Introduction
Marketing is a necessity for any company that is willing to sustain its place in the market trend. To accomplish this, most of the companies engaged themselves in what is referred to as marketing mix. Marketing mix is the act performed by a company that it entails the combination of different factors that are controlled by the interested company. These factors are meant to persuade and influence the customers in the decision they make concerning the purchase of products produced by that company. Marketing mix involves all the 4P's that are related to business and marketing (Rahmani, Emamisaleh, & Yadegari, 2015). They include product, price, place, and promotion. The industry that utilizes this strategy is the soft drink industry where the competition is high, and marketing strategy is a necessity to outdo the competition. The marketing mix of two companies in the soft drink by the name Coca Cola Company and Pepsi Company will be analyzed.
History of the Companies
Starting with Coca Cola Company, this is a soft drink multinational company that is based in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States of America. Asa Griggs Candler instituted the company, but it is currently headed by James Quincey who is the current CEO. This is a multinational corporation that is based in America and specializes in nonalcoholic beverages and syrups. It deals with different categories of business which include manufacturing, retailing and marketing their products. The multi-company has various branches all over the world, making it one of the biggest soft drink companies in the world. To be specific, the company has established itself in over 200 countries where it can sell and distribute its products (Halder, Pratap, & Ganguly, 2016). Their product has been widely recognized for many years, and it is named the number one company in the soft drink industry.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
On the other hand, Pepsi Food and Beverages Company is the direct rival for the Coca Cola Company. It is also an American based transnational food and Beverage Corporation with its headquarters located in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. Unlike Coca Cola, the company is involved in grain-based snacks, food, and other products including beverages. The company is also involved in manufacturing, marketing, and distribution processes (Farazuddin, Ahmed, & Maddali, 2016). Caleb Bradham is the founder of Pepsi, but it is now headed by Indra Nooyi who is the current CEO. It has branches in most parts of the world, and it is also recognized widely as a multinational brand. Apart from Pepsi which is the main product, the company also has some other drinks like the mountain dew and 7up which are also widely known. The company also has a different variety of brands under its name.
Marketing Mix: Similarities and differences
The two companies have well utilized the marketing mix involving the 4Ps. For example, Coca Cola marketing Mix has been seen to change over and over as time goes by accompanied by more and more merchandises to its name. Presently, the corporation has more than 3300 products under its name. The corporation has well utilized the product segment which is comprised of 3300 different products. The beverages are divided into different diet categories which include fruit juices at 100% content, fruit drinks, energy drinks, water, as well as tea and coffee products. Price is another P that has been well utilized, and it is done depending on the market and the geographical segment. It has different pricing strategies about competitors pricing. To ensure they are ahead of the competition, they have formed themselves into cartel contracts aimed at guaranteeing the mutual balancing in pricing between the sellers. To make sure that it has utilized its grounds, the company is located in most of the places in different parts of the world (Halder, Pratap, & Ganguly, 2016). They ensure that they distribute even in the rural markets to avoid intermediaries hence covering a more extensive ground. Promotions in the company are another segment that has well been utilized through advertisements. It employs the strategy of push strategy through promotions to ensure that more products have reached the market.
Pepsi Company, on the other hand, has also been seen to employ all the 4Ps. It well utilizes the marketing mix to implement its marketing plan. It has been seen to mix its product in a variety of ways to fulfill the different wants of consumers. The product mixture comprises soft drinks, Energy drinks, cereals, rice snacks, side dishes, water and other variety of different products. In regards to place and distribution channels, the company has a global network that is aimed at distributing products to the consumers. Retailers, as well as online merchandisers, are its places of distribution channels. They include supermarkets, grocery stores, and convince stores. Other products can easily be accessed online through their website (Farazuddin, Ahmed, & Maddali, 2016). The promotional mix in Pepsi Company includes advertisements, sales promotions, direct marketing, and public relations which are all meant to targeted customers. A good example is the company usage of celebrity endorsers who are intended to promote its products on different media such as TVs and radios. The company also encourages usage of sales promotions with discounts. Pepsi is known for using two strategies in its pricing which include market-oriented pricing strategy and hybrid everyday value pricing strategy. Just like Coca Cola, the company uses these strategies to ensure that its prices fit in the competitive world.
Conclusion
It's clear that both of the companies have used the marketing mix strategies to outdo one another and still maintain themselves in the market trend. This strategy plays a significant role in ensuring that the companies meet most of the needs posed by the consumers. For instance, Pepsi, unlike Coca Cola, has gone to the extent of including cereals and snacks to their product mix to capture a broader market. Since competition is steep in the market trend today, every company has developed ways of outdoing one another in different ways. Some of these ways include product packaging, discounts, and promotions to ensure they remain the choice of many consumers.
References
Rahmani, K., Emamisaleh, K., & Yadegari, R. (2015). Quality Function Deployment and New Product Development with a focus on Marketing Mix 4P model. Asian Journal of Research in Marketing , 4 (2), 98-108.
Halder, S., Pratap, S. V., & Ganguly, D. (2016). Design Process and Its Application on the Improvement (Re-Design) of the Coke Bottle. International Journal of Advanced Packaging Technology , 4 (1), 185-199.
Farazuddin, S., Ahmed, F., & Maddali, A. (2016). Article on Pepsi's Promotional Strategies. Journal of Management Research and Analysis , 3 (1), 56-58.
