Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - September 25, 2005

The brand dominates every category in which it was researched. In the eyes of South Africans, it is the favourite brand, the best soft drink brand, the coolest brand and the company that does the most for the community.

You might ask if Coca-Cola, with its dominant market position, needs to do anything at all to keep its brand going. In fact, its managers continually work to keep the brand relevant, specially to the youth market, which has become an important focus.

Amanda Broughton, Coca-Cola's marketing director in SA, says Coke is reaping the successes of what has been built up over many years. Coke is not a one-hit wonder.

Coke, she says, is a challenging brand to manage because of its scale. Two major thrusts of its branding and marketing are music and soccer, where it combines marketing and investment in the community, and where its main aim is to speak to the hearts and minds of its consumers.

Managers make sure Coke is always where people want it and that it is sold cold and at a good price. Affordability does not just mean price - it means the best value in the appropriate package.

It is difficult to differentiate between what Coca-Cola does that could be considered brand building in the marketing sense and what it does that is linked to the community.

"We are a business that relies on the community and is invested in the community," Broughton says.

One of its biggest exercises is the Mega Millions competition, which attracted more than 25million entries in the last round. This is an example of being relevant and has, in the case of winners, had life-changing effects, she says.

Other initiatives, says marketing asset manager Firoze Bhorat, include the Goals for HIV project, where Coca-Cola gives R10000 to charity for every soccer goal scored in the Coca-Cola Cup and where clubs help select charities to support. The group is also involved in the Nelson Mandela 46664 initiative.

As a global brand, the SA company implements Coke's international ideas but also has its own local creative communication ideas.

SA is Coke's 10th biggest market, and is tipped to win the Woodruff Cup (Coca-Cola's own award) for the third consecutive time as the best-performing market.

Bhorat says the local company is given a lot of latitude and SA is being looked on as a benchmark.

Coca-Cola has long been dominant in brand surveys. But this year it upped the ante, winning in sections where it has not won before.

Broughton says that Coca-Cola has benefited this year from a good economy and good weather.

Coca-Cola operates in an increasingly competitive market with a plethora of new brands and the return of Pepsi. "This is a big and profitable market and there is always competition on price. We must be sure Coke delivers value."

Coca-Cola also benefits because everyone drinks it. "We have presence in every LSM group. From Soweto to Sandton, the experience of drinking Coke is the same."

The company continues to introduce initiatives to keep the brand fresh, including Coke Light Lemon and the new slimline can.

Part of the success of the Coke brand must be attributed to its advertising agency, Herdbuoys McCann Erickson. Broughton says creative director Mike Ellman Brown has "got Coke in his veins".

Much of its success is also due to the Coke offices and its bottlers.

"We are in a business where this is more than a job. We have the best job in SA and the best job in the Coke world - in the best country with the biggest brand in the world," Broughton says.

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