. Order 39 Rule 4 of CPC, allows a party to make an application against an ex-parte order.
• Bisleri prayed for vacating the court’s order made on 15th October 2008 citing lack of jurisdiction of the Delhi High Court. The Bisleri contended that since their registered office was in Mumbai, it was the Bombay High Court which had the appropriate jurisdiction in the matter. 
• The court granted the injunction and appointed a local commissioner to investigate the alleged illegal disclosure of information.
• Bisleri International argued that the assignment deed from 1993 only allowed Coca-Cola to use the Maaza trademark within India. Bisleri International also expressed an intention to start using the Maaza trademark in India, contrary to Coca-Cola’s claims. They repudiated the licensing agreement, asserting their rights to the Maaza trademark outside India and potentially within India as well.
• The core issue revolves around the scope and interpretation of the trademark and licensing agreements between Coca-Cola and Bisleri International, particularly regarding the use of the Maaza trademark in Turkey and the alleged breach of contract by both parties.
• The court’s initial intervention involved granting the temporary injunction in favor of Coca-Cola, thus restricting Bisleri International’s use of the Maaza trademark and investigating the claims of unauthorized disclosure.

Decision of the Delhi High Court

The Court ruled in favour of The Coca-Cola Company on all counts, confirming that Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. had no legal grounds to challenge the assignment deed or to continue using the MAAZA trademark.

The Court upheld the Delhi High Court’s jurisdiction and dismissed Bisleri International’s appeal to vacate the interim injunction.

The permanent injunction against Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. was upheld, along with the injunction against Varma International, to protect The Coca-Cola Company’s rights and prevent any further trademark infringement.

The Court’s judgment reinforced the sanctity of the assignment deed, confirmed The Coca-Cola Company’s exclusive rights to the MAAZA trademark, and emphasized the legal consequences of unauthorized trademark use, both within India and in international markets.

Key legal issues discussed

1. Was the assignment deed executed between Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. and The Coca-Cola Company on September 18, 1993, considered legally valid and binding by the Court?

The Court upheld the validity of the assignment deed executed between Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. and The Coca-Cola Company on September 18, 1993. The Court, in accordance with Sections 41(h) and (l) of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 , confirmed that the deed of assignment was a legally binding agreement that effectively transferred all intellectual property rights (IPRs), including the trademark “MAAZA,” to The Coca-Cola Company. The Court noted that the terms of the contract were clear and absolute, and neither party could repudiate or dismiss the agreement unless there was a proven breach of the contractual terms.

2. Whether the Delhi High Court had jurisdiction over this matter?

The Delhi High Court had jurisdiction over the matter. The Court determined that the case involved trademark infringement where goods were manufactured in India and subsequently exported to another country. The Court emphasized that since the trademark infringement occurred with products manufactured in India, the sale, even if made abroad, was considered a domestic sale within India. The jurisdiction of the Delhi High Court in this matter is determined based on several key factors consistent with the provisions of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, and the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC).

According to Section 134 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, a suit related to trademarks can be instituted in a District Court within the jurisdiction where the plaintiff resides or carries on business. Additionally, Section 20 of the CPC permits a suit to be filed in a court where a part of the cause of action arises. Therefore, if any part of the cause of action related to the trademark dispute occurred in Delhi, the Delhi High Court may exercise jurisdiction.

The court’s jurisdiction is also supported by the principle established in Tata Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. v. Mahavir Steels & Ors. ,[1] which emphasizes that jurisdiction is determined based on the allegations in the plaint, provided they are not disproven by evidence. Similarly, LG Corporation & Anr. v. Intermarket Electroplasters (P) Ltd . [2] illustrates that jurisdiction is accepted based on the averments made by the plaintiff at the preliminary stage of the proceedings.

In addition, the decision in Pfizer Products Inc. v. Rajesh Chopra & Ors.[3] confirms that jurisdiction can be conferred if the threat or act of infringement occurs within the territorial limits of the court. Furthermore, the court considers evidence such as the distribution and marketing of infringing products within the jurisdiction, as seen in Souza Cruz v. N.K. Jain & Ors.[4] and Jaininder Jain & Ors. v. Arihant Jain & Ors . ,[5] where jurisdiction was upheld based on the location of infringing activities or where goods were marketed.

