Coca-Cola as a Marketing-Oriented Organization
This paper examines the Coca-Cola Company as a marketing-oriented organization, analyzing how its strategies center on satisfying customer needs while achieving sustainable profitability. The paper begins with a company profile covering its global reach, product portfolio, and competitive landscape. It then evaluates Coca-Cola's marketing orientation in practice — including customer-relationship management, community sponsorships, and product innovation such as Coke Zero. The marketing planning process is explored through three corporate objectives, and specific strategic goals are assessed using the Ansoff Matrix. The paper concludes with actionable recommendations across three areas: increasing market share, improving customer relations, and expanding into unserved markets.
- Company Profile: Coca-Cola's founding, financials, and global reach
- Marketing Orientation at Coca-Cola: Customer focus, vendor relations, and product innovation
- Marketing Planning Process: Three corporate objectives and sustainable growth strategy
- Increasing Market Share: Product placement, diversification, and consumer communication
- Improving Customer Relations and Expanding into New Markets: Vendor engagement, Ansoff Matrix, and new market targeting
- Marketing Activity Recommendations: Specific action steps across three strategic objectives
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- Grounds abstract marketing concepts in concrete, real-world examples — such as the Coke Zero launch and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics sponsorship — making the analysis immediately credible and accessible.
- Balances descriptive company background with analytical commentary, moving beyond summary to evaluate why certain strategies succeeded or fell short (e.g., the failed New Coke reformulation).
- Applies a recognized strategic framework (the Ansoff Matrix) to generate practical recommendations, demonstrating the ability to connect theory to business practice.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied strategic analysis: it takes a well-known theoretical model (Ansoff's Growth Matrix) and uses it to evaluate a real company's expansion options, selecting the most appropriate quadrant and justifying the choice with reference to Coca-Cola's existing strengths and market position. This technique — framework selection, application, and justification — is central to business and marketing coursework at the undergraduate level.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a logical progression from description to analysis to prescription. It opens with an organizational profile establishing context, moves into an evaluation of current marketing orientation and planning, then drills into specific strategic objectives (market share growth, customer relations, export expansion), and closes with a bulleted recommendations section that mirrors the strategic goals discussed earlier. This structure ensures each recommendation is anchored to prior analysis rather than presented in isolation.
Company Profile
The Coca-Cola Company was founded in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia, by Asa Griggs Candler, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KO. The organization operates in the non-cyclical consumer goods and services sector, specifically within the non-alcoholic beverages industry. In 2007, the company recorded revenues of $28,857 million and net profits of $5,981 million, both representing growth compared to the fiscal year ended December 2006. Its market capitalization at the time stood at $116.93 billion (Reuters, 2008).
The organization is present in more than 200 countries and strives to make a difference in all the communities it serves. A primary aim is to satisfy customers' and consumers' needs and wants, while conducting all operations with the ultimate goal of generating profit. The Coca-Cola Company markets more than 2,800 beverage products, including sparkling and still beverages such as waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees, and sports and energy drinks. Four of the world's top five non-alcoholic sparkling beverage brands belong to the company: Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, and Fanta. Its stated mission is "to refresh the world in body, mind and spirit; to inspire moments of optimism through our brands and our actions; and to create value and make a difference everywhere we engage" (Coca-Cola Company 2007 Annual Report).
The organization operates in a highly dynamic industry. Its primary competitors are the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Nestlé, and its long-standing rival, PepsiCo.
References
Hays, C. L. (2004). The Real Thing: Truth and Power at the Coca-Cola Company. Random House. ISBN 037550628.
Lloyd, M. E. (2008). Coca-Cola CEO: 2nd half '08 to remain challenging in North America. CNN Money. Retrieved July 18, 2008.
Official Website of the Coca-Cola Company. (2008). Retrieved July 18, 2008, from http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com
Ansoff Matrix. (2008). Strategy Vector Model. Retrieved July 18, 2008.
Coca-Cola Co (New York Stock Exchange). (2008). Reuters. Retrieved July 18, 2008.
Coca-Cola — The Coca-Cola Brand and Sponsorship. (2008). Business 2000. Retrieved July 18, 2008.
The Ansoff Matrix — Understanding the Risks of Different Options. (2008). Mind Tools. Retrieved July 18, 2008, from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_90.html
The Coca-Cola Company 2007 Annual Report. Retrieved from
Market Share Growth Strategy. QDI. Retrieved July 18, 2008, from http://qdistrategies.com/qthework/marketshare.html
Create your account
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.