3. This report is an analysis and evaluation of Coca-Cola and its top
competitors, Dr Pepper and Pepsi, on each brand’s performance across social
media platforms. By analyzing each brand’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram,
the research team was able to identify trends in Coca-Cola’s social media usage
and opportunities for improvement.
By performing a background analysis, the research team gained an in-
depth perspective of the brands and their current position in the marketplace,
especially in relationship to one another. The background analysis allowed the
team to analyze Coca-Cola’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
The team conducted a full social media audit by examining each brand’s
social media activity on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram over the course of
February 2016. This gave the research team insight on what strategies Coca-
Cola needed in order to improve performance across all social media platforms.
Creating follower engagement was the most apparent problem for Coca-Cola’s
social media. Despite producing more content than its competitors, Coca-Cola
received the least engagement from its followers on Twitter as compared to its
competitors. This could be due to Coca-Cola’s repetitive use of the same content
across all platforms. Coca-Cola’s image was consistent across all platforms, yet
it lacked in the diversity necessary to engage the specific type of followers that
each platform attracts.
The main goal of the #MyCokeStory campaign proposed in this report
is to increase interaction and engagement with the brand’s Twitter followers.
Launching the campaign will allow Coca-Cola to give its loyal fans the recognition
they crave, therefore strengthening the relationship between the brand and its
fans. This will combat Coca-Cola’s current lack of engagement with its Twitter
followers. The campaign will attempt to launch Coca-Cola ahead of its competitors
in terms of social media engagement and interaction.
Executive
Summary
4. Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company,
refreshing customers with more than 500 sparkling and still
brands. It has been around for 129 years, and the global
headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia. Coca-Cola has
products sold in more than 200 countries including 20 percent
in North America, 29 percent in Latin America, 13 percent
in Europe, 16 percent in Eurasia/Africa and 22 percent in
Asia Pacific. It makes a net income of $7.1 billion, and it
returned $8 billion to shareowners. The total value of the
company in 2014 was $81.6 billion. It has had 53 years of
consecutive annual dividend increases to its shareholders.
On top of the impressive profits it acquire, it is also the
“#10 Most Admired Company” by Fortune magazine.
Coca-Cola isn’t just about selling Coke. It has more than
3,600 products worldwide. Its brands include Fanta,
Dasani, Vitamin Water, Sprite, Coke Zero, Gold Peak
Tea and Minute Maid. Coke is committed to making
a difference through water stewardship, sustainable
packaging, energy management and climate
protection. Coke has invested more than $60 billion on
global bottling partners.
Fun Facts
Coke makes so many different beverages that if you drank
one per day, it would take you over nine years to try them all.
The Coca-Cola brand is worth an estimated $74 billion, which is
more than Budweiser, Pepsi, Starbucks and Red Bull combined.
Background Analysis
Coca-Cola
T @CocaCola
F Coca-Cola
I @CocaCola
T @DrPepper
F Dr Pepper
I @DrPepper
T @Pepsi
F Pepsi
I @Pepsi
5. Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper Snapple Group is the third largest soda company in North
America, after Coke and Pepsi, but its stock performance blows away
its rivals. In the fourth quarter, the company’s earnings rose to $114
million, or 44 cents per share, compared to a loss of $621 million,
or $2.44 per share, for Coca-Cola in the same quarter. Dr Pepper
was created in 1885 and is the oldest major soft drink in America.
A pharmacist named Charles Alderton invented Dr Pepper in his
drug store in Waco, Texas by mixing different flavors until his
customers thought it tasted just right. It is a signature blend of
23 flavors that makes every sip of Dr Pepper truly unique. Its
slogan is “Always One of a Kind” and the brand focuses on being
original. Its social media has a vintage feel that transcends over
several media channels. This organization is a peer to Coca-
Cola because it is a similar product with a large reach and loyal
customers. It differs from Coca-Cola and Pepsi because its product
is not actually a cola.
Fun Facts
Dr Pepper it alleged to have been named after a physician, but the
correct styling of the name is Dr Pepper, not Dr. Pepper. The company
dropped the period from the name in the 1950’s as part of a redesign
of the corporate logo.
