Cola Wars Case Study

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INTRODUCTION When most people think about rivalries in the carbonated beverage industry, they think of the "cola wars," back in 1980’s. This is the never-ending battle for market domination between Coca-Cola Company and Pepsi Company. However, in the story of Berr 2015 in CBS Money watch, he cited out that indeed Coca-Cola has dominated the soda market for the two decades that Beverage Digest has tracked it, This soft-drink giant is struggling as per-capita consumption of soda has hit multi decade lows. Along with rival PepsiCo, Coca-Cola has become increasingly dependent on business outside of carbonated beverages. At times, the change hasn't been easy. BACKGROUND OF THE CASE Accordingly, the Cola Wars are a campaign of mutually-targeted…show more content…
Peckenpaugh who stresses out advertising and marketing tactics that pitted the signature sodas from The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo against each other, often with a distinct undercurrent of competitive energy that sought to continually elevate one above the other. These soft-drink giants continue to ceaselessly battle it out on the national and international stage until now even if the cola war years are over. In retail and foodservice, expanding mass media—like social networks and the Internet in general—and foreign markets, the playing field has simply grown larger and more complex, continually raising the long-term stakes. In 1975, Pepsi began showing people in blind taste tests called the Pepsi Challenge, in which they preferred one product over the other, and then they began hiring increasing numbers of popular spokespersons to promote their products. However, Coca-Cola advertising has historically focused on wholesomeness and nostalgia for childhood. Coca-Cola advertising is often characterized as "family-friendly" and often relies on "cute" characters (e.g., the Coca-Cola polar bear mascot and Santa Claus around…show more content…
The result of the survey revealed that over a half of the people that participated in the research said 'it's the taste that makes them smile' others said 'sharing a bottle of coca-cola with family and friends can provide an opportunity to spend time together' (Coca-cola, 2010). On the other hand, ever since Pepsi Cola has strengthened its operations in many countries and had witnessed the growth and diversification in its all functional areas. One of the strengths that had contributed for the development of is its strong franchise system. The strong franchise system was the backbone of success along with a great entrepreneur spirit. Pepsi spent a large amount on its promotion and advertising campaign every year. As with this concer, how will the advertising of these two brands affect the buying strategy of the consumer? According to Johnstoin (2015) the business needs to advertise and promote to attract consumers. However, that doesn't mean this can just put out your message and start counting the new clients. Advertising and promotion affect consumers in ways you might find surprising. You need to know these effects before you launch your
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