1.

Introduction
Coca Cola history began in 1886 when the curiosity of an Atlanta pharmacist,
Dr. John S. Pemberton, led him to create a distinctive tasting soft drink that could be
sold at soda fountains. He created a flavoured syrup, took it to his neighbourhood
pharmacy, which mixed with carbonated water and deemed “excellent” by those who
sampled it. Dr. Pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, is named
the beverage “Coca Cola” as well as designing the trademarked, distinct script, still
used today. Today, daily servings of Coca-Cola beverages are estimated at 1.9 billion
globally.
Prior to his death in 1888, just two years after creating what was to become the
world’s number 1 selling sparkling beverage, Dr. Pemberton sold portions of his
business to various parties, with the majority of the interest sold to Atlanta
businessman, Asa G. Candler. Under Mr. Candler’s leadership, distribution of
Coca-Cola expanded to soda fountains beyond Atlanta. In 1894, impressed by the
growing demand for Coca-Cola and the desire to make the beverage portable, Joseph
Biedenharn installed bottling machinery in the rear of his Mississippi soda fountain,
becoming the first to put Coca-Cola in bottles. Large scale bottling was made possible
just five years later, when in 1899, three enterprising businessmen in Chattanooga,
Tennessee secured exclusive rights to bottle and sell Coca-Cola. The three
entrepreneurs purchased the bottling rights from Asa Candler for just $1. Benjamin
Thomas, Joseph Whitehead and John Lupton developed what became the Coca-Cola
worldwide bottling system.

The first marketing efforts in Coca Cola history were executed through
coupons promoting free samples of the beverage. Considered an innovative tactic
back in 1887, couponing was followed by newspaper advertising and the distribution
of promotional items bearing the Coca Cola script to participating pharmacies.
Fast forward to the 1970s when Coca Cola’s advertising started to reflect a
brand connected with fun, friends and good times. Many fondly remember the 1971
Hilltop Singers performing “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”, or the 1979 “Have a
Coke and a Smile” commercial featuring a young fan giving Pittsburgh Steeler,
“Mean Joe Greene”, a refreshing bottle of Coca Cola. You can enjoy these and many
more advertising campaigns from around the world in the Perfect Pauses Theater at
the World of Coca Cola.

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EVOLUTION OF THE COCA-COLA BOTTLE

The 1980s featured such memorable slogans as “Coke is It!”, “Catch the Wave”
and “Can’t Beat the Feeling”. In 1993, Coca-Cola experimented with computer
animation, and the popular “Always Coca-Cola” campaign was launched in a series of
ads featuring animated polar bears. Each animated ad in the “Always Coca-Cola”
series took 12 weeks to produce from beginning to end. The bears were, and still are,
a huge hit with consumers because of their embodiment of characteristics like
innocence, mischief and fun. A favorite feature at the World of Coca-Cola is the
ability to have your photo taken with the beloved 7′ tall Coca-Cola Polar Bear.
In 2009, the “Open Happiness” campaign was unveiled globally. The central
message of “Open Happiness” is an invitation to billions around the world to pause,
refresh with a Coca-Cola, and continue to enjoy one of life’s simple pleasures. The
“Open Happiness” message was seen in stores, on billboards, in TV spots and printed
advertising along with digital and music components — including a single featuring
Janelle Monae covering the 1980 song, “Are You Getting Enough Happiness?” The
happiness theme continued with “Open the Games. Open Happiness” featured during
the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, followed by a 2010 social media
extension, “Expedition 206″ — an initiative whereby three happiness ambassadors
travel to 206 countries in 365 days with one mission: determining what makes people
happy. The inspirational year-long journey is being recorded and communicated via
blog posts, tweets, videos and pictures.
Experts have long believed in the connection between happiness and wellness, and
Coca-Cola is proud to have played a part in happy occasions around the globe. In
Atlanta, check out the Coca-Cola Theater at the World of Coca-Cola and see the
magic that goes into every bottle of Coca-Cola.

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2. Theories
There are 5 Sun Zi’s Art of War theories that we choose:
1.36 When the enemy is strong and effective, be well-prepared and ready to
confront him.
This theory says that the company should be always be ready especially when rivals
are strong in competition. The company should forecast what is the uncertainty or
action that may take by the rivals that affect or harm the company, so that if it really
happened, the company can always cope with that. Always update to know the latest
trend in the industry. For example, there should be a marketing department in
company to do analysis about the market and always be concern on what enemies do.
Besides that, the company should always aware which rivals brand or other
companies that become stronger in the market.