Earlier this drink didn’t have a name and was just called “Waco.”
Pepsi was originally introduced as Brad’s Drink in 1893, and it has
since grown into a multi-billion dollar brand. Pepsi is manufactured
by PepsiCo, which also owns well-known brands such as Doritos,
Tropicana, 7UP, Mountain Dew and Naked Juice. In 1893, Pepsi
was created and sold by Caleb Bradham in his drug store in New
Bern, North Carolina. It was renamed as Pepsi-Cola on August
28, 1898, because of two its main ingredients, pepsin and kola
nuts. When the price of sugar increased during World War I,
Bradham made the risky move to buy more sugar in the hopes
that he could sell it for profit. This gamble didn’t work out in his
favor, and in 1923 Bradham declared bankruptcy. The company
was then purchased by the Loft Candy Company. PepsiCo is a
public company with 118,000 employees with sales of $20.37
billion. Popular celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Pink, Beyonce,
Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias and David Beckham all endorse the
brand.
Fun Facts
PepsiCo has nearly 500 patents, including one for a tennis racket.
There have been 11 Pepsi Logos over the past 122 years.
Pepsi
6. •Ranked by
Interbrand as the world’s
third most valuable brand
• Vast global presence—present in 200
countries around the world
• Has more brand equity than other brands;
has become a part of American identity
• Good use of popular and original hashtags
• Mentions handles of famous people and
generates content about pop culture events
and holidays
• Uses social media to appropriately
respond to customer complaints
and inquiries
Stren
gths
• Competition from
Pepsi and Dr Pepper
•Lack of clear competitive advantage
based on products
• Increased studies linking soda and the
chemicals in diet products to obesity and other
diseases
• Consumers trending away from drinking soda and
other sugary beverages
• Indirect competition from other beverage producers,
such as Starbucks, Gatorade and Red Bull
• Social media algorithms make organic content
marketing much more difficult
• Dr Pepper’s stock performance is superior to
Coca-Cola and Pepsi
• Green activists saying that Coca-
Cola has poor water efficiency
Threats
S.W.O.T.
Analysis • Only produces
beverages; has not
diversified its product like
competitors.
• Most popular beverages are not
considered healthy
• Spent 1.65 times more than that of next
leading competitor, Pepsi, on advertising
in 2015
• All graphics, videos, and messages
shared on Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram are exactly the
same
Weaknesse
s
• Do more
promotion for the brand’s
healthy drinks i.e. Honest Tea,
Powerade and Vitamin Water
• Diversify posts based on the general
audience and choice of social media
platform
• Post more often. Repost content from
customers or other sources
• Diversify product lines, consider
adding snacks or candy
• Continue to promote green
practices and higher water
efficiency
O
pportunities
8. Social Media AuditThe
research team
chose to analyze the top
social media platforms for Coca-
Cola and its two main competitors, Pepsi
and Dr Pepper. The companys’ Twitter
handles, Facebook fan pages and Instagram
accounts received the most engagement from
the public. These conversation and photo-based
platforms offer the companies an advanced
ability to connect with their customers. Over the
course of February 2016, the team found an
elevation in activity on all the social media
platforms due to the Super Bowl, Grammys
and Valentine’s Day. These events and
holidays are major opportunities
for the brands to
capitalize on.
Twitter Interactions:
The Coca-Cola brand Twitter has
a total of 3.22 million followers,
almost more than Dr Pepper and
Pepsi combined. The research
team observed that Coca-Cola has
roughly 1,300 tweets, averaging
46 tweets per day. The Coca-Cola
Twitter posted tweets at regular
intervals throughout the day, but
tended to receive more interaction
from followers between 12 p.m.
on Thursdays and Friday each
week. It’s most used hashtag,
#TasteTheFeeling, was used 814
times, though it provided no
increase of engagement. With
53,000 likes and 25,000 retweets,
engagement for Coca-Cola’s Twitter
showed low engagement compared
to the amount of tweets posted.
