Marketing Case Study

PRODUCT: COKE ZERO

Submitted To: Prof. Suzzane Ross

SUBMITTED BY: JIJO FRANCIS (822-417-143)

5/9/2013

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I.

INTRODUCTION

II.

MARKET ANALYSIS.

III.

TARGET MARKET.

IV.

MARKETING STRATEGIES..

V. VI.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS . POSITIONING..

9 11

VII.

CONCLUSION

12

VIII.

BIBLIOGRAPHY...

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I.

INTRODUCTION

Most of the people from all over world consume Coca Cola products. Coca Cola is one of the worlds biggest manufacturers and distributor of non alcoholic beverages. Coca Cola Company aims at refreshing the mind, spirit and body of the consumers worldwide. It manufactures a variety of soft drink products which includes carbonated beverages, coffee, juices and tea.

Coke Zero or Coca Cola Zero is one of the products of Coca Cola Company. This product is for those customers who prefer diet drinks. Coke zero promotes happiness, optimism and health awareness within the customers. The preservatives and sweeteners used in Coke zero differs with the market. They even launched vanilla and cherry flavors of Coke Zero. Coke Zero is now already a favorite product among the youth because it claims the taste of Coca Cola with very less calories.

In this case study we will be discussing about the market analysis, target market, competitive analysis and positioning for Coke Zero.

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II.

MARKET ANALYSIS

The different macro-environmental factors that affect the industry include competitive, regulatory, economic, socio-cultural, technological, natural environment and demographics factors. The marketing strategy of the company changes along with these environmental factors. Competitive factors: Coke Zero is one of the largest and well known brands for carbonated beverages. Its major competitors are Diet Pepsi, Diet RC, Tab and diet Mello Yello (cross word nexus). In spite of having these rivals coke zero is still preferred by the customers since everyone prefer zero calorie than a product claiming less calories. (Against the grain) For example, Pepsi one couldnt top Coke Zero. Brand image, product quality and refreshing taste of Coke Zero helped it to keep its competitors at the bay. Competition is not a problem for Coke Zero when compared to others. Regulatory factors: The political/regulatory factors can affect the price and the sales of the product. The price of product varies in different regions depending upon taxes, trade restrictions and other laws. For example, sales of Coke Zero are not allowed in North Korea and there

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are several laws which restrict the sales of Coke products in China. (weebly) Economic factors: Coca Cola Company is a multi national company and its operating in more than 200 countries. Most of the Coca Cola companies get their raw materials locally; still the company is affected by the change in economic factors like economic growth, exchange rates, inflation, etc. For example if Chinas economy falls then it will affect the Coca Cola Company, because a major part of its operations are in China. (weebly) Socio-cultural factors: Consumers choose their beverage based on several factors like income, prices, promotions and preferences. A product chosen also depends up on age, race, education and ethnicity. The social and cultural factors affect the consumers need, as well as the size and nature of the market. The socio-cultural factor doesnt affect the usage of Coke Zero because of its quality. The product is popular among people from all over the world due to the product quality and availability. Now most of the people consume food and drinks from outside and most of the offices as well as educational institutions have canteens or vending machines for getting Coke Zero.

Technological factors: Technological factors can affect the manufacturing, packaging and distribution of products. Company relies heavily on the technology for the sales of its product, especially:

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Designing of cola bottles and cans. Improvising product contents. Manufacturing and transportation of products. Recycle the cola bottles.

Natural environment factors: This includes the weather conditions and season which affects the consumers consumption. For example it is not common to consume coke zero or a ny other cool beverages during a cool climate. Demographic factors: Consumers choice varies along with their region and the company knows it very well. It offers different flavors and sizes of product as needed by the customers. Facts & future sales trend for Coke Zero: Coke zero is now widely used as a breakfast beverage. Future market share might slightly be changed by the new research results which show that diet sodas are increasing diabetes in consumers. But Coke zero will be declining the content of caffeine in it thus improving the product. Within 4 to 5 years, Coke Zero will have the second position as the largest beverage brand in the market. Coke Zero is expected to overtake Diet Coke soon. (Ad Age) Coke zero is conducting several advertisements which support consumers choice and health; thus indirectly winning the hearts of the consumers. For example one of the Coke Zero advertisements blames

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the scheduling of basketball games and not the consumers who watches it. (the ads of the world)

Strength
Well known Brand Loyal Consumers Best marketing Wide distribution channel

Weakness
Negative publicity of product Dull maket performance in North America High debt levels

SWOT ANALYSIS
Opportunities
More consumption of bottled water Growing demand for beverages Large revenue growth

Threats
Strong competiton with rivals Dependent on bottling partners Scarcity of water

The market is expected to show continuous growth as consumer interest in the future years are shifting towards more trendier and healthy beverages.

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III.

