In today’s society, innovation is considered to be a buzzword. Most people tend to appraise innovation and argue that it is a necessary component for different organizations and companies. Because organizational environments regularly change, companies and organizations are required to become innovative to prosper and survive. Organizational innovation dramatically contributes to the effectiveness and performance of the adopting company or organization. Through innovations, an organization or a business can easily ﬁt the environment, prosper, and survive. Organizations and companies adopt those innovative practices that emphasize their needs so that they can thrive. The measurement of success in most organizations and companies mostly revolves around profits and customer satisfaction. The Coca-Cola Company is a company that engaged in developmental change by refocusing its advertising and marketing strategies. The Coca-Cola Company is an international corporation that has its route in several countries. Being one of the world’s top companies and maintaining its brand popularity, the Coca-Cola Company emphasizes on driving profit and revenue growth. By refocusing its advertising and marketing strategies, the Coca-Cola Company can meet its market demands while increasing efficiency and sales, enhancing good-will, and fighting competition.

Target Market Identification

In most cases, segmentation allows most brands to define the various products that are appropriate for their different kinds of clients and customers. The Coca-Cola Company does not target a particular segment but adapts a marketing strategy that helps in the development of new products. In terms of age, Coke does not address a specific age bracket, but everyone. When it comes to the statistics, the primary consumers of the Coca-Cola Company's products are individuals who are between the age of twelve years and thirty years (Kanesan, Ismail, & Krishran, 2018). The Coca-Cola brand succeeds to reach most people through different partnerships, including fast food joints and restaurants. Youths and youngsters are the primary target audiences for the company. The target audience of the company is not gender-based since both genders like to consume and use its products. The company considers everybody as a potential and target consumer.

Market Needs

In terms of the Coca-Cola’s market needs and growth strategy, the company focuses on promoting its market position in the competitive beverage industry. The company also wants to open more opportunities in different developing and developed markets by leveraging the reach and scale of the company’s system to capture and shape value (Hassan, Amos, & Abubakar, 2014). It expects to accomplish all this by expanding its brand’s portfolio and sharpening its execution. Coca-Cola Company also anticipates promoting its soft skills within different developing markets while focusing on its expansion. The company expects to expand its market by working with various bottling partners to grow existing customer relations and establish new ones from restaurants and street vendors to large-scale grocers.

Analysis of Case

With the increasing need for the company to refocus its advertising and marketing strategies, the company differentiates itself through cost leadership (Singaram et al., 2019). Cost leadership has been an effective strategy for the company because it has helped in lowering the different costs associated with the production process. The company used this strategy because most market segments today stress the minimization of different production costs. The company wanted to make sure that its selling price corresponds to the market’s average so that it can enjoy more profits. The company wants to refocus its advertising and marketing strategies so that it can meet its market demands while increasing efficiency and sales, enhancing good-will, and fighting competition.

Aims

The company wants to expand its market base by expanding its portfolio and sharpening its execution when it comes to its sales volume. The company also intends to invest in new plants that will help to increase its profits and drive revenue in places like India and China. The company wants to promote system alignment and consumer access because it is an essential factor when it comes to its development in different emerging markets. It also focuses on placing more coolers in different countries to help in driving on-the-go consumption. Concerning its mission, the company focuses on refreshing the world while inspiring instants associated with optimism and happiness, and making a difference while creating value.

Stakeholder Identification

Today, businesses and companies cannot exist on their own. Stakeholders are the ones who are interested in the effect that different companies have on society. Responding and understanding the different needs associated with stakeholder is essential for the success of a company. For growth, companies need to involve shareholders in their sustainability efforts. Coca-Cola Company tries to address most of its problems by collaborating with different stakeholders according to the demands and needs of the company to ensure its long-term success. Most stakeholders of the Coca-Cola Company include shareholders, employees, providers of capital, customers, suppliers, consumers, regulatory authorities and government, NGOs, the media, and communities. For efficiency, it is a requirement for all these parties to be involved in decision-making processes.

Chapter 2: Relevant Information

The Innovation Process and the Different Ways the Company Can Innovate

When engaging in the innovation process associated with refocusing its advertising and marketing strategies, the Coca-Cola Company considers different aspects that will drive revenue and increase profits. The company invests in its business and brand, ensure efficiency, simplified its activities, and focuses on its core business model. All these different activities focus on meeting the company's market demands while increasing productivity and sales, enhancing good-will, and fighting competition.

