1). Do you think Coca Cola is driven by a production, selling or marketing orientation?

Explain TWO (2) reasons why you said so.

I strongly believe that Coca Cola is driven by marketing orientation. Marketing

orientation is a business approach where it tends to focus more in the development and creation of
new products that satisfy their customers’ needs, requirements and desires. This is a marketing-
oriented technology that is used to design products with the quality that consumers need, which is
completely different from traditional marketing methods. It also involves monitoring the behaviour
and strategy of their competitors that will impact the preferences of their customers indirectly. Coca
Cola prefer changing their business approach to marketing orientation as they provide wealth of
benefits to their business. It will definitely enhance the improvement in the quality of Coca Cola and
help to ensure high satisfaction of customers. Therefore, marketing orientation will help Coca Cola
company to find the best solution to overcome their customers’ problem.

Coca Cola company clearly implemented the marketing orientation when they carried out
considerable research to solve the problem of customers with diabetes problem. As a solution, Coca-
cola without sugar named Coca Cola Zero were introduced in 2005 to make it suitable to all ages.
However in 2017, Coca Cola Zero were reformulated and rebranded as Coca Cola Zero Sugar in order
to standardised the flavour of the coke. This marketing orientation strategy will definitely give a better
impression to their customers especially to those diabetes consumers. According to the
recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), daily sugar consumption is
recommended not to exceed 6 teaspoons per day. A 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola contains about 10
teaspoons of sugar. Soda water contains a lot of fructose corn syrup, refined salt and caffeine. Regular
consumption can cause high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. People who drink 1-2 cans of sugar-
sweetened beverages a day are 26% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. As a results, Coca Cola
company carried out researches to bring in new products to the market that satisfy all the consumers
needs.

After Coca Cola company introduced the Coca Cola Zero Sugar to implement their
market orientation strategy, the net sales of the products had clearly increased. According to the Coca
Cola CEO, James Quincey, their net sales rose 8% to 9.5 billion in 2019 exceeding their expectation
which is 9.4 billion. According to the Morning Advertisers (MA) drink lists, the sales value of Coca
Cola Zero Sugar raised by 50.9 million which is a 74.7% boost for 2018 sales report. Indeed, the
market orientation strategy by introducing Coca Cola Zero Sugar works effectively to satisfy the
communities’ demand and raise their company sales.

The second obvious reason that explained the marketing orientation of Coca Cola is their
repacking and redesign bottles of Coca Cola. Nowadays, the coca cola are rebottled into various size
such as 150ml, 250 ml, 500ml and 1.5l. One of the main reasons is to meet the consumers changing

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trend around the worldwide. For example, in Japan, with the decline in the birth rate and the aging
population changes, the number of small families has increased, each consisting of two to three
persons. This demographic shift has changed the behaviour of large- sized family to consume large
packaging bottles. Small group of people consuming small-sized beverages has become common in
the society especially Japan. The 700ml of Coca Cola is conveniently enough for smaller sized-family
compare to the 1.5 litre capacity. This has ease the burden of consumers to get the perfect amount of
Coca Cola for their family and might even save up their budget too.

In Australia, the introduction of Coca-Cola’s new 250ml bottle into the Australian market
has increased the supply of small packages in more than 2,500 retail stores. The product was launched
to meet consumer demand for small-package sizes and has been welcomed by retailers and
consumers. Between 2015 and 2017, the sales of single-serve small packages increased by 88% and
that number is keep on growing till today. The new redesign bottle of Coca Cola is also 88%
recyclable which will definitely reduce the waste of environmental resources. This will surely
encourage the ‘Go Green’ concept and educate the society to implement the 3R behaviour in their
daily life.

Without a doubt, it is crystal clear that market orientation is effectively practiced by Coca
Cola Company to attract their loyalty customers. This will simply satisfy their customers’ needs and
desire to compete with the other brands worldwide and stay on top of the marketing. Indeed, the
market orientation approach is simply effective as customers is always the first rule of business.

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2. Why is domestic market important to Coke? Why does Coke not focus most of its attention
to growth opportunities in the international markets? Discuss TWO (2) reasons.

The first reason why domestic market is important to Coke because it provides a base on
which the company builds its business around the world. Coca Cola’s base in Malaysia was built in
March 2010 at Bandar Enstek industril park in Nilai, southern state of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
Coca-Cola’s investment in Malaysia is part of the company’s increased focus on emerging markets.
Coca-Cola’s investment decision is expected to boost foreign investment into the Malaysian economy.
Furthermore, with the construction of the base is expected to increase consumption levels in Malaysia,
which will help to boost its sales in Malaysia’s stagnant soft drinks market. It could continue to grow
sales, as it not only aims to boost sales of the company’s beverage portfolio on the back of increased
marketing and promotional activities, but also aims to improve functionality and efficiency of
operations.

