An Investigation on the Effect of Promotional Mix (Promo tools) in an Organisation - Case Study of Coca-Cola Nigeria
An Investigation on the Effect of Promotional Mix (Promo tools) in an Organisation - Case Study of Coca-Cola Nigeria
1.0 Context of the Study
Marketing purports to build a lasting customer relationship. As such, marketing evolves from a process-centered towards becoming influence-driven which complicate marketing designs and concepts in effect. The rationale behind this is that the strategic role of marketing is reasonably different from a typical marketing design. There are two main challenges that are faced by the marketing department the first being how to allocate and concentrate available resources. While the second focuses on the position it occupies among senior management, other functional areas and ever-changing external forces (Kotler and Armstrong, 2004).
As such, strategic marketing necessitates that firms must be equipped with marketing plans and strategies that are data-driven, analytically-based and comprehensive to achieve competitive advantage. Because of these varied requirements, achieving objectives of well-visualized marketing programme is a must for firms. Marketing plans and strategies are developed on business and product levels (Kotler and Armstrong, 2004). For product levels, there is a need for the firm to make the public aware of the existence of the product before these products can be saleable and hence profitable. The marketing mix is a tool that is often used by the marketing departments of firms.
Adizes (2004, p. 54) claims that marketing is the thinking part of selling where sales decisions of what product to sell at what specific price range, through which channels of distribution and specifying how to promote them. Basically, this is also marketing position that deals with the marketing mix of product, pricing, place and promotion. Of this mix, placement and promotion is directly linked with the selling process. Place or distribution affects sales in terms that the environment in which the product is sold affects purchase behaviour of the people. Promotion, however, refers to the various methods of how the product will be made known to the consumers, building market share in the process.
As such, marketing can affect everything to the point of usage hence importance of awareness and image building must be also known to the sales workforce. This is because consumers acquires general knowledge first before they actually purchase goods, and this could be highlighted by a strong awareness of such product that will help drive a stronger perception and therefore preference and ultimate usage. Essentially, this is achievable by means of effective sales positioning. Sales positioning is basically enveloped in the promotional mix (Adizes, 2004; Kotler and Armstrong, 2004).
Founded by Asa Griggs Candler in 1882 in Atlanta, Georgia, a company that fully understands the importance of innovation in business is the Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola, or simply Coke, chose to concentrate their operation on production of softdrink syrup while maintaining an intimately relationships with its bottlers and distributors at the retail level. Basically, the company is engaged into blending raw material ingredients (product planning), packaging in plastic canisters (market research) and shipping to bottlers (advertising). In 1886, John Stith Pemberton invented the company’s flagship product Coca-Cola. Today, Coca-Cola Company offers more than 400 brands in over 200 countries and territories and serves approximately 1.5 billion servings daily globally. Nigeria is included in one of the many countries that Coca-Cola serves.
2.0 Statement of the Problem
Through Coca-Cola Nigeria, the key questions that will be answered here are - How important is having a promotional mix for an organisation? How effective are promo tools for an organisation? Other specific questions that will be given answer to include:
1) How do companies like Coca-Cola develop a promotional mix strategy?
2) What are the requirements in creating strategic promo tools?
3) How beneficial is the development of a promotional mix strategy for companies like Coca-Cola?
4) What are the challenges and problems commonly encountered in implementing a promotional mix strategy?
3.0 Aim and Objectives
The main aim of the study is to establish the effects of developing a promotional mix strategy for companies like Coca-Cola. In lieu with this, specific objectives are outlined as follows:
- Analyse how the strategic marketing is developed based on a promotional mix
- Explore promotional tools are developed and used within companies like Coca-Cola
- Investigate promotional goals and objectives within companies like Coca-Cola
4.0 Overview of Methodology
An instrumental case study approach would be used since this enables the researcher to make generalisations based on the findings although only one case study organisation would be drawn upon the case of Coca-Cola company. In an instrumental case study, the particular case is less important than the insight it can provide into a specific issue of theory. Thereby, the goal of this case study is to understand something more general than the case but nothing generalisable to other contexts (Colwell, 2006, p. 331). Denzin and Lincoln (2005), however, contend that the case, although it is of secondary interest, plays a supportive role and facilitates the understanding of important concepts. Investigating the case in-depth has a purpose of pursuing an external interest (p. 445).
Primary and secondary data will be collected to be able to provide adequate discussion for the readers that will help them understand more about the issue under investigation as well as the different variables involve with it, the primary data for the study will be represented by the interview transcripts for the representative of Coca-Cola and survey that will be acquired from the respondents. For the secondary data, contents from book and journals, theses and related studies and Internet databases will be consulted.
References
Adizes, I. (2004). Leading the leaders: how to enrich your style of management and handle people whose style is different from yours. The Adizes Institute Publishing.
Colwell, R 2006, Handbook of Research Methodologies, Oxford University Press, US.
Denzin, N K & Lincoln, Y S 2005, The SAGE handbook of qualitative research, Sage Publications Inc, UK.
Kotler, P & Armstrong, G 2004, Principles of Marketing, 10th edn, Pearson.
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