Strategic Communication Plan of Cocacola Essay Example

Strategic Communication Plan of Cocacola Essay Plan for 2010 Leyla Jafarova Alexander TEI Thessaloniki, Instructor: Mrs. Milona 12/10/2010 Introduction Like all functional areas of a company, the Communication Department plays a key role in helping an organization reach its objectives. It makes an organization understandable; it emphasizes its differences; it prioritizes messages for its key audiences. Ultimately, Communications works to package and position an organization to make sure its messages are clear, coherent and consistent only then, can stakeholders be most supportive. Strategic communications plan helps you integrate all the organization’s programs, public education and advocacy efforts. By planning a long-term strategy for your efforts, you will become more proactive and strategic, rather than consistently reacting to the existing environment. The strategic plan will help you use your resources more effectively and strategically by highlighting synergies and shared opportunities in your various programs and work areas. The creation and adoption of a strategic communications plan represents a significant step for any organization. For many organizations, the adoption of such a plan represents a cultural shift toward communications and a clear recognition that all the organization’s efforts have a communications element. Public education, grassroots organizing, research, public advocacy, direct service and even fundraising are all, at their core, communications tasks vital to the health and success of a nonprofit organization. Strategic Communications Plan consists of several parts and normally includes: * Context- whats happened before? Whats the history? * Environmental Scan- what are the key factors that will affect your success? What is the media saying? Stakeholders- your stakeholders and their expected reactions. How you will manage them? * Objectives- what do you want to achieve? (should be clear, relevant, measurable use the SMART approach if you like) * Strategy- where are you going, and why? * Audiences- who are the key audiences? * Announcement- given the strategy, are you making an announceme nt? What are you announcing? * Messages- what are you saying about the announcement? * Tactics- how will you implement your strategy, both before, during and after the main announcement (assuming you have one)? * Issues- what problems may you have to overcome? Evaluation- how will you know if youve been successful? The Coca-Cola Company is a beverage retailer, manufacturer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. Besides its namesake Coca-Cola beverage, Coca-Cola currently offers more than 500 brands in over 200 countries or territories and serves 1. 6 billion servings each day. The company operates a franchised distribution system dating from 1889 where The Coca-Cola Company only produces syrup concentrate which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold an exclusive territory. However Coca-Cola has been criticized a lot for the past few years. We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Communication Plan of Cocacola specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Communication Plan of Cocacola specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Communication Plan of Cocacola specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It has been involved in a number of crime controversies and lawsuits related to its relationship with human rights violations and other perceived unethical practices. A number of lawsuits have been issued in relation to its allegedly monopolistic and discriminatory practices, some of which have been dismissed, some of which have caused The Coca-Cola Company to change its business practices, and some of which have been settled out of court. It has also been involved in a discrimination case. There have been continuing criticisms regarding the Coca-Cola Companys relation to the Middle East and U. S. foreign policy. The company has been criticized on a number of environmental issues. Critics claim that the companys overuse of local water supplies in some locations has led to severe shortages for regional farmers and the forced closure of some plants. Packaging used in Coca-Colas products have a significant environmental impact. However, the company strongly opposes attempts to introduce mechanisms such as container deposit legislation. All these rumors about Coca-Cola of course damaged the image of the company very much and caused many problems. Sales were going down each year. More and more people didn’t trust Coca-Cola anymore. Also, Coca-Cola has very strong rivalries. The main one is of course PepsiCo, which is very famous all over the world and has a great variety of products. Thus, Coca-cola can’t afford its image to be damaged because if that happens PepsiCo will become the leader of the industry very fast. Right now Coca-Cola needs a new Strategic Communication Plan to try to overcome the issues. Strategic Communications Plan for Coca-Cola Background statement: Last year, Coca-cola saw its sales decreased in the European market. In order to increase the sales, Coca-Cola needs to define a new strategic communications plan. As mentioned above the image of Coca-Cola has been damaged quite a lot for the past 2 years by different factors. A hard work needed to deal with consequences of this damage in the image of the company. Rivalries are always close, that’s why Coca-Cola has to be alert to stay competitive. New Strategic Communications plan is going to help the company to deal with problems both inside and outside the company. It will help Coca-Cola to use the strength and opportunities to overcome weaknesses and threats. Corporate or Business/Functional Objectives: Accelerate carbonated soft-drink growth, led by Coca-Cola * Selectively broaden their family of beverage brands in order to drive profitable growth * Grow system profitability and capability together with their bottling partners * Serve customers with creativity and consistency in order to generate growth across all channels * Direct investm ents to highest potential areas across the different markets * Drive efficiency and cost-effectiveness everywhere they are implanted * Increase sales by 3% in the next 6 months, and by 5% in total for the next 12 months * Increase the â€Å"impulse buy† by 15% in the next 12 months * Increase market shares by 10% in the next 12 months. Policy Issues: Whether or not people see Coca-Cola as a threat to be overweight * Whether or not perception of Coca-Cola was affected by the â€Å"cola war† * Whether or not young people see Coca-Cola brand as old-fashioned * Why Coca-Cola has low â€Å"impulse buy† rates External Environment Positive factors: * Coca-Cola is a well-known brand all over the world * It has good relations with partners * Coca-Cola Company has started to make a good use of internet, by developing teenagers programs and games online. * It is perceived as a constant sponsor of many different sport events all over the world * The