3.51 Thus it is said: He who knows the other side (the enemy) and knows himself
will not be defeated in a hundred battles.
This is one of the important theories in the Sun Zi’s Art of War. The company needs
to know well what the rivals are doing. If the company knows your enemy well, they
are not afraid to fight. With the information that the company holds, they can focus on
the rival’s weaknesses. The company should also know what is the weaknesses and
strength of the company itself. In a competition, the company can compete and utilize
with the areas that it is strong, then aim for competitor’s weaknesses. For example,
open an outlet in an area that you know the competitors are unable to expand its
market into the particular area.

4.8 Attack when forces and resources are more than abundant.
It means that a company should go for aggressive sale actions when they have
sufficient resources and high financial balance. This is to gain a maximum profit to
the company. This can be a great advantage for the company to beat their rivals,
because the sales of rivals probably affected by your action. For example, a company
can increase its production rate to produce more products and expands its marketing
as well as advertising activities so that more potential customers will buy products
form the company. Besides, the company can use the adequate financial resources to
improve and innovate in their products to gain a better satisfaction level from
customers.

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5.1 Sun Zi said: To manage a large force is similar to managing a small force.
The company should focus on the large units of company but the small units are also
important. The contribution of those small units is also important for the company.
They are like the roots of a tree that support the tree to grow. For example, the
company focuses on their main departments of company (eg: finance department,
managerial department), but also cannot ignores the small departments such as
securities department. Although they seems like only contribute a small part of
corporation, but without them, the company cannot operate well and also will be in
trouble.

8.8 There are some routes and paths that must not be taken.
This theory indicates that the company should know which things that cannot do.
There are million ways for the company to develop, but some ways are not ethical or
illegal. The company should not do this to compete with competitors. Besides that,
this also applies in cultural. For example, different country have different cultural.
Some countries have their own cultural. The company should know which culture that
the country is not favor then avoid to use it. Or else, the company will be boycott
from the citizens and the reputation will also affected.

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3. Discussion

1.36 When the enemy is strong and effective, be well-prepared and ready to
confront him.

This theory means that we must have sufficient preparation before war with
the strong enemy. Coca-Cola Company is a No.1 non-alcoholic beverage company
and is the most recognize brand by world population. The most strong and effective
enemy of Coca-Cola company is Pepsi company. The two companies have intense
competition every year in term of earnings, sales, social media, employees and so
forth. For example of earnings, Coca-Cola has reported that they earn much higher
than Pepsi. This is because Coca-Cola Company is able to keep its profit margins well
above its competitors. Besides, both of the companies rely on international sales for
most of their revenue. On the other hand, social media may not seem like a big deal
but it is a best way for all companies to advertise and promote their product to
customers. By having a large social media presence and following, Coca-Cola
companies are able to obtain information about what their customers are thinking,
which can give them a competitive edge. Thus, Coca-Cola Company’s reputation will
become famous and well-known brand by population through social media. It is a way
to promote their brand and product with social media and prepared to confront with
his competitors. In addition, Pepsi Company has more than twice as many employees
than Coca-Cola Company although size of Pepsi Company is smaller. This is due to
the Pepsi company is much more diverse than Coca-Cola company. These two
companies have similar dividend stocks but have different operating and product
diversification. Both companies have proved to shareholders that they are committed
to raising dividends, both have a yield near 3% and both have similar payout ratios.
As we can see, some aspect of Coca-Cola Company is better than Pepsi Company, but
some is worse. So, Coca-Cola Company must has a well-prepared and be ready of
employee, revenue, technology to confront with the strong and effective company,
Pepsi Company.

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3.51 Thus it is said: He who knows the other side (the enemy) and knows himself
will not be defeated in a hundred battles.

