The Coca-Cola Company is the largest drink company in the world, serving customers from more than 200 countries with over 500 different brands. Although it is clear that Coca-Cola is best known for Coca-Cola, its total range covers both sparkling and still drives and its 14 billion dollar portfolio include both globally known and localised brands. (The Coca Cola Company, 2011a)

As a globalised multi-national corporation, Coca-Cola also focuses with commitment on the building of sustainability in its manufacturing plants. This is primarily done to reduce the carbon footprint and ensure a healthy environment. (The Coca Cola Company, 2011a)

“This Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for their associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where they operate.” (The Coca Cola Company, 2011a)

Coca-Cola was established in 1886 by Mr John S Pemberton and now owns four of the largest 5 non-alcoholic brands worldwide. In December 2010 it amounted to nearly 140 thousand associates worldwide. The world penetration is such that it has been calculated that over 1.7 billion servings per day are consumed from the Coca-Cola portfolio. This covers more than three thousand different products ranging from juices to water to teas and coffer and clearly to soft drinks. (The Coca Cola Company, 2011b). Currently it employs 138600 (The Coca Cola Company, 2011c)

The Coca-Cola Mission is simple but in the same time vast. It approaches three main ideological concerts, that of refreshing the world (through higher penetration and increasing the variety through customized and localised marketing), to inspire “moments of optimism”, and to create value (for itself, for its share holders and for its customers) and to make a difference (again to all three stakeholders and also its employees) (The Coca Cola Company, 2011a)

Market Share:

(Trefis, no date)

The global soft drinks market is dominated by 3 household names: Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Cadbury-Schweppes. Coca-Cola claims 47% of the global market, compared with 21% for PepsiCo and 8% for Cadbury Schweppes. Other major players include Cott and AmBev in Latin America This is illustrated in table 1 below. (Vrontis & Sharp, 2003)

(The Official Board, 2011)

b) Produce a literature review of a number of identified research sources for your assignment. Although your chosen company may make useful information available, it is necessary to also include non-company sources to ensure a balanced, objective report. (At least 5 separate sources must be included)

Literature Review

Abstract

In the following short literature review, eight papers are going to be analysed. The main topic is the multinational giant Cola-Cola Corporation, the world’s largest beverage company serving more than 200 countries at a massive consumption rate of nearly two billion serving per day. Several different aspects are going to be tacked from human resource methodologies employed, to marketing challenges in particular countries, to branding strategies and discussion on the strategic positioning in the global marketing world. The papers used are all taken from journals also ranging in their interest such as ‘The Marketing Review’, ‘Thunderbird International Business Review’ and the ‘Corporate Communications: An International Journal’. The following literature review is by no means the final one which will be used as more papers are constantly being found, read and analysed. The eventual literature review will surely differ from the following one, and the papers seen here could form part of the eventual literature review or could be moved to the bibliography section.

Literature Review

Coca Cola is currently the largest beverage company in the world having the widest spread of consumers, over 200 countries with nearly two billion servings per day. This huge network incorporates nearly one hundred and forty thousand company associates to distribute this huge amount of drink. It is important to note that we are not talking about one particular drink, for example Coca Cola or Diet Coca Cola but a whole range of beverages. In fact the Coca Cola Company has developed bought and conglomerated more than three thousand five hundred different drinks and has successfully or otherwise marketed and positioned these drinks in the global market. (The Coca Cola Company, 2011a)

Having such a huge portfolio of products and ranging such a different spectrum of customers, cultures and mind sets needs a very specific and energetic marketing approach both as a global marketing strategy, narrowing down to a more focused cultural approach to specific country particular marketing strategies. A strategy that works in one country could be irrelevant to another. The first paper to be discussed is one which was published in 2005 in the ‘Thunderbird International Business Review’ called ‘Coca Cola’s Marketing Challenges in Brazil: The Tubainas War’. In this paper, the author discusses the marketing challenges of the Coca Cola company as it combats its competitors, both its nemesis Pepsi but also hundreds of local brands (called tubainas), some which are supported by the government through specific tax incentives, thus effectively effecting the price. Brazil is clearly an important strategic country since it corresponds to Coca Cola third largest operation while having a significantly low consumption rate of only 144 bottles per day when compared with the bench mark of the US with 462 bottles per year. To try and grow in the emergent market, Coca Cola employed many different marketing strategies, from lowering the price of its products in 1999 (from R$1.80 to R$1.25) to expand the number of brands in the market. They also expanded on the particular type of drink that was more in line with the taste of the Brazilian population. In fact focus was given to Kuat, a particular drink flavoured with Guarana, a Brazilian popular Amazonian fruit. In fact the Brazilian subsidiary planted 200 hectares of this fruit to try and win back the Brazilian market. Eventually the ‘winning strategy’ was a mix of price positioning, changing the bottling technology (from plastic going back to glass). To judge the effectiveness of the strategy that Coca Cola employed in Brazil, it is relevant to see the current consumption of the drinks under the Coca Cola umbrella. According to Coca Cola’s own figures, last year’s consumption for Brazil was 229 per capita, an increase from the 144 of 2005. This amounts to nearly 60% growth in five years, a mammoth growth in such a small time period. Clearly more work could be done to reach the consumption of other high consumers that hit the 675 per capita. It is interesting to note that in Malta, the Coca Cola consumption is the second highest in the world with a staggering 606 bottles per capita ! (The Coca Cola Company, 2011d)

Continuing on the marketing aspect but now going over to the European side of the globe, more specifically to Spain, one can appreciate the different marketing techniques employed to enter into the Spanish market. In the paper ‘Brand communities on the intern