STRATEGIC MARKETING

INDEX
1. Overview of Indian Market- Past
2. Overview of Indian Market- Present
3. Identity to Image Evolution of Strategies
4. PepsiCos Campaign
5. Pepsi
6. 7 UP
7. Mountain Dew
8. Coca Colas Campaign
9. Coca Cola
10. Sprite
11. Coca- Cola Milestones
12. Coca- Cola Products in India
13. Pepsi Co. Milestones
14. PEPSI CO. Products in India
15. Competitor Capabilities Matrix
16. Differential Competitor Analysis
17. Product
18. Distribution
19. Coke
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20. Pepsi Co.

21. Promotion
22. Coke
23. Pepsi Co.
24. SWOT Analysis: Coke
25. SWOT Analysis: Pepsi Co.
26. Brand Equity: Coke vs. Pepsi
27. Cola Wars
a. Coca-Cola
b. Pepsi
c. Celebrity endorsements
d. Pepsi Challenge
e. Drink Pepsi, Get Stuff

INTRODUCTION
Contrary to popular belief, advertising is as much a science as it is an art. As the
primary mode of communication between a company and its prospective customer,
an advertisement must connect to the consumer, and create in his mind an
attractive image of the brand. The average consumer gets lost in the vast sea of
information, and is unable to differentiate one product from another.
Notwithstanding the scientific inputs that go into designing an advertising
campaign, some campaigns make history while others fail miserably.
Ads are no longer informative tools, but, as Poisez aptly points out, there has been
a shift in attention away from the physical aspects and functional benefits of
products to their symbolic associations, expressiveness. Marketing has ventured
into the emotional, the behavioural, and the cognitive. Today, the primary objective
of the ad is to create an image. The fierce competition between cola giants PepsiCo
and the Coca Cola Company (henceforth, Coca Cola) - and the advertising
strategies adopted by them in India to establish their respective brand images
offers an interesting insight into Image Advertising.

Overview of Indian Market- Past

In the year 1991, the Indian Government adopted Economic

Liberalization Policy

Cold Drinks as popularly known in India were an Urban

phenomenon and the favorites (soda based) were Campa Cola, Gold Spot,
Limca and Thumbs Up.

Pepsi entered in the Indian Market as Pepsi Foods Ltd. and was
known as Lehar Pepsi.

Overview of Indian Market- Present

Today the Indian Market for Carbonated Drinks is worth more

than Rs.17000 crore

The present scenario of the carbonated drinks market is

duopoly situation.

Although in every place there are local competitors and there is a

huge unorganized flavored water market.

As far as the carbonated drinks are concerned there are only two
brands (as per the Market Share).
Coke (57.8%)
Pepsi (35.6%)

Identity to Image Evolution of Strategies

A closer look at the brand identities of each of the brands helps assess how
successful their advertising campaigns have been in creating a brand image in tune
with it, while being sensitive to the value system of the target audience.

PepsiCos Campaign
The analysis of Pepsi, 7 UP and Mountain Dew from the portfolio of PepsiCo puts
forth some interesting aspects about the evolution of these brands. Pepsi was one
of the first products to Indian markets after the economic reforms of 1991.

Pepsi
Pepsi began with the Yehi hai Right Choice Baby campaign, which has been one of
the most memorable campaigns of the brand, featuring celebrity endorsers such as
Shah Rukh Khan among others. The focus, as is clearly evident, is on the product
with the youth as its target segment. Yeh Dil Mange More and Yeh Pyaas Hai Badi
were some of the later campaigns.
Yeh Dil Mange More campaign was again a great success, having balanced the
emotional as well as the functional appeal of the product. Featuring Sachin
Tendulkar and many other leading stars at that point of time, this was also one of

the longest campaigns carried out by Pepsi. The company however failed to
maintain the trend and leverage it. Instead of moving on to a complete emotional
appeal platform, the company decided on a product based promotion campaign.
Though there is still some amount of emotional appeal to its campaigns, the
principal focus is on the product - it being a preferred thirst quencher.