Although Dr Pepper had far fewer
followers than Coca-Cola, at just
404,000, their engagement was
much higher. Dr Pepper had 436
tweets, averaging 15 per day. With
a total of 4,400 likes and 2,100
retweets, its Twitter presence was
not very prominent, but it was
strong. The brand tweeted almost
exclusively on the weekends
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.,
receiving the most engagement on
those days. Unlike Coca-Cola, they
only seemed to consistently use one
original hashtag, #PepperUp, while
others used were more universal
and less unique. By using hashtags
like #truth and #nomnomnom, their
tweets had the opportunity to be
seen by larger crowds, potentially
leading to higher engagement.
Pepsi did well with engaging its
2.98 million followers during the
month of February. The brand
tweeted 399 times, roughly 14
times per day. Pepsi was able to
gather a total of 42,000 likes and
54,000 retweets. Their tweets were
posted exclusively after 8 a.m.,
when Twitter users seemed to be
the most active. The tweets received
the most engagement on Fridays
and Saturday each week, with an
increase on Sunday. The hashtag
#PepsiHalftime was their most used
by the brand, regardless of the
lower engagement that it received.
The #UpForGrabs promotional
giveaway hashtag was only tweeted
36 times, but received a much higher
engagement rate among followers.
9. Facebook Interactions:
Instagram Interactions:
The Coca-Cola Facebook page has 97.2 million likes, beating out its Twitter
following by a landslide. Over the course of the month, its likes increased by
319,838. Most of its posting was done in the afternoon and evening, with the
most engagement happening around noon and the early afternoon hours. It
posted an average of 3.4 times per day and had a higher engagement rate
than its competitors. Its Facebook response time was 4.5 hours, which is much
faster compared to its competitors times of 20 hours for Dr Pepper and 35
hours for Pepsi.
Dr Pepper had 14,925,408 likes on its Facebook page even though it
only posted about .38 times per day. Its interaction rate was only .52
percent. Almost all of its posts were done between 8 a.m. and midnight,
showing the most engagement between the hours of 12 p.m. and 8
p.m. Unlike Coca-Cola, its likes dropped by 28,480 over the course of
the month.
The Pepsi Facebook fan page had the least amount of likes at 35,952,000.
Its average of .4 posts per day only had .2% interaction, taking 35
hours to respond to fan posts. Its few posts were nearly all done before
noon, creating little engagement from the fans. Similar to Dr Pepper, its
likes dropped by 4,000 during the month.
Coca-Cola’s Instagram page is
followed by 1.2 million accounts from
around the world. It posted a total
of 20 times throughout February,
garnering a total of 298,000 likes
and 3,200 comments. Its average of
0.7 posts per day showed 1.4 percent
interaction, just barely higher than its
competitors. The engagement rate was
even lower, at .097 percent. The most
used hashtag was #CokeMini, followed
by #NYFW and #StandUpToBullying.
Pepsi had 403,000 followers. Over the
course of February, Pepsi posted more
than Coca-Cola or Dr Pepper with a
total of 27 pictures. The 27 pictures
collected a total of 123,000 likes and
1,800 comments. At an average of 0.9
posts per day, the post interaction rate
was 1.2 percent and the engagement
rate was 1.1 percent, the highest of
the three competitors. Similar to its
Twitter, Pepsi’s most used hashtags
on Instagram were #PepsiHalftime,
#SweepsEntry, and #UpForGrabs.
Dr Pepper had the smallest following
on Instagram with just 249,000
followers. It also posted the least, with
14 pictures posted during the month.
The account pulled 42,000 likes and
just 924 comments. At an average of
0.5 posts per day, Dr Pepper received
1.3 percent post interaction and a .61
percent rate of engagement. It did not
use many original hashtags, but the
most used and most unique hashtag
was #PepperLove.
10. Coca-Cola’s brand is
consistent among its
channels in terms of its
logo, identity and voice.
Unfortunately, it was found
to be almost too consistent.
It was not uncommon for
the same photos, videos
and text to be posted on
the same day on each of its
social media platforms. It
would be more beneficial
and ultimately more
effective to present
the same content in
various ways on
each platform.
C onsistency
Coca-Cola
updated its Facebook
page about once per day.
However, this was twice as
many times as competitors Pepsi
and Dr Pepper. Pepsi averaged .4
updates per day, while Dr Pepper
had a mere .38. Only two to three
of Coke’s tweets contained original
content. The rest mostly consisted
of replies to followers, making up 94
percent of Coca-Cola’s daily tweets.
