Chapter 11: Developing and Managing Products

     In 1886, Coca-Cola sold for 5 cents per glass. It was just an experiment and sold for treatment for morphine addicts. Coca-Cola has grown throughout the years and has hit a peak where the company almost monopolizes the competition. It's the most famous beverage in the world. And even when the company has over 3,000 different beverages in over 200 different countries, consumers still believe that the Coca-Cola is the companies best product and the one they love the most. 

   The Coca-Cola bottle has such an elegant silhouette, its difficult to not love everything about it. Theres a different taste that comes from drinking Coca-Cola out of a glass bottle then drinking it from anything else, it just feels right. And that is what Coca-Cola Company wants. They represent timeless passions and want you to know that a holiday isn't a holiday without a Coca-Cola nearby. 

     

   But even with the success of Coca-Cola, the company still wanted to explore different fields of beverages, like Diet beverages for example. Beverages that would be low on sugar, calories and saturated fat. So that's exactly what they did, in  2005 the Coca-Cola Company introduced Coke Zero, a beverage that just yells -- "How about a little less fat and sugar with the SAME taste you all, folks?!"

Coke Zero is now available in 130 different countries and has sold billions of cases since its release.

With more and more people being stirred away from Coca-Cola, the company had to make moves in order to maintain their sales. They wanted a product that would be good for everyone and people wouldn't have to think twice about drinking it or not. It had to be a common beverage. What's a beverage most people reach for when they're at the market? Juice. The Minute Maid line was introduced for that purpose and also has many different lines of beverages under its belts. Flavors like Grape, Orange, Strawberry, Apple, Pomegranate, etc.. all also come in different options like "100%" or "Pulp/No Pulp" for the Orange Juice. Minute Maid is a big reason why the Coca-Cola Company has been able to remain at top.

     A few chapters ago, I mentioned the "Coca-Cola Freestyle" product which is a beverage machine that serves over 100 different Coca-Cola Products. They have been placed around NYC and other states in the country. It is another example of the Coca-Cola Companies ability to develop and manage new products in a way where they appeal to the audience. Whether its with sales promotion or personal selling, the Coca-Cola Company always makes suers they are staying one step ahead of everyone else. 

Chapter 16: Integrated Marketing Communications

    Countless numbers of companies have now explored the world of Social Networks. Whether it may be Facebook, Twitter or Google+, companies now see the importance of communicating with their customers and the younger generations. The Coca-Cola Company is no different. With over 54 million subscribers on Facebook, 2 million on Twitter, and 600,000 on Google+; the Coca-Cola Company continue their growth through online social media that have been developed to help empower their associates to participate in the new frontier of marketing and communications, represent the Company, and share the optimistic and positive spirits of the Coca-Cola brands. 

The vision of the Company to achieve growth online and offline is guided by certain shared values that the Coca-Cola Company live by as an organization and as individuals:

• LEADERSHIP : The courage to shape a better future
• COLLABORATION : Leveraging their collective genius
• INTEGRITY : Being real
• ACCOUNTABILITY : Recognizing that if it is to be, it's up to me
• PASSION : Showing commitment in heart and mind
• DIVERSITY : Being as inclusive as their brands
• QUALITY : Ensuring what they do, they do well.

  

That's Wendy Clark, she's the senior vice president of Integrated Marketing Communications and Capabilities of the Coca-Cola Company. Her role is to look over global design, marketing communications, media, sponsorships, interactive marketing and marketing of the Companies "Live Positively" platform. Since joining in 2008, Clark has done a lot already for the Company but probably her most known achievement of her and her team was the launch of the "Open Happiness" campaign, which now deployed in markets representing 100% of Coca-Cola's volume.The main idea of that campaign was to encourage people to stop every once in a while and refresh themselves with a Coca-Cola beverage. That way they'd be able to enjoy and share the happiness that it brings them. Wendy Clark and her team carry a "Fan-first" mentality that helps them come to more of an understand of digital media and it's importance in marketing now.

Coca-Cola run's many promotions year-in and year-out. They give away tickets, they run sweepstakes and even fly people across the world. Their forms of promotion includes Television, Radio, Bottle designs, news papers, magazines, bus stops, bill boards and everything else you can think of. During the holidays, its almost impossible to not see some sort of promotion by one of the worlds most recognized companies, Coca-Cola.

 

Chapter 10: Product Concepts

     I always saw Coca-Cola's product & marketing concept to be a very simple, yet solid and consistent one. The concept of their products usually are more based for the younger generations because Coca-Cola wants to represent youth and energy in their products. Their products come in classic packaging, the Coca-Cola can and elegant bottle shape are both recognized globally and when you see a soda can or bottle, you usually think of Coca-Cola. I also think that we as consumers would all like a product that both represents us as people and where we are from, what we enjoy as well as our character. The Coca-Cola Company always finds a way to relate their advertising to us and make us feel like its the right thing to drink a Coca-Cola. Although the Coca-Cola Company mainly focuses on the younger generation, they do also try to market the older generations with certain advertising and by paying for their commercials which show how classic their signature beverage Coca-Cola is.

Over 100 years of service at your door. 

     Energy drinks, coffee, fruit juice, soft drinks, water, teas and sport drinks. 3,500 products are available in over 200 different countries. These are all products made for and sold to satisfy an  individuals personal wants. If you'd like a coffee with little/no sugar; a soft drink with less than 800 calories; or maybe you quench some sparkling water instead of spring water. Whatever kind of beverage it is that you'd like, the Coca-Cola Company offers it. 

     Something I really like about Coca-Cola is that they aren't only about making great drinks but they also want to contribute to communities all around the world. They intend on doing so through commitments to education, health, wellness and diversity also. The Coca-Cola Company never forgets how important it is to have friends around the globe and never forgets their social responsibility as one of the biggest companies in all the world. 

It is very important to have an idea of your products concept when marketing it. I say this because product concept comes down to the owner thinking on how to convince the consumer to buy the product because of its quality, the affordable price and its benefits. One example is the beloved "Coke-Zero" which represents a re-mixed version of the original "Coca-Cola" but is advertised as a healthier option for the customers. The objective of product concept is to increase sales, product efficiency and to continue building relationships with both old and new customers.

Coca-Cola 'targeted' by China in hack ahead of acquisition attempt

Bloomberg has reported that Chinese hackers have been blamed for infiltrating confidential systems within Coca-Cola for more than a month.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20204671