Coca Cola Life Marketing Campaign

Introduction

Company Background

Coca Cola is a soft drink manufacturing giant, which provides its product across several countries in the world. Coca Cola was invented by Dr. John Stith Pemberton in 1886. An accountant purchased the rights from Coca Cola company to bring the coke to Australian market in 1917. However, it was only in 1937 that the company started producing the soft drink in the country. The first city to see the bottles of coke was Sydney. It took the company several years to bring itself to the position it is now owning. It changed the rejection of its drinks to acceptance and to retention. Now it sells “more than 240 products including regular and low kilojoule soft drinks”. (Journey Australia Staff, Coca Cola)

The Product: Coca Cola Life

As the company website announces, Coca Cola Life is “the Coca-Cola Company’s first reduced-calorie sparkling beverage sweetened with cane sugar and stevia leaf extract”. An 8-oz glass bottle of the product provides only 60 calories to the consumer diet plan. It honors the product to become the cola with about 35 percent lower calorie than the leading colas in the market. Though it is being provided in the same old bottles and cans, but it would own a green label to distinguish it from others. (Journey Staff, Coca Cola, 2014)

The celebrity chosen for the IMC campaign

The celebrity that has been chosen for the integrated marketing campaign for the all new Coca Cola Life is Ricky Ponting. Ricky Thomas Ponting is the ex-captain of the Australian Cricket Team. As the cricket oriented, ‘Espncricinfo.com’ website states, he is “the most uncompromising player of his generation”. An evaluation of his present endorsements provides that he is earning several millions from them alone. Let it be the all-rounder entities like Adidas, or specific product selling Kookaburra Bats everyone has him on their list. Also he is engaged with other products like Valvoline, Rexona Deodrant, etc. However, none of his endorsements till now has been with a soft drink manufacturer. The product, Coca Cola Life is going to target the young adults. And, Australia has seen the highest number of supporters of cricket in the history just after the Indians. These supporters are generally from the adult groups who have been brought up watching Australian Cricket. Therefore it is expected that the rich following of the cricketer, would positively affect the marketing of the product and would help in giving a positive initial start to the product. (RickyPonting.net)

Target Market Segments

The Target Market Segment for the product is adults in the age group of 25-40. As the local marketing director of the company, Lisa Wim announced “This product is for balance seeker”. The recent surveys have brought out high level of obesity observed in the Australian masses. While about three in every adult are obese, one in four children are also suffer. The company already has general coke for the adults who do not wish to compromise on taste and therefore take on to other activities like exercising to keep themselves fit. Then there are those in the adult group who are too conscious about their weights and for them the company is bringing out Diet Coke. Now, there is an adult base between these two extreme groups. These are the adults, who though wish to cut down on their sugar level, also do not want to miss the taste. For these adults is the product Coca Cola Life. While the sugar in this product would be considerably low the taste would also be similar to general coke. (Han, 2015)

Communication objectives of IMC

Coca Cola is already having brand recognition in Australia, therefore the communication objective of this IMC would rather be bringing about brand awareness and product recognition. Therefore the four objectives chosen for IMC would be spreading awareness among Australians about Coca Cola being a consumer brand, promoting the knowledge of the product, earning a substantial base of customers for the product and influencing customer attitudes.

Coca Cola as a Consumer Brand – Coca Cola already has a considerable brand value in the country. But, till now what consumers know is that it is a cold drink producing brand. The IMC for Coca Cola Life would instead target that now the customers start noticing Coca Cola as the consumer brand. (Porter and Claycomb, 1997)

Promoting knowledge about Coca Cola Life – There are several peculiarities in Coca Cola Life, which need to be highlighted to catch the consumer’s attention. Therefore one of the major objectives of the IMC would be promoting that knowledge. (Garwin, 1984)

Earning customer base – Since the overall advertising is solely for the purpose of bringing in customers for the new product, it would also be on the list of objectives of the IMC.

Influencing the customer attitudes – This is the first of its kind product. Therefore a new customer attitude needs to be built. For such a building there would be a requirement of influencing the existing attitude of customers towards the cold drinks from being either healthy or tasteless to healthy and tasty. (Cacioppo, 2000)

Advertising Strategies

There is no doubt in stating that the world is facing the digital outlook, however the adult group that is being targeted is not specifically engaged with social media. Rather this group is diverse with its choices and therefore the advertising strategies would be diverse. The strategies would include –

Story Telling – As Schoultz (2014) states, “Storytelling is growing in marketing importance”. People like the small story telling between the long soaps and movies. Therefore the first advertising strategy would be bringing about a story on how the product was manufactured. It could relate to an adult messed with over sugary general coke and out of taste diet coke. However, it would have to be ensured that a balance is stricken, so that there is no fall in the sales of these products.

Delivering smile – Smile is the thing that attracts almost every individual. And the busy target group of adults who are busy with their work schedules can be attracted to a smile the most. The advertising while being a story would also be something that makes people smile if not laugh. (Raitt, 2012)

Entertainment – Isaac (2015) writes that the three rules that rule the advertising are “entertainment, connection and information”. Therefore one of the advertising strategy that would be used is providing the consumers a level of entertainment, which can attract to the advertisement and then to the product.

Engaging in customers – Irrespective of how old is the advertising industry one theory that always plays is ‘engaging customers’ theory. Therefore the advertisement would also involve an engaging contest, such that an autograph from Ricky Ponting or a dinner with him. This would not only increase interest in the advertisement but also the product.

Media Plan

As already stated the target group of adults is not glued to one specific media vehicle, therefore a mix of it would be used. The vehicles used would include –

  • Television advertising – Dooris (2015) writes, “TV remains the largest medium in terms of ad spend”. And there is not a single company who is paying for it; rather there are a group of successful companies. Further, a large group of adults targeted are well inclined to the television, and storytelling between their favorites TV soaps is only going to help sell more quantities of products.
  • Facebook and Twitter – Though television is still the major pastime of adults, there is the digital media age. And, among the several social media channels, the ones who are the most trending are Facebook and Twitter. Therefore advertising of the product would also be taken along these social media sites.
  • Billboards – Billboards are one of the technologies that are being extensively used by organizations all over Australia. On the same line, Coca Cola would be using them to present their products story. The target adult groups have to necessarily drive home from their work places; there is no alternative except taking residents near the work place. And, while driving one thing that almost everyone face is lack of time pass utility when stuck in traffic jams. In those conditions, the bill boards would pass on Coca Cola’s messages about the product to them. (Garvin, 1984)
  • Traditional Radio and Newspaper advertising – While considering the others, Coca Cola would also not dis-consider the traditional advertising mediums. These mediums would cover the adult groups left uncovered by their modern prospects recognized above.