ACADEMIA DE STUDII

ECONOMICE
Facultatea DIN
de Relatii Economice
BUCURESTIInternationale

ACADEMIA DE STUDII ECONOMICE-BUCUREȘTI

SESIUNEA ȘTIINȚIFICĂ STUDENȚEASCĂ

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF COCA-COLA COMMERCIALS ON DIFFERENT

CONTINENTS

STUDENȚI:
FACULTATEA DE RELAȚII ECONOMICE INTERNAȚIONALE

PROFESOR COORDONATOR:

Aprilie 2016
BUCUREȘTI

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CONTENTS

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….pag.3

A brief description of the huge success of Coca-Cola company………………………pag.3

Analyzing the marketing strategies of Coca-Cola…………………………………......pag.4

Adapting these strategies to different cultures………………………………………....pag.6

The impact of Coca-Cola commercials on potential consumers………………………pag.7

Conclusions……………………………………………………………………………pag.8

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………..pag.10

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 1. Introduction

Big and fast, complex and focused, large scale and agile. These seem like oxymoron in the
world of business innovation, but in what concerns the marketing strategy of Coca Cola's
company, these concepts matched perfectly. This is the reason why we have chosen to
analyze its behavior instead of other huge companies. The subject is important in the
business, marketing and management fields because it gives some lessons of a very well-
organized company that managed to become one of the greatest powers in its domain,
succeeding to reach almost every person on this planet. We will present you firstly the
history of Coca-Cola's success; secondly, we will provide some insights into its marketing
strategy. Thirdly, we will observe how it succeeded to adapt their strategies to different
cultures and after that, how its commercials influenced people behavior. We will conclude
this paper work by resuming the main points of the presentation and giving our personal
recommendations. During the presentation we will show you some commercials that
emphasize the adaptability of Coca-Cola's marketing strategy to three continents.

2. A brief description of the huge success of Coca-Cola company

Coca-Cola, a carbonated soft drink, was invented in 1886, when no one could have predicted
its spectacular success. What is interesting about its origin is the fact that it was originally
intended as a patient medicine by its creator, John Pemberton. A few years later, the Coca-
Cola company was bought by the businessman Asa Griggs Candles, whose marketing tactics
led Coke to its dominance of the world soft-drink market. The name refers to two of its
original ingredients: cola nuts, a source of caffeine, and cola leaves.1

We have chosen the Coca-Cola brand for this paper work because of its influential impact on
people’s lives as well as on the economy of every market that it has penetrated. Coke is not
only a drink, nor only a brand as it succeeded to be part of our daily habits and activities. It is
part of our lives being a powerful association of a carbonated beverage with wealth, a good
meal, a good state of mind and, of course, a way of gathering the family together for a
celebration or any type of reunions. A bottle of Coca-Cola is never missing from the table and
that is because of their advertising strategy to make people lovers of the drink.1

1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola

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The brand successfully managed to enter the homes of many people, viewing that their
advertising ideas inspire a good state of mind through their positive messages.

The Coca-Cola company began to realize its global network in the 1920s using the offline
medium. It is now present in over 200 countries, generating hundreds of millions of servings
per day. The Coca-Cola system has successfully applied a simple formula on a global scale
creating a refreshing moment for a very small amount of money.

The first teaser for “Coca-Cola” soon appeared in the Atlanta Journal. This was inviting
thirsty citizens to try “the new and popular carbonated drink”. Coca-Cola was the first
company to introduce the six bottles cardboard innovation, allowing consumers to carry Coke
home more easily.

The international expansion of Coca-Cola began in 1900 when Charles Howard Candler, the
eldest son of the company’s founder, took with him a jar of syrup on a vacation in England. In
the same year Coke arrived in Cuba and Puerto Rico. In a few years there were plans for
Coca-Cola bottling plants in Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam. The
expansion into Europe started with France in 1920. The company initiated a partnership
relationship with the Olympic Games, a relationship that transcends cultural boundaries.

3. Analyzing the marketing strategies of Coca-Cola

Marketing strategies are the processes through which organizations concentrate their
resources on optimal opportunities with the aim of bolstering up sustainable competitive
benefit and increased sales.

A marketing strategy includes both short-term and long-term activities. Organizations need to
analyze their basic situations if they are to formulate, evaluate, as well as select market-
oriented strategies. This helps companies such as Coca Cola to contribute to their
organizational marketing objectives and strategic goals.

Coca Cola has been able to introduce existing products to dissimilar geographical or
international markets through effective market development strategies. It has been able to
expand the existing markets through targeting varied market segments. Customer satisfaction
is Coca Cola’s prime objective. Through matching customer requirements and product
specifications, Coca Cola has been able to meet specific market requirements in new markets
globally.

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Coca-Cola’s advertising has significantly affected American culture, and it is frequently
credited with inventing the modern image of Santa Claus, an old man in a red-and-white suit.
In 1971 a song from a Coca-Cola commercial called “I’d like to teach the World to sing”
produced by Billy Davis became a hit single.

