Coca Cola 2005 Annual Report Download - page 33

We make significant marketing expenditures in support of our brands, including expenditures for
advertising, sponsorship fees and special promotional events. As part of our marketing activities, we, at our
discretion, provide retailers and distributors with promotions and point-of-sale displays; our bottling partners
with advertising support and funds designated for the purchase of cold-drink equipment; and our consumers
with coupons, discounts and promotional incentives. These marketing expenditures help to enhance awareness
of and increase consumer preference for our brands. We believe that greater awareness and preference
promotes long-term growth in unit case volume, per capita consumption and our share of worldwide
nonalcoholic beverage sales.
The Nonalcoholic Beverages Segment of the Commercial Beverages Industry
We operate in the highly competitive nonalcoholic beverages segment of the commercial beverages
industry. We face strong competition from numerous other general and specialty beverage companies. We, along
with other beverage companies, are affected by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, cost to
manufacture and distribute products, consumer spending, economic conditions, availability and quality of water,
consumer preferences, inflation, political climate, local and national laws and regulations, foreign currency
exchange fluctuations, fuel prices and weather patterns.
Our Objective
Our objective is to use our formidable assets—brands, financial strength, unrivaled distribution system,
global reach, and a strong commitment by our management and employees worldwide—to achieve long-term
sustainable growth. Our vision for sustainable growth includes the following:
• People: Being a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be.
• Portfolio: Bringing to the world a portfolio of beverage brands that anticipates and satisfies people’s
desires and needs.
• Profit: Maximizing return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities.
• Partners: Nurturing a winning network of partners and building mutual loyalty.
• Planet: Being a responsible global citizen that makes a difference.
Areas of Focus
Revitalizing the Organization
We are focused on driving accountability throughout the organization, leveraging our internal talent and
strengthening the corporate culture. We realize that our bench strength has been weakened as a result of prior
organizational realignments. Therefore, we are investing in building capability by training our existing associates
and hiring experienced individuals from outside the Company. We are revising our organizational structure to
help improve execution around the world. We are simplifying and clarifying individual roles and responsibilities.
Unleashing Our System’s Potential
Our goal is to drive efficiency and effectiveness throughout the global Coca-Cola system. This begins with
the alignment of our system around shared goals and performance targets. We must work in a collaborative
manner with our bottling partners throughout the world.
Driving enhanced revenue growth across the system is a key focus area for both the Company and our
bottling partners. Our plans in this area are centered on tailoring strategies to match shopping occasions,
offering differentiated packages, building value collaboratively with customers, strengthening in-market
execution and supporting our family of brands with strong marketing activities. We are building system capability
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