Coca-Cola

1. Positioning

Market Positioning implies to the image that you would like your brand to have in the eyes of a consumer, in relation to all your competition and to determine the segments to target in the market (Belch & Belch 2004, p51). Coca-Cola is well known for their carbonated soft drinks. They have achieved a great deal of success since it first began in 1886 and is now sold in stores, restaurants, vending machines, bars, etc. in more than 200 countries. The major competition that they face is Pepsi and also some small domestic competitors in different countries. The market for carbonated soft drinks has grown a lot and has come a long way. The print ad being analyzed is about the new campaign started by Coca-Cola called �Coke side of Life’. Coca-Cola has started this campaign after losing its market share to Pepsi by a margin for the first time since it started (Bhatnagar P. 2006). The new advertisement is meant to increase brand awareness among consumers and not only to increase sales. (Appendix)

2. Target Audience

The marketing communication process technically starts by recognizing the target market and the audience that the company aims to attract (Belch & Belch 2004, p146). The �Coke side of Life’ campaign is targeted towards the mass audience. The target market would primarily be the teenagers, that do not like the idea of sticking to one brand and stay loyal for their life, unless the brand is perceived to be as a cult brand, so therefore it is not loyalty but an obsession for a brand (Gupta, P. 2005).

3. Communication Objectives

The campaign has clear objectives, optimism and positivity. The growing popularity of music, art and creativity amongst youths has lead to the campaign being colourful and inspiring. Other objectives of the campaign are common in terms of, creating high quality brand image, making consumers believe that they are a part of the campaign rather than them being targeted, making them feel like entering a new era, showing them the positive side of life, achieving sales objectives and to become market leaders once again by increasing market share (BIMA Awards, 2006).

4. Major Selling Idea

The major part of any creative strategy is to determine the basic motive that will become the major selling idea of any ad campaign (Belch & Belch 2004, p255). It is important to develop a strong memorable identity, or brand image. It is clear through the colours and the centre positioning of the bottle that Coca-Cola has created a vibrant and energetic image to uplift consumers morale. Coca-Cola has expressed itself to be different from the rest.

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