COCA-COLA CASE STUDY

Do you know the word used most after ok is "Cocacola"? Two countries CUBA and South Korea, are Rarely there in any country in the world, Where Cocacola is not sold. Well, honestly coke is nothing but sugar water. But the question is this, By just selling sugar water, How can a company build such a billion-dollar empire? Some say Cocaine is present in coke. Some say coke is a toilet cleaner. And many people say that coke has a secret formula, Which is not known by anyone until today? And because of this trade secret, No one has beaten them until now. 

COCA-COLA

So this story starts in the 1880s. When many doctors were busy selling their medical potions. These potions are nothing but dangerous substances, Which were sold in the market under name of medical potions. At that time popular medicine was Wine Mariani. Which was made of a mixture of wine & cocaine. And there was just one person who used it so much, That he became an addict. His name was John Pemberton. Because he was injured in war So to relieve the pain he regularly consumed morphine. But then one day he met Wine Mariani. And with time he became addicted to Mariani. Because he was a chemist, in 1884 to give competition to Mariani he made his drink. That was named "French Wine Coca". And today this French Wine Coca is known as Coca-cola. So French Wine Coca was made of these two things. The number one kola nut that contains caffeine. And number two Coca leaf contains cocaine. French Wine Coca was a very big success. But there was one obstacle. The government started ban of alcohol everywhere. To keep the business running He replaced drinks with carbonated water. But carbonated water is very tasteless. So to make it tasty he started adding sugar. In industries 1880, no one had a problem with cocaine. And now as Pemberton changed the drink, He wanted a new name for a drink. When he was searching name, A bookkeeper in his office suggested a name. And the name was "Coca-cola". Pemberton changed the name as well as the product. But still, there were no sales. Because Pemberton was selling Coca-Cola a medical aspect. Coke was marketed as A wonderful brain tonic That removes headaches and relief. But there was just one problem. At that time in the market, There were more than 100 drinks like this. Unfortunately in 1888, John Pemberton died. But before dying, He sold his company for $2300 to Asa Candler. After buying the company Candler started acquiring company shares from other people. Because he wanted full control of the company. And now it was time to change the game. Candler did not market coke as medicine  But as a tasty relaxing drink. The money he earned from coke, He reinvested in advertising. And at that time, there were coke banners everywhere. In the initial days, coke was sold in fountains. Because it was very cheap for a candler. Give the syrup, mix it in carbonated water and sell it. That time two lawyers came to candler benjamin & joseph. And said such things which will change coke's future. One thing bottle it. Candler was not interested in the idea of bottling. So both lawyers took bottling rights for $1 from candler. But you know what, interestingly their contract, Neither there was a time limit, Nor any clauses for the price change. Very less people know this, This one event had a big hand behind coke's success. And that event was "World war 2". During World war 2 there was rationing on sugar. That means everyone will get sugar in limited quantities. At that time to run their business of coke, They asked for an exemption from the government. By claiming coke as a "Wartime product" the strange thing was government accepted it. After that coke's president committed in front of all, Every uniform soldier will get coke only for 5 cents. After which there was a big line outside coke of fighters. After that coke ran many advertising campaigns. Where they showed a connection with warfighters & patriotism. In fact, coke got funds from the US for international expansion. Very few people know this, the US government has sponsored more than 64 plants worldwide. But this is just one side of Coca-Cola. In today's time, coke is doing many such things, Which in upcoming time will help them reach a whole new level. Coke is one of the biggest companies in the world, Which is now taking entry in 'Metaverse'. Everyone knows that coke is an FMCG brand. So to take entry into the digital world, Coke's NFTs and digital wearables Launched on Decentraland on the wear platform. By doing this coke will not be in the physical world, But will make its presence in the digital world. But the question is, "Why Metaverse?" Two reasons Number one is "Brand value". The brand value of coke is so huge That hardly there will be anyone who doesn't know coke. It makes it very easy for them to enter the Metaverse world. Number two collectibles. Very less people know this but Coke is a collectible brand. Coke miniatures, tags, badges And god knows what other things they collect.

How did Coca-Cola become the most recognized brand in the world? 

Because it was not possible just by selling sugar water. Many of you must have heard this story, Coke has a secret formula, Which is kept hidden in a vault in high security. But do you know formula is not the secret? The formula of coke is available on Wikipedia also. The formula has no hand in the success of coke. Take coke's formula and make a clone product. But then you won't be able to compete with Coca-Cola. The question is why so? The answer is hidden in this one thing. The way they marketed. Coke says that to make someone their customer for life, Is to make sure they consume from the earliest age possible. The question is how does coke do all these things? Do you know In this world coke For more than 10000 Underfunded schools, Has provided funding? But this thing was not done for charity. In return, the school signed an exclusive contract with coke. All the vending machines in the school will sell only coke. Because of this all the kids in those schools, Get the habit of coke since childhood. Today also Santa Claus gives collective items of coke And free coke for kids. Coke has all these things. But the question why were all these things done? So see, it is scientifically proven, The total amount of sugar consumed in life Depends on how much sugar exposure he got in his childhood? If in childhood he was exposed to a lot, Then in a full lifetime, he will consume more sugar. Coke spends billions of dollars on athletes' advertisements. Just to convey one message. That " Coke is a healthy way of life". In the 1980s there was a leak of very negative data, Which told about the harmful effects of coke on the body. One study tells that, Just one extra sugary drink Increases 60% the chances of you being overweight. When all these studies came forward, Coke also made studies from different organizations. For which of course coke paid them. And their result was  Coke has no harmful & negative effects on the body. In 1999, in Belgium, many children fell sick after drinking coke. Because of this coke was banned in Belgium. But coke did not care about it. In fact in India  Coke also has charges of groundwater contamination Coke said that they had fixed this thing. But after some time, There was toxic sludge found at coke plants. And if this toxic sludge is not properly disposed of, Then land becomes a barrel. And the life of local animals is in danger. And farmers' jobs are lost. Delhi center of science and environment Found pesticides in coke and Pepsi samples. If you regularly consume it, Then it can cause cancer. Now just one question. Should we drink coke? Well, it is your choice. I leave it up to you. But the most important ones are those powerful important business lessons? By studying this case study We can implement it in our business. The first lesson is, Sell emotions and not products. We don't buy products but the emotions behind them. Any person GUCCI, Armani, LV Their bags, shoes, watches they don't buy them. They buy the luxury emotions behind it. Coca-cola is just sugar water. And interestingly everyone knows this fact. But then too we buy coke. Why? Because we don't buy but the emotions sold by the brand We buy out it. The second lesson is, Good marketing is always an investment, not an expense. Many people count marketing as an expense in business. But you know what, If done right marketing is the most rewarding investment. And so coke every year 25-35% of revenue Spends only on marketing. And as coke is doing it for many years, So today there is no such person who doesn't know Coca-Cola. Third lesson. Learn to take the stones thrown at you. There were many protests against coke. There were many defamations and many allegations. But despite all these things, Even today coke is one of the biggest companies in the world. Coke is right or wrong? I will leave it up to you. But in life, If you keep replying to every person who throws stones at you, Then you will never succeed in life. Learn to ignore and move forward. Thank you