The other reason why domestic market is important to Coke is due to the push for new
product lines. Coca-Cola’s stagnant sales in the Malaysian market has been attributed to a tough
competition in the business world and a narrow product range. With myriad of soft drink brands
existed, Coca Cola has to brainstorm in producing one of a kind product. Hence why Coca-Cola is
planning to introduce new beverages into the Malaysian market. These beverages will be in different
categories such as as clear colas, iced teas, fruit drinks and sport drinks. Coca Cola also always
preferred taking note of consumer preferences and designing its product according to them, instead of
taking an internal approach, the process of taking stock of internal assets and expertise and using them
to produce something the customers would buy. Based on these, the customer either introduces a new
product or acquires a company producing the suitable product. This is essential to survive in the high
demand market and to change the product portfolio according to customer preferences that will boost
the company’s sales in the future.

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3. Do you think Coke made the right decision to introduce Coca-Cola with Coffee and

Coca-Cola with Coffee Zero Sugar? Discuss TWO (2) reasons why you say it is a right

decision or a wrong decision.

We believe that it is the RIGHT decision to introduce Coca-Cola with Coffee and Coca-Cola
with Coffee Zero Sugar. Their breakthrough drink that supposedly ‘sips like Coke and finishes like
coffee” promises to offer Coca-Cola fans a refreshing new take on your regular coffee. Coca-Cola
with Coffee and Coca-Cola with Coffee Zero Sugar is said to bring together a great Coca-Cola taste
that is infused with Brazilian coffee. There exists three signature flavour – Dark Blend, Vanilla and
Caramel – and its zero-sugar counterpart comes in Dark Blend and Vanilla. These beverages has been
doing seemingly well in the international market and we believe will be a hit within Malaysian
consumers too.

Introducing Coca-Cola with Coffee and Coca-Cola with Coffee Zero Sugar will help expend
Coke’s product line, which will then boost Coke’s market shares. The more products you have, the
greater your chances of reaching a wider audience and purchasing market. Market expansion can
help Coke get a firmer hold of their current F&B market. This gives Coke the opportunity to widen
their brand and introduce their products to more consumers. Not only that, expansion of their
product line that consists of a more quality and creative product would make their company more
visible and credible brand. As credibility grows, naturally Coke’s brand recognition and loyalty will
increase. Like a snowball effect, this will lead to repeated purchases and rave reviews across the
entire product line. With more consumer purchases, company’s profit will increase. Hence why this
is the first reason we believe that such introduction of this unique beverage will benefit the Coke as
a company.

Although we understand in the last couple of years, consumers interest on carbonated drinks
has decreased gradually, and that The Coca-Cola company also felt this trend in the domestic market
too. But we firmly believe that Coca-Cola with Coffee and Coca-Cola with Coffee Zero Sugar is able
encourage consumer interests. In 2006, Coca-Cola launched Coca-Cola Blak, a coffee-flavored
version of its signature product and people didn't like it, so the beverage flopped. Therefor two years
later Coke stopped its production in 2008. The company’s chief technical officer at the time, Nancy
Quan, said that the product was a trend ahead its time and people weren’t ready for a coffee portfolio
in the Coke brand. However, in recent years evolving trends and palates shows that more and more
people are diving into the coffee scene. Which makes it the perfect time to relaunch Coke’s unique
never before seen combination of flavours to the public. As more consumers today are more
adventurous, this beverage will surely appeal to consumer’s curiosity.

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 In today’s world, coffee and caffeinated drinks are becoming a necessity in our community.
In Malaysia alone, approximately six hundred thousand 60kg bags of coffee was consumed in the year
2018. Clearly this signifies as an important demand for coffee in our daily beverages. By offering
Coca-Cola with Coffee and Coca-Cola with Coffee Zero Sugar, Coke would be able to satisfy that
demand of coffee and caffeine in the local market. Leveraging on this trend will be smart way for
Coke to increase more customers to their product. Hence why this our second point to why
introduction of Coca-Cola with Coffee and Coca-Cola with Coffee Zero Sugar is the right decision, as
it will increase customers interests towards the Coke brand.

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4. There are four sets of factors affecting consumer buying behaviour. Between these four sets of
factors, which set of factors do you think that strongly affects consumers’ purchase decision
when purchasing Coca Cola products. Explain briefly this factor. Then, discuss TWO (2)
reasons why you say that this the strongest factor affecting consumers’ purchase decision.
Explain your answer by giving relevant examples.

There are four sets of factors affecting consumer buying behaviour. Between these four sets of factors,
which set of factors do you think that strongly affects consumers’ purchase decision when purchasing
Coca Cola products. Explain briefly this factor. Then, discuss TWO (2) reasons why you say that this
the strongest factor affecting consumers’ purchase decision. Explain your answer by giving relevant
examples.

Among the four sets of factors that affecting consumer buying behaviour. The set of factors
that strongly affects consumers’ purchase decision when purchasing Coca Cola products are social
factors. This is the most important stage in consumer decision making process. In this stage, the
consumer measures each brand on the specification it possesses from the information collected before.
At this stage, brand beliefs play an important role in deciding the product. Branding has become so
strong that today hardly anything goes unbranded. Brand names help consumers identify product
which might benefit them; they also tell the buyer something about the product quality. Consumers
who always buy the same brand know that they will always get the same features, benefits and
quality.