In this case, if the defendant’s activities, including legal notices and advertisements, occur within Delhi, these factors collectively support the Delhi High Court’s jurisdiction over the matter. This established the Delhi High Court’s jurisdiction over the case.

3. Whether the plaintiff was entitled to a permanent injunction?

The plaintiff, The Coca-Cola Company, was entitled to a permanent injunction. The Court found that the assignment deed executed between Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. and The Coca-Cola Company was valid and legally binding, effectively transferring all rights to the MAAZA trademark to The Coca-Cola Company. Bisleri International’s continued use of the trademark after the transfer constituted an infringement of The Coca-Cola Company’s rights. To prevent further unauthorized use of the trademark and to protect The Coca-Cola Company from irreparable harm, the Court granted a permanent injunction against Bisleri International, prohibiting the use of the MAAZA trademark both in India and for export purposes.

The Court in Para 51 referred to the case of Midas Hygiene Industries Pvt. Ltd. v. Sudhir Bhatia , [6] in which it was held that “ the law on the subject is well settled. Normally, in cases of infringement of trademark an injunction must follow. The grant of injunction becomes necessary if it appears prima facie that the adoption of the mark was itself dishonest.”

The Court in Para 52 referring to the above judgment held that “…Since the plaintiff is the registered owner of the trademark MAAZA, hence, it has established a good prima facie case for grant of an injunction, the balance of convenience also lies in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendants. I am of the considered opinion that in case no injunction is issued, the plaintiff shall suffer irreparable loss and injury.”

4. Whether it was necessary to implead Mr. R.B. Varma, who was the father of Mr. Vishal Verma and also a former employee of Bisleri?

It was necessary to implead Mr. R.B. Varma. The Court found that Mr. R.B. Varma’s involvement was crucial to the case as he was connected to the unauthorized use of the MAAZA trademark through his son, Mr. Vishal Verma, who was associated with Varma International. Varma International had been found to export products bearing the MAAZA trademark, which constituted an infringement. Given Mr. R.B. Varma’s connection to both the trademark’s prior owner (Bisleri) and his son’s company (Varma International), his impleadment was deemed necessary for the Court to fully examine the extent of the infringement and the roles of all parties involved. The Court concluded that his joinder was essential for the proper adjudication of the case.

5. Had Infringement of Trademarks Occurred?

Trademark infringement had occurred. The Court determined that Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. had infringed upon The Coca-Cola Company’s trademark rights by continuing to use the “MAAZA” trademark after having legally assigned all rights to the trademark to The Coca-Cola Company in 1993. The continued production and sale of products under the “MAAZA” brand by Bisleri or any of its affiliates constituted a violation of The Coca-Cola Company’s exclusive rights to the trademark.

6. Whether Export of the Products with the Trademark “MAAZA” was Considered Trademark Infringement in the Exporting Nation?

The export of products with the trademark “MAAZA” was considered trademark infringement in the exporting nation (India). The Court held that under Indian law, the act of manufacturing goods in India for the purpose of export constituted a sale within India. Since the goods bearing the “MAAZA” trademark were manufactured in India, the unauthorized use of the trademark during production and export was considered an infringement under Indian law, regardless of where the products were sold or used internationally.

The Delhi High Court affirmed that trademark rights were protected within the jurisdiction of the country where the goods were produced and where the trademark was registered. In this case, the infringement occurred in India, where the “MAAZA” trademark was registered under The Coca-Cola Company, and the export of these goods was thus a violation of those rights. Therefore, the exportation of “MAAZA” products without authorization from The Coca-Cola Company was ruled as an infringement, justifying the permanent injunction granted by the Court.

[1] 47(1992) DLT 412.

[2] 2006 (32) PTC 429.

[3] 2006(32) PTC 301(Delhi).

[4] PTC (Suppl) (2) 892 (Del).

[5] 2007 (34) PTC 128 (Del).

[6] 2004 (28) PTC 121 (SC).

Harish Khan

This is Harish Khan, Enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi. Currently, working as Legal Manager at Blackbull Law House. Pursued B.B.A. LL.B (Hons) Specialised in Business Laws from Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla [H.P]. completed LL.M Specialised in Business Laws from Amity University, Lucknow [U.P].

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