Coke’s advertising is pervasive, as one of Woodruff’s stated goals was to ensure that
everyone on Earth drank Coca-Cola as their preferred beverage. Between 1960 and 1986,
some Coca-Cola television commercials were written and produced by former Atlanta radio
veteran Don Naylon during his career as a producer for the McCann Erickson advertising
agency. These early television commercials for Coca-Cola featured movies stars, sports
heroes and popular singers, as a means of endorsement.

Another advertising strategy was product placement. In 1982, Coca Cola bought Columbia
Pictures and began the process of inserting Coke-product images into many of Columbia
films.

Coca-Cola has also used a number of famous advertising slogans in its long history, including
“The pause that refreshes”, “I’d like to buy the world a Coke”, and “Coke is it”. In 2006,
Coca-Cola introduced “My Coke Rewards”, a customer loyalty campaign in which consumers
earned points by entering codes from specially marked packages of Coca-Cola products on a
website. These points could be redeemed for various prizes or sweepstakes entries.

In Australia in 2011, Coca-Cola began to personalize the product by the “Share a Coke”
campaign, where the Coca-Cola logo was replaced on the bottles with first names.

The "Holidays are coming!" advertisement features a train of red delivery trucks, emblazoned
with the Coca-Cola name and decorated with Christmas lights, driving through a snowy
landscape and causing everything that they pass by to light up and people to watch as they
were passing.

The advertisement fell into disuse in 2001 as the Coca-Cola company restructured its
advertising campaigns so that its advertising around the world was produced locally in each
country, rather than centrally in the company's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

Since 1978, Coca-Cola has sponsored the FIFA World Cup, and other competitions organized
by FIFA. One FIFA tournament trophy, the FIFA World Youth Championship from Tunisia
in 1977 to Malaysia in 1997, was called "FIFA — Coca-Cola Cup".

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The best-selling artist of all time and worldwide cultural icon, Elvis Presley, promoted Coca-
Cola during his last tour of 1977. The Coca-Cola Company used Elvis' image to promote the
product. For example, the company used a song performed by Presley, “A Little Less
Conversation”, in a Japanese Coca-Cola commercial.

In 2012, Coca-Cola was listed as a partner of the (RED) campaign, together with other brands
such as Nike, Girl, American Express and Converse. The campaign's mission was to prevent
the transmission of the HIV virus from mother to child (the campaign's byline is "Fighting for
an AIDS Free Generation").

The most important strategy used by Coca-Cola that led to its huge success was giving free
samples or promotions like 1+1 free (bogof). Another fact was the fixed price of 6.5 oz. Coca-
Cola practiced it from 1886 to 1959.2

4. Adapting these strategies to different cultures

The Coca-Cola Company's overall advertising strategy is summed up by the phrase 'Think
Global, Act Local'. Some campaigns are designed for worldwide use and others developed for
individual markets. In some cases a product is developed for local consumption, such as Lilt
in Great Britain and Ireland.

The “Always Coca-Cola” campaign theme has been used worldwide to reinforce the
universality of the brand which is 'always' there. However, different advertisements are also
made for each market. This enables Coca-Cola to choose the most relevant advertisements for
its consumers and to choose how and when they should appear.

Africa:
For Africa, Coca-Cola launched the ‘Billion Reasons to Believe’ TV commercial which aims
to capture the spirit of optimism and perseverance embodied by African youth. Africa is the
continent that seems to have found the most reasons to believe by inspiring people to see the
brighter side of a continent that is often portrayed as hopeless and stricken with conflict,
poverty and disease. The advertisement features how the continent is facing the world’s
challenges in a positive and unique African way. For example, one sequence shows a football

2
Kotler Philip, 2003, Marketing Insights From A to Z: 80 Concepts Every Manager Needs to
Know, John Wiley & Sons; New Jersey

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game, with a spectacular goal being scored. “For every great goal,” reads the onscreen copy,
“there are a thousand misses”.

America:
This commercial marks the Coca-Cola’s entry into the Super Bowl. It had a message that was
Coke Classic: it celebrated the many kinds, colors, lifestyles and origins of Americans who
are nevertheless one. The 60-second spot reveals scenes of everyday life of Americans of
various origins, from Arabs to Asians, and has on the background the song: "America the
Beautiful", sung in several languages.

Although the authors of the "It's Beautiful" advertisement wanted to celebrate the cultural
diversity of the United States, some Americans felt offended that an iconic song for their
culture is sung to a proportion of 90% in other languages. The message this ad shared (besides
“Buy Coke”): it wasn’t a rejection of English, but a celebration of it, and series of tongues,
representing all corners of the Earth, resolving in a final line sang in the country’s lingua
franca of English and the tag: “America Is Beautiful.”3

Asia:
In India, Coca-Cola breaks the ice after arranged marriages. The campaign takes the
inspiration from the institution of marriage that sometimes puts two strangers together and the
journey of discovering and knowing the other person starts after getting married.

