Coca Cola 2014 Annual Report Download - page 34

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Core Capabilities
Consumer Marketing
Marketing investments are designed to enhance consumer awareness of, and increase consumer preference for, our brands.
Successful marketing investments produce long-term growth in unit case volume, per capita consumption and our share of worldwide
nonalcoholic beverage sales. Through our relationships with our bottling partners and those who sell our products in the marketplace,
we create and implement integrated marketing programs, both globally and locally, that are designed to heighten consumer awareness
of and product appeal for our brands. In developing a strategy for a Company brand, we conduct product and packaging research,
establish brand positioning, develop precise consumer communications and solicit consumer feedback. Our integrated marketing
activities include, but are not limited to, advertising, point-of-sale merchandising and sales promotions.
We are focusing on marketing strategies to drive volume growth in emerging markets, increasing our brand value in developing
markets and growing profit in our developed markets. In emerging markets, we are investing in infrastructure programs that drive
volume through increased access to consumers. In developing markets, where consumer access has largely been established, our focus
is on differentiating our brands. In our developed markets, we continue to invest in brands and infrastructure programs, but generally
at a slower rate than gross profit growth.
Commercial Leadership
The Coca-Cola system has millions of customers around the world who sell or serve our products directly to consumers. We focus on
enhancing value for our customers and providing solutions to grow their beverage businesses. Our approach includes understanding
each customer’s business and needs — whether that customer is a sophisticated retailer in a developed market or a kiosk owner in an
emerging market. We focus on ensuring that our customers have the right product and package offerings and the right promotional
tools to deliver enhanced value to themselves and the Company. We are constantly looking to build new beverage consumption
occasions in our customers’ outlets through unique and innovative consumer experiences, product availability and delivery systems,
and beverage merchandising and displays. We participate in joint brand-building initiatives with our customers in order to drive
customer preference for our brands. Through our commercial leadership initiatives, we embed ourselves further into our retail
customers’ businesses while developing strategies for better execution at the point of sale.
Franchise Leadership
We must continue to improve our franchise leadership capabilities to give our Company and our bottling partners the ability to grow
together through shared values, aligned incentives and a sense of urgency and flexibility that supports consumers’ always changing
needs and tastes. The financial health and success of our bottling partners are critical components of the Company’s success. We work
with our bottling partners to identify processes that enable us to quickly achieve scale and efficiencies, and we share best practices
throughout the bottling system. With our bottling partners, we work to produce differentiated beverages and packages that are
appropriate for the right channels and consumers. We also design business models for sparkling and still beverages in specific markets
to ensure that we appropriately share the value created by these beverages with our bottling partners. We will continue to build a
supply chain network that leverages the size and scale of the Coca-Cola system to gain a competitive advantage.
Bottling and Distribution Operations
Most of our Company beverage products are manufactured, sold and distributed by independent bottling partners. However, we
often acquire bottlers in underperforming markets where we believe we can use our resources and expertise to improve performance.
Owning such a controlling interest enables us to compensate for limited local resources; help focus the bottler’s sales and marketing
programs; assist in the development of the bottler’s business and information systems; and establish an appropriate capital structure
for the bottler.
Our Company has a long history of providing world-class customer service, demonstrating leadership in the marketplace and
leveraging the talent of our global workforce. In addition, we have an experienced bottler management team. All of these factors are
critical to build upon as we manage our growing bottling and distribution operations.
The Company has a deep commitment to continuously improving our business. This includes our efforts to develop innovative
packaging and merchandising solutions which help drive demand for our beverages and meet the growing needs of our consumers. As
we further transform the way we go to market, the Company continues to seek out ways to be more efficient.