TARGET MARKET

The main target market is athletic or energetic youth starting from age group of 20 to 35yrs. Youth are the favorite consumers of Coke Zero. Its quality, trend, design and taste attract people of all ages. New customers are gained from the existing ones. Most of the consumers are attracted by the brand name and they are loyal. There is no need for the company to focus on the demographic factors since the products are available according to consumers need. This product is suitable for people of all ages. Over the past few decades the Company has been focusing on the secondary target market based on psycho-graphic factors of consumers (i.e. health consciousness). Consumers look for a change or innovative products. Media advertising can thus greatly influence the target market. Especially through television broadcasts and internet websites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Coca-Cola Zero now uses athletes to act for its new campaigns. This is really effective since the fans will love it and will successfully reach out to the target market. (marketing )

Thus we can say that Coke Zero is focusing on the target market using the criterias like Demographic factors, Behavioral factors, Psychographic factors and consumer preferences.

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IV.

MARKETING STRATEGIES

According to the facts and trends which selects the target market the main marketing strategies for the upcoming years are:

Use of more campaigns: Conduct more campaigns to keep the consumers engaged. These activities include marathon, camping, hiking and other games. Some examples are: o Coke Zero Game. o Hypnosis show. (duval guillaume modem) o Free 'Skyfall' Tickets to the most James Bond like people at a train station. o Cool mobile applications with chatting facilities and games. o Coke Zero Short Film Competition 2012. Online advertisements and promotions: These include attracting the consumers using online advertisements and promotions in social networking sites.

More positive publicity: To provide more positive publicity by conducting several outdoor exhibitions and activities.

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Improvising the product: To improve the contents of the product and to increase the flavors of the product.

V.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

The two major competitors of Coke Zero are Pepsi One and Diet Coke. The table below shows the difference between the products. Sources: (coke info) (pepsi world)

COKE ZERO
It is a product of Coca Cola Company which has no calories in it.

PEPSI ONE
It is one of the diet version of pepsi. It is a product of Pepsico.

DIET COKE

It is a another product of Coca Cola Company which has less calories.

Features: 0 calorie, 0g carbs & 0g sugar. 28mg of Caffeine Splenda sweetner Benefits: Has real taste of coca-cola & is a unique brand.

Features: 1 calorie, 0g carbs & 0g sugar. 36mg of Caffeine. Sweetner used is Splenda Benefits: Physcological benefict of not having the word diet on the product.

Features: 0.4 calories, 0g carbs & 0g sugar. 31mg of Caffeine Aspartame Sweetner Benefits: Most Healthy beverage from CocaCola Company.

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Market Share

Coke Diet Coke Pepsi Diet Pepsi Others

Source: (business insider)

SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE (SCA):

COKE ZERO
Coke Zero has got taste of Coca Cola and it has zero calories

PEPSI ONE Consumers are sometimes not comfortable with the term "diet" in their products. Pepsi One is the right product for such consumers. DIET COKE Diet Coke is a low calorie beverage with several flavors according to consumer's choice.

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VI.

POSITIONING

Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Pepsi one has got low calories and high caffeine when compared to Fanta and Sprite. We can also see that Coke and Pepsi have got high caffeine and high calories when compared to Diet Mountain Dew. PERCEPTUAL MAP:
Low Calories

Pepsi One

Diet Mountain Dew

Diet Coke, Coke Zero High Caffeine Less Caffeine

Coke Pepsi

Fanta Sprite

High Calories

Source: (Blog Spot)

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VII.

CONCLUSION

It can be been seen that Coke Zero is widely used by consumers because it is healthy, tasty and popular brand of beverage. Now people are giving more importance to health rather than consuming high calorie food items and beverages. Most of its consumers are loyal and Coke Zero over other diet sodas. Several campaigns and activities launched by Coke Zero have also drawn attention of several youth. Coke Zero is a successful product since it is used worldwide and its target market is always stable.

VIII.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(n.d.). Retrieved from weebly: http://thecocacolacompany-sabrinayang.weebly.com/pest.html Ad Age. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://adage.com/article/global-news/coke-position-leapfrog-coca-colalight-europe/237751/ Against the grain. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://jonmichaeli.com/blog/2009/01/28/coke-zero-vs-pepsione-a-marketers-perspective/ Blog Spot. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://sindhuyoga.blogspot.ca/2009/06/positioning-strategy-of-cocacola-zero.html

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GBMP 502 business insider. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-difference-between-cokeand-pepsi-2012-12 coca cola company. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/economicopportunity coke info. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/ cola market share. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.statisticbrain.com/coca-cola-company-statistics/ cross word nexus. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.crosswordnexus.com/clue/coke-zero-competitor duval guillaume modem. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.duvalguillaume.com/news/2013/coca-colaexplores-taste-under-hypnosis marketing . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.marketingmag.ca/news/marketer-news/coca-cola-zeroturns-athletes-into-actors-in-new-campaign-77780 pepsi world. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pepsiworld.com/ the ads of the world. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://adsoftheworld.com/media/tv/coke_zero_its_not_your_fault_schedules

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