Coca Cola Case Questions

Assignment 1

1. Describe the specific type of consumer the Coca-Cola Company is targeting with each of the following products: Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Coke Plus, Coca-Cola Blak, and Full Throttle Blue Demon. What types of demographic segmentation is each product's marketing most likely to include?

Diet Coke: Introduced in 1982, Diet Coke is targeted at calorie conscious women, and has a unique flavor to it.

Coke Zero: Introduced in 2005, Coke Zero is targeted towards young adult males (18-34 year olds). With Diet Coke being targeted towards women, Coca-Cola Company set out to launch a product that taste similar to Coke.

Diet Coke Plus: Discontinued in 2011, Diet Coke Plus is targeted to health-conscious women. It is a variation of Diet Coke that is fortified with vitamins and minerals.

Coca-Cola Blak: Marketed to appeal to the older and sophisticated male demographic (34+), Coca-Cola Blak is coffee flavoured. It was discontinued in 2008.

Full Throttle Blue Demon: Part of the Coca-Cola Company’s energy drink division, Full Throttle Blue Demon is named after Agave Tequilana, a plant in Mexico necessary for the production of Tequila. It is targeted towards Hispanic males and it is usually mixed with alcohol.

2. Some industry analysts think soft-drink companies should develop products that will

bring new customers into the market rather than just creating variants on the old. They

warn that products like Coke Zero will cannibalize lost market share from other soft drink

categories instead of increasing the number of consumers overall. Which Coca-Cola

products are most likely to lose customers to Coke Zero?

The original Coca-Cola will most likely lose customers to Coke Zero. In today’s society, the over consumption of sugar has been deemed harmful by the medical community. The main target of the doctors wrath is soda. Coca Cola and Coke Zero have very similar tastes to each other but Coke Zero is a zero calorie, zero sugar drink. It would then make sense to consumers to purchase Coke Zero if it tastes the same as the original Coca-Cola.

3. Why do you think that the hidden-camera videos used to promote Coke Zero were an effective way to reach its target market? Do you think a similar strategy with a viral marketing campaign on the Internet would appeal to the target market for Diet Coke Plus?

The hidden camera videos were an effective way to reach its target audience. Coca Cola Classic executives were convinced the Coke Zero had used the original Classic recipe causing consumers to believe that the taste of Coke Zero is just as good as the original. At the same time,