7 UP
In its early days, 7 UP inherited the global Fido-Dido campaign for promotion in
India as well. However, with changing times and a contextual difference in India, a
much more focused campaign was required. This led to the Keep It Cool campaign,
which was targeted primarily at the youth and the teenager segment. Hence the
appeal was at a more subtle, emotional level, which was meant to convey a
potential lifestyle statement. The recent campaign of Bheja Fry essentially

leverages on the same emotional appeal where the Keep It Cool campaign has been
somewhat tweaked to have a local appeal.

Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew is the latest entrant in the product portfolio. This product too has
the appeal of being the drink of a daredevil or the No Fear personality. The
campaigns launched include Do the Dew and Dar Ke Aagey Jeet Hai. The initial
campaign was unclear in terms of its appeal and the target segment, as a result of
which the brand suffered some jolts in the beginning. However, the latest campaign
captures the No Fear or the Macho Man image. In this sense, the brand directly
competes with Thums Up from the Coca Cola Stable.

Coca Colas Campaign

The Coca Cola campaign in India, however, has been different from that of Pepsi,
even though they both share similar product traits. Coca Cola had a presence in
India before 1977, but was subsequently forced to exit the Indian market. When the
company returned to India post liberalization, it came up with an innovative
communication and advertising strategy. Coca Cola has essentially been following
the principle of differentiation.

Coca Cola
Jo Chaaho Ho Jaaye, Coca Cola Enjoy was one of the companys first campaigns
in India. It was remarkably well executed, and appealed both at a product level as
well as at an emotional level. These ads featured celebrities such as Hrithik Roshan
and Aishwarya Rai. The target segment for Coca Cola in its initial days was the
youth segment and this campaign clearly connected well with the segment.

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However, the next advertising campaign of Thanda Matlab Coca Cola was
launched with an objective to have a mass appeal. The campaign leveraged the
product platform rather than the emotional platform that it had established earlier.
It is however, important to note here that Coca Cola made some exceptions for
India. The company has similar marketing strategies across geographies and
usually doesnt depend on celebrity endorsements. But given the great fanfollowing, and in adapting to the Indian context, the company had to initially
deviate from its set charter. However with the current campaign of Open
Happiness, Coca Cola seems to have achieved both an emotional as well as a mass
appeal. There is a very natural connect with the target segment, that of celebrating
every day, and sharing small moments of joy with our loved ones, irrespective of
any barriers.

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Sprite
Sprite - the other brand from the Coca Cola stable began its journey with the
campaign titled All Taste No Gyaan. This appealed greatly to the youth who dont
like to be preached and relish their sense of ownership and decision making. Sprite
has never depended on celebrity endorsements as a way to gain brand recognition
or consumer recall. The ads are designed to be very witty, and generally connect
very well with the target audience by capturing every day moments. Seedhi Baat
No Bakwaas - its next campaign instantly connected with the target audience by
coming across as a brand that was different from the other, one that focused on the
individuality of the consumer. The emotional appeal is much stronger and shows a
clear sign of maturity of the campaign.

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Coca- Cola Milestones

1886: Founded by John Pemberton

1887: Registered as trademark.
1895: Sold in every state & territory in US.
2003: Headquartered in Atlanta with divisions & local operations in over 200

countries worldwide. 70% income outside US.

1970s: Entered Indian Market for the 1st time
1977: Exited the Indian Market
1993: Re-entry in India
1993-2003 : Invested more than US $1b in India- top

international investor.
2003-2008: No. 1 soft drink Company in India.

Coca- Cola Products in India

Coke
Diet Coke
Thums Up
Sprite
Limca
Maaza
Fanta
Georgia (Coffee)
Kinley (Drinking Water)

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Pepsi Co. Milestones

1899: Founded by Caleb Bradham

1902: Applied for trademark in US
1923: Declared bankrupt & assets sold
1985: Gained entry in India
1988 - Succeeded with Pepsi Food India Limited Project as a

joint venture of Punjab Agro Industrial corporation & Voltas India

Limited.
1991: Marketed & sold as Lehar Pepsi.
1994: Bought out its partner and become a fully owned
subsidiary.
Today it is the No. 2 soft drink company in India.

