The Challenge

In the South African beverage market, the Coca-Cola Company has four cola brands: Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light, Coca-Cola Zero and Tab. This is more than most other countries, where often only two cola brands make up Coca-Cola’s portfolio. While the four-brand strategy was designed to satisfy differing consumer needs, if the positioning of each is not clearly differentiated at all levels of marketing, some brands, if not all, will suffer. When this happens, these brands potentially invade each other’s territory rather than just their competitors’, which in turn weakens the health of the brand overall.

The Task

Evaluate Coca-Cola’s brand portfolio in South Africa, developing a framework so that the brands remain distinct, while still collectively building the overall Coca-Cola business.

The Strategy

OIL’s strategy defined the role of each Coca-Cola brand within its respective target market. It delineated how each brand delivers against different consumer needs, how communication resonates with local insights, and how each brand might behave across common activation platforms like music and fashion. The strategy also identified areas of focus and