Ch. 11 - Developing and Managing Products

Developing new products is one of the many ways large companies stay successful and current. Coca Cola is known for constantly coming up with new products. Today, the company owns and markets over 450 products worldwide ranging from carbonated beverages to beauty creams. Creating new products allows companies to attract new customers as well as adapting to changing times. Creating a new product is a big process for a lot of companies and goes through many stages. For product development, Coca Cola uses the stage-gate model. A stage is a period of work and a gate is the decision making point. The process of the stage-gate model follows creating an idea, building a business case, development, preparation and marketing.

 

The duties of product managers are to market and develop products. Product managers assess how a company can remain competitive as well as meeting the interests of consumers. Their job requires them to show consumers the benefits of the products they are selling. The decisions of product managers affect the success of the business. Coca Cola has remained the leading brand of carbonated beverages due to successful product managing.

 

ch. 16-Promotional Planning for Competitive Advantage

In order to remain competitive, Coca Cola is constantly coming up with new ways to keep and attract customers. In order to remain the leading company for carbonated beverages, Coca Cola has remained competitive through special promotions, advertisements, sponsors and going global. Over the course of the year, Coca Cola has special promotions that motivate buyers. Promos such as 'mycoke rewards' give customers prizes for entering the codes marked under the cap of certain drinks. Coca Cola also offer discounted prices on beverages at certain times of the year. Finally, the company gives coupons for 'Six Flags' amusement park on cans of Coca Cola during the summer which is obtained upon purchasing.

Creating Advertisements is  another promotional strategy that coke uses, in their advertisements they attempt show people why they should choose Coca Cola as well as putting the brand 'out there' to become well known. Coca Cola sponsors shows like american Idol to attract the fans of the show to choose their products instead of their competitor Pepsi. The company plans to promote their products worldwide by expanding to different countries. Currently, Coca Cola is sold in many big cities around the world and are trying to expand further to smaller and  underdeveloped countries and cities.

Ch. 10 - Product Concepts

Coca Cola has a very diverse product line. they carry different types of carbonbated beverages such as Fanta, diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, Sprite and many more. they also have a product mix, which means that they carry other products aside from carbonated beverages such as Dasani water, Minute Maid fruit juice, and Nestea ice tea. Coca Cola products are sold locally in the United States which classifies it as a convenience item. Convenience products are sold at low prices and are generally sold locally.


Typically, Coca Cola  has packaging uniformity which means that the packages have a common look but individual image. Coca Cola products have an hourglass bottle shape that is similar to the original Coca Cola shape. The bottles are Shaped the Same however, their designs are different. The uniform bottle Shape is used to distinguish Coca Cola Products from other products as well as making it known that the other Beverages are from the Coca Cola company as well.

Ch. 18 - Sales Promotion and Personal Selling

In order to promote sales, Coca Cola advertises everywhere from billboards to magazines to television commercials. Another way that Coca Cola promotes sales is through sponsoring television shows such as American idol and also by creating "mycoke rewards". "mycoke rewards" allows customers to have a point system in which they can win prizes after accumulating a certain number of points. The company uses the rewards as a way to get people to drink more coke and stay loyal to the company. Sales promotions have proven to be effective due to Coca Cola being the number one company selling company of carbonated beverages.



Recently, Coca Cola has been using a soda fountain that gives customers a larger selection of beverages to choose from called "Coca Cola Freestyle". The different selections are other beverages that the Coca Cola company makes.
 The soda fountain promotes sales because it is convenient for customers to get what they want, when they want. Many fast food chains such as McDonald's and Checkers have replaced traditional soda fountains for the new ones which also makes it easier for the company to reach their target market.

Ch. 17 - Advertising and Public relations

Coca Cola is known for its heavy advertising. Coca Cola is advertised in newspapers, magazines, television and the Internet. Heavy advertising has proven to be effective in increasing the sale of products  Which will ultimately yield bigger profits. A major factor in advertising is making sure that. You reach your target market. Coca Cola targets mostly young people. The company reaches out                                                                                             to their target market by featuring celebrities in their advertisements that young people look up to.

To attract sports fans Coca Cola used basketball legend Michael Jordan in magazines to advertise For them.  Channels such as Fox 5 is a major advertising station for Coca Cola. American Idol promotes Coca Cola rigorously throughout the show, this is beneficial to Coca Cola being that American Idol has over 20 Million viewers. The more people see a product, the more likely they are to buy the product because they think its good.

ch.15 - Retailing

Coca Cola is sold in most stores across the USA. You can find the beverage at a local convenient store or at fancy restaurants. At a convenient store you can find Coca Cola displayed more abundantly than other beverages. It is also displayed along side related products such as Diet coke and other drinks that are made by Coca Cola such as Fanta and Dr.Pepper.

In super markets,  Coca Cola also has a bigger Section of  beverages than other soft drinks. It is displayed at the front of the store as well as in the soda aisle. Coca Cola is also displayed at a higher level on the shelves than less popular Brands. Coca Cola has a better advantage  Over other drinks because it catches the customer at an eye level.