Essay - Coca Cola Marketing Strategies Introduction in Recent Years the Soft...

Coca Cola Marketing Strategies

Introduction

***** recent years the soft drink industry has exploded, raising competitive awareness among ***** drink manufacturers, investors, and consumers alike. Historically, this highly ***** $64 billion soft ***** ***** was dominated by "regular" soda, however, recently the market has been evolving, and competitors are scrambling to take ***** lead in catering to consumers desires. Coca-Cola currently holds the strongest position as a long-standing top competitor in the soft drink industry market, and is forec*****ted to remain on *****p of the bubble. This paper will provide an overview ***** the background of the Coca-Cola Company, its' *****ing strategies and positi*****ing through product, price and promotion, ***** will conclude with recommendations for improvements in its' marketing. The driving forces behind the lucrative soft drink industry are changing, as retailers consolidate businesses, placing growing demands on manufacturers to provide greater efficacy and value (PepsiCo 2004 Annual Report, at 6). C*****sumer preferences change overnight and there is a ***** interest in a wider variety of products (PepsiCo 2004 ***** Report, ***** 6).

***** indicates that the key fac*****rs for success in th***** ***** are the ability to meet dem*****s quickly, seamless systems to secure the necessary raw materials, and the manufacture ***** the appropriate amount of products along with efficient method ***** manner of distribution.

Currently, there are market trends in the soft dr*****k industry ***** companies must keep up with. For example, ***** ***** drinks will no longer be the driving ********** behind *****. This is due to the fact that diet's share of the market has grown steadily since the mid-1990s. Research also indicates that bottled water, tea, sports and fruits drinks ***** are up, further siphoning regular soda sales, lending s*****port to the theory ***** one ***** the best chances for growth are diet soft drinks (Coca-Cola 2004 Annual Report, at Form 10K). 10-year ***** analysis reports indicate that ***** calorie consciousness is vital, more and more ***** want low- and no-calorie soft ***** (Coca-Cola 2004 Annual *****, at ***** 10K). This awareness also extends ***** *****, who hope to attract *****ers' business by giving more, and more prominent, space to low-cal beverages. New sweeteners ***** have broadened the appeal of diet *****s, as competitors now offer soft drinks with a blend of sugar and ***** sweetener, claiming the t*****te is similar to regular but with half the calories (Coca-Cola ***** Annual Report, at Form 10K). As a result, there is ***** distinct new trend in the ***** drink industry that main competitor ***** must ***** up *****.

***** Coca-Cola Company's Background

The ***** Company (Coca-Cola), incorporated in September 1919, *****s, distributes and markets non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups around the world. The Company manufactures and sells non-alcoholic *****s, primarily carbonated soft drinks and a variety of non-carbonated beverages. Coca-Cola also manufactures ***** ***** juices and juice drinks and certain ***** *****, and also has ownership interests in numerous bottl*****g and canning operations (Reuters at (http://www.investor.reuters.com/business/).Coca-Cola has strategic business units in North America, Africa, Asia, Latin