Darla Perigo
http://1deflep.blogspot.com
English 201-502
Essay 2 Rough Draft
Word Count: 1210
One of the icons of America culture is Coca-Cola. It is one of the biggest names and one of the most recognized brands across the United State and across the globe. What is fascinating is how this product, with such humble beginnings, has thrived by continuing to evolve and stay on top of its market as the number one product as a result of quality, marketing and advertising.
Coca-Cola begins its history rather humbly. The “syrup” mixture that made up the first cola drink was developed by a pharmacist, Dr. John Pemberton, back in May of 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia.. He took the product to a pharmacy, Jacobs’ Pharmacy, where, after others tasted it and deemed the product “excellent”, it was sold for five cents a glass as a fountain soda drink. Later, carbonated water was added to the syrup mixture.
Frank Robinson, Dr. Pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper, suggested the name Coca-Cola. He is also the one responsible for the creation of the infamous Coca-Cola script that has become so widely recognized.
The two began a modest marketing campaign for the cola product. The first steps in marketing Coca-Cola were hand painted signs directing people to the new, refreshing beverage available at Jacobs’ Pharmacy. The first newspaper advertisement for Coca-Cola appeared in The Atlanta Journal soon after. Sales averaged about nine drinks per day. B-According to Allen Butler of Associated Content, despite spending $70 for marketing and advertising, Dr. Pemberton had only made about $50 that first year.
Dr. Pemberton had gradually been selling off parts of his businesses to various partners, and just a couple of years after its inception, he sold Coca-Cola to businessman Asa G. Candler for a mere $2,300-C. Dr. Pemberton died, basically penniless, in 1888, without seeing even a fragment of the global success his Coca-Cola product eventually achieved.
A-As a sort of pioneer in advertising, Mr. Candler believed in the quality of the product and in the power of marketing, advertising and merchandising, and he began large scale aggressive advertising for his fine tuned product. He invested an unheard of at the time twenty percent of his company’s revenue on advertising, and aiming that advertising toward an almost upper scale class. He proclaimed Coca-Cola to be “Delicious. Refreshing. Exhilarating. Invigorating”.
Such aggressive advertising at the time increased Coke’s sales almost tenfold, and Mr. Candler, along with his brother, John, Frank Robinson, who was Dr. Pemberton’s former partner, and two of his other associates trademarked Coca-Cola and incorporated the business, The Coca-Cola Company.
Under Candler’s guidance and vision, the Coca-Cola product continued to be mass marketed. Coupons for free soft drinks were distributed. It is a perfect marketing strategy. Offer them something for free! What a great way to get people to try a new product – offer them something for free in the hope that they will return for more and become regular consumers paying for the product!
Merchandising also played a key element in Coca-Cola’s continued success. Mr. Candler saw to it that there was plenty of Coca-Cola merchandise available for give aways, such as fans, calendars, clocks and other novelties. He knew that one element of success was in promoting the Coca-Cola name and keeping it in front of consumers. By this time it was being sold at different soda fountain locations, and the demand for the drink increased and sales continued to climb.
D-By 1919, a group of investors had purchased The Coca-Cola Company for approximately $25 million, and that is also the year that The Coca-Cola Company became a publicly owned company. Common stock at that time sold for $40 a share.
As President of the The Coca-Cola Company, Robert Winship Woodruff stressed the importance of quality in the product so that Coca-Cola beverages tasted the same, consistently. He established a research and development team. By using the latest in bottling technology available at the time he ensured that his product was a convenience for his clients, and that they were in a position to easily sell Coca-Cola at their facility to the general public or at coin-operated machines in workplaces. He worked almost tirelessly at finding ways to improve the bottom line.
Advertising during Woodruff’s tenure also became more aggressive and sophisticated. He partnered with Archie Lee of the D’Arcy Advertising Agency. While previous owner Candler had targeted a wealthier class of people with his advertising, Mr. Woodruff instead focused on the common man. His goal was that Coca-Cola was to be synonymous with the all-American way of life. – C Under Lee’s direction, advertising positioned the Coca-Cola product as refreshing and a “fun food” - E.
Coca-Cola got its start internationally during World War I. An extremely clever and successful public relations and promotional strategy used by Lee and Woodruff was that, during World War I, the company proclaimed that “every man in uniform would be able to get a bottle of Coke for five cents no matter what the cost to the company”-C. In order to bolster the morale of troops stationed throughout Europe, General Dwight Eisenhower asked that Coca-Cola plants be built near U.S. army bases in Europe and North Africa.
After World War I, when the American nation was in period of prosperity, it was only fitting that Coca-Cola had by then become an American symbol or icon. It had been through the war. It represented home. It represented America.
The Coca-Cola Company sought to conquer new markets and consumer demand by branching out, and it began manufacturing new products. The line up by then had grown to include Sprite, Tab (one of the first diet soft drinks) and Fresca. Coca-Cola responded to the chaos and disorder of the 1960’s and the growing outcry for world peace by launching one of the most famous marketing promotions ever in 1971, with the circle of youth singing from the top of a mountain, “I’d like to buy the world a coke.” -F
The Coca-Cola Company launched its very successful Diet Coke; however, it was not so successful when it tried to mess with the original cola formula and introduce what was appropriately called New Coke. As “original” Coca-Cola had so long been an American icon and was a symbol for the American way of life, the general public did not welcome this new version of soft drink. The Coca-Cola Company listened to its consumers, and within a few short years, New Coke was discontinued and “universally considered the biggest consumer product blunder of the 1980’s, but it was also considered the biggest perspective as a positive thing, because of the massive amount of free publicity that the Coke brand received from the debacle.” – C There is no bad publicity!
Over the course of their hundred plus year history, The Coca-Cola Company has stood the test of time and still represents the American way of life today. With its successful marketing and promotion and attention to ensuring nothing less than a quality product, The Coca-Cola Company continues to give consumers the product and quality that they demand by evolving with the times.
I know my works cited page is a mess – I still have to figure out how to do this
A -http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/56875/history_of_cocacola_and_their_advertising.html?cat=22
B-
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/37117/a_history_of_cocacola.html?cat=22
C-http://www.answers.com/topic/the-coca-cola-company
D-http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/chronicle_man_named_woodruff.html
E-http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/snpmech4.htm
F-http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/businesses/A-F/Coca-Cola-Company.html
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