What is the Coca-Cola's international strategy?

Consumers will have different experiences, given their personal

references and location. The Coca-Cola Company is adjusting its approach so that it can tap into these differences and provide the appropriate marketing activities and beverages to connect with consumers. Its "think local, act local" approach to marketing allowed adopting communications to fit local circumstances. Coca-Cola Company wants to provide consumers with beverages to fit their different life styles and life stages. CEO Douglas Daft said "In the past Coke succeeded as it appealed to global commonalties. In the future there is a need to understand and appeal to local differences". - Firstly he replaced practically all of Coca-Cola's senior management in Europe with local executives. By placing more responsibility and accountability in the hands of local managers who are closest to the local consumer. "Coca Cola flourishes when our people are allowed to use their insight to build the business in ways best suited to their local culture and business conditions". Efforts were made to give freedom to local managers to act according to the local conditions. Draft believed that it was essential to build the core of the business on the strength of the brand. Also it was important to relate to people. In Brussels, hostesses go to discos and hand out free Coke to teenagers having alcohol to demonstrate pleasure of a Coke break. This was possible by the insights of local marketing managers of Coke who knew that Belgians are party animals management in Atlanta would not know this. This is a good example of how the new localization was working. Coca-Cola Incorporated What is Coca-Colas International Strategy? Strategy is a scope of an organization over a long-term period of time,

identifying the potential market a company will invest and identifying the external environmental factors that can affect the business. The management will make it sure that these strategies will be carried out as planned in order to attain its goals. The very common goal of an organization is to gain customer satisfaction since it is the customers who bring profit to the company. Coca-Cola is one company that is operating in the global market. Coca-Cola happens to be the largest and most profitable soft-drink company in the world. It aims to be the first in the world market. Its strategy has always been to take risks in the emerging markets. Taking risks is one of the crucial, yet most important moves of any big organization. The result of taking risk can either be positive or negative, depends on how it is applied. But for Coca-Cola, the management always wants to be the first in new markets to gain competitive advantage. And even though the competition is so tough, Coca-Cola still wins market share. The companys another strategy in sustaining its brand is consists of 3 Ps: Persuasive Penetration in the marketplace, offering the best Price relative to value, and making it the Preferred beverage everywhere. Furthermore, Coca-Cola is always looking for ways of building relevant value into Coke and all its products by differentiating them from other brand, making them unique. Coca-Cola is also reigniting its symbols that encapsulate the essence of its brand the dynamic ribbon device, the contour bottle for coke, the color red, and the dimpled bottle for Sprite.

What competitive advantages does Coca-Cola have over its major rival, Pepsi CO? Competition happens anywhere, no matter what type of business that is competitors are always around. Coca-Colas major competitor - Pepsi Co has three segments: Beverages, snack foods and restaurants. Pepsis growth has been fueled by the success of its beverages and snack- foods

segments. To increase international market share, Pepsi is planning to launch a project called Project Blue ' which calls for the revamping of manufacturing and distribution to get a consistent tasting drink around the globe. Additionally, Pepsi is planning to establish new freshness standards and quality controls. But in the current market Coca-Cola outperforms Pepsi in the ratio of 3:1. Coca-Colas competitive advantage over Pepsi is that since 1989 up to 1994, its market share is greater than that of Pepsi. Coca-Cola has established its position in the foreign market for over a decade. It has also invested heavily in bottling operations to maximize its efficiency of production and marketing. They always aim to get involved in the bottling business to fuel continued growth.

What are the pros and cons of Coca-Cola's investing further in Indias market? Barriers to entry: When it comes to distribution, Coca-Cola has one of the most extensive footprints. Its beverages are sold in more than 200 countries through bottling operations, partners, wholesalers and retailers. Its actually the worlds largest beverage distribution system, which accounts for 1.7 billion servings every day. Brand portfolio: The Company has more than 500 beverage brands, with four of the five top in the world, including Fanta, Sprite and of course, Diet Coke. But Coca-Cola continues to invest huge sums into marketing, and it has also been getting more aggressive with New Media like Facebook and Twitter. Emerging markets: Coca-Cola is positioned nicely to benefit from the

growth in countries like China, Russia and Mexico. There have also been investments in Africa. The good news is that Coca-Cola has the cash flows and expertise to make the right moves in these markets. Consider that

in the latest quarter, volume increased by a substantial 21% in China. There were also strong gains in Latin America. North America: This segment continues to be a drag. In fact, it looks like the weakness will continue because of the high unemployment in the U.S. Commodities costs: There is likely to be continued pressure from rising input costs, such as from sugar and cocoa. Interestingly enough, CocaColas purchase of its major bottler in the U.S. will likely exaggerate this. The company was able to increase overall prices about 1% to 2% in the quarter. And it hopes to increase this to 3% to 4% in the second half of the year. However, there is certainly a risk that consumers will reduce their purchases. Consumer changes: There has been a general move away from carbonated beverages in North America because of the health concerns. The trend has been gradual but it is an issue. At the same time, there is a risk of the same problems in other countries.

What are the pros and cons of Coca-colas investing further in Chinas market? Coca-Cola is its enjoyment of cost advantage (1995) brought about by its more than a century of experience in the industry. Its wide experience in operating as a multinational company has also helped the firm determine best practices in market entry and marketing in the international market. In China, the company has reaped the cost advantage of engaging in joint ventures with local companies for its bottling operations and beverage concentrate production instead of establishing a subsidiary company in the country. By entering into joint ventures, the company saves on the establishment of the building infrastructure, expenses for legal obligations required for establishing a subsidiary in China, expenses on human resources, and other necessary expenses in setting up a branch in the

local market. In entering the Chinese market, most of the investments made by Coca-Cola were directed towards the technological advancement of the facilities and equipment covered by the joint venture as well as the integration of quality standards in its operations. With regard to marketing, the company has also saved on the advertising and promotional expenses involved in achieving market acceptability of the company, its products and the company brand and logo since it takes advantage of the market links of its partners in the joint venture. Coca-Cola is part of a highly competitive industry causing the firm to experience several weaknesses in its operations. First weakness is the companys lack of exclusive or advantageous access to resources ( 2001). As mentioned earlier, soft drink production involves large amounts of sugar. For some decades prior to the 1991 reforms, Coca-Cola had limited access to sugar from the domestic market due to the controlled industrial use of the raw ingredient. Control means that the company had to compete with other sugar-utilising firms to gain their share of the ingredient. With the removal of control over the industrial purchase and use of sugar, production increased. However, this environment still involves strong competition since all the firms belonging to the various sugar-utilising industries have heightened their production levels necessitating the acquisition of larger volumes of sugar and other raw ingredients. This means that Coca-Cola has to gear up for a fiercer competition with the relaxation of the regulation on the industrial use of raw materials than during the period of regulated acquisition and utilisation.