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PEPSI CO. Products in India

Pepsi
Diet Pepsi
7 Up
Mirinda
Mountain Dew
Tropicana Juices
Lays, Cheetos & Ruffles (Snacks)
Quaker Oats
Aquafina (Drinking Water)

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Competitor Capabilities Matrix

FEATURES:
Bar weight
Calories

COKE

PEPSI

10 FL OZ ( 200ml)
121.25

10 FL OZ ( 200ml)
150

s (gm)
Flavors

33.75

34.5

(numbers)

Price/bottle
PRODUCT

Rs 10
All foods and beverage can

Rs 10
Offers beverages that resorts

CLAIMS

fit into healthy

balanced diet when

to the
customers expectations and

consumed in appropriate

make it more
enjoyable for them to lead

proportion.

healthier lives.

Children, adults, younger

People from younger

Carbohydrate

TARGET

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CONSUMER

generation and
sports personality and

generation, sports

DISTRIBUTI

celebrities
Grocery stores, retail stores,

personalities and celebrities

Grocery stores, retail malls,

ON

shops, malls, etc.

shops etc.

Sweetened carbonated drink

Sweetened carbonated drink.

BRAND
POSITIONIN
G

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Differential Competitor Analysis

COKE

PEPSI

PARENT
COMPANY
TOTAL SALES

Coca Cola Company

450 million ( globally)

Pepsi Co
324.58 million (globally)

PRODUCTS
MANAGEMEN

Coca Cola , Diet Coke

Pepsi, Diet Pepsi

Atul Singh (CEO)

Indra K Nooyi (CEO)

PRODUCT
DISTRIBUTIO

None
Through retail malls,

None
Through retail malls, grocery

grocery shops , organized

and unorganized retails

shops, organized and unor

Various events such as

Sports events, trade

cricket matches, movies,

trade faires, college fests

faires,college fests etc.

LATEST

SPONSORSHIP

etc.
Company produces syrup
PRODUCTION

Contains carbonated

concentrate which it

water,high fructose corn

syrup,sugar, colorings,

sells to bottlers through

phosphoric acid, caffeine,

out the world

citric
acid and natural flavours
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Originated in 1886 in US

Originated in North Carolilna

by Dr.John S Pemberton

by a young pharmacist
New Bern

57.8%

35.6%

AMBASSADO

Imran Khan, Sachin

Mahendra Singh Dhoni,

R
NUMBER OF

Tendulakar

Ranbeer Kapoor

BOTTLING

26( company owned), 14

15( company owned),

PLANTS

(franchise owned)

28( franchise owned)

FOUNDER
MARKET
SHARE
BRAND

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Product

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Product Type

Coca-Cola
Coke, Thums

Pepsi Co.

Carbonated Drinks (Black)

Up

Pepsi

Carbonated Drink (Black) Diet

Diet Coke

Diet Pepsi

Carbonated Drinks (Orange)

Carbonated Drinks (Clear/

Fanta

Miranda

Lemon)

Sprite, Limca

7 Up, Mountain Dew

Flavored Juice

Maaza

Tropicana

Coffee

Georgia

***

Drinking Water

Kinley

Aquafina
Lays, Cheetos &

Snacks

***

Ruffles

Breakfast

***

Quaker Oats

Distribution

Both Pepsi and Coke follow the Hub and Spoke model of distribution

in rural India.

Coke
Sales & Distribution is handled by a large number of bottlers.

26 bottling plants

60 distribution centres
20 contract packers
Over 70000 retail outlets serviced via trucks, converted three

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wheelers, tricycles & push carts.

300 million soft drink consumers

Pepsi Co.

Competition based
Very flexible to come down with the price very quickly

Promotion
Coke

Brand Localization Strategy: The Two Indias

India A: Life ho to aisi
India B: Thanda Matlab CocaCola

Small bottle scheme

Pepsi Co.