perception of Coca-Cola was changed for better during the last year. It has become more popular among youth than it was 2 years ago. The company should keep working in this direction. Negative factors: There is an instability of the political environment that can play against American companies * The world is facing a rapid change. The period of recession has affected almost every country * Company is facing a strong concurrence, â€Å"Cola-war† * Medical Specialists try to discourage people to drink sugar-soft drinks and it really affects the sales because perception of Coca-cola is not that positive anymore. * It is an old brand which has been created for more than a century. It can be seen as an old-fashioned by young people. Internal Environment Positive factors: * Coca-Cola has a very talented staff * Staff doesn’t have any big complaints * Employees appreciate to receiv e some extra training on the subject of their interest Negative factors: Employees sometimes complain about the management being too closed-minded. * Also, there are complaints about lack of communication and feedback. * Employees are not informed on time about latest changes in the company. * Employees expressed their feeling of being under-appreciated. Window of opportunity External Clients * Coca-Cola is partner in many sports events which increase awareness about the company * It is a multi-year partner with Warner Bros. With the release of â€Å"Harry Potter movie† * It has developed the Coca-Cola Ware, based on urban street life. * Coca-Cola Company uses the environmental awareness with specific programs. Coca-Cola may start a new joint venture like one with Jamp;B. Internal Clients * Educational programs for employees * Development of new communication system within the company to make better corporate culture * Team building exercise Communication objectives External audiences * Increase awareness of the people by 5 % in the next 6 months. This increase in general, grouping all the target audiences. As Coca-Cola is already well-known brand it is not possible to increase awareness by an important percentage. * To emphasize the differences of the products compared to its competitors and create a differentiation awareness increased by 20% in the next 12 months. Coca cola has a specific taste that can differentiate it from other brands. * To emphasize the brand values awareness by 20% in the next 12 months. * To reposition the brand as younger and more fun. Coca-cola is a brand with a long history. Coca-cola needs to reposition itself to attractive again for teenagers. * To maintain the brand preference among the consumers. The brand has to reinforce its penetration in leading audiences. Internal audiences * To have a clear communication system in the company with easy access to top management and regular feedback. * To increase awareness among employees about corporate values and latest events. Messages To External audiences Coca-Cola is a world-wide leader in the industry * Open days prove that whatever is said about Coca-Cola being dirty is not true * Coca-Cola is environmentally friendly company * Coca-Cola is doing its best to support sustainable development To Internal audiences * Coca-Cola tries to be a great place to work where peopl e are inspired to be the best they can be. * Coca-Cola nurtures a winning network of customers and suppliers, to together create mutual, enduring value. Coca-Cola tries to maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities. Communication priorities * Advertising campaign to reach all kinds of audiences Sponsorship not only to reach public, but also to promote Coca-cola as socially responsible company * Awareness about sustainability of Coca-Cola to create a better image about Coca-cola * Deal with criticism against Coca-Cola by having more open days, so that people can see how it’s all done with their own eyes * Create an efficient communication, feedback system within the company to satisfy employees and promote corporate culture. Strategic considerations * Women, who were as heavy users as men, should be targeted in preference to increase their consumption as it was two years ago. * Younger group should be very carefully considered. As mentioned before Coca-cola is not as popular among youth that much anymore. And that should be changed. For example by sponsoring young artists * Sports events are still very important communication tool. Coca-cola needs to keep sponsoring sports events to reach large audiences. * Advertisements on TV are essential. A new TV campaign has to reposition the image of Coca-Cola as more fun and â€Å"young† and also promote impulse buy. Use of new symbol, a white bear in different context was very useful in previous years. * Press is very useful tool to reach older audiences. Several magazines have to be used to reach the goal. Depending on the magazine, advertisements should be different. If the target group of the magazine is older audience, advertisement should be simpler but more informative. Opposite to these magazines, young magazines should contain advertisements that are bright, eye catching and fun. * Use website as a powerful communication tool. It can stimulate awareness about the brand. Games, funny screen savers and other products can be displayed. Requirements for Consultations, Partnerships, and Negotiation. * Prolong the contract with Jamp;B. The joint venture was very successful and now almost any bar offers whiskey with coca-cola. * Keep partnerships with suppliers and distributors * Create new ideas and partnerships. Performance indicators * To evaluate impact of advertising, tracking will be used to inform an awareness levels of a commercial and image ratings of the brand. * Surveys will be used to find out whether people like the advertising or not. * Sponsorship will be hard to evaluate. It can be done by consumer surveys, postal surveys and etc. * A Corporate image evaluation should be regular. Key shareholders and consumers should be questioned regarding their perception of the important attributes of the organization they are in. Conclusion Although it has a lot of obstacles, Coca-Cola is one of the strongest companies known world-wide. Coca-Cola is committed to local markets, paying attention to what people from different cultures and backgrounds like to drink, and where and how they want to drink it. With its bottling partners, the Company reaches out to the local communities it serves, believing that Coca-Cola exists to benefit and refresh everyone it touches. From the early beginnings when just nine drinks a day were served, Coca-Cola has grown to the world’s most ubiquitous brand, with more than 1. 4 billion beverage servings sold each day. When people choose to reach for one of The Coca-Cola Company brands, the Company wants that choice to be exciting and satisfying, every single time. I think that the brand name of Coca-cola is strong enough to deal with all the anti- advertising we see. If this Company keeps promoting itself as environment friendly, sustainable and socially responsible company, sales will go up.