PROMOTION
Coca Cola is commonly known all over the world because of its great marketing strategy.
Coca Cola uses IMC (Integrated Marketing Communication) in order to communicate with
its target. IMC is a simple concept which ensures that all forms of communications and
messages are carefully linked together. At its most basic level, Integrated Marketing
Communications, or IMC, means integrating all the promotional tools, so that they work
together in harmony.
The tools are:
1. Advertising
2. Personal Selling
3. Sales Promotions
4. Publicity/Public Relations
5. Direct Marketing
6. Interactive/ Internet Marketing
1. ADVERTISING
Coca-Cola uses the concept of aggressive advertising to promote its products. As a part of
pull strategy and due to intense competition, spends heavily on advertisements. Thus,
advertising is the most important promotional tool for the company as it has to cater mass
consumer markets. They mainly do national advertising. Coca Cola launches advertisements
in various national languages across the globe. Company introduces different themes and
concepts to sell their product and advertises mainly in electronic media and out of home
advertising. Different mediums of advertising used by Coca Cola are:
Print Media- They use print media for advertisement. Although very rare, they have a
separate department for print media. Below down are some of their print ads.
(The last one is the REFRESHING WIND print ad by Mccann Erickson India.)
Point of Sale & Point of purchase (POS & POP) Materials- Posters and Stickers
display in the stores and in different areas. It also includes: Vizio cooler, Freezers and
Display racks.
T.V Commercials- T.V commercials are one of the most attractive way of doing
advertisement. Coca Cola Company does regular TV commercials on different
channels. It focuses on both the urban as well as the rural areas with its
advertisements in accordance with the culture of country in which it operates. Below
are some of the brand’s commercials.
(The middle one was one of the best LGBT themed ad where brother and sister fight
over hunky poor boy. The last one is the iconic Coca Cola polar bears ad.)
Coca Cola has created memorable and catchy slogans since years.
(Can’t Beat The Real Thing in 1990, Have a Coke and a smile in 1979, open
happiness in 2009 and the latest one- Taste the feeling in 2016.)
Coca Cola hires big personalities as the brand ambassadors of the company to
promote their brand. Some are Deepika Padukone, Holly Willoughby, BTS (Bangtan
Boys), Rapper Zlaton Ibile.
Outdoor Advertising- Coca cola is very much conscious about their billboards and
hoardings. They have so many sites in different locations for their billboards.
Billboards are usually found at cross roads, buildings and shops. It is essential to take
a note that Billboards & banners, cut-out, holdings play an important role in
promotion of coca cola. This is mostly because of its unique, eye-catching red colored
brand logo. One would never miss it.
These advertisements build brand image and create awareness. Coca Cola advertisements are
mostly of reminder type so that they can penetrate more and more in the market.
2. PERSONAL SELLING
Coca-Cola has many salespeople, who are individuals representing the company to
communicate, sell, service, and build relationships with customers. These salespeople
promote their product to different customers within their regions, and once they sustain a
customer, they sell their products to them and service them many times per week. These
individuals form close relationships with the customers in order to continue business with
them.
3. SALES PROMOTIONS
Coca-Cola does sales promotion in two ways to quickly increase sales.
Consumer - Oriented sales promotion:
Getting Shelves- They display their products in shelves in order to show their product
more attractive for the consumers.
Eye Catching Position- Salesman positions their freezers and their products in eye
catching positions. Normally they keep their freezers near the entrance of the stores.
Under The Crown Scheme- Under The Crown Scheme. Coca cola often do this and
offer very handy prizes like bicycles, caps, TV sets, cash prices etc. This scheme is
very much popular among children.
Trade - Oriented sales promotion:
Discounts to retailers and stores
Return back allowances
Merchandising assets
Free goods or free tours
4. PUBLICITY/PUBLIC RELATIONS
Coca-Cola can address law suits, rumours, stories, new products, and activities. There is also
a section of the website devoted to investors. Here, current, or future, investors can access
financial statements and up-to-the minute stock information. The Coca-Cola is also
undertaking some projects as a part of their social cause and part of the Corporate Social
Responsibility(CSR) around the world. Coca cola uses CSR as its marketing tool to gain
emotional benefits in consumers mind. The promotions through CSR include water
sustainability, solar energy projects, “Support my school” campaign with NDTV, Project
Unnati (focuses on more yield of mangoes to farmers), etc.
Coca Cola sponsors events in cricket and music. Coca Cola engages in the following major
sponsorship events like American Idol, BET Network, NASCAR, NBA, NCAA, Olympic
Games, FIFA Worldcup, etc.
(Partnership with different events across the world provides an opportunity to enhance brand
value, build capabilities and further build upon the employee and system pride in being
associated with such events.)
5. DIRECT MARKETING
Coca-Cola uses direct marketing in many ways. First, the company forms partnership
with various restaurants, movie theatres, hotels etc. to carry its product. This way, when a
customer orders a drink, the only brand they are offered is Coca-Cola, which forces them
to buy a drink from that brand. By doing this, Coke forces out other competition, and
keeps the restaurants, or other businesses, purchasing their product over and over again.
Examples.
Coca Cola also sponsors various entertaining and sporting events all around the world
events like Coke studio, Cricket, Football, and Motor Racing etc.
(By associating with these events, the brand gets noticed by a large number of people who
came to watch the game and directly markets its products to them. The brand gets an
opportunity to refresh many athletes and delegates and also many volunteers who will
take part in the games.)
6. INTERACTIVE/ INTERNET MARKETING
Coca-Cola uses the internet to promote its products. The company has its own website,
which is quite simple to navigate through. The website allows customers to become
interactive through various games, contests, shopping, and through a special section of
the website that enables consumers to find out how they can help their community.
Also in the modern era of communication and networking, the company uses various
social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram to connect with the
consumers. A dedicated section is created on YouTube to see its videos.
The internet marketing thus helps to reach to those consumers who can't afford to spend
time on T.V and are always online.
This is just an image of the “Happiness Machine” video, which is the result of
a collaboration between Coca Cola and integrated interactive marketing agency
Definition 6. This web video started out as just a piece of digital content, a dose of
happiness. Coca Cola spent zero on promoting “The Happiness Machine.” One status
update was posted on Coke’s Facebook page, one tweet and that was it. Within a day, the
video was picked up by bloggers and it spread from there. Coke uploaded the web video
to Coke’s YouTube channel on day one and in the first week, there were one million
visits. It hit the top of the viral video chart that week. It was all about the exercise of
producing creative video for online distribution, aimed for something the audience would
use and enjoy.