Coca-Cola’s Instagram was updated
Monday through Saturday, with most
content posted on Friday and Saturday.
It only posted once or twice per day
during the weekdays and did not post
on Sunday. Alternatively, Dr Pepper
posted on Instagram at least once
every day of the week, excluding
Wednesday. Its total number of
posts contained five videos and
nine pictures. Pepsi surprisingly
posted most on Mondays, and
then once or twice per day on
every day but Thursday.
Each of the brands
posted six days out
of the week.
S o c i a l M ed i a
U p dat e s
Coca-Cola
tweeted
46
times
per day.
Dr Pepper
tweeted 15
times a day. 95%
were replies.
Pepsi tweeted
the least, with 14
times per day. 51%
of were replies.
11. Although
Coca-Cola shows
a pride in the brand
and a dedication to
bringing happiness to its
customers, the social media
posts analyzed all showed a
general sense of distance. Not
many of its posts were focused
on its customers. But in regards
to current topics, Coca-Cola was
the most involved with what was
happening around the world and
continuously made a point to post
its opinion. For example, the use of
the hashtags #Lovehasnolabels and
#Standuptobullyingtoday on
Twitter. The brand also does many
campaigns on its own, such as
dressing up Cokes throughout the
decades. Though the Twitter,
Facebook and Instagram
posts were the same content
with similar messages, its
messages were found
to work best on
a Facebook
medium.
94% of
Coca-Cola’s tweets
consisted of replies.
It responded to nearly
all conversations on Twitter,
which is equal to the response
percentage of Dr Pepper, but
almost double the responses of
Pepsi. However, its engagement level
is an average of .087%, which is lower
than both competitors. The photos that
Coca-Cola posted to Twitter with
the hashtag #CokeMini achieved the
most amount of interaction, while its
tweets about pop culture, especially the
#GRAMMYS, did the best without photos.
The popular hashtags included in its tweets
led to an increase in its engagement.
On Instagram, it was normal for
Coca-Cola and its competitors to receive
many comments, but not respond. Since
Instagram is more of a photo-based
medium as opposed to conversational-
based mediums, this is not surprising.
The photos and videos that pertained
to promotional material, such as
movies and events, received more
interaction. Original content
received less interaction
across the board for
Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper
and Pepsi alike.
Dr Pepper showed a stronger sense of personality on
Twitter and Instagram by mixing its vintage
nostalgia and originality with its current
campaigns by using pop culture
references, such as “emoji-fied”
moments. Pepsi focused mostly on
brand endorsers like NFL and the
show Empire. It put a great deal
of focus toward the corporate
side of the brand, making
sense of why so many of
its Twitter engagements
are reply tweets.
On Facebook, Dr Pepper
once again focused
on vintage American
values. Its emphasized
the importance of family
time, posting recipes
including its products
that the whole family
could make together.
Although there was not
much of an emphasis on
humor, it was still very light-
hearted. Pepsi was a little more
personable on Facebook and
Instagram. Using the #Upforgrabs
hashtag, it gave halftime show
performers’ clothing items away. The
pictures that it posts have cool tones
and very clean cut and basic graphics
with a corporate trendiness, which may
appeal to fans simply scrolling through Facebook.
Personality
Interaction
On Facebook, Coca-Cola has
nearlytwiceasmuchinteraction
as Pepsi and nearly 20 times
more than Dr Pepper. It’s
average response time to
clients was within 14 hours
on each post, beating out
Dr Pepper at 20 hours and
Pepsi at 35 hours.
Coca-Cola’s top posts
on Facebook were those
containing pictures and
videos that related to pop
culture events. Its original
photos, videos, links and text
posts did not receive as much
engagement. Naturally, the posts
that had the least interaction from
the public were those that did not
relate to the public on a personal level or
show the Coca-Cola personality.