Pepsi balance 2 influences in the minds of the customers:

Youre cool the way you are
Dont try to be any different
It was positioned as the new cool youth icon
Nothing Official About It
Yeh Dil Maange More
Mera Number Kab Ayega?
Yeh Pyaas Hai Badi
Youngistan
Change the game

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SWOT Analysis: Coke

STRENGTHS

WEAKNESS

Well established Global Brand

Improper appreciation of existing

Prior knowledge of Indian market

Indian Laws at entry time (in case of
Tie up with local players

acquisition, 49% sale of equity to local

(Britannia Ltd)

partners mandatory)
Strong Fiscals to acquire local business
(bottling plants/local brands)

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS
Strong Competition from Pepsi and other

Many successful brands to pursue

local brands due to late entry

Stricter legal framework (49% equity to

Advertise its less popular products

Indian Investors)
Decreasing popularity of carbonated

Buy out competition.

drinks in India

More Brand recognition

SWOT Analysis: Pepsi Co.

STRENGTHS
International Brand and Global

WEAKNESS
Lack of Experience in Indian market
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Experience
Benefitted by learning from Coca
Cola mistakes in India pre 1977
Willingness to comply with
stringent Indian Laws

OPPURTUNITIES

THREATS
Unfriendly political environment and

Food division should expand

Noncarbonated drinks are the fastest-

Indian legal framework

Competition from local

growing part of the industry

There are increasing trend toward

manufacturers
Low demand in Indian market for

healthy foods
Focus on most important customer

carbonated drinks
Poor infrastructure especially in rural

trend - "Convenience".

India

Brand Equity: Coke vs. Pepsi

Lets start with defining what brand equity is: Brand Equity the value, both
tangible and intangible, that a brand adds to a product/service; the added value a
brand name identity brings to a product or service beyond the functional benefits
provided.
Examples of products with excellent brand equity include Google, Nike and of
course Starbucks. In fact, I myself have been known to say something to the effect
of, Hey, do you want to go get a Starbucks? Perhaps youve said, Just Google
it. In instances such as Starbucks and Google, the brand name itself has surpassed
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the brand and become a commonplace term for an action or umbrella product. One
ongoing battle that has been waging for years is the one that exists between Pepsi
and Coke, or formally known as Pepsi Cola and Coca-Cola. There are plenty of
variables that could influence any particular consumer, including taste preference,
packaging preference and availability within a particular market. From the polls
Ive seen, usually (and I use that term very loosely, people) Coke tends to score
better than Pepsi in terms of consumer preference. The ratings, however, are
extremely close. For example:
An online Tribune poll revealed a virtual dead heat in the great Coke versus Pepsi
debate. Of the 346 votes cast, 50.87 percent took Coke and 49.13 percent went
with Pepsi. Pepsi has demanded a recount.
All that said we still dont know the answer: who has the most brand equity? Coke
or Pepsi? If theres one thing Ive learned over the years while working at Zoom
Creates, its that doing a rebrand is a big deal. If the company we are rebranding
has any brand equity at all, it will be important to keep some elements of the
original brand in order to maintain familiarity. Taking a brand that is easily
recognized and people feel comfortable with and rebranding to the point of no
recognition at all would most certainly be a bad move. Look at the similarities
among all rebrands over the years for both Coke and Pepsi.

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By comparing the timeline of each brand, it is clear that Coke has held tighter to its
original concept that Pepsi has, but whether or not that directly affects the sales is
unclear. What is clear, however, is that by looking at the chart, we are seeing two
entirely different branding strategies: Pepsi has been changed significantly over the
years, possibly to keep up with the times or to keep the look fresh and youthful.
Coke, on the other hand, has made itty bitty changes spanning decades and the
mark today are strikingly similar to what it was in 1887.
I can only speak for myself when I say that I have more respect for the Coca-cola
brand. It strikes me as stable and unchanging through recessions, wars, times of
peace, president after president. To look at the evolution of the Pepsi logo gives me
the feeling that the mark is lost and even after more than 200 years is still
searching to find itself. While I admire their ongoing efforts, I feel like shouting,
just PICK ONE already!