Driving Profit Growth and Revenue

The more than two hundred nations that the company provides different services and products are responsible for its growth plans. It uses segmented revenue growth approaches across its businesses in a manner that varies according to the market type (Kanesan, Ismail, & Krishran, 2018). The company also aligns its employee incentives in a way that fits the company. In those markets that are emerging, the company focuses on promoting volume, strengthening the foundation of its success, and making sure that its beverages are affordable to different consumers. The company also struck a balance between pricing and volume, in those markets that are considered to be developing. The company also depends more on promoting profitability offering premium and smaller packages including glass bottles. The way the company creates value for clients differs from country to country, and it focuses on segmenting its markets to drive profitable and revenue growth. The company hopes that this step will help to increase its sales volume, revenue, and its value share in the beverage industry.

Investing in the Company’s Business and Brands

To meet its market demands, increase efficiency and sales, enhance good-will, and fight competition, the company invested in its business and brands since good businesses involve continuous investment. It chose to invest in its marketing and advertising for its brands. The company was able to increase its spending on media advertising through the sharing of more impactful and stronger ads. The company was able to invest across its expansive and extensive sector associated with the production of different beverages. Coca-Cola Company also improved its position by becoming partners with Monster Beverage Corporation (The Coca-Cola Company, 2014). The company was able to develop the global marketing campaign in 2015 to provide the necessary support to the company (The Coca-Cola Company, 2015). The campaign emphasized the refreshment, taste, personal connections, and uplift that the Coca-Cola drink has. The campaign was meant to assure consumers that they were in a position to enjoy Coca‑Cola with no or fewer calories and without or with caffeine. They were able to provide the consumer with a variety of options every time they reached for a refreshing and delicious Coca‑Cola.

The Company Aims to be More Efficient

As the company took different strides to reconstruct its growth momentum, it focused on finding a way to invest in better and more advertising and marketing while increasing its flexibility when it comes to finances. The company started by increasing its productivity and efficiency while reducing the different costs that it incurred. The company was able to cut its spending on various forms of non-media marketing that included in-store promotions that helped in discovering of new savings in the company’s supply chain in different countries. The company expects to realize improvements in productivity that will help it to invest more in its business and brands and also result in some return or profits to its shareowners around the world.

How Coca-Cola Simplified its Company

The beverage industry has managed to change more rapidly when compared to other sectors. Evolving consumer preferences and tastes, together with far-reaching innovations have resulted in environments in which empowered employees are the ones who help to determine the people who win in the marketplace. The company has been reshaping its business to succeed in the marketplace. To boost the brand's popularity, the company made different areas of its operating structure smarter, faster, and more efficient. The company was able to eliminate functional management and directly linked its business units to its headquarters. The company also streamlined different internal processes while removing barriers and roadblocks, which inhibited it from being responsive and effective as expected. The company also began to engage in various activities that will help to enhance the experiences of its employees further to create a career environment that is exciting, fun, productive, and fulfilling. The workplaces were expected to nourish curiosity, innovation, learning, and growth.

The Company Refocused its Core Business Model

The portfolio of the Coca‑Cola Company comprises of several brands. The company has also shown some competency when it comes to leading the most complex system associated with bottling partners who help to create value for their different customers. This strategy has helped the company to manage and acquire several Coca-Cola bottling partners to enhance distribution and manufacturing systems, improve performance, and winning over and refranchising various bottling territories.

Chapter 3: Methods

Research Design

The methodology used by the study helps to obtain significant information and deduce inferences regarding the tactical contingencies that can help in coping through organizational changes associated with refocusing advertising and marketing at the Coca-Cola Company to increase its competitive advantage. Some of the ideas deduced from the research will help the company to propose further recommendations that will help in ensuring that its advertising and marketing needs to meet the company's needs. The research associated with this case study will take an explanatory approach. The Coca-Cola Company will be able to gain familiarity with the different issues and challenges that revolve its adaptation or implementation of various marketing and advertising strategies.

