Coca-Cola is one of
the world’s most valued and best-known brands. Created in Atlanta, Georgia on 8
May 1886, the first Coca-Cola was described as "delicious and
refreshing". Not much has changed
since then, and sometimes there’s still nothing better than a Coke to quench
your thirst, or to mix another of your “favourite” drinks if you know what I
mean.
The Coca-Cola contour
bottle, which dates back to 1915, is the most recognised packaging in the world
today, with the formula being trade secret. Through the years the Coca-Cola
brand has come to mean more than just a drink, achieving celebrity status in
many spheres of society featuring commercials with famous people from all over
the world. It represents the power of optimism and positive thinking. It is
"happiness in a bottle", it connects people and it brings out the best
in the human spirit.
Coca-Cola has always
had drinks I’ve enjoyed from Fanta, Sprite and of course Coke itself, I also
enjoy their smaller brands like Valpre water, Minute maid on airplane rides and
the occasional Powerade when I’m tired. Not just their taste though but the
designs that have come along with the Coca-Cola brand. It’s always very
playful, curvy and attention grabbing.
Fanta with an
attitude of playfulness, humour and fun, for example. This positive imagery is
driven by the brand’s fun, playful and wacky personality, which goes
hand-in-hand with the bright colours, bold fruit taste and tingly carbonation.
In Fanta’s world, fun is guaranteed. This type of fun activity is shown a lot
in their marketing and advertising.
The Coca-Cola is everywhere and they got their foothold in
almost every type of drink and events like the Olympics or arenas like South
Africa’s very own Coca-Cola Dome, which hosts many events, concerts, expo and
conventions. Even energy drinks like Powerplay, Beware the Kick! That’s
probably what I like most about Coca-Cola, is that they try to be positive and
share their positive message.
Corporate
Philosophy
To refresh the world
– in mind, body and spirit
To inspire moments of
optimism – through our brands and actions
To create value and
make a difference everywhere we engage
That’s why Coke is
aligned with properties that embody the brand experience. In South Africa,
these "feel-good" platforms include football, music, holidays, food
and summer. Across a range of media channels, you’ll often hear about the
involvement of Coca-Cola in landmark initiatives, like Coca-Cola Football
Stars, My Coke Fest, Coke & Food, and much more. They also declare their
values on their main website, which include principals such as leadership,
passion, innovation and collaboration
Identity
We can see Coca-Cola
constantly convey their company values and accomplish their mission statements
through various mediums. Part of the reason The Coca-Cola Company is so
successful is because their brand identity invades the mind of their consumers
by being daring and unique. The look and feel of the brand adopts an energetic
and lively tone to reflect the business’s core values, shown above in their
philosophy.
A strong brand
identity will differentiate you from your competitors. It’s down to branding
that convinces a consumer to choose one organisation over the other. Businesses need to develop their smaller brands
(Valpre, Minute Maid, Powerade, PowerPlay), and be less worried with their
leading brands (Coke, Fanta, Sprite); there’s only so long that any business
can focus purely on this.
By exploiting various
platforms to send your brand’s values you will strengthen the perceptions of
your business. Visual aspects are part of what keeps a brand powerful and
influential, while consistency across multiple channels can lead to a strong
reputation. Which leads me to the next topic.
Corporate
Image
Coca-Cola has used
emotional design to make their stand look refreshing and exciting, which
reflects their mission statement. Coca-Cola isn’t just simply known, the brand
is known for the right things like refreshment and inspiration, which they have
clearly shown through their iconic design.
If we were to define
Coca-Cola ourselves, wouldn’t you agree that there is a sense of togetherness
and being united and there seems to be a focus on family, culture, music and
happiness. It’s appropriate to say that some of these values and mission
messages are firmly shown through their fun and interactive website. It is
"happiness in a bottle", it connects people and it brings out the
best in the human mind and body.
Coca-Cola is the only
brand in the world to have an entire museum that showcases its history, current
reality and future possibility. The New World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta is open
to the public and is a must see if you are ever in that city.
Changing
Brand Strategy/Image
A company as vast as
Coca-Cola should always listen to consumers and their demand and never feel
comfortable at the top. The recent news is to change or even discontinue the
Sprite brand all together. No one I know wants this to happen and there are
already petitions on Facebook and other social networks to stop this from
happening. If your consumers aren’t satisfied they’ll let you know or move on
to something better, simple as that.
Critics often give
Coca-Cola grief about health issues so my suggestion is to advertise the fact
they do have healthy alternatives to their leading brands like Coke, Sprite and
Fanta. Coca-Cola also has Valpre, Minute Maid, Nestea and Vitamin Water. Most
people don’t know or realise that these are all Coke brands.
