Coca-Cola Brand Schema

QUESTION

Consumer Behavior

Assignment Week 2a

Brand Schema (100 points)

The following link is a list of the World’s Most Valuable Brands, http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/3/#tab:rank

Select ONE of the brands from the list. I challenge you to select a brand you may not have a direct relationship with. After selecting your brand, ask 5 friends or family members the following question: “Name the first five things that come to your mind when you hear the name (your selected brand)”.

After completing your short interviews, you will then have a list of 25 words. Create a Schema and Associative Network for the brand you chose similar to the one provided on page 86 of the textbook. You can create your Schema by drawing and scanning it in as a document or create it by using circles, and arrows on a single PowerPoint slide.

Once you have created your schema, construct a 2-3 page paper addressing the brand you chose, why you chose it, who you interviewed and perhaps why you selected those individuals. In addition you will want to provide an analysis of the meaning of the brand and the implications that this meaning can have on the company’s growth. Be sure to include concepts from the chapter readings and/or lectures with your analysis.

Assignment Requirements:

• Write between 750-1000 words using Microsoft Word
• Be sure when answering each question, you incorporate concepts from the chapter and/or lecture to show your understanding of the topic.
• Use font size 12, 1” margins and double spaced.
• Include cover page & reference page (if needed)
• At least 80% of your paper must be original content/writing
• No more than 20% of your content/information may come from references.
• Use at least three references from outside the course material, one reference must be from EBSCOhost. Textbook, lectures and other materials in the course may be used but are not counted toward the three reference requirement.
• Cite all reference material (data, dates, graphs, quotes, paraphrased words, values, etc.) in the paper and list on a reference page in APA style.

References must come from sources such as scholarly journals found in EBSCOhost, CNN, online newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, government websites, etc. Sources such as Wikis, Yahoo Answers, eHow, blogs, etc are not acceptable for academic writing.

ANSWER

Coca-Cola Brand Schema

Introduction

Coca-Cola is a brand name registered by an American multinational beverage company which produces non-alcoholic beverages, beverage syrup, and beverage concentrates. The Coca-Cola Company also carries out marketing, distribution, and sale of its beverages. It is a well-known company, all over the globe, with its first and main beverage, Coca-Cola, being one of the most valuable brands in the world and a household name all over the world. Coca-Cola manufactures syrup concentrate, which is then distributed to almost every part of the world. The concentrate is diluted by availed ratios before bottling and sale. The Coca-Cola Company has grown into a multi-billion dollar firm, acquiring various products having brands that are well-known in the current world market (such as Fanta, Sprite, Thums Up, Dasani, and Coca-Cola Zero).

Coca-Cola is a valuable brand, whose value and global appreciation has made the Coca-Cola Company broaden its distribution network and market strategy to reach every end of the world, with the global demand increasing every day. I chose the Coca-Cola brand because it is one brand that has been successful throughout all its years, putting up proper advertisement and product distribution strategies to beat any competitors (such as Pepsi) in the beverage industry. It has also portrayed business success in very many ways. The Company has over the years withstood any changes in taxation policies in the food sector. It has also been successful at venturing into new markets, especially the African countries constantly affected by civil wars, poverty, political instability, and unfair business regulations.

The Coca-Cola Company portrays business preparedness. A good example is a recent trend in the world food market: a majority of people have recently shown concerns over their health and lifestyle, rejecting sugary foods and junk. The trend was expected to have serious effects on the Coca-Cola products marketability, as many people were switching their preferences towards the bottled water, iced tea and diet colas. The Coca-Cola Company, however, proved its market preparedness with the launching of the Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Light beverages. These beverages contain no sugar and therefore meet all the health recommendation requirements. Coca-Cola maintained its hold on its customers with these new products.

In the creation of this brand schema, I interviewed five members of my extended family to come up with thoughts that could create the schema. My first respondent was an uncle, who works in a supermarket. I was interested in hearing his responses as he is involved in the marketing of a Pepsi product, one of the competitors of the Coca-Cola brand. Another respondent was my cousin, who seemingly prefers bottled water over Colas. My stepbrother was also involved in this research, being a scientist involved with the invention of healthy food supplements. Another uncle of mine seemed to be the right person for interviewing, as he writes blogs about healthy foods and beverages in the world market. Lastly, I interviewed my aunt, who seemed to have knowledge about various Coca-Cola brands that I had never heard of. The interview brought to light many issues affecting Coca-Cola as a brand and the various impressions that the brand creates in its consumers.

In our day to day lives, we experience many products and go through situations and functions that enable us to come into contact with various products in the market. We, therefore, have the tendency of comparing products to our experiences. Our thoughts about a particular product tend to be based on every experience we have had, in relation to the product. For example, a consumer who sees a product on a music video of a certain celebrity will in that instance acquire the impression that the product portrays prestige, and may from that instance love that product. Another consumer will encounter the product in a health-related discussion, portraying the product as maybe having a lot of sugar or too many calories. That consumer, even if a fan of the product, may avoid using it henceforth.

The schema I compiled after my interviews, on the Coca-Cola product, brought to light several issues which would affect the marketability of the product. Most of my respondents have experienced the Coca-Cola products at parties and social gatherings (during festivals and holidays). They, therefore, attribute Coca-Cola to a beverage enjoyed during such festivities. Many consumers would go for Coca-Cola products when preparing for holidays and parties. Others view Coca-Cola as the perfect gift for friends and family, especially during holidays. This notion has enabled Coca-Cola to become a household name all over the world. Another group of consumers who have enjoyed Coca-Cola products and experienced quality, compared to other beverages. These consumers would not go for any other product and therefore play a very vital role in the marketing of Coca-Cola products. They express their confidence and trust in the Coca-Cola products, making their friends want to experience the same quality too. This group of consumers are very important to a company and are the reason for ensuring premium quality in a product.

One of my respondents expressed concern about the nutritional value of the Coca-Cola product. He represents consumers and potential customers in the market having concerns about their health. The increase in the cases of lifestyle diseases and obesity have left many people concerned about what foods they take, and their health implications. Many consumers are shifting to non-sugar based beverages, such as bottled water, as a result of doctors’ warnings on the levels of sugar that an individual should take every day. The Coca-Cola Company, as a result of this trend, introduced new products that meet the recommendations of health specialists, Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Light products. Dasani bottled water and Kinley are also products aimed at satisfying customers with the preference for bottled water. More efforts should, however, be effected to market the new products (including brands such as Thums Up, Fanta and Sprite), as they have not yet come close to the popularity and trust that the Coca-Cola product enjoys.

References

The Wall Street Journal article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/coca-cola-pepsico-try-new-ways-to-combat-soda-slump-1518273099?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=7

CNN article: http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/20/news/companies/cola-wars-coke-pepsi/index.html

The Forbes Magazine article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/09/18/the-amazing-ways-coca-cola-uses-artificial-intelligence-ai-and-big-data-to-drive-success/#2a91f98778d2

EBSCOhost journal: Sustaining success at Coca-Cola (Food & Drink Technology, February         2017).