1. A report submitted toProf. SrinivasGovindrajanIn partial fulfilment of the requirements of the projectBrand Tracker of Coca-Cola On 29/07/12 By Adnan KitabiAvishekMehra GauravAgarwalRanabir Pal Page | 1

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARYCoca cola is a 125 years old brand which was invented in Atlanta Georgia in the year 1886 by Dr JohnS Pemberton. Over a period of time the drink transform itself from a drink of medicinal value to themost recognizable brand in the world today.Coca cola is a highly respectable brand and is considered as the drink of the nation in which in whichwas originated. Further all over the world it is regarded as the symbol of happiness and celebration.Today it thrives on its goodwill which it has able to create over a period of more than century.In the first phase of Brand Tracker we have attempted to determine the current status of the brandand the brand identity in the minds of the consumer. A variant of the famous Brand Asset Valuator(BAV) was used to identify the current status of the brand while the Zaltman Metaphor ElicitationTechnique (ZMET) was used to identify the brand identity.The BAV model measures the value of the brand along 4 Dimensions namely Differentiation,Relevance, Esteem and knowledge. Differentiation and Relevance together comprise the brandstrength Esteem and Knowledge build up the Brand stature. For BAV, 53 samples were surveyedusing a questionnaire.Coca cola has the highest percentile score of 100 in awareness parameter & an esteem score of66.67 percentile in comparison with the other major brands i.e.; Pepsi, Thumps up and Sprite. But ithas left behind in the Relevance and Differentiation parameter with a percentile score of 33.33 ineach. From this we can say that although the brand has a high stature but has lost ground in vitalityin comparison with its above mentioned competitors.The ZMET technique was used as a qualitative research tool to gauge the brand identity of Coca cola.A sample of 10 respondents was chosen to execute this process. The technique is based on the factthat most human communication is nonverbal, much of which is visual. Each step in ZMET provides adifferent opportunity for identifying and understanding metaphors, thereby gaining a deeperunderstanding about the consumers. The ZMET technique identified Coca cola as followsIt is concluded that Coca-Cola is not merely a Numero Uno brand but The Perfect Brand. It hasstood through thick and thin and this evergreen quality has made Coca-Cola a brand that symbolizescelebration and happiness. It is a refreshing brand that quenches the thirst and can be shared withboth family and friends.Page | 2 3. INDEXSl. No.ContentPage No.1.Early History and Evolution42.Quantitative Research Model BAV53. Qualitative Technique-ZMET 13 Page | 3 4. Early History and EvolutionCoca Cola was invented by Dr John.S.Pemberton (pharmacist from Atlanta Georgia) in May 1886. Heconcocted the formula in his backyard. Carbonated water was added to syrup to make it a refreshingdrink. The flowing letters which has become the logo of the company today is the gift of FrankRobinson (bookkeeper of Dr Pemberton). Till 1905 the drink was served with cocaine & wassupposed to be the remedy for headache.In 1887 Asa Candler (another pharmacist from Atlanta Georgia) bought the formula from DrPemberton for 2300$. Due to his aggressive marketing strategy Coca Colas sale went up by 4000%between 1890 and 1900. By the turn of the 20th century the product was being sold in US & Canada.In 1915, Pepsi went for bankruptcy & was offered to Coca Cola to take over as it was the only othermajor soft drink in the country. But Coca Cola didnt accepted that offer as they thought it to be aliability to take over a loss making company. A blunder that haunts Coca Cola till date.Coca Cola elevated itself from just a product to a symbol of patriotism during World War-II whenthey decided to sell the drink to the military men for 5 cents per bottle (thereby obtaining thelicense of unlimited cultivation of sugar). This made it the drink of America.In 1963, Pepsi positioned itself as a product of youth. The strategy was so influential that it becamelike a trend in US that a person with a bottle of Pepsi in his hand was considered to be hip identifyinghimself as a new age American & a person with a bottle of Coca Cola in his hand was considered tobe orthodox old age American. Coca Cola identified this trend & again invoke the patrioticsentiments of the American by identifying itself as the drink of America which helped them retrievethe market which was lost to Pepsi.In 1985, Coca Cola did something unthinkable. They changed the taste of Coca Cola & the newproduct was launched in the name of Coca Cola refresh. The strategy failed big time as there was notonly drop in the sales but there was wide spread feeling of dissatisfaction among Americans whoproclaimed that Coca Cola had robbed the drink of America. The issue was finally settled, as they re-launched Coca Cola in the name of Coca Cola classic.In India Coca Cola was 1st launched in the late 1970s. But FERA Act (1973) compelled them todiscontinue their operations in India. In early 1990s in the new liberalized Indian economy, CocaCola came back with vengeance, acquiring dominant market brands like Thumps up (a product ofRPG) laying a platform for its operations in India.Initially, it targeted the high income group with high price & eye catchy advertisement. Later itrepositioned itself as a drink for the masses and slowly as the cost of operations became cheaper itpenetrated the market of middle & lower middle income group with the reduction in price.It has distinctively positioned itself in urban & rural India. With the yawning mind-set gap betweenthe two markets, Coca Cola in urban India has positioned itself as a symbol of style & celebration,while in rural India it is essentially a product which quenches thirst. Page | 4 5. Quantitative Research Model BAVRefer to EXIBIT 1 (BAV-Quantitative Technique), which is attachedResearch MethodologyThe BAV model is a proprietary tool designed by Young & Rubicam. The BAV model is used tomeasure the current and future status of the brand vis--vis its competitors. The current status ofthe brand (also known as Brand Stature) is measured keeping in mind two main attributes -Knowledgeand Esteem. And the future status of the brand (also known as Brand Vitality) ismeasured keeping in mind two other attributes Relevance and Differentiation.As the BAV is a proprietary tool an independent questionnaire was designed to gauge theconsumers perception across the 4 pillars on which BAV is based. Each pillar is assigned 100%weightage and this is split amongst the questions pertaining to them. Weights are assigned on thebasis of how direct and how comprehensive is the information that could be derived from thequestion.The calculation is done by totaling the number of responses (in some cases only the correctresponse) and adding them after the weightage of the question is allocated to a particular attributeor a brand. This is done for every question to arrive at a score for each brand. All the scores from thequestions pertaining to a specific pillar for a particular brand is added to get the final score for thatpillar for that brand. Once this is done, percentile is assigned on the basis of the final score receivedby each brand.In Q.5 and Q.7 we tried to check how the products are different from each other. So in Q.5 we gavesome attributes with which the products are already associated with. And in Q.7 we provided a setof corporate personalities, along with the name of the corporate, with which the products are notrelated and asked people to relate them. The product getting the highest response for a givenattribute/corporate personality was set as a standard and then it is being deducted from theresponses that other products gets for that following attribute/corporate personality. The differencebetween the entire product for the same attribute/corporate personality is then added and thengiven a weightage.Similarly Q.4 and Q.9 is framed. In Q.4 the respondent is asked a close ended question so thathe/she gives a response that comes certainly in his/her mind. And a same kind of question is askedin Q.9 but in a different manner and it is kept open ended so that the respondent think a little andthen give the response. Thus in one case we get a pseudo response and in one we get a trueresponse.The questionnaire is being deliberately jumbled so that it looks that the questions are not related tothe previous question and also because the respondents should look at all the questions as anindividual question. Similarly the options given in all the questions are jumbled.Sample Size53 respondentsPage | 5 6. Sampling PlanAll the respondent in the sample size are non-MBA students. This is done because the brands thatwe have taken are well known brands and management students knowing about the brand, aboutits positioning and marketing strategy will have a biased opinion. So we took non MBAs to ensurethat the sample is unbiased.Instrument of Data CollectionQuestionnaire (Online Survey) QuestionnaireQ1What is the first brand that comes to your mind when you hear the words Happiness?SpritePepsi Coca-Cola Thums UPQ2Identify the brands with their associated taglines?NotSprite Coca-ColaPepsi Thums UpApplicableRasta Clear HainChange the gamePyaasBhujaaoOpen HappinessAajkuchtoofanikartehainBelieve in a brightertomorrow Page | 6 7. Q3Which soft drink would you prefer to serve your guest during small get together?Pepsi Thums Up Coca-Cola SpriteQ4With which soft drink brand you associate yourself with?SpriteCoca-Cola PepsiThums Up OthersQ5Which brand would you associate with the following attributes? NotPepsi Thums Up SpriteCoca-Cola ApplicableMacho and daringYouthPride and respectStreet smartQ6While buying a soft drink which are the factor important to you?AvailabilityTaste Peer PressureThirst Quenching Fizz/Burp Page | 7 8. Q7Associate the following personalities with 4 different brandsPepsi Coca-Cola Sprite Thums UpRatan Tata (Tatagroups)Mark Zuckenberg(Facebook)Vijay Malya (Kingfisher)Lakshmi Mittal(ArcelorMittal Steel)Q8To which soft drink would you like to give an award as the soft drink of the nation?PepsiSpriteThums Up Coca-ColaQ9The soft drink which you have consumed the maximum number of times in the last 3 months?Q10Explain yourself in one/two word(s)Q11Name of the respondent Page | 8 9. Results and Analysis of BAVIndividual AnalysisThe percentile score of all the individual brands across differentiation, relevance, esteem andknowledge was calculated and then converted into graphs. Then the graphs are comparedto find outin which category (new, unrealized potential/niche, leadership, declining, eroded and unfocused) dothese brands lie. The brands that were analyzed are Pepsi, Thums Up and Sprite as they are thecompetitor of Coca-Cola.Pepsi PepsiAwarenessEsteemRelevance Differentiation 33.33 0 0 01In this case we can clearly see that the awareness level of Pepsi is the second lowest, second toSprite. Mainly this thing happened because both Pepsi and Sprite use the youth culture inadvertising their product. This brand has low stature and low vitality. So it is advisable that thecompany should look for a better option than Pepsi.Page | 9 10. Thums Up Thums Up AwarenessEsteem RelevanceDifferentiation66.6766.6766.6766.67This is a brand which has high stature and high vitality and thus has a high potential. It is a verystrong brand and a consistent one also.Sprite Sprite AwarenessEsteem RelevanceDifferentiation 100100 1000This is a brand which have high potential but lack in the awareness attribute. The reason why it hasvery low awareness are: a)In the last 1.5 years Sprite has changed their advertisement campaign 3times-Sprite bujhaye only pyaasbaki sab bakwas, University of Freshology and Rasta Clear Hain(present one) b) Both Sprite and Pepsi emphasizes on the youth, so people get confused with whichto associate youth c) Limca presently came up with a tag line called pyaasbarao which is similar toSprites previous tag line Sprite bujhaye only pyaasbaki sab bakwas Page | 10 11. Coca-ColaCoca-ColaAwareness Esteem Relevance Differentiation10066.6733.33 33.33Coca-Cola being a 125 years old brand proves how much strong presence it has in the minds ofpeople. Again in the case of esteem it is second best to Sprite. But when it comes to future of thisbrand it looks little shaky. The reason why it has low vitality might be the following: In the top 4 softdrink brands, 3 products are Cola product.Overall AnalysisBrand Asset Valuator 10050, 100 75 Brand Stature66.67, 66.67 Coca-Cola 50 Pepsi 83.34, 33.33 25Thums Up Sprite 0 16.67, 0 0.00 25.0050.0075.00 100.00Brand Vitality Page | 11 12. If we look at the overall BAV Grid then we can see that the best brand here is Thums Up. The scoreof this brand is constant in all the attributes. The next best brand is Sprite because it has a goodpotential. Coca-Cola being a old brand have high brand stature but low brand vitality.From the survey done by us few things were very clear to us, Taste(58%) and Thirst Quenching(40%)are the two major reason why people drink soft drink. And Spite automatically relates itself with theabove mentioned attributes because it has been positioned like that and fulfills the need of thepeople.One more thing that came to our notice is that both the sex prefers Spite. Generally the fair sex donot like cola drink. But they like to have a drink which has fizz. And Sprite caters to that need. Againas both the sex like Sprite, so during small get together Sprite is more demanding.We adopted a customised version of ZMET (Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique) for theQualitative Research of our Project of Brand Image Perception on Coca Cola. This was because of thelimitation we had in terms of selection of population.Page | 12 13. Qualitative Technique-ZMETRefer to EXIBIT 2, which is attachedWe have chosen ZMET over R&Gs Laddering Method because of the following reasons:- Our brand was Coca cola which is a lifestyle product and in addition to taste a lot of otherthings make the consumer buy the product which can be expressed more clearly by Elicitation thennormal Q&A.The customized model of ZMET which we developed was helpful in determining how andwhy the consumer relates itself with brand.In addition to the previous point we were also able to find out what are the other attributeswhich consumer think the brand has which our respondents dont relate to.Steps Followed in Qualitative Research1.Story Telling about the pictures- We asked the respondents to select 10 pictures out of setof 32 which they think relates to their own character or personality. A bit of laddering was done tofind out how it relates to their personality.2.Connection with the brand- We asked them to select 3 pictures out of those 10 pictureswhich they think relates to the brand Coca cola. This was done to find out how respondents connecttheir personality with the brand. Similar process was repeated with other brands like Pepsi, ThumpsUp and Sprite to remove biasness among the respondents.3.Missing Image- We ask the respondents to select 1 more picture either from the selected 10or from the initial 32 or any other picture which they can describe, which they can relate to thebrand. This was done to find which all other attributes, which they think the brand has, but notnecessarily related to their own personality. The same process was repeated for other brands toremove biasness.4. Audio visual image- The respondents were then asked to describe any audio visual, be itmovie, scene of the movie, song, play, etc which they think connects with the brand. The objectiveof this exercise was same as mentioned in point 3. The same process was repeated for other brandas well to remove biasness.Page | 13 14. Pictorial AnalysisSimilarities among respondent Family Oriented Fun Loving Perfectionist Responsible Friendly Innovator Attention Seeker Focused Happy Positive Attitude Refreshing Reserved Socially ResponsibleAttributes which connect the consumer with the brand Family Drink Friend Drink Page | 14 15. Happiness Perfect Brand Refreshing BrandThe brand has the following attributes in addition of the above Celebration Evergreen Numero Uno Thirst QuenchingThe feedback of the respondents can be interpreted as the following:-It is concluded that Coca-Cola is not merely a Numero Uno brand but The Perfect Brand. It hasstood through thick and thin and this evergreen quality has made Coca-Cola a brand that symbolizescelebration and happiness. It is a refreshing brand that quenches the thirst and can be shared withboth family and friends. Page | 15