Chapter 4: The Marketing Environment

          126 Years of business, Thats what the Coca-Cola Company stands for. Consistency, social responsibility, great ethics, great product and great marketing all make up for this Corporation's success and they have no plan of slowing it down for years to come. 

       As I've mentioned before, the Coca-Cola Company has over 3,000 different beverages to their company name and with delivering their goods to hundreds of countries throughout the world they are a global leader in the beverage industry. Amazing and well-thought out Marketing has enabled them to manage to appeal to all sorts of audience in the world. No matter what culture. 

     Their retail market is very diverse and varies from within large restaurant and retail chains in the U.S. to small grocery and supermarkets in third world countries. 

     The consumer market of the Coca-Cola Company has plays a vital role because it appeals to everyone. They do not discriminate Income, Age, Ethnicity or even location when they attempt to connect to their loyal customers. Around the entire world, people are drinking Coca-Cola, and you should too.

     The following is a video of young man who decided to travel around the world for an entire year. He thought that because Coca-Cola is such a global-recognized company, that it would be cool to collect a Coca-Cola beverage from every country he traveled into. Enjoy.

Chapter 3: Ethics and Social Responsibility

     The Coca-Cola Company is a great example of a corporation that engages in social responsibility, not just for the well-being of their company but also for the well being of the world. I visited the companies website and noticed they had their beliefs set out in clear detail. They encourage their customers to help them believe in a better world, a better company and to believe in their report system.
  
     The Coca-Cola Company is no stranger to bad health acquisitions but yet they make it their priority to address as many health issues as possible. Health issues that include obesity, diabetes, tooth decay, etc. They have so much criticism that theres a Wikipedia page just for "the Criticism of Coca-Cola". There aren't many companies that would be willing to take on these blames while having to respond in a professional manner but that is exactly what the Coca-Cola Company does. They believe criticism could only help them improve their product and further their success.

"We at The Coca-Cola Company are working hard to help. We are bringing the hearts and know-how of our system’s 700,000 people to bear on the most critical issues facing our Company and the world: Water stewardship. Energy management and climate protection. Packaging and waste reduction. And the work of building communities that are healthy in every respect.

Helping to meet these challenges is necessary for our business. It is also the right thing to do. 

Sometimes our progress is slow. And we are not always perfect."

In 1940, the Coca-Cola Company introduced "Coca-Cola Sabco"  (or CCS) , who are the companies Bottlers. CCS has moved towards more efficient bottling-techniques by designing consumer-preffered, resource efficient packaging. The Coca-Cola Company plans to advance their zero-waste vision by eliminating their waste to landfills and using recycled/more renewable materials for their beverages.

      The Coca-Cola Company have made many donations of time, materials and money to many other organizations. Organizations that included the Special Olympics, the Coca-Cola Cup, Go Kids, 1000 Schools in Motion and many others. The awesome thing about this is that these donations don't just take place in the United States but also all around the world, in countries like New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Egypt, New England and countries in the Caribbean. Whether its for youth centers, fund raisers or the need of equipment for school, the Coca-Cola Company has covered it all. Many companies in these days are giving back to their communities and this is going to continue to be very essential in the growth in corporations. 

  

Chapter 2: Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

One of the single and most important aspects of Business and Marketing is Strategic Planning. It is very critical to a companies success and if done wrong way, it can be even more critical to a companies downfall. It involves planning where it is you want your company to one day be and what it is that's going to take you there. A lot of us find out something new everyday of our lives so its no question that Strategic Planning needs
mission, vision and outside the box thinking!

The Coca-Cola Company is no stranger to bad-judgement and with more people taking the - "I want to eat healthier" approach, the companies sales have not seen much of an increase as expected. But with times like these, comes adjustment and Strategic Planning. With wanting to stay on top of the competition, Coca-Cola has introduced lines of beverages that have less sugar or none at all. Take 'Diet Coke' for example, people love that stuff! It was introduced in 1982 because Coca-Cola wanted their company to market a more "Healthy Conscious" approach and statistics have shown that it has worked. After all, number's don't lie folks.. just look at the 2000 U.S. Presidential election. I'm joking.

Coca-Cola is the worlds most recognizable brand and as I've mentioned before, they deliver over 3,500 to over 200 countries around the world. And don't be mistaken because they don't just deliver soft drinks but also are a large provider for water (Dasani), juice (Minute Maid), sports drinks (Vitamin Water & Powerade), milk and even coffee (Nestea & Georgia)! Everyday this company explores new ways to "create and share beverages to energize, relax, nourish, hydrate and enjoy." Here is something Coca-Cola is truly best at and that is staying ahead of the competition with great marketing and Strategic Planning of their company.

Chapter 1: History & Mission Statement

Refreshing our lives since 1886. 

     The Coca-Cola beverage we are all so familiar with was invented in Columbus, Georgia by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton. He was originally attempting to create a cure for his morphine addiction. That idea led him to create an alcoholic beverage which he named "Pemberton's French Wine Coca". It was advertised to be beneficial for - "ladies, and all those whose sedentary employment causes nervous prostration, irregularities of the stomach, bowels and kidneys, who require a nerve tonic and a pure, delightful diffusible stimulant." 

     But John Pemberton wasn't the reason why this company grew tremendously at such an accelerated rate. Pemberton sold the new Coca-Cola formula in 1889 to Asa Candler. I'm sure Pemberton had no idea his invention would become a company of its own and eventually transform into the multi-billion dollar industry that it is today. Asa Candler would go on to incorporate the company in 1892 and in 1894, Coca-Cola was being sold in bottles for the first time. During World War II, bottling plants were already set up in Europe, Africa and the Pacific Islands. The Coca-Cola Company would go on to make many acquisitions in the 20th century, acquisitions which has now led them to be the sole owner of over 500 different brands in over 200 different countries! They now are believed to serve 1.7 billion servings each day! Thats over 20% of the world population drinking Coca-Cola each day!

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY MISSION STATEMENT:

(AS FOUND ON THEIR COMPANY WEBSITE - http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/mission_vision_values.html )

Mission:
     The Companies Roadmap starts with our mission, which is enduring. It declares our purpose as a company and serves as the standard against which we weigh our actions and decisions.

• To refresh the world...
• To inspire moments of optimism and happiness...
• To create value and make a difference.

Vision:
     The Companies vision serves as the framework for our Roadmap and guides every aspect of our business by describing what we need to accomplish in order to continue achieving sustainable, quality growth.

• People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be.
• Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people's desires and needs.
• Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value.
• Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities.
• Profit: Maximize long-term return to share owners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities.
• Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization.