Marketing IMC Strategy of Coca Cola 52
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week_4.docSTAKEHOLDERS AND NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT FOR COCA - COLA
Stakeholders and New Product Development for Coca - Cola
ShaRon Jones
South University
Strategic Marketing | MBA6011 S01
Octoberber 2015
Professor: Matula
STAKE HOLDERS AND THEIR INVOLVEMENT
There is a story inside of every bottle that leaves the Coca-Cola bottling plant. The most important stakeholders of our organization, the consumer continues to be the driving force behind these stories. Along with the community, our bottlers, suppliers, partners and nonprofit organizations, and the countless others that share a stake in the organization we have formed a bond that is beneficial to us all. Coca – Cola has relied on them for their valued opinions and insights for the shaping of the sustainability reporting process. Stakeholders are proactively engaged in this yearly accountability tool. In the past, Coca – Cola has engaged the input from internal stakeholders (our employees) as well as external stakeholders (the community). Namely an organization known as Ceres, which is an organization of investors that have formed a coalition to help companies stay up to date with the challenges of sustainability reporting.
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/sustainabilityreport/our-reporting/stakeholder-engagement.html
STAKEHOLDER INPUT IN NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESS
Coca – Cola created the Golden Triangle partnership to enhance stakeholder involvement work that includes key input from the public, private and civil society sectors. The recognition and embracement of ideas forms collaborative partnerships that achieve a greater collective impact than would be possible by any one organization or sector working in isolation. The Golden Triangle partnership became an integral part of the Coca – Cola business strategy, and when managed well, became a powerful tool for sustainable business growth and progress that was highlighted in their annual sustainability reporting.
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/sustainability/stakeholder-engagement
STRATEGIES USED BY KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN CONTRIBUTION OF NEW PRODUCT AND COMMUNTY DEVELOPMENT
In August of 2015, the first-ever Coca-Cola bottling plant in Laos officially opened for business. This bottling plant located in the Saithani District of the Vientiane province produces Fanta, Coca-Cola, and Sprite beverages along with other popular Coca Cola sparkling brands with a distinct possibility of additional production lines for new beverage products in development at a later date. Before the opening of the Laos plant, Thailand was the major supplier of Coca, Cola products to this area.
“With the establishment of this plant, the Coca – Cola brand proudly manufactures and distributes beverages locally in each of the 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries, providing tangible economic benefit to the communities served in that area. This profitable relationship has produced an economic growth annually of 5 percent. This boost in sales has raised the organization’s confidence level for a more prosperous and continued economic growth worldwide. The hope is that Coca – Cola and Southeast Asia will continue to share in this partnership of investment and prosperity in this region of the world.” (Kent 2015)
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/coca-cola-unbottled/first-coca-cola-bottling-plant-in-laos-open
COCA – COLA AND ITS COMPETITVE ADVANTAGE DUE TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)
According to Ed Steinike, Vice President and CIO of Coca – Cola, “IT and marketing are very close partners at Coca-Cola today. Coke is spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on digital marketing and that number will, no doubt, continue to rise. Our marketers started to think more seriously about digital channels five years ago or so. As mobile adoption expanded, they started to build a direct connection with our customers by pushing mobile applications for social-media sites and our loyalty programs, such as My Coke Rewards”. (Steinike 2013)
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, the IT dream team of Coca - Cola created mobile applications that could be used on both I phone and Android devices alike. It was used on over 100 countries in a digital-marketing event. This around the globe event boosted Coca – Colas impact on the technology world beyond their wildest dreams. The IT department even designed applications used by other external agencies.
Ed Steinike CIO of Coca – Cola Bottling Inc.
References
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/coca-cola-unbottled/first-coca-cola-bottling-plant-in-laos-open
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/sustainability/stakeholder-engagement
