This document summarizes Coca-Cola's marketing strategy and history in India over several decades. It details Coke's initial entry into India in 1956, its exit in 1977 due to increased regulation, and reentry in 1993. Since then, Coke has invested $1 billion and used celebrity endorsements, jingles, and affordable prices to penetrate the rural Indian market. However, a 2003 report found pesticide residues in Coke, damaging its brand trust until a safety campaign. More recently, Coke has run the "Open Happiness" and "umeedo wali dhoop" campaigns in India.

1. COKE
Penetration Strategy
(India)
- Neha Singh

2. COKE

3. The Coke Story
• It was on May 8, 1886 that Dr. John Pemberton
mixed the magic portion of coca cola syrup to
carbonated water and sold it for five cents a glass.
Pemberton had no clue of what was to become of
this fluid he formulated.
• Today coco cola’s logo is one of the most recognized
trademarks in the world, spread across 200 countries
it is the largest producer of non-alcohol carbonized
drinks and known for its marketing tactics.

4. The Entry & the Exit…
• Like most companies in search of untapped
markets, Coca Cola Company, Atlanta had a hawk’s
eye on India.
• The company first made its entry into the Indian
market in the year 1956 and made a good fortune.
• The Indian economy was increasingly regulated
and many industries were restricted to the public
sector, this movement reached its peak in 1977
and the Coca Cola Company had to exit the Indian
Markets.

5. The Rebirth
• Coca Cola has re-entered India in 1993, giving
its competitor Pepsi Co a huge four year heads
up into the Indian market which used this
opportunity to capture much of the Indian
consumer’s imagination.
• Hence these two companies choose their
fatal weapons of advertising which has a huge
role to play in consumers picking up one over
the other.

6. The Marketing Strategy
• During this period the company’s marketing
department focused on jingles, celebrity
endorsements and tag lines to reach out to
consumers.
• Tag lines like “Always the real thing”, “Pee le
coca cola”, “Thande ka Tadka”, “Jo chahe ho
jye..Coca Cola enjoy” backed by celebrities like
Karishma Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Amir Khan
and Aishwarya Rai had done the trick for the
carbonated drink manufacturer.

7. Advertisements…

8. The Next Decade
• Since 1993-2003, Coca Cola had invested a
whooping amount of US$ 1 billion in India,
making it one of biggest foreign investor in the
country.
• In 2003 Coca Cola was ranked the # 1 brand in
the world and estimated its brand value at
$70.45 billion.

9. It believed in a brand positioning
strategy called as the 3 A’s
Availability
Affordability
Acceptability

10. The Challenge
• Reaching to the masses and increasing the per
capita consumption of cola in the massive
landscape of India was the challenge for coke
during this point of time.
• The rural market of India represented a major
opportunity (96% of Indian population) for
market penetration and a battleground for
market dominance.
• Hence,coke came up with 200ml bottles
priced at Rs.5 only.

11. Bridging the Gap between Masses and
Classes

12. ‘Thanda matlub coca-cola’
• Coke had to sketch a unique ad campaign to
penetrate into the remotest places of India,
this is when the “Thanda Matlub Coca Cola”
happened and took the company one notch
level up in terms of the connect with the
masses of India.
• This campaign featured actor Amir Khan
playing regional roles and helped coke to
strengthen its brand equity.

13. Thanda matlub coca-cola campaign

14. Hitch In the Journey
• On 5 August 2003, the center for science and
environment (CSE) issued a report stating “12 major
brands of cold drinks sold in and around Delhi
contain a deadly cocktail of pesticides residues”.

15. Damage Control
• The company acted immediately by designing a new
advertising strategy that included “safety
guaranteed” stickers, news paper ads, public tour of
Coca Cola plants and the Pesticide controversy
campaign featuring Amir Khan to regain its lost trust
of the people from the cold drink.

16. 3 New P’s of Coke
• The company had to redesign strategies to
heel from the damage caused due to the
controversies of 2003-2006. The new brand
development strategy stressed on the so
called 3 P’s:
• Price value
• Preference
• “Pervasive penetration”

17. Open Happiness
• Since 2009 Coca Cola Company has been running the
“Open happiness” campaign worldwide, which was
adapted by the Indian Market as well.
• This was the first time that the company adapted a
global campaign unlike the traditional tailor made
local advertising.
• This campaign featured Imran Khan who has been a
part of the Indian execution; however he was not
able to recreate the magic that his uncle Amir had
accomplished for the company in 2003.

19. Back with a Bang…
• Towards the end of the year 2011, there were
a lot of talks regarding the world coming to an
end on 2012 Dec 21st all around the world due
to some predictions.
• This time coke capitalised the movement
towards a positive note and came up with the
campaign- ‘umeedo wali dhoop’, believe in a
happier tomorrow which became an instant
hit among the masses and hit popularity in
India.

20. Presented to you by
NEHA SINGH