History and Features of The Brand Coca-cola

Introduction

Claiming the rights to an individual's thoughts, feelings and intentions, induce a fine line between ownership and influence. Do brands own us, do we allow them to, or are they simply trying to influence our humanised nature in any way they deem fit.

Where do we go from here, are the days of subliminal messages over or are these massive companies still attempting to brainwash and set up our every move. Understanding this concept will allow us to reveal why brands hold such a big “market share” within our society and why it is so important to study them and their socio-economic impact. Psychologically the brand shares impact from the beverage we choose to drink to the rivalry produced subconsciously(Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi). Let us dive into one of the most reputable amongst the controversy that is a “brand”, in the world.

“Did you know? The first servings of Coca‑Cola were sold for 5 cents per glass. During the first year, sales averaged a modest nine servings per day in Atlanta. Today, daily servings of Coca‑Cola beverages are estimated at 1.9 billion globally.” (World of Coca-Cola, 2018)

Coca-Cola Company

Often accused of being a vague question to begin with, ‘what is the definition of a brand’ is both simple yet broad as a whole, some experts have of course their own take on the meaning, experts such as Seth Godin who has a great definition of a brand. "A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer's decision to choose one product or service over another." (S. Godin 2010).

This of course is more of an experienced based definition as opposed to a general one. A more general definition follows more along the lines of: “A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors” (Du Toit et al, 2013).

Example: Nike(name) is represented most effectively and generally by the “swoosh” symbol printed on all of their pieces of clothing, this symbol/logo is easily identifiable and helps to distinguish their product from the rest.

A brand is the perception of a company, product or service, If a brand is a perception, then branding is the creation of a perception. A Brand creates confidence in a product as well as consistency allowing consumers to quickly and effortlessly identify the quality of the product by the name or mark.

Why Coca-Cola?

Coca-Cola is the most popular as well as holds the accolade of most sold soft drink in history, as well as one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Not only that but if you are drinking it, it is probably owned by the holding company Coca-Cola.

The Coca-Cola Company, one of the most valuable and recognizable brands across the globe, is the world’s largest beverage company. “It offers nearly 4,000 drink options through its 500 different brands, 21 of which generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. The company posted 2016 revenues of more than $40 billion.” (Team, 2018)

These figures accumulate to the sum of a beverage company that dominates the industry(not without threats/competition of course). Along with this, Coca-Cola owns and markets four of the world’s top five sparkling non-alcoholic beverages namely: Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite. It makes and distributes it’s beverages through company-owned or controlled bottling plants and distributors but also contracts independent bottling partners, wholesalers, and retailers. This structure makes up the world’s largest beverage distribution system.

Owning a share in a company like this does not come without a hefty expense, even some of the richest people in the world can only afford to own 9%, further illustrating why The Coca-Cola Company is the ultimate brand when it comes to FMCG(Fast Moving Consumer Goods) “Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway own a 9% stake in Coca-Cola.” (Team, 2018)

In essence “why Coca-Cola” shouldn’t be the question at hand, rather “why not Coca-Cola”. Hegemony. “Did you know? One of the most famous advertising slogans in Coca‑Cola history “The Pause That Refreshes” first appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in 1929. The theme of pausing with Coca‑Cola refreshment is still echoed in today’s marketing.” (World of Coca-Cola, 2018)

What Makes Coca-Cola a Brand?

What is it that constitutes Coca-Cola as a brand, at its core Coca-Cola’s brand is a product which amongst many things has, characteristics like their name and symbol which differentiate them from others in the market. This is what makes their product identifiable and differentiable. This we can view by the represented tangible elements that create a visual, auditory and olfactory brand identity. These tangible elements consist of the following: Brands consist of two parts: Brand name: Part of the brand that can be spoken; Example: Coca Cola. Brand mark: Part of the brand which can be recognised, but cannot be spoken; Consists of symbols, figures, a design or distinctive

colouring or lettering; Example: Iconic Spencerian script font(Coke) used against the red background. The brand of Coca-Cola also resides in the shape and iconic nature of it’s world famous bottle/s. The new Coca‑Cola bottle was so distinctive it could be recognized in the dark and it effectively set the brand apart from competition. The contoured Coca‑Cola bottle was trademarked in 1977. Over the years, the Coca‑Cola bottle has been inspiration for artists across the globe — a sampling of which can be viewed at World of Coca‑Cola in Atlanta.