This theory means that Coca-Cola Company must know about the strength and
weakness of enemy and themselves. Hence, they just can win every match of war in
the competition. This concept has vividly applied in the Coca-Cola Company. The
strength of Coca-Cola Company is brand equity, customer loyalty and distribution
network. Coca-Cola was awarded with the highest brand equity award in Interbrand
2011. Coca-Cola has unique brand identity and vast global presence of the costliest
brands. Moreover, Coca-Cola has a lot loyalty customer with the strong products.
Many people will prefer Coca-Cola over others because of the good taste. The
strength of Coca-Cola is they have the largest distribution network because of the
demand in the market of its products. Coca-Cola has been able to command such a
high market presence with this successful distribution network. The weakness of
Coca-Cola is competition with Pepsi. Pepsi is a thorn in the flesh for Coca-Cola. The
competition in these two brands is immense and Pepsi will not give up so easily. Next
weakness of Coca-Cola Company is water management. Coca-Cola has faced flak in
the past due to its water management issues. There is other people have blamed Coca-
Cola Company for mixing pesticides in the water to clear contaminants.

Pepsi Company is the enemy of Coca-Cola Company. So, we also need to

know the strength and weakness of Pepsi Company. The strength of Pepsi Company
is extensive distribution channel. Pepsi products are served to more than 10million
stores per week in more than 200 countries. Besides, Pepsi Company emphasizes
Corporate Social Responsibility. Pepsi Company recognizes its role in a society and
engages in education, recycling, water usage reduction, and other projects. Thus, it
can increas its brand awareness and customer loyalty. Third strength of Pepsi
Company is they have 22 brands that can earn more than USD 1 billion in a year.
Pepsi has 22 brands that contribute to its income, serving different industries and
satisfying various consumer tastes.

On the other hand, Pepsi has a weak brand awareness. The Coca-Cola
Company has the largest share market of beverages in the world and much stronger
brand awareness than Pepsi. Second weakness is Pepsi Company has a very low net

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profit margin. Pepsi Company’s net profit margin is only 9.7% if compared to Coca-
Cola 18.5%.

Conclusion, Coca-Cola Company has to know the strength and weakness of

their company and Pepsi Company. So they just can win every war in the competition
with the concept.

4.8 Attack when forces and resources are more than abundant.

This theory means that you should beat your enemy when you have sufficient
resources and forces, company should go for aggressive sale actions and take over the
competitors using the company resources to gain competitive advantage and more
profit. As we know, Cola-Cola is the biggest beverage company and holds the largest
beverage market share in the world. Coca-Cola is using their adequate financial
resources on marketing and advertising campaigns in order to increase sales. For
example in year 2013, Coca-Cola had spent $3.37 billion, or 7.0% of 2013 revenues,
on advertising and marketing, which including in-store activations, loyalty points
programs, and point-of-sale marketing. The advertising and marketing campaigns
have rapidly increased their sales and Coca-Cola Company’s brand power over the
years. Besides, in order to reinvigorate growth, Cola-Cola has also intended to
increase their production rates and expand market shares throughout the world. For
example, Coca-Cola has reaffirms US $500 million investment to accelerate growth in
Indonesia for the next three to four years. This is because Indonesia is a dynamic and
promising market and one of the growth engines to achieve the company long-term
vision. Coca-Cola believes this will help them capture the growth opportunity in one
of the largest and most dynamic countries in the world as they enable their system to
be even more responsive to consumer and customer needs. This could also create
more jobs and where possible sourcing locally, promote the local economy and
contribute to economic growth in Indonesia. Nevertheless, Cola-Cola has also using
their resources to help in innovation of new products. Coca-Cola keeps innovation by
continuously building on strong family of brands and introducing new flavours and
packages in specific markets. As the consumer needs and wants are constantly
evolving throughout the markets, the company should keep expand innovation on
their new products. For example, in 2008, the company launched Coca-Cola Zero, a

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full-flavour no calorie Coca-Cola beverage increasingly popular among adult
customers, which is available in 20 out of 28 markets.

5.1 Sun Zi said: To manage a large force is similar to managing a small force.

This theory means that not only the company should concentrate more on
large department but also small department. Coca-Cola not only focusing on their
main unit in their company but also concentrating on those small units such as
provides a safe and healthy workplace for employees. Coca-Cola provides a well
condition workplace for their employees and believes that a safe and healthy
workplace is a fundamental right of every person and also a business imperative.
Coca-Cola also practices Workplace Rights Policy which to take responsibility for
maintaining a productive workplace in every part of the Company by minimizing the
risk of accidents for their workers. As the employees are feel healthy, so that they will
feel more comfortable and be motivated to help in achieve the company’s goals.
Furthermore, Coca-Cola also provide training and development programs for their
employees, Coca-Cola committed to extending education and development programs
to their employees at all levels of organization, so that all employees can experiencing
it and realize their potential and improving their working skill in workplace through
this programs. By providing the training and development program, this could help
Cola-Cola to achieve long term goals and enhance the company production.