12. Stratedy Develo
One of the biggest challenges for any large brand is
keeping up with the volume of mentions. 83 percent of Coca-
Cola’s tweets in February were direct replies to tweets. This
tactic is employed as a customer-service method to show love
for fans that show love to the brand. They respond to tweets
from customers spreading their love of the brand by sending
tweets such as “We’re so glad you like it, Sarah! Thanks for
sharing!” This has been very successful for the company
because it makes the customers feel appreciated and that
Coca-Cola cares. With an audience the size of Coca-Cola’s, this
attention to detail is a big responsibility, and it is one of the
reasons for its success on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Coca-Cola is successful at keeping up with its customers
by responding to @mentions on Twitter when customers have
questions or stories about the brand. It responds to several
complaints, requests and compliments. It runs campaigns to
engage its audience and persuades them to click and share to
spread awareness of their campaigns on social media outlets.
Its biggest fan base is on Facebook with 82 million fans of
the brand page. On media outlets the brand posts about
current pop culture events such as March Madness, Stand
up to Bullying Day, Daytona 500 and New York Fashion
Week. Its Instagram is successful with thousands of likes and
hundreds of comments. The brand posts several interesting
videos such as Coke bottles being dressed up through the
decades for New York Fashion Week. This is very appealing
to the eye and an interesting idea that customers have
obviously enjoyed, as expressed through their comments.
Something Coca-Cola struggles with is posting the
same photos, videos and text to several media outlets all on
the same day. On their Facebook page, there are not many
regular day- to-day updates as compared to their competitors.
Coca-Cola doesn’t have its own stores, so its social media
marketing strategy isn’t focused on driving people to its shops.
Instead, its all about maintaing brand image. It generally
attract a few thousand likes and around a couple hundred
comments. In order to be more effective, the company needs
to present the information in different ways on each platform.
13. #MyCokeStory
The primary goal of the
new campaign, #MyCokeStory, is
toincreaseinteractionbycelebrating
Coca-Cola’s followers. The objective is
to increase average likes per tweet by
10 percent, average retweets per tweet by five
percent and average replies per tweet by 25 percent during
the next two months on Coca Cola’s Twitter account. Due to
Coke’s lack of engagement on Twitter, the campaign focuses
on that particular social media, hoping that the newly
sparked engagement will transfer throughout all social media
outlets. This campaign includes a short promotional video
with Coke Stories from loyal fans explaining their passion
for the beloved brand. All of the heart-felt stories will end
with the words across the screen saying “#MyCokeStory.”
These stories will include people such as the Coke CEO,
famous athletes, and Hollywood stars. But, the reason
Coca-Cola has been so popular and relevant for decades
is because of the fans. The company needs to get back to
the basics and engage with its customers. Instead of only
focusing inwardly without engaging with its passionate
customers, it is time to move the focus outward to make sure
the followers know how genuine Coke is about wanting to
hear their stories. Coke fans deserve to feel special. This will
be accomplished by awknowledging the company’s presence
in their consumers’ lives and memories. Coke will retweet,
like and share people’s Coke stories and choose its favorites.
Eventually, the company will transfer the best stories onto
its Instagram and Facebook. To continue engagement,
Coke will send personalized gifts to the #MyCokeStory
contributors as a reward of sorts and incentive for others to
join the movement. The ultimate purpose of this campaign is
to diversify content and spark engagement with Coca-Cola’s
fans and followers, something that the brand struggles with
compared to its competitors. Coca-Cola is ready to get back
to the basics to celebrate the people who support Coca-Cola
and flaunt how important Coke is to everyone’s daily lives.
opment
15. Implementation
Schedule
Week 1
May 1-
May 7
Week 2
May 8-
May 14
Week 3
May 15-
May 21
Week 4
May 22-
May 28
Week 5
May 29-
June 4
Week 6
June 5-
June 11
Week 7
June 12-
June 18
Week 8
June 19-
June 25
Create Promotional Video
Launch Promotional
Video
Tweets Encouraging
Follower Contribution/
Engagement
Stories from company
leaders
Stories from celebrities/
influencers
Sending promotional
items to encourage
influencers to create
“new Coke stories”
Begin collecting,
reviewing and converting
followers’ stories
Launch first user stories
on all social media
platforms
Collection, review,
conversion and sharing
of follower stories
Send personalized gifts
encouraging followers
to create “new Coke
stories”
