The Coca-Cola Company on a strategic level

Résumé du document

Nowadays more than ever, with this financial crisis that does not seem to end and creates more and more losses every day, it is very crucial for companies to not only settle for a long term strategy but also a back-up strategy to face problems such as the ones they could face during those times. A company has to have a strategy in order to be able to focus on the main points of the company. That is when strategic management comes in handy, since it allows companies or executives in charge of the strategies of their companies to really study the situation, consider and weigh the various advantages and disadvantages the company has, where the company is heading as well as what the company is really aiming at. This finally leads to a clearer view of the overall situation (the market, the position on the market and the expectations of both the company and the sector). Therefore, setting a strategy, weather it is an emergency one or a long term one, is easier to do.

Strategic management basically raises three questions: Where am I? (and by I, I am referring to the company or the executive in charge of the strategy), Where do I want to go (or be)? And how do I get there? I have decided to apply these questions to a very famous company, Coca-Cola and this, for two main reasons. The first one is that I am very curious about the future of such a company, that is present in almost every country and whose market is going through some serious changes. I wonder what their strategy might be as well as their objectives in the long term. The second reason is my wondering about the effects the financial crisis could have on a huge food company, if there are any at all.

Extraits

[...] to really settle itself as a leader (if not the world wide leader) of the beverages with vitamins, juices and other waters. It already has a foot on this market, not new but developing. Therefore, it wants to get the most of the market shares of the “healthy food” market. But, as we have seen previously, the company is having difficulties settling these new brands and healthy products in Europe. Therefore, the objective of Coca-Cola is to go over these difficulties and sell its new products in Europe. [...]

[...] (Conclusion) Finally, on the long term (or very long term) is this strategy a good one for the future of the company? Or is it going to work for a decade or two and then create huge problems (financial, image, logistics etc ) to the company later on? The main fear of Coca-Cola is to loose the market shares to huge competitor Pepsico (producer of the other cola, Pepsi) and in the United States, the war between these two is well established (through communication and commercials). [...]

[...] Coca-Cola was also (and still is) very successful with their communication. The visuals are appealing, no matter the decade, the trends and the messages are very effective and reach the maximum of people a Coke and a smile” in 1979, “Always Coca-Cola” in 1993, “Enjoy Coca-Cola” in 2000, “Live on the Coke side of life” in 2008). The visuals are a huge part of the success: the Coca-Cola polar bear, the pin-ups in the 1950s, ads designed and painted by artists (Norman Rockwell, for example), the company even created the current aspect of Santa Claus (he used to be dressed in green and look like a normal person, but Coca-Cola put him in red to fit the brand color, fat with a beard, with a joyful face). [...]

[...] It is financially stable, even if it registers (like so many other companies) a slower activity. VI] EFFICIENCY AND ACCURACY OF THE STRATEGY Is the strategy supported or not? Creating a strategy is great, but it needs to be efficient. A good implementation will ensure a great part of the success of the strategy. However, a long term strategy might go through market changes and it is up to the executives to adapt it. Moreover, it is more difficult to settle an objective (contrary to subjective) strategy when you are a part of the company. [...]

[...] In the UK, the entire lot of Dasani waters was pulled off the shelves and off the supermarkets when a cancerous chemical was found in them. The company badly suffered from this and saw its image tarnished by the scandal. Moreover, this problem severely delayed the launch of this brand of water in the rest of Europe (to this day, Dasani water is still not available in France, for example) Objectives Considering the strategy of the company, we can now clearly see its objectives. [...]