The biggest credit is the “full category strategy.”
Editor’s note: This article is from WeChat public account “Brand front page” (ID: ceozhiku), author Lin Chuan, the front page of the brand.
Not long ago, Coca-Cola released its full-year and fourth quarter financial results for 2019.
According to the financial report, Coca-Cola’s fourth-quarter revenue was US $ 9,068 million, an increase of 16.17% year-on-year; net profit was US $ 2.065 billion, an increase of 122.76% from US $ 870 million in the same period last year.
Affected by this, Coca-Cola’s annual revenue was US $ 37.266 billion, an increase of 8.65% year-on-year; net profit was US $ 8.985 billion, an increase of 38.74% year-on-year.
Created the largest market share increase in nearly a decade!
So what exactly did Coca-Cola do to get it back on the track of growth after four consecutive financial years of decline?
“All-category strategy” has begun to bear fruit, Coca-Cola sales welcome growth
In the words of the Chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Board, “FY2019 is the fastest growing market share in the past decade!”
Among them, the biggest credit is “full category strategy.”
Time goes back to May 2017.
Under the goal of creating a “full-category beverage company”, Coca-Cola has proposed a “full-category strategy”, in addition to maintaining the development of traditional carbonated beverages, it is also necessary to explore non-carbonated beverage categories.
For example, Coca-Cola has launched the “Meal Tea House” in the tea field, which focuses on the sugar-free and sweet experience;For example, Coca-Cola first introduced lemon-flavored canned sparkling wine in Japan, and then launched four high-end mixed bartender beverages in the United Kingdom. Another example was Coca-Cola’s wholly-owned acquisition of Costa Coffee, which entered the coffee field across borders.
At the same time, Coca-Cola has also made many product innovations in the carbonic acid market.
For example, the launch of sugar-free Diet Coke and Zero Coke; for example, in addition to reducing the sugar content of the classic model, the mini model is more suitable for young consumers. In addition, there are sports drinks, sprite fiber + cucumber soda, sprite coconut soda and so on.
In fact, Coca-Cola has launched hundreds of products in the past few years, although most of them have never heard of their names.
But for Coca-Cola, as long as several of them are recognized by consumers, it means great success.
According to the financial report, sales of tea and coffee products increased by 4% and sales of carbonated beverages increased by 3% in FY2019. It is worth pointing out that the sales of zero-degree Coke have achieved double-digit growth.
“Digital Strategy” Broadens Consumers
The Coca-Cola Board Chairman and CEO said:
“The success of Coca-Cola in the Chinese market is not only due to the expansion of the distribution network, but also because the new strategy of” digital priority “has helped us to expand the consumer base.”
What is a “digital first” strategy?
To put it simply, in the digital age, data and technology are used around consumers, distributors, and companies to achieve their goals more efficiently.
Take consumer digitization as an example.
Have you ever thought about the problem, that is, although everyone likes to drink Coca-Cola, in fact, every time you drink Coca-Cola, the scene is different. Sometimes, it is to cool off the heat in the hot summer; sometimes, it is used as a drink to drink; and sometimes, it is used to relieve spicy when it is served with rice.
Therefore, brands need to understand consumer preferences, master their consumption habits, and increase the frequency of contact with consumers as much as possible. In other words, what used to be for consumers to go to shopping malls and convenience stores to buy Coca-Cola, now they need to take the initiative to reach consumers through digital means..
How does it work?
The answer is a take-out consumption scene built around the US group, are you hungry!
For example, the dining combination around “Coca-Cola + Food” not only binds Coca-Cola with selected cuisines, continuously cultivates the habit of consumers drinking Coca-Cola at meals, but also reflects Coca-Cola’s fun and joy through various marketing activities Brand connotation.
Of course, Coca-Cola’s presence in the takeaway scene is further strengthened through various coupons.
Because of this, through cooperation with takeaway platforms, Coca-Cola’s market share on takeaway platforms has increased to over 60%.
“New product + new pricing”, Defend consumer sensitivity to price
I believe many people should have such questions:
In the context of limited growth in sales of core products of carbonated beverages, even if sales of new categories have increased, the impact on overall performance will be limited. But why is Coca-Cola’s performance better than expected?
The reason is that Coca-Cola has adopted “new product + new pricing”!
How do you understand?
For Coca-Cola, of course, consumers know the price sensitivity of consumers, that is, any increase in prices will cause some consumers to leave. As a result, price increases not only do not have any positive impact on performance, but also cause serious damage to brand reputation.
However, consumers are less sensitive to new product prices.
Because there is no obvious reference, and consumers’ natural curiosity, they are often willing to pay higher prices for new products. It is under such consumer psychology that Coca-Cola has launched many new products in the past year.
Product pricing is around 5 yuan!
Not only can consumers feel that new products are more high-end, healthier, and more graded, but they can also achieve a double harvest of sales profits through price increases.
Rely on “beauty + healthier”, Coca-Cola embraces young consumers
Compared to the past, a significant change in Coca-Cola is that cross-border has increasingly become the focus of marketing activities.
