Sub- Advertising management

MBA 3rd sem

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION

Coca-Cola integrated marketing communication strategy analysis.

This article represents a critical analysis of marketing communications materials used

by Coca-Cola Company, a global beverage manufacturer and retailer based in Georgia,
United States. The Coca Cola Company is a global manufacturer, marketers and seller of
non-alcoholic beverages and syrups based in Atlanta, US. Range of brands owned by the
company includes Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca Cola Zero, Sprite, Fanta, Powerade,
Minute Maid, Aquarius, Dasani, Schweppers and others. This article focuses on
marketing communication materials associated with one of its core products, the Coca-
Cola drink.

Types of Media used to Promote Coca-Cola

Media can be defined as a facilitating institution who suggest appropriate message

within the operative constraints of space (Tyagi and Kumar, 2004, p.341) and is
considered to be one of the most effective advertisement methods among marketing
practitioners. Spurgeon (2008) divides media into two categories: published media and
visual/aural media. Published media includes newspapers, magazines, trade and
professional press, as well as internet. Visual and aural media, on the other hand,
include television, radio, cinema, posters, billboards, and direct mailing.

Various types of media are used in order to advertise the Coca-Cola brand in general,
and Coca-Cola drink in particular.

1.Newspapers

2.magazines

3.Internet is another platform where the various forms of Coca-Cola

4. television.
5.product placement in movies,

6. Posters and billboards

7. Radio

Objectives of Coca-Cola Campaign

Firstly, creating awareness of the company and its products.

Secondly, informing and educating consumers and buyers

Thirdly, encouraging a liking for the companys products over those of the
competitors of the company

Fourthly, encouraging product trial among potential new customers

Fifthly, increasing short-term sales by the means of stimulating action.

Sixthly, reassuring customers and reinforcing their particular desirable buying

behaviour.

Seventhly, generating information from customers

Eighthly, creating sales lead.

Analysis of Images and Words used in Coca-Cola Advertising and Their

Appeal

Coca-Cola marketing campaign materials have been devised according to the messages
they aim to convey, and images, words and sounds featuring within them have been
perfected by marketing professionals in order to serve the same purpose.

Messages sent through images, words and audio materials promoting Coca-Cola can be
classified into three categories: Coca-Cola helps to best satisfy the thirst, drinking Coca-
Cola is stylish, and drinking Coca-Cola is part of a lifestyle.
Marketing initiatives, words, images, audio and video materials Coca-Cola employs tries
to communicate a message that this drink satisfies the thirst in the best possible manner
and partially for this reason Coca-Cola is consumed by millions of people per day.
However, a range of scientists as well as marketing authors such as Bsonera (online,
2009) cast a doubt about the ability of Coca-Cola to satisfy the thirst efficiently, and
argue that thirst for Coca-Cola has been created by company marketing professionals
in the first place.

In other words, thirst created for Coca-Cola is fundamentally different from the natural
thirst for water, and the thirst for Coca-Cola is more a want than a thirst in a virtual
meaning of the word.

Conclusion

Having an effective integrated marketing communications strategy and efficiently to

implement it is one of the necessities for companies in a modern business world without
which the chances for companys long-term growth will be compromised. In order to be
successful the components and all elements of marketing campaigns, including images,
texts audio and video materials need to be effective.

This article has studied the related issues in the case of Coca-Cola Company in general,
and their core products Coca-Cola soft drink in particular. The company relies on media
extensively in order to conduct its integrated marketing communication strategy. The
choice of media used by Coca-Cola includes newspapers, magazines, internet, television,
cinema, radio, posters and billboards.

Marketing campaigns initiated and conducted by Coca-Cola has a range of objectives to

achieve that include encouraging a liking for Coca-Cola, increasing short-term sales,
forming buyer behaviour and others.

The above stated facts reveal the huge amount of potential of marketing in a way that
Coca-Cola Company offers mainly perceived benefits to its customers, however, with the
effective choice of components of integrated marketing communication and their
efficient use the company was able to become one of the most successful multinational
corporations in the world.