When the consumer looks for a soft drink, he/she might compare the coke with Pepsi or some
other competing brands. This is the point where psychological and social factors can play an
important role in choosing the coke and where coke’s marketing activity can be judged that how coke
used these factors in a favourable manner to facilitate the consumer decision to buy coke.

Personal factors are those components which are unique to the customer. These factors can be
age, sex, Demographics and so on. In some cases, we are not the decision maker in the family, and
furthermore there are various motivations to buy a thing among young and elderly folks’ people. As
age progresses decisions additionally changes. Alongside this, economic circumstance of the
purchaser additionally influences the buyers' purchasing behaviour. All things considered, coke
covers every one of the different backgrounds. Childs, young and old people used to refresh
themselves by drinking coke. Normally, people used to drink coke as their lifestyle.

One of the newer and increasingly important set of factors that’s being used to understand consumer
behavior is lifestyle. In this context, “lifestyle” refers to the potential customer’s pattern or being or
living in the world combined with his or her psychographics (a set of attitudes, opinions, aspirations,

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and interests). Lifestyle variables reveal what consumers care about, how they spend their time, what
they’re likely to spend money on, and how they view themselves. Inevitably these individual
characteristics impact consumer decisions—and brand preference in particular. The criteria that
determine lifestyle are often things consumers feel passionately about. When a consumer identifies
your brand as consistent with his interests, attitudes and self-identity, it paves the way for building a
long and loyal customer relationship.So as Coco Cola brand is consistent with customer interest,the
feedback of customer is good and loyal. It is the multifaceted aspect of lifestyle research that makes it
so useful in consumer analysis.

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5. If you are Mr. Zyman, discuss THREE (3) marketing strategies that you will implement to
increase Coke’s domestic business? Provide appropriate examples in your discussion.

If I am Mr. Zyman, the 3 marketing strategies that I will implement is segmentation, targeting
and focusing core competencies and business models.

Marketing Segmentation is basically portioning a market into potential customer’s group who
basically share similar needs and likely to have similar purchasing behaviour. Intension of such
strategy is to understand the market and choosing the portion of market that will give maximum
benefit to the company. I will make sure Coca cola follows following segmentation strategy which is
demographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation, and behavioural segmentation.

 Coca cola demographic segmentation would encompass age, family size, and income. Coke
groups with age include small children, young adults, and older adults. In general, coke has
no clear target and is aimed at all Form of family, I will make coke launch an economic
package that helps focus on groups and communities. Coke segments have different income
rates by which they provide bottle, can, big and small size coke.
 Psychographic segmentation, I will make the coca cola company's psychographic
segmentation is of social status, lifestyle, profession, education level, and personality.
Segmentation of coke is to everyone. A coke does not usually target lifestyle, profession, or
education rates. Nonetheless packaging is available for different customers. They basically
focus on the fact that people should think coke is for all.
 Behavioural segmentation. In this portion they target different occasions that people
celebrate together such as Christmas, Hari Raya, Thanksgiving etc. They pick those time
when people generally share their happiness together with family and friends, they come out
with such amazing ads on those time which is amazing to see.

Targeting is basically choosing the portion which company will be serving. I will make Coca-
Cola’s targeting strategy works following way.

 Age: coke does not have a specific target portion. It targets the whole market all together, so
I will make them focus more on age (12-30) most. To be honest they do not specifically
communicate with those rage of people, instead they convey the message to whole market
but still they are successfully reaching them over hundreds of years. Maybe through
partnership.
 Lifestyle: coke does not target specific lifestyle as it is for all, so I will change it to seeks
attention busier lifestyle and young generation because they are considered to be the most
profitable part of Coca cola’s consumers.

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 Occupation: I will target students and family-oriented people mostly
 Nature: fun, joy, entertainment loving people who wants to share happiness with one another

Focusing core competencies and business models. Coca Cola has developed a business model
with portfolio including more than 500 brands ranging from sparkling beverages to value-added
dairy and many more. Over a billion dollars annually are generated together by few of these in
retail sales. It has managed to gather a variety of consumers thereby generating profits from all
segments irrespective of market conditions.

Its primary core competency has been the ability to manage a huge system of independent
bottling partners and also acquiring a number of bottlers under its own. The primary aim has
been to improve performance of bottling partners by increasing productivity, performance,
optimizing manufacturing and distribution systems and finally refranchising the independence of
bottling territories. All this effort finally creates value for retail and restaurant customers.

In 2015, the organisation took major steps in North America to make company-owned
bottling territories independent. The plan was to refranchise the North America bottling system
by end of 2017. A new unified bottling partner was planned to set up in Western Europe and
accordingly, a transaction was announced. Further, improvement and refranchising has been
planned for bottling system in Southern Africa, East Africa, Indonesia and China. Coca Cola
plans to reduce company-owned bottlers to 3 percent from 18 percent of the global volume.