In general, it can be said that Diet Coke is one of the several renowned products launched by the Coca-Cola Organization. Coca-Cola Light or Diet Coke is a no-calorie and sugar-free drink which is not only produced but also distributed by the firm. Rather than containing sugar, it uses different artificial sweeteners. In 1982, it was introduced in the US and ever since then, it has been determined as one of the biggest producers of the organization to achieve success in the market. As explained above, the Coca-Cola Organization is a manufacturer and retailer of different types of non-alcoholic soft drinks. In 1886, it was founded when a formula of headache remedy was being written by Jon Smith. When carbonated syrup and water were combined with caramel-colored liquid, Coca-Cola was produced. Initially, customers received it as samples and a century later, the firm developed over 500 products. Moreover, these products are sold in different countries around the world.

To evaluate the marketing strategy of the Coke Diet utilized by the organization, it is important to consider different aspects. Specifically, it is marketed at both females and males aged between 18-29 years who care about their health and need products that are low in sugar. However, an issue was faced by the organization when men found that drinking the Diet Coke left them thirsty. To resolve this issue, Coca-Cola Zero was produced by the organization. This soft-drink served as a sub-category of Diet Coke. Considering the fact that customers were consuming sixty percent of the regular Coke, it was time for the organization to introduce a healthier alternative that could be consumed by people. As the focus of this product was young males, it was designed in a classical packaging to attract males. This product served to fill the gap which was left by Diet Coke.

Since the objective of marketing is to attract customers and maximize sales, it has an important component in the form of distribution. Efficient distribution can play an important role in enhancing sales. After all, it serves to connect the manufacturing point to the customer. There exist several distribution channels which can be utilized by the business such as consumer form retailer, retailer form wholesaler, and consumer from the producer. In the case of Coca-Cola, it seems to collaborate with its intermediaries for maximizing its sales. In the absence of intermediaries, both Diet Coke and Coke Zero wouldn't be accessed easily in different gyms, petrol stations, and shops as products are available to these businesses by Coca-Cola Organization. Due to it, intermediaries are utilized by the organization(ABBASI, 2017).

Similar to regular Coke, Diet Coke and Coke Zero are international products and they can be found almost everywhere in the world because of the significant demand. Thus, these products are distributed intensively as the products can be found at all outlets. This serves to make the products both easily accessible and affordable. From local shops, supermarkets, corner shops, and service stations, these products can be bought by customers. For instance, from the US to the Middle East, both Diet Coke and Coke Zero can be found. In addition to it, customers can purchase Coke Zero from restaurants of fast food such as Oporto’s and McDonald’s as well. This strategy helps in making marketing strategies effective because products can be found easily.

Advertising is a process of communication with the targeted market and is normally created for being persuasive. With respect to both Diet Coke and Coke Zero, different types and platforms are media are used for advertising these products. Generally, these advertisements include the internet, billboards, internet, radio, and television advertisement. These advertisement types have been utilized for presenting Diet Coke and Coke Zero positively and ensuring that they have a strong image among the public.

In the promotion of these products, personal selling has also been utilized and this was carried out by obtaining representing for the organization to sell products in both fast food and retail shops and outlets. And an example of this can be taken from the fact that Oporto's seemed to have Pepsi in their outlets until Coke Zero was introduced and they switched products. Another advertisement strategy which has served to make both Diet Coke and Coke Zero successful is the promotion below the line. This type of marketing was the main strategy that was utilized by the organization for promoting its products. This strategy is concerned with offering free samples to customers and creating the preference of customers. This strategy played an important role in attracting customers.

Another method of marketing products that have been utilized by the Coca-Cola Organization is packaging. Through silver-white and black packaging for both Diet and Coke Zero, these colors have been used by the firm for targeting their customers. Silver-white color played an effective role in targeting every type of customer without any restriction while black color was aimed at men and it was also effective. The black color was chosen as it was perceived to be preferred by men.

Lastly, the firm has also utilized campaigns and sponsorships for promoting the product. In general, the latter is the method of representing goodwill. It also portrays that the organization cares about its customers. For instance, Diet Coke and Coke Zero have been sponsored from national to local cricket, soccer and football teams, and basketball. It can be said that the reason why these products have been used is because health-conscious people are interested in sports.

 Widespread Marketing Strategy of Marketing Strategy Evaluation

As explained above, the Coca-Cola Organization is a manufacturer and retailer of different types of non-alcoholic soft drinks. In 1886, the firm was founded by John Smith when he was renaming and rewriting the remedy formula for his headache. When carbonated syrup and water were combined with caramel-colored liquid, Coca-Cola was produced. Ever since that moment, the organization has gained success in producing and marketing numerous products. In this section, the widespread marketing strategy in the context of Diet Coke will be analyzed. The focus of this section will be on the product and pricing included in the marketing analysis.

