Adults
today grew up with soft drinks. For them, a soft drink has become as common a
form of liquid refreshment as a traditional hot beverage. The same applies, to
an even larger extent, with the youth of today, who are growing up in a soft
drink culture and consequently have greater expectations from an increasingly
sophisticated market place. Australian soft drink sales are currently worth
around $4.4 billion dollars per year. Yet after 113 years, The In
so many countries, ‘Coca-Cola’ is the market leader, often taking second
place in the rankings with its diet formula, ‘diet Coke’ or with ‘Fanta’,
the company’s orange flavoured soft drink. In 1998, How
does Coca-Cola achieve and maintain this position of leadership? First and
foremost, ‘Coca-Cola’ is the most recognised commercial trademark in the
world today. In fact, it is recognised by 94% of the world’s population and is
the most widely recognised word in the English language after ‘OK.’ The
Coca-Cola Company has pursued a winning policy, ensuring Coca-Cola ubiquity,
with powerful global advertising and a highly efficient distribution system.
This strategy is based on the company’s belief that every day, every single
one of the 5.6 billion people who populate this planet is going to get thirsty,
and the onus is on The Coca-Cola Company to ensure
‘Coca-Cola’ is available to satisfy this need. The
dedication of the Coca-Cola distribution system around the world is quite
remarkable and bears testimony to the company’s determination to provide ‘a
pause for refreshment’ at any time, anywhere.
A fine example is the 73-year old Filipino man who refuses to budge from
his selling post in his local town market until he has managed to sell at least
50 cases of ‘Coca-Cola’ every day. A comprehensive network of bottlers
peppered across the globe supplies the distributors, who ensure ‘Coca-Cola’
maintains a worldwide presence. In fact, the Coca-Cola bottling system is the
largest, most widespread production and distribution network in the world. As a
consequence, Coca-Cola has been able to take full advantage, establishing a firm
foothold in new and emerging markets. Today, you can buy a ‘Coca-Cola’
anywhere from Beijing to Delhi, Moscow to Mexico City. On
May 8, 1886, Dr. John S Pemberton, a pharmacist in Atlanta, Georgia, USA mixed
the syrup that became ‘Coca-Cola’. His friend and bookkeeper, Frank M.
Robinson, thinking that the two C’s would ‘look well in advertising’,
suggested the name ‘Coca-Cola’. He wrote the words in his now familiar
Spencerian script, and the world’s most recognised trademark was born. Selling
his creation from Jacob’s pharmacy for five cents a glass, Dr. Pemberton
promoted his new product by distributing thousands of coupons that could be
exchanged for a complimentary sample. In the first year, he spent US$46 on
advertising. Pemberton sold the rights for ‘Coca-Cola’ to Asa G. Candler who
founded The Coca-Cola Company in 1892. Candler was a confirmed believer in the
power of advertising. He fervently plunged into the world of mass-merchandising,
ensuring the ‘Coca-Cola’ trademark was depicted on countless novelty
products such as fans, calendars, clocks, ornate leaded glass chandeliers and
urns. His
efforts were well rewarded. Just three years after the official incorporation of
The Coca-Cola Company in 1892, Candler was proud to announce that
‘Coca-Cola’ was now drunk ‘in every state and territory in the United
States’. A major leap considering that in its first year on the market,
Coca-Cola had sold on average a mere nine drinks per day. Expansion was so
impressive that in 1898, a new headquarters was housed in a large building in
Atlanta. Candler naively described the three-storey building as ‘sufficient
for all our needs for all time to come’. Needless to say, the building was too
small after just a decade. In
1923, Robert Winship Woodruff was elected president of The Coca-Cola Company. A
visionary leader, he placed strong emphasis on product quality, establishing a
‘Quality Drink’ campaign using highly trained service teams. Early
advertising discouraged consumers from calling the product Coke. They urged
“Ask for ‘Coca-Cola’ by its full name; nicknames encourage
substitution.” But people kept asking for Coke and in 1941 the Company gave in
to public demand. That year, the trademark ‘Coke’ received equal prominence
in advertising with ‘Coca-Cola’, and in 1945 Coke was registered as a
trademark. Local
production of ‘Coca-Cola’ began in Sydney in 1937 when The Coca-Cola Company
sent out a survey team to assess the Australian market, and the Company’s
first Australian office was established in Sydney on 26th October 1937.
At first sales were slow and representatives were selling it by the
bottle, but by the end of 1938 demand had reached 100 cases a day. In
May 1938, the Company plant began filling 6.5 oz (185ml) bottles locally. The
wholesale price was 2d per bottle, retailing at 3d (about ‘Coca-Cola’
itself is a drink that needs no introduction. Most interesting however, is the
legendary secrecy that has been built up around the product’s formula. Only a
select few people know the secret formula for ‘Coca-Cola’. The concentrate
is made in a number of centralised production facilities, and is exported to all
countries in the world that bottle ‘Coca-Cola’. The name of the flavour base
included in the secret formula is referred to as 7X. ‘Diet Coke’ was launched in Australia on July 18th, 1983. By the end
of that year it was already the second highest selling carbonated soft drink in
Australia and was already developing its own image in the eyes of consumers. Advertising
for ‘Coca-Cola’ has been acclaimed internationally. The first advertising
theme was introduced in the early 1900’s. The decades since have seen a wealth
of popular themes, which quickly became recognisable around the world including:
‘Things go better with Coke’ (1963), ‘It’s the real thing’
(1942 and 1969), ‘Coke adds life’ (1976), ‘Coke is it’ (1982),
‘Can’t beat the feeling’ at the end of the 1980s, and the ‘Always’
campaign introduced in 1993. This
creativity in advertising was recently exemplified in Australia with the ‘Road
Trip’ commercial (pictured) that shows young men sand surfing to the tune of
Australian artist Paul Kelly’s song ‘Dumb Things’. The
innovative marketing spirit for 1933
marked the introduction of automatic fountain dispensers in which syrup and
carbonated water were mixed as the drink was poured. Recyclable PET
(Polyethylene Terepthalate) packaging was introduced in 1978. The Contour Bottle
Design has been extended across the entire PET bottle range, with the
introduction of 2L contour in 1998. Australia was the first country to have
launched the 390ml size PET single serve bottle. The Contour Bottle Design is a
proprietary shape and is a distinctive symbol that consumers around the world
can immediately identify, and is a unique marketing tool that differentiates
‘Coca-Cola’ from its competitors. The
core ‘Coca-Cola’ brand messages are encapsulated through marketing
communication. Messages like “It’s the real thing”, and “Always
Coca-Cola” reinforce the core elements of the brand. It’s the original,
authentic, irresistibly popular leader. Not only does it quench your thirst with
the unique ‘Coca-Cola’ taste, but it also rejuvenates and inspires,
providing physical and emotional refreshment. The modern-day image of Santa Claus was actually based on an idea from
Coca-Cola! Before ‘Coca-Cola’, pictures of Santa (St Nicholas) portrayed him
in flowing robes.
COCA-COLA
The world’s longest Coca-Cola distribution route is in Australia. To
reach the isolated areas of Karratha and Port Headland, a driver travels 1,093
miles from Perth, Western Australia!
If all the bottles of ‘Coca-Cola’ were loaded on to delivery trucks
travelling bumper to bumper at 88km per hour, it would take more than 3 years
for the trucks to pass a given point!