Coca-Cola has collaborated with many small industries, the company maintain
the relationship between those collaborated industries. Coca-Cola does carry an
advantage with its consistent effort of building relationship with many small players
in the industry. It has effectively leveraged its partnership model with the companies
such as Keurig Green Mountain, Monster and FairLife. These partnerships should
enhance growth for its categories in the future. Also, these partnerships will assist the
company to strengthen its presence in the geographic segmentation with in-depth
concentration on each market segment. Hence, Coca-Cola should has a good
management on relationship between those small collaborated industries to gain
competitive advantage and drive the rivals in the market.

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8.8 There are some routes and paths that must not be taken.

This theory indicates that the coca cola company should know which things
that cannot do. There are million ways for the company to develop, but some ways are
not ethical or illegal. The company should not do this to compete with competitors.
Besides that, this also applies in cultural. For example, different countries have
different cultural. Some country has theirs’ own cultural. The company should know
which culture that the country is not favour then avoid to use it. Or else, the company
will be boycott from the citizens and the reputation will also be affected.

Thus, coca cola company also challenging the numerous of the countries’
cultural and they success penetrating the almost all of the country other than Cuba and
North Korea. Ahmet C. Bozer, who is the president of the Coca-Cola Company’s
Eurasia and Africa Group has share some of the strategic and tactical which used to
penetrate and compete the worldwide market during an interview. They have a
functional team in Istanbul with finance, marketing, and strategic capabilities. The
functional team works as part of the global team to come up with strategic plans for
each market. They share those with the business units, and we expect them to enrich
and add value to them by adapting them to their own needs.

Moreover, they invest a lot in understanding the psyche of the local consumer.
In Egypt, during the Arab spring, their marketing people were able to tap into the
psyche of the public especially the teenagers. We understood that despite the
uncertainty they were going through, they wanted to create a bright future. They
brand giving promise is happiness and optimism. they try to do this kind of thing
everywhere, they have good marketers in each county who have access into consumer
insight data, and who work with very good agencies, while at the same time working
with robust global processes.

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4. Conclusion

Start from year 1886 until 2015, Coca Cola from a not known beverage brand
until world number 1 beverage company. Of course the most important reason is the
top secret syrup that has not enclose to public until now. But we cannot overlook the
other great efforts from Coca Cola during they journey to obtain the world number 1
reputation. Cope with the theory when the enemy is strong and effective, be well-
prepared and ready to confront him. In the beverage industry nowadays, by having
well known reputation only is nothing too special. Coca Cola company always
emphasizes on marketing and innovation activities in order to win in the battles with
the competitors such as Pepsi company and 7up company.

By using the theory of thus it is said: He who knows the other side (the enemy)
and knows himself will not be defeated in a hundred battles, Coca Cola always
understand their own strong sites and weak sites, so that they can coordinate their
operations well. For example, they use their superiority of brand reputation to fight
down their competitors in the markets.
The theory of attack when forces and resources are more than abundant
explains that with the high net profits they earned, they are active in innovating and
improving the taste of Coca Cola syrup. This makes the company is able to grab large
attention from public every time they introduce a new favour of Coco Cola drink.

The theory of Sun Zi said: To manage a large force is similar to managing a

small force is well reflects on Coca Cola. The success of Coca Cola is relies on the
collaboration of different departments in the companies. Without same target, the
employees are less likely to cooperate together in achieving such honoured reputation
the company having now.

There are some routes and paths that must not be taken theory means that there are
million ways for the company to develop, but some ways are not ethical or illegal.
Coca Cola is always fair and square. The company does not use any dirty tactics to
drive competitors out of the market. Instead Coca Cola uses their powerful brand of
drinks to win the battle with the competitors.

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 From the whole process, we learned that there is no free lunch in this world. If
you wish to get what you want, you must work hard and cooperate well with other
people. When you own such a large company like Coca Cola, the way how you
maintain your company profits and reputation is much harder than obtain it. At this
time, you need to know well about your own advantages and disadvantages.
Maximizes interests by using advantages and minimizes misses by avoiding exposure
of disadvantages are the most alternative way to maintain the top reputation of
company

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