Sampling

Ideally, if possible, the company would want to study and obtain relevant information from the entire population. However, it is impossible to do this, and for this reason, the company will have to settle for a particular representative sample from the different countries that it supplies with different products and services. Majid (2018) states that samples in research should be percentages of elements taken from populations that help to represent associated populations (Majid, 2018). For the Coca-Cola Company to gather primary data, they would have to use questionnaire-survey techniques in different countries. Random probability sampling would also pass in this context as the most appropriate sampling design. Because the Coca-Cola Company has many distributors and retailers around the world, a standard sample size of about 400 respondents in each country would work for the survey. The questionnaires can be administered to the managers in the different sub-branches, retailers, distributors, and consumers of the company’s products.

Data Collection

Secondary and primary data would be appropriate when it comes to the collection of different data sets. The secondary data in this context will be relevant when it comes to the formation of the background of the research. The primary data can be collected using questionnaires and interviews. The different questionnaires and interviews can be conducted with the help of different sub-branches, retailers, distributors, and consumers of the company’s products.

How the Company Can Build and Lead the Disruptive Innovation Team

Optimizing the Different Teams to Innovate

The company can use the S-curve when it comes to team building (Sossa et al., 2016). The company can deduce where the different team members fall on an S-curve. If members of the teams stay at higher ends of the S-curve too long, they are likely to become bored and can find it challenging to innovate. The company should put more emphasis on different learning processes. The companies can employ a carrot-and-stick strategy to benefit from buy-in to encourage innovation (Mendoza & Wielhouwer, 2015). When the company makes learning possible, the teams will be engaged. When teams are involved, they become happy and end up being productive. Happy and productive people will love their jobs and the company that they are working with. By optimizing the teams to innovate, they will become talent magnets.

Hiring for Potential

The company should hire for potential rather than proficiency. This will help the company to locate those people who wish to prove themselves. Some of the good prospects in this context can include the company’s internal candidates who possess the different skills that it requires. If the company is willing to buy low, it can focus on hiring for potential rather than proficiency while selling high. This approach will help the company to reach the top of the curve since it will be able to build a capable team and pursue a disruptive strategy.

The Leadership Approaches Used to Manage Creativity Effectively

The best leadership style in this context would be supportive leadership where the leaders will focus on relationships (Elsaied, 2019). The leaders can show sensitivity to the needs of different team members while considering their best interests. This type of leadership style will be useful more so when various tasks are stressful and repetitive. Participative leadership would also be effective in this context since it focuses on mutual participation. The managers can consult with their groups while considering their expertise and ideas before making different decisions. The leadership approach used in this context should involve role taking, role making, and routinization. The leaders of the company can evaluate the talents and abilities of new team members while assessing how best they can serve the company. The company can help to develop the role of the different team members and build trust. The company can manage creativity in the company by setting goals, emphasizing employee collaboration, identifying problems, empowerment, loyalty, trust, and guiding groups or teams towards different novel goals.

The Methodologies Used to Spur Innovation within the Organization

Creativity is one of the most critical leadership qualities that can help a company to deal with different complicated issues. Creative leaders within the Coca-Cola Company can help to develop other creative leaders who can help to come up with better advertising and marketing strategies, and forestall changes associated with the business climate while experimenting with various business models. They can also manage failures and successes, have visions for the company, perceive various problems as opportunities, and place high value when it comes to individuality. It is vital to spur innovation within the company because growth, achievement, and responsibility intrinsically motivate most employees.

Chapter 4: Analysis

The assessment of the collected data will require the separation of the various sets of data. Different software, including Stata and SPSS, can be used to check for both correlation and regression between various collected variables. The data that will be obtained from the questionnaires and interviews will be analyzed using SPSS to come up with standard deviations and mean. When comparing the collected information, tables can be used.

Disruptive Opportunity and a Disruptive Solution

Disruption introduces different rules in the beverage industry. They require new knowledge sets and appropriate processes, organizational structures, and culture. If Coca-Cola Company uses traditional means to market its different products, it will provide many opportunities for the rival companies to interrupt its current messages. Most consumers are becoming more and more stubbornly resilient when it comes to shifting messages as a result of crowded markets. To combat such an issue, Coca-Cola Company’s services and products should innovate while paying attention to their clients and consumers as they deliver what the market requires. The company can design its services and products in such a way that they match the emerging market’s demand, or reshape its advertising and marketing strategies. From this point of view, advertising campaigns and marketing team designs can result in disruptive messages which can speak to new markets or challenge the thinking in existing ones. Coca-Cola Company should change its business model if it wants to reconsider disruptive marketing.