The spot is titled "Bidaai," which represents the ceremonial departure of a new bride from her
parents' home. The newlyweds are traveling by car, and their awkwardness is palpable. Trying
to diffuse the tension, the man finds out that she likes the taste of Coca-Cola. The girl smiles,
as the ice between them starts to break. The next scene shows them out of the car near a shop
by the highway drinking a bottle of Coca-Cola. As the music swells, the two share the drink,
as the tension dissolves. The film ends with a voice over saying: "Taste that every heart
desires”.4

5. The impact of Coca-Cola commercials on potential consumers

3
Anonymous, available on the link: http://time.com/3773/coca-colas-its-beautiful-super-bowl-
ad-brings-out-some-ugly-americans/
4
Anonymous, available on the link: http://www.campaignlive.com/article/india-coca-cola-
breaks-ice-arranged-marriage/1346132

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Through an advertisement, a company seeks to transmit certain messages which have as the
main purpose to convince the consumer of the benefit that can be delivered by using the
product or service offered by the company. Coca-Cola is not an exception.
The impact of Coca-Cola commercials on potential consumers is very big. Why? Because this
company uses some key elements to attract the consumers and in this way it succeeds to
convince them to buy at least once the product sold by the company. Favorite characters such
as Santa Claus, elements as sand, sea, sun and the fun atmosphere are some of the things that
ensure the success of Coca-Cola commercials. Also, the soundtrack is formed by a well-
known song or a tune so consumers’ emotional reactions to it are associated with the product
offered by Coca-Cola.
The red color is very important in promoting the brand, being an extreme color and intensely
emotional. This color evokes aggressiveness, passion, strength, vitality, love, danger,
warning, impulsivity, action, adventure. Also, this color is meant to attract the attention of
potential buyers. The red color makes the taste buds become more sensitive, stimulates
appetite, changing easier the reactions into conditioned reflexes.5
In recent years, social media have actually been bombarded with messages from Coca-Cola
and that has determined a significant increase in the consumption of carbonated products. On
the other hand, there is a definite number of people who do not consume soft drinks but have
experienced them at least once or twice in their lives due to frequent campaigns posted on
mass media. Psychologically speaking, human curiosity makes people constantly experience
new things.

6. Conclusions

We will finish this paper work by reminding the most important points. Coca-Cola company
has come a long way from selling a small quantity of carbonated beverages in a pharmacy, to
an international scale business. Being the market leader in soft beverages, Coca-Cola has
always had and will always have innovative strategies. If we want to take a look at the
evolution of marketing, we take a look at Coca-Cola. If we want to analyze the evolution of
communication strategies, we look at Coca-Cola. Throughout the years they managed to keep
their customers loyal and, unlike other companies, they have entered the homes of the
consumers very quickly. In addition to this, all signs show that in the following years Coca-

5
Butler David and Tischler Linda, 2015, Design to Grow: How Coca-Cola Learned to
Combine Scale and Agility (and How You Can Too), Simon & Schuster Inc., New York City

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Cola is going to use its best advantage: the fact that the brand is close to the consumers’ hearts
on every continent, as we managed to show.

The only recommendation that we may have is that Coca-Cola should try to bring some more
flavors like healthy drinks and other low-calorie offerings viewing that the current world is
now focusing on eating and drinking healthier than they did before.

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 References

1. Anonymous, available on the link: http://time.com/3773/coca-colas-its-beautiful-

super-bowl-ad-brings-out-some-ugly-americans/
2. Anonymous, available on the link: http://www.campaignlive.com/article/india-coca-
cola-breaks-ice-arranged-marriage/1346132
3. Anonymous, available on the link: http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-watch-how-
coca-cola-s-latest-ad-campaign-connected-south-asian-workers-in-dubai-to-their-
families-back-home-1990934
4. Butler David and Tischler Linda, 2015, Design to Grow: How Coca-Cola Learned to
Combine Scale and Agility (and How You Can Too), Simon & Schuster Inc., New
York City
5. Drucker F. Peter, 2009, Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, Chambers
Harrap Publishers Ltd, London
6. Kotler Philip, 2003, Marketing Insights From A to Z: 80 Concepts Every Manager
Needs to Know, John Wiley & Sons; New Jersey
7. Porter E. Michael , 1980, Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries
and Competitors, The Free Press, A Division of Simon & Schuster Inc., New York
City
8. Shirley Harrison, Public Relations: An Introduction, 2000, Cengage Learning EMEA,
Boston
9. www. Youtube.com
10. Walter Ekaterina and Gioglio Jessica, 2015, The Power of Visual Storytelling: How to
Use Visuals, Videos, and Social Media to Market Your Brand, McGraw-Hill
Education; New York City
11. www. Wikipedia.com

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