Comparison between Coca-Cola and Pepsi Marketing Strategy

Comparison between Coca-Cola and Pepsi Marketing Strategy
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Comparison between Coca-Cola and Pepsi Marketing Strategy
Introduction
Soft drinks hold the majority market share when it comes to the beverage market, and Coca-Cola and Pepsi are the leading companies in selling soft drinks. The Coca-Cola soft drink was invented by John Pemberton in 1886 (Ford, Stephens, and Cooper 2007, p. 2). Pepsi-Cola was invented in Bern, North Carolina by pharmacists Caleb Bradham (Stoddard 2013, p. 1). The two companies own a majority of the market in North America and are widely recognized across the globe. Their products are readily available in almost all supermarkets and local retail stores. Their marketing strategies have proven to be among the best since the two companies have a wider customer base as compared to any other brands in the world. The main product sold by the Coca-Cola Company is its signature brand, Coca-cola, which is also accompanied by Fanta, Sprite, Vitamin water and many others. Pepsi is well known for its Pepsi-Cola, but the company has also ventured into the food industry as a means to widen its market. Both companies have managed to build a wide supply chain and distribution network that is much larger than their competitors. However, the two companies are currently competing for market among themselves, and this means developing strategies that would attract more customers to purchase their products. This essay seeks to compare the marketing strategies employed by the two companies.
Marketing Mix
Product
The Coca-Cola Company has a large product category, which includes juices, different types of soft drinks such as Coke Zero, Sprite, and Fanta, tea and carbonated water (Coca-Cola, 2018). Coca-Cola packages its products in different sizes, and for this reason, their products can be found in 200ml, in 2-liter bottles. The company logo is branded on the Coke product, which is the company’s signature brand. Pepsi also has a variety of beverage products such as 7up, Mirinda, Aquifina and food products such as Uncle Chipps, Cheetos and Quaker Oats (Pepsi, 2018). Both companies have incorporated their brand name, packaging, and variety as their product tools. They have introduced a different variety of products into the market as a means of reaching out to more customers. However, Coca-Cola greatly markets the Coke drink since it makes more sales than other products. On the other hand, Pepsi has equally focused on its food products since they have more demand. In comparison, Coca-Cola has focused on quality and brand name, whereas Pepsi has focused more on the variety.
Price
The Coca-Cola Company uses a price discrimination strategy to determine the price of their products since they have a variety of products that sell at the same price (Armstrong 2006, p. 1). The prices of products in the beverage market for both Pepsi and Coca-Cola is determined by the two companies. Reason being, one company, cannot set a higher price than the other since they would lose the market to their competitors. Therefore, apart from the cost of manufacturing determining the price of their beverages, the competitor al...