Fast forward to the 1970s when Coca‑Cola’s advertising started to reflect a brand connected with fun, friends and good times. Many fondly remember the 1971 Hilltop Singers performing “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”, or the 1979 “Have a Coke and a Smile” commercial featuring a young fan giving Pittsburgh Steeler, “Mean Joe Greene”, a refreshing bottle of Coca‑Cola.

Branding Elements

The seven types of brand elements are used to enhance brand awareness, to enable consumers to form positive, strong brand associations and to bring forth positive perceptions about a brand.

Seven types of Brand Elements consist of the following: Brand names, logos and symbols, characters,spokespeople, slogans, jingles, packaging. In this essay we will be referring to all seven initially, then moving onto a more detailed description of four of the elements as they attain to our chosen brand ‘Coca-Cola’.

• Brand Names- for instance, Coca-Cola representing the name of the organisation
• Logos and symbols- for instance, the white Spencerian script font of ‘Coca-Cola’ on the red background is used to identify Coca-Cola company.
• Characters- for instance, the Michelin Man (Tyre company).
• Spokespeople- for instance, Steve Jobs will always be associated with Apple.
• Slogans- for instance, “taste the rainbow”, associated with Skittles.
• Jingles- for instance, ‘Five Dollar Foot Long’ song used in SUBWAY advertisements.
• Packaging- for instance, the unique shape of the Coca-Cola Bottle. (Du Toit et al, 2013)

Forward thinking for these elements are subject to an initial four that I will be using to frame the methodology behind the types of elements I feel support Coca-Cola company and their brand as a whole. Firstly we shall be taking a closer look at Brand Names, “The brand name can have a significant influence on the perception that consumers have of a product” (Du Toit et al, 2013). A brand name consists of one or more words, a combination of letters or even just one letter which forms a unique name that represents a company’s market offering.

In Coca-Cola’s situation the brand name as obvious as it may seem at first glance is certainly the most important element and aspect to instantly identify the brand alongside it’s packaging, I feel when it comes to Coca-Cola they afford themselves the privilege to stand tallest on this, their brand name speaks for itself nobody in the beverage industry comes to even holding a candle to them. Organisations such as ‘Coca-Cola’ have made the conscious effort to develop the perfect name making it both distinctive and trademarkable.

The name is recognisable, provides positivity when matches with the slogans and what they stand for. Secondly Slogans, A short yet simplified message can be used to help position a brand in the minds of its consumers, slogans usually highlight the benefits of the product or what the company could stand for. Like a good jingle should a slogan be developed and marketed correctly it to can enhance the memorability of the brand. Slogans can have a negative and almost overexposed connotation if overused (Du Toit et al, 2013), which has been realised by the company in question ‘Coca-Cola’ whereby they have had of a dozen slogans over the years.

Coca-Cola has had many slogans throughout the years as references and shown in this essay, non more infamous in my opinion than “Open Happiness” or “Life Tastes Good”, further atoning to the notion seen below regarding Coca-Cola’s Unique Selling Position and their stance on what makes life ‘enjoyable’.

Jingle, defined as a “short song” the sound of a jingle can be associate itself by adding to the visual elements of a brand and creating awareness to the product and brand as a whole. Enhancing the consumers likelihood to rehearse or repeat catchy jingles after the advertisement is over, providing even more opportunities for increased memorability. (Du Toit et al, 2013). “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” originated in the 1971 by ‘Hilltop’ however amongst all the years of jingles and songs from the company what remains one of the most distinct and recognisable sounds, is Coca-Cola’s five note piano melody followed with the opening gush of the ‘Coke’ bottle.

Packaging, Packaging is by definition the material that is used to wrap goods in order to protect the product during distribution. (Du Toit et al, 2013). Besides the functional aspects of packaging the element associated to certain brands such as ‘Coca-Cola’ who perhaps has the most iconic bottle shape to date, it becomes seemingly nonsensical to think that a brand such as Coca-Cola cannot be felt, but even a quick glance at the shape of its bottle reminds you immediately who it belongs to. Even without any colour of text, the meer image of the ‘Coke’ bottle is readily and easily recognisable.

History How & Why

Better yet Who. Who is the brand in question, how did they start and why did they come to exist. The Coca-Cola Company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola otherwise known as ‘Coke’, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia. The Coca-Cola formula and brand were bought in 1889 by Asa Griggs Candler (December 30, 1851 – March 12, 1929), who incorporated The Coca-Cola Company in 1892.