The Predicted Effects of the Organizational Context on Change and Innovation

The company will be able to expand its market base by increasing its portfolio and sharpening its execution when it comes to its sales volume. The company will also have the chance to invest in new plants that will help to increase its profits and drive revenue in different places. Coca-Cola Company will also be able to promote system alignment and consumer access, which is an essential factor when it comes to its growth in different emerging markets. By refocusing advertising and marketing strategies, Coca-Cola will be able to focus on placing more coolers in different countries to help in driving on-the-go consumption. Coca-Cola Company will be also able to promote its market position in the competitive beverage industry.

Chapter 5: Conclusion

In conclusion, by refocusing its advertising and marketing strategies, the Coca-Cola Company will be able to meet its market demands while increasing efficiency and sales, enhancing good-will, and fighting competition. By refocusing advertising and marketing at Coca-Cola Company, the company will be able to increase its sales volume and promote its growth. Through creativity and innovation, the company will not only boost its sales volume but also increase engagement, interaction, staff morale, motivation, passion, problem-solving, and productivity. Creativity is one of the most significant leadership qualities that can help Coca-Cola Company to deal with different complex issues. If the members of the teams at the Coca-Cola Company helps them to stay at higher ends and prevent them from becoming bored and find it easy to innovate.

References

Elsaied, M. M. (2019). Supportive leadership, proactive personality and employee voice behavior: The mediating role of psychological safety. American Journal of Business, 34(1), 2-18.

Hassan, D. N., Amos, A. A., & Abubakar, O. A. (2014). An evaluation of marketing strategies undertaken by Coca Cola Company as a multinational corporation in Nigeria. Journal of Business and Management, 3(2), 5-10.

Kanesan, S.,Ismail, N., & Krishran, K. (2018). Identifying Market Segments andTargets forMarketing Strategy Plan ofCoca-Cola Company in Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 7(4), 77-80.

Majid, U. (2018). Research fundamentals: Study design, population, and sample size. Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology Journal, 2, 1-7.

Mendoza, J. P., & Wielhouwer, J. L. (2015). Only the carrot, not the stick: Incorporating trust into the enforcement of regulation. PloS One, 10(2), e0117212.

Singaram, R., Ramasubramani, A., Mehta, A., & Arora, P. (2019). Coca Cola: A study on the marketing strategies for millenniums focusing on India. International Journal of Advanced Research and Development, 4(1), 62-68.

Sossa, J. W. Z., Marro, F. P., Alzate, B. A., Salazar, F. M. V., & Patiño, A. F. A. (2016). S-Curve analysis and technology life cycle. Application in Series of Data of Articles and Patents. Revista ESPACIOS| Vol. 37 (Nº 07) Año 2016.

The Coca-Cola Company. (2014, August 14). The Coca-Cola Company and Monster Beverage Corporation Enter into Long-Term Strategic Partnership. Retrieved from https://www.coca-colacompany.com/press-center/press-releases/the-coca-cola-company-and-monster-beverage-corporation-enter-into-long-term-strategic-partnership

The Coca-Cola Company. (2015, June 12). The Coca-Cola Company and Monster Beverage Corporation Close on Previously Announced Strategic Partnership. Retrieved from https://www.coca-colacompany.com/press-center/press-releases/the-coca-cola-company-and-monster-beverage-corporation-close-on-previously-announced-strategic-partnership

Appendix

Appendix I: Stakeholder Registry

Stakeholder	Role
1. Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (Investment Management)	Decision Making, Social Responsibility
2. The Vanguard Group, Inc.	Providing expertise and Decision Making
3. BlackRock Fund Advisors	Corporate social responsibility, Voting, Decision Making
4. SSgA Funds Management, Inc.	Corporate social responsibility, Voting, Decision Making
5. Wellington Management Co. LLP	Corporate social responsibility, Voting, Decision Making
6. Northern Trust Investments, Inc.	Corporate social responsibility, Voting, Decision Making
7. Fidelity Management & Research Co.	Corporate social responsibility, Voting, Decision Making Providing Expertise

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Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Refocusing Advertising and Marketing at Coca-Cola