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Cola Wars
The Cola Wars are a campaign of mutually-targeted television advertisements and
marketing campaigns since the 1980s between soft drink manufacturers The CocaCola Company and PepsiCo.
As of March 2011, Pepsi was in third place behind Coca Cola and Diet Coke. In
2010, Diet Coke outsold Pepsi; Coca-Cola sold 1.6 billion cases of its regular soda
and 927 million cases of its diet soda, while Pepsi sold only 892 million cases.

Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola advertising has historically focused on wholesomeness and nostalgia for
childhood. Coca-Cola advertising is often characterized as family-friendly and
often relies on cute characters (e.g., the Coca-Cola polar
bear mascot and Santa Claus around Christmas). One example of a heated
exchange that occurred during the Cola Wars was Coca-Colas making a strategic
retreat on July 11, 1985, by announcing its plans to bring back the original
Classic Coke after recently introducing New Coke.
Notable promoters of Coca-Cola have included Paula Abdul, Christina Aguilera,
Bill Cosby, Celine Dion, Max Headroom, Whitney Houston, Elton John, George
Michael, Robert Plant, Weird Al Yankovic, and most recently, Taylor Swift.

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Pepsi
Celebrity endorsements
Pepsi adverts often focus on celebrities choosing Pepsi over Coca-Cola, supporting
Pepsis positioning as The Choice of a New Generation. Celebrities who have
promoted Pepsi include Michael J. Fox, Mariah Carey, KISS, Tina Turner, Britney
Spears, Beyonc Knowles, Pink, Enrique Iglesias, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Jim
Varney, Elvis Presley, One Direction, Michael Jackson, Brian May, Roger Taylor,
Lionel Messi, Mohamed Kekhia, Madonna, Spice Girls, Shakira, Amr Diab, Ray
Charles, Nicki Minaj, and Jeff Gordon, along with artists who had previously
promoted Coca-Cola like Christina Aguilera and Elton John.
Pepsi Challenge
In 1975, Pepsi began showing people in blind taste tests called the Pepsi
Challenge, in which they preferred one product over the other, and then they began
hiring increasing numbers of popular spokespersons to promote their products.
Drink Pepsi, Get Stuff
In the late 1990s, Pepsi launched its most successful long-term strategy of the Cola
Wars, Pepsi Stuff. Consumers were invited to Drink Pepsi, Get Stuff and collect
Pepsi Points on billions of packages and cups; they could redeem the points for
free Pepsi lifestyle merchandise. After researching and testing the program for over

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two years to ensure that it resonated with consumers, Pepsi launched Pepsi Stuff,
which was an instant success. Tens of millions of consumers participated. Pepsi
outperformed Coke during the summer of the Atlanta Olympics- held in Cokes
hometown - where Coke was a lead sponsor of the Games. Due to its success, the
program was expanded to include Mountain Dew and Pepsis international markets
worldwide. The company continued to run the program for many years, continually
innovating with new features each year.
The Pepsi Stuff promotion became the subject of a lawsuit. In one of the many
commercials, Pepsi showed a young man in the cockpit of a Harrier Jump Jet.
Below ran the caption Harrier Jet: 7 million Pepsi Points. There was a
mechanism for buying additional Pepsi Points to complete a Pepsi Stuff order. John
Leonard, of Seattle, Washington, sent in a Pepsi Stuff request with the maximum
amount of points and a check for over $700,000 USD to make up for the extra
points he needed. Pepsi did not accept the request and Leonard filed suit. The
judgment was that a reasonable person viewing the commercial would realize that
Pepsi was not, in fact, offering a Harrier Jet. In response to the suit, Pepsi added
the words, Just Kidding, under the portion of the commercial featuring the jet as
well as changed the price to 700 million Pepsi points (see Leonard v. Pepsico,
Inc.).

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