How: Coca-Cola history began in 1886 when the curiosity of an Atlanta pharmacist, Dr. John S. Pemberton, led him to create a distinctive tasting soft drink that could be sold at soda fountains. He created a flavored syrup, took it to his neighborhood pharmacy, where it was mixed with carbonated water and deemed “excellent” by those who sampled it. (World of Coca-Cola, 2018)

The coca cola logo was created by Frank Mason Robinson in 1885 and the font used in the logo is known as Spencerian script, which flourished from 1850 to 1925 in the united states. The lettering of the logotype is very similar to a font named Coca Cola ii. Frank M. Robinson, is credited with naming the beverage “Coca‑Cola” as well as designing the trademarked, distinct script, still used today. (World of Coca-Cola, 2018)

The 1980s featured such memorable slogans as “Coke is It!”, “Catch the Wave” and “Can’t Beat the Feeling”. In 1993, Coca‑Cola experimented with computer animation, and the popular “Always Coca‑Cola” campaign was launched in a series of ads featuring animated polar bears. Each animated ad in the “Always Coca‑Cola” series took 12 weeks to produce from beginning to end. The bears were, and still are, a huge hit with consumers because of their embodiment of characteristics like innocence, mischief and fun. A favorite feature at World of Coca‑Cola is the ability to have your photo taken with the beloved 7′ tall Coca‑Cola Polar Bear. (World of Coca-Cola, 2018)

Coca-Cola’s Unique Selling Position

“The factor or consideration presented by a seller as the reason that one product or service is different from and better than that of the competition.” (Neil Patel, 2018) A unique selling proposition is what your business stands for. It’s what sets your business apart from others instead of attempting to be known for everything, businesses with a unique selling proposition stand for something specific, and it becomes what you’re known for. Coca-Cola offers items along a broad variety however this variety is still kept within the focus of “beverages”, what they are uniquely known for is making the most well known, consistent and high-quality beverage ‘Coke’.

The unique selling proposition (USP) or unique selling point is a marketing concept first proposed as a theory to explain a pattern in successful advertising campaigns of the early 1940s. The USP states that such campaigns made unique propositions to customers that convinced them to switch brands. (Du Toit et al, 2013)

They found the most successful brands used the Unique Selling Proposition or USP. Coca-Cola has been found to use USP, if we are to believe the sentiments with regards to whether this proposition helps companies to achieve a more ‘successful’ brand then we must deduct that the idea initially to implement this within Coca-Cola Company has had profound results such as holding majority market share in the sparkling non-alcoholic beverage industry. Positioning the brand entails the act of designing the brand image in such that it inhabits a specific, valuable place in the minds of the consumer.

According to ‘Fundamentals of Branding’ Du Toit et al states the key marketing concept when positioning a brand is that all choice are comparative and consumers make a choice when selecting a brand establishing comparisons between that product and others, meaning the brand must be aware of its elements and brand identity when expressing it’s characteristics promoting a certain image that consumers will ‘label’ onto the brand itself. (Du Toit et al, 2013)

Coca-Cola’s image through it’s brand elements and identity has become synonymous with ‘Happiness’ this has become part of what makes their Unique Selling Proposition, in essence what makes the brand have what other competitors don’t, besides the obvious of great value for money, highest of qualities, what they stand for sets them apart from the rest. In 2009, the “Open Happiness” campaign was unveiled globally. The central message of “Open Happiness” is an invitation to billions around the world to pause, refresh with a Coca‑Cola, and continue to enjoy one of life’s simple pleasures. The one mission to determine what makes people happy. Essentially ‘have a coke, be happy’

The proposition must be clearly stated to the consumer: “Buy this product and you will get this specific benefit”; The proposition itself must be unique. It must express a specific benefit that competitors do not, will not or cannot offer; and The proposition must be strong enough to pull new customers to the product. (Du Toit et al, 2013) Experts have long believed in the connection between happiness and wellness, and Coca‑Cola is proud to have played a part in happy occasions around the globe.

The criteria for selecting brand elements brings to question ‘is it memorable? Meaningful? Likeable? Transferable? adaptable? Protectable?’ when selecting the two most suitable brand elements for the ‘Coca-Cola Company’, the two that popped out immediately were Memorability which was brought up in the previous section of this essay in the discussion of brand elements, as well as Likability, besides the full blown health conscious(even they sometimes too indulge) who doesn’t like a ‘Coke’.