Coca-Cola Vs Pepsi

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction

Coca-Cola and Pepsi are the two greatest competitors in the soft drink industry. A brief introduction and history of the two companies will provide a basis for understanding how the companies have come to be where they are today and how they run their companies. The company structure of each will also be briefly explained to provide an understanding of how management style is impacted.

Marketing and Advertising

The marketing skills that these companies possess are the reason both Coca-Cola and Pepsi are so successful. Our research will provide an in-depth look at the marketing tactics that these companies use and how they compare to each other. The use of new technologies, forecasting, advertising, and political environments will all be included when determining what affects the marketing strategies the companies choose to take.

SWOT Analysis

To gain a better understanding of each company, we determined some strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of each company. Each company has brand recognition on their sides and threats such as foreign, political, and economic situations in countries that Coke and Pepsi are established in. Comparing these aspects of each company will provide a good idea of future successes.

Conclusion

After a detailed look into Pepsi and Coke’s tactics for managing and successfully running their businesses, a summary of how each company manages its resources ties the research together and compares the overall management of the two companies.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Coca-Cola Company is the world's leading manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, with world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Coca-Cola, the Company's flagship brand, and over 230 other soft-drink brands are manufactured and sold by the Coca-Cola Company and its subsidiaries in nearly 200 countries around the world. The Company and its subsidiaries employ nearly 31,000 people around the world. Dr. John Stith Pemberton first introduced Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia in 1886. The pharmacist concocted a caramel-colored syrup in a three-legged brass kettle in his backyard.

The Coca-Cola Company’s operating management structure consists of five geographic groups plus The Minute Maid Company. Other Coke products are: Barq’s Root Beer, Cherry Coke, Powerade, Citra, Mello Yello, Mr. Pibb, Dasani, and Surge.

Pepsi-Cola Company, headquartered in Purchase, New York, is the global beverage division of PepsiCo, Inc. Caleb Bradham, a New Bern, N.C. druggist who first formulated the beverage, founded Pepsi-Cola at the turn of the century. Today, Brand Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi-One, Mountain Dew, Slice, and Mug account for nearly one-third of total soft drink sales in the United States, a consumer market totaling about $56 billion. The Pepsi-Cola Company is the world’s second largest beverage company. Pepsi-Cola beverages are available in about 170 countries. Pepsi also makes and markets ready-to-drink iced teas and coffees via joint ventures with Lipton and Starbucks.

PepsiCo, Inc. consists of: Pepsi-Cola Company, Frito-Lay Company, and Tropicana Products, Inc., the world's largest marketer and producer of branded juices. Donald M. Kendell, President and CEO of Pepsi-Cola, and Herman W. Lay, Chairman and CEO of Frito-Lay founded PepsiCo, Inc. in 1965 through the merger