Specifically, Diet Coke is aimed at both young women and men who are careful about their health and don't purchase products that can adversely influence their health. Even though Diet Coke was initially a success, it faced an issue in achieving success because it seemed to leave men thirsty after drinking it. However, this issue was resolved by the organization with the introduction of Coke Zero. Diet Coke had a specific color scheme that portrayed the fact that every person could purchase this product. Regardless of the fact that consumers were women and men, they could purchase the product and consume it.

Sugar-free differentiation of Marketing Strategy Evaluation

For Coca-Cola, it can be said that Diet Coke was quite successful as it created significant sales. This served to create sales for the organization and artificial sweeteners were used instead of sugar which made it sugar-free. This played an important role in targeting all those customers who were careful about their health. In 2005, this product with Splenda was launched and had a caffeine content of 2.83 mg. In 2007, this product with Citrus Zest was released. Also, the version which had no caffeine was released in 1983 which didn't have both caffeine and sugar content. The one with Lime was introduced in 2004 and it is available in the UK, the US, Ireland, and Canada. The same product with a cherry flavor was introduced in 1986 and it can be found in the US and the UK. The regular product doesn't contain any quantity of calories and sugar.

With respect to Diet Coke, branding is utilized for differentiating the product from the products of its competitors. The logo of this product contains a combination of white and red colors. Actually, white color has been utilized because it represents that it doesn't contain any sugar and can be consumed by any person. This product is not made for men only, unlike Coke Zero, and women can also consume this product. This quality is also portrayed by the logo and the logo has been effective in attracting customers. Thus, whenever people see the white-colored logo, they instantaneously understand that it doesn't contain any sugar.

An important role is also played by packaging in marketing. In product, it is considered a significant aspect as it is utilized for targeting the targeted market of customers. Customers are informed about the product by packaging and it also serves to promote the product. Considering the fact that both females and males conscious about their health are targeted by Diet Coke, it has been designed in such a way that it attracts both women and men while indicating that it doesn’t contain any sugar. Another component which satisfies customers is that Coca-Cola enables customers to offer their feedback to the consumers and the organization will act on it.

Diet Coke is produced by Coca-Cola Organization and due to the fact that advanced machinery is possessed by the company, numerous bottles are produced in a short amount of time. Products are manufactured at a quick rate and the organization is able to fulfill the demand of customers without creating a surplus within the inventory. This plays an important role in satisfying customers because they can access the products without having to face significant issues(Huang & Sarigöllü, 2014).

Pricing decision of Marketing Strategy Evaluation

Regardless of the organization, price is considered a significant aspect and part of the marketing strategy adopted by the firm because it is capable of affecting both the demand and supply of the product. It is also considered important for influencing the decision of a consumer. The amount of profit and sales within an organization is also determined by price and for this reason, a suitable price is assigned to Diet Coke which can be afforded by each and every customer seeking to buy it. The price of this product varies with its size. However, they are still affordable and it plays an important role in attracting customers.

Methods of pricing utilized by both Diet Coke and Coke Zero have based on the target market analysis along with the amount which they are willing to pay for it. Both the transportation and advertisement have been combined by Coca-Cola Organization into the price. This has served to make the products achieve success in the market. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Diet Coke as a product has a market of its own. At first, its introduction was limited to only some specific markets including New York, Jacksonville, San Diego, Minneapolis, Denver, and Baltimore. With the passage of time, however, several nations have been included in its network and it is available in numerous countries including Japan, Israel, Brazil, Australia, and United Kingdom.

This product also has a complete network of distribution for marketing its products in a competent and effective manner. The policy of intensive distribution is utilized by the organization for ensuring that its products are available in not only stores but also in supermarkets, discount stores, corner shops, and petrol pumps.

Competition Based of Marketing Strategy Evaluation

For Coca-Cola Organization, it has always been a priority to beat Pepsi in competition because it is an active competitor. In order to set the prices, the organization analyzes the pricing strategy which is adopted by Pepsi. If Pepsi has lower prices on a product then Coca-Cola will also implement a strategy of low prices on its product. This will help in ensuring that customers are not switching the products.Because of the increased demand rate on Diet Coke, readily and honest prices have been imposed by the organization on the product. It can be said that prices strategies are quite significant for the organization and this product because it influences the amount of profits and sales. Therefore, a specific price is set by Diet Coke which is accepted by all customers and they don't face any issue in paying the price for the product.

Another strategy for the price is penetration pricing which is utilized for Diet Coke and it was implemented for gaining a new share in the market as the prices were significantly less than their competitor. In some markets, pricing points are utilized by the organization for Diet Coke as it is capable of creating awareness about the money's value in terms of their product(Hanif, Hafeez, & Riaz, 2010).

References of Marketing Strategy Evaluation of Marketing Strategy Evaluation

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