So what logic is behind it?
After all, in the context of consumer youth, embracing the inevitable requirements of young consumers. Therefore, under this guideline, Coca-Cola focuses on “high-value packaging” and “healthier products.”
We found that although the packaging of classic Coca-Cola and Sprite products has remained basically the same as in the past, the new packaging, whether it is the design of the pattern or the design of the bottle body, reflects the contemporary trend and fashion.
Simply put, Coca-Cola is deliberately pursuing the art of packaging!
In addition, in order to cater to the pursuit of a “healthier” lifestyle for young consumers, Coca-Cola not only focuses on small cans, but also launches “low-sugar” and “sugar-free” colas, in order to re-invigorate consumers’ carbonate Drink preference.
This is undoubtedly also a major change made by this century-old beverage giant!
Reference source:
[1] Zhang Xiayu, “The revenue in 2019 exceeds 250 billion yuan, a 17% increase against the trend! What can Coca-Cola tell Chinese companies? 》, February 6, 2020, fast-moving
[2] He Danlin, “The Coca-Cola Annual Report is published, the CEO said that he has worn the largest share in 10 years, and he still says so,” January 31, 2020, Snack Generation
The Coca-Cola Board Chairman and CEO said:
“The success of Coca-Cola in the Chinese market is not only due to the expansion of the distribution network, but also because the new strategy of” digital priority “has helped us to expand the consumer base.”
What is a “digital first” strategy?
To put it simply, in the digital age, data and technology are used around consumers, distributors, and companies to achieve their goals more efficiently.
Take consumer digitization as an example.
Have you ever thought about the problem, that is, although everyone likes to drink Coca-Cola, in fact, every time you drink Coca-Cola, the scene is different. Sometimes, it is to cool off the heat in the hot summer; sometimes, it is used as a drink to drink; and sometimes, it is used to relieve spicy when it is served with rice.
Therefore, brands need to understand consumer preferences, master their consumption habits, and increase the frequency of contact with consumers as much as possible. In other words, what used to be for consumers to go to shopping malls and convenience stores to buy Coca-Cola, now they need to take the initiative to reach consumers through digital means..
How does it work?
The answer is a take-out consumption scene built around the US group, are you hungry!
For example, the dining combination around “Coca-Cola + Food” not only binds Coca-Cola with selected cuisines, continuously cultivates the habit of consumers drinking Coca-Cola at meals, but also reflects Coca-Cola’s fun and joy through various marketing activities Brand connotation.
Of course, Coca-Cola’s presence in the takeaway scene is further strengthened through various coupons.
Because of this, through cooperation with takeaway platforms, Coca-Cola’s market share on takeaway platforms has increased to over 60%.
“New product + new pricing”, Defend consumer sensitivity to price
I believe many people should have such questions:
In the context of limited growth in sales of core products of carbonated beverages, even if sales of new categories have increased, the impact on overall performance will be limited. But why is Coca-Cola’s performance better than expected?
The reason is that Coca-Cola has adopted “new product + new pricing”!
How do you understand?
For Coca-Cola, of course, consumers know the price sensitivity of consumers, that is, any increase in prices will cause some consumers to leave. As a result, price increases not only do not have any positive impact on performance, but also cause serious damage to brand reputation.
However, consumers are less sensitive to new product prices.
Because there is no obvious reference, and consumers’ natural curiosity, they are often willing to pay higher prices for new products. It is under such consumer psychology that Coca-Cola has launched many new products in the past year.
Product pricing is around 5 yuan!
Not only can consumers feel that new products are more high-end, healthier, and more graded, but they can also achieve a double harvest of sales profits through price increases.
Rely on “beauty + healthier”, Coca-Cola embraces young consumers
Compared to the past, a significant change in Coca-Cola is that cross-border has increasingly become the focus of marketing activities.
So what logic is behind it?
After all, in the context of consumer youth, embracing the inevitable requirements of young consumers. Therefore, under this guideline, Coca-Cola focuses on “high-value packaging” and “healthier products.”
We found that although the packaging of classic Coca-Cola and Sprite products has remained basically the same as in the past, the new packaging, whether it is the design of the pattern or the design of the bottle body, reflects the contemporary trend and fashion.
Simply put, Coca-Cola is deliberately pursuing the art of packaging!
In addition, in order to cater to the pursuit of a “healthier” lifestyle for young consumers, Coca-Cola not only focuses on small cans, but also launches “low-sugar” and “sugar-free” colas, in order to re-invigorate consumers’ carbonate Drink preference.
This is undoubtedly also a major change made by this century-old beverage giant!
Reference source:
[1] Zhang Xiayu, “The revenue in 2019 exceeds 250 billion yuan, a 17% increase against the trend! What can Coca-Cola tell Chinese companies? 》, February 6, 2020, fast-moving
[2] He Danlin, “The Coca-Cola Annual Report is published, the CEO said that he has worn the largest share in 10 years, and he still says so,” January 31, 2020, Snack Generation