A red can with swooping white lettering on its label moves to center screen, drops of condensation running down its side. “TsssSS kr-POP!” An invisible hand pours a brown, fizzing liquid out of the can, where it slowly fills up a glass filled with ice, stopping directly at its brim as it fizzes in the glass, nearly bubbling over. “Ahhh.”

Can you visualize this imagery? Chances are you filled in the blanks and saw a can of Coke featured center stage on this imaginary advertisement.

In fact, if you’re like 94% of the world’s population, you probably recognized Coca-Cola based on the logo alone (even without the iconic swooping brand name). This instant brand recognition is representative of Coke’s massive influence on our cultural zeitgeist, and shows that the brand which has been growing its name for over a century has done so successfully.

But how did Coke become such a worldwide phenomenon? And what can marketers learn from this soft-drink giant’s massive success on the world stage over the past century plus?

This post will walk you through Coke’s history, the marketing strategies which made them successful, and what marketers can do to recreate this success for their own brand. But first..

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Coke’s History: From Pharmacy to Worldwide Brand

Coke has had a long journey from a single soda fountain in Atlanta to the globally-recognized brand that it is today. How did they get there?

Early Years of Coca-Cola

John Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist, created the original Coca-Cola syrup in 1886 in a brass kettle in his backyard. His bookkeeper, who thought two C’s would look nice on advertisements, penned the original flowing Coca-Cola logo at this time, and soon Pemberton was selling an average of nine glasses per day of the carbonated beverage to local Atlantans.

Pemberton, however, would never realize the potential of the product he created. He sold off his shares of the business to various partners, and then shortly before his death in 1888 sold the rest of his company to Atlanta businessman Asa Candler, who promptly bought the rest of Coca-Cola’s shares and took command of the company.

Under Candler’s control, the Coca-Cola company began investing heavily in marketing and expanding its reach outside of the Atlanta area. Some of the earliest advertisements for Coca-Cola were featured in calendars, signage for accredited fountains, and newspapers, where the drink was advertised as “Delicious and Refreshing.”

Between 1890 and 1900, Coca-Cola increased syrup sales by 4,000%, much of which can be attributed to the aggressive marketing tactics overseen by Candler at this time. The company invested heavily in not only advertising, but also gave out free samples to thousands of people as the drink moved into new communities, incentivizing new customers to try the beverage and share it via word of mouth.

By 1900 the soft-drink was sold in every US state and Canada, and Candler began partnering with local bottling companies to ensure the drink could be distributed as broadly as possible. This franchising model set up the modern soft-drink industry, which still follows the model created by Candler in these early years.

Consistent Growth

As the world of soft-drinks began to shift from soda-fountains at lunch counters and pharmacies to prepackaged drinks, Coca-Cola shifted as well.

This started with a new bottle for the iconic Cola. This new design was created in a competition put on by Coca-Cola to find a design that would be easily recognizable and set the brand apart from their competition. The result was the iconic bottle design still used today.

Not only did the brand shift its focus to its thousands of independent bottling companies which were licensed to sell their product, the company began expanding its product lines as well.

After World War II the company diversified, purchasing the rights to orange-flavored soft drink Fanta, canned juice company Minute Maid, and creating a new product all of their own; lemon-lime flavored Sprite. It was also around this time that the company first branded itself as Coke, marking a shift from solely focusing on the Coca-Cola product line.

An iconic image from this time period is Coke’s use of Santa Claus to promote their product. While often credited as the originators of Santa Claus, that trope was already in broad use before this time period, though Coke may have influenced the image of Santa as a chubby, red and white-wearing bearded man.

This wasn’t the first, nor would it be the last, of Coke’s powerful advertising campaigns.

A History of Iconic Advertisements

Coke’s advertising history dates back to 1886, which makes it difficult to pinpoint specific campaigns or advertisements which ultimately set the brand on its eventual path to domination of the soft drink industry.

From the 1971 hit song “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”, to the Share a Coke campaign of modern day, to countless sponsorships, commercials, and many, many more campaigns, some more successful than others, Coke has, over time, created a brand heavily ingrained in the cultural zeitgeist of the U.S. and the world. And to think, it all started with a simple yet iconic brand.

Click the link below for a full view of 135 years of Coca-Cola marketing.

Maintaining a Massive Brand for Over a Century

So, the question remains: how has Coke managed to build and maintain their place as one of the largest brands in the world for over a century?

Branding Like No Other

If there’s one thing that has set Coke apart from other brands in their industry, it is their ability to grow brand awareness and ingrain themselves in the cultural zeitgeist. This didn’t happen overnight, but certain tactics have helped Coke become one of the biggest brands in the world.

For one, Coke, and Coca-Cola specifically, has maintained a consistent visual identity since their founding. The image of white, flowing lettering over a red background is one of the most instantly recognizable in the world, and this visual identity has been supported by years of high-quality, product-centric promotions which put that brand at center stage.

A brand, however, is only effective if it gets in front of people, and Coke has done this as well if not better than anyone else over the years. Their countless sponsorships, from the Olympics to professional sports leagues to charities, have helped Coke grow their brand by ensuring that the population views them as synonymous with organizations they view positively.

Did you know that, in blind taste tests, people prefer Pepsi over Coke. When shown which brand they’re drinking, however, the majority of people prefer Coca-Cola. This shows the positive feelings people have toward the Coca-Cola brand, which has created many lifetime customers with strong brand loyalty.

Assuring and Maintaining Product Quality

For many years, Coke was required to be served at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit by all registered distributors.

This rule may have worked at soda fountains, but nowadays, Coke has found other ways to maintain an unbeatable level of product quality. They have rarely strayed from the original formula, due in large part to the significant public outcry which has come every time the recipe has been altered.

By maintaining the quality of their product, Coke has ensured that their committed brand loyalists stay, and built new connections with people who like their product.

Pricing Strategy

For 60+ years, from the 1890s up until 1959, a bottle of Coca-Cola cost five cents. No more, no less. This consistent pricing enticed many people to try the soft drink, and endeared people to the brand which, as the world changed, seemed to stay the same as a cheap, quality alternative to other competing beverages.

This pricing strategy obviously couldn’t last forever, and a bottle of Coke now costs $1.99. But by framing Coca-Cola as a cheap alternative to other soft drinks of their time, and maintaining the value which people could see in their purchase, Coke grew its brand and created a multitude of loyal, happy customers.

Globalization

As many large U.S. based brands have seen over the years, going global is the only way to take a brand from success to worldwide phenomenon. Coke realized this reality early on, and its globalization efforts have followed suit.

Coke now operates in over 200 countries and boasts over 500 brands which vary in response to regional tastes and preferences. This massive global presence, which has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 70 years, has enabled Coke to ensure future business success by growing alongside expanding markets across the globe.

Managing Missteps With Grace

One thing that has placed Coke on a pedestal above other brands in their industry is their ability to manage marketing and business missteps with grace, and ensure their customers recognize that the company is listening to their complaints.

A memorable example of this in action is the infamous New Coke Debacle of 1985. This is the year, nearly 100 years after Pemberton first created Coca-Cola’s secret recipe, which Coke decided to change the formula for their world famous soft drink.

Coke made this move as their grip on the U.S. soft drink industry was slipping in the early 1980s, hoping to grow their customer base with a new recipe which performed better in blind taste tests. What they didn’t factor into their decision, however, was the loyalty and love for “Old Coke” which was shared by millions in the U.S.

In short, this move did not work. Consumers in the U.S., who had grown up with Coca-Cola as a fixture of their lives, were outraged by the change, with some even hoarding hundreds of cans of the original formula Coca-Cola in their basements.

Within 79 days, the experiment was over, and Coke announced that it was returning to its original recipe.

This event wasn’t a complete catastrophe for the company, however. It made consumers reconsider the role this soft drink had played in their lives and better appreciate its place as a cultural icon and refreshing drink, which in turn improved Coca-Cola’s sales numbers.

Talk about a roundabout way to success.

What Can Marketers Learn from These Strategies?

Now to the point of this entire post: what can marketers take away from Coke’s continued success to use for their own brand building strategies?

Brand Identity is a Must-Have

A consistent brand identity has formed the basis for everything Coke has been able to build over the past decade and a half, and this identity doesn’t look like it’s changing anytime soon.

So, how can you create a consistent brand identity for yourself? Here’s some of the essential aspects you’ll need:

• Logo
• Color palette
• Typography
• Photography
• Illustration
• Iconography
• Data visualization

If you’re just getting started, begin by creating a basic logo, creating a simple color palette to use across your content and advertising, and designing a typography guide to ensure you have a consistent visual palette across all of your content. From here you can build out the rest of your brand identity as needed.

Prioritize Product Quality

Another reason Coke has maintained its success for so long is that it never sacrificed product quality.

Wherever your marketing priorities lie — content marketing, traditional advertising, etc. — these should never take priority over maintaining and improving the quality of your product. Coke’s success proves the effectiveness of this strategy; their marketing campaigns are product-centric, and a high quality product backs them up, increasing consumer trust and brand loyalty.

You may want to create a team dedicated to product quality. This team could go over customer reviews, look for opportunities for improvement, or just ensure that other priorities don’t overtake those of the product team.

Implement Strategic Pricing Strategies

One way Coke grew its popularity over the years was through competitive and strategic pricing strategies, including offering thousands of free samples near its founding and maintaining a low price for years.

Pricing can make or break your product, so you need to be sure that your strategy is getting you results.

A freemium pricing model works well for many companies by enabling them to share the equivalent of a free sample of their product while charging customers for access to premium or advanced features. This is a great way to create brand loyalty and pull more people on board to use your product.

Another pricing strategy that you should consider is short term discounts designed to bring more customers to the table. If you can get them there, chances are good that you can bring them onboard at full price at a later date.

You should also be tracking the results of your pricing strategies. Consider A/B testing different strategies and using that data to inform future strategies so you can continue to offer your product for better prices that will incentivize more customers to put their trust in your brand.

Actively Explore New Markets

Another aspect of Coke’s marketing strategy which has contributed to their continued success is their willingness to enter new markets.

Coke has expanded by moving into global markets and growing its reach into nearly every country on Earth, but you don’t need to start shipping your product across the globe to grow your brand’s presence.

Research your competitors’ audiences. Are there any niches they are reaching which you could allocate more resources toward?

Once you find opportunities for your brand to expand its reach into new audiences that are open to your product, you can then capitalize in those markets with powerful marketing strategies that connect with them where they are.

Implement Exceptionally Reactive PR

Finally, Coke has been able to maintain its global presence by responding actively, creating conversations, and leveraging powerful PR to ensure their competitors can’t take advantage of them in the media.

One way you can follow this strategy for your own brand is by dedicating resources to public relations which keep track of your competitors, customer reviews and feedback, and the public discourse.

This team should be incentivized to be exceptionally reactive and take advantage of newsjacking in order to keep your brand in the spotlight for positive reasons, and react quickly when you’re in the spotlight for negative reasons.

The main priority for this PR team should be to keep your positive brand identity intact and take advantage of opportunities to put your brand in front of the public in a positive light.

Remember: Agile marketing wins. Be ready to shift your strategy based on feedback and results, and don’t stop until you see massive success.

Grab a Coke and Get to Work

Now that you know how Coke built their global brand and what strategies you can copy to build your own brand, it’s time to get to work.

Don’t forget to download your free marketing strategy template at the top of this post, then sit down, grab a Coke (or whatever you like to drink) and get to work.

There is no better time to take action than right now; why wait?

The post Coke Marketing Strategy: Their Recipe for Success (+5 Achievable Strategies) appeared first on CoSchedule Blog.