From selling 9 servings in 1886 to 1.9 billion servings a day today, Coca-Cola’s rise to power is one for the history books! So how does a simple black coloured soda drink turn into the world’s third most valuable brand? One word: Marketing.
Let’s break it down, shall we?
The Logo
In 1886, Frank M Robinson, the formula maker’s bookmaker, came up with the name and design for Coca Cola. His thought process at the time was to make something that would look good in advertising and have a dramatic style. Thus, he went for Spencerian script, a common penmanship characteristic at the time. Since then, despite the small amendments in the logo design, the font has remained untouched and has become a trademark for the Coca Cola company.
A funny story about the colour red!
According to business insider, approximately 94% of the world population is aware of the red & white logo of Coca Cola. But how did it begin? Coca Cola was first sold in barrels at American drug stores and pharmacies, and so was alcohol. However, alcohol was taxed while soda was not. So, Coca Cola began painting their barrels red to help customs and tax officials distinguish them from barrels of booze. And that’s how the colour red just stuck! The colour is also not a Pantone recognized colour because it is a combination of 3 different shades of red and the same combination is used today!
Simplicity is Key!
Coca Cola is known to stick with its basic and original ideals such as its logo font, the red colour and simplistic slogans. Over the years, Coca Cola has maintained short and easily translateable slogans such as “Enjoy,” “You Can’t Beat the Feeling,” and “Happiness”, and have received a great response from the global community. Their slogans always convey a message of pleasure, same as their product!
Engage your audience!
Coca Cola knows how to keep its audience happy. Be it logo personalization or campaigns like ‘Share a Coke’, Coca Cola is known to appeal to its customers. Campaigns such as these promote customer engagement and tempt them to purchase their product, as a gift or a simple means of pleasure.
The Social Media King!
Social Media Marketing is the fastest growing tool for marketing nowadays, and Coca Cola has been smart to take advantage of it. With social accounts on every platform, Coca Cola has unique and appealing posts due to which their post engagement and their following is quite well.
At the right place, right time!
One of Coca Cola’s many marketing strategies is to be present at big events. How do they do that? By sponsoring, of course! Coca Cola has made itself known at several big events with large audiences such as American Idol, NASCAR and The Olympic Games. Large crowd = more audience = more marketing! A pretty good deal, if you ask me!
Pricing is Power!
At first, Coca Cola had a fixed price. However, with the changing of times and Pepsi emerging as a tough contender, Coca Cola decided to become more flexible with its pricing; not reducing it too much but also not being unnecessarily expensive. In doing so, it assured its customers that it was not compromising on quality and neither was it unreasonably overpriced.
With a uniquely designed and distinguishable marketing strategy, Coca Cola has had an immense increase in its global brand recognition. Through its numerous strategies, a few of which we discussed here, Coca Cola has made itself to be a well-recognized and well-reputed brand.
Do you want your brand to be the next Coca-Cola? If yes, contact us at G-Murtaza Brand Builders and begin your Coca-Cola journey with us! For more details, visit our website https://g-murtaza.com/work-with-us/.
Sources
https://www.coca-colacompany.com/au/news/trace-the-130-year-evolution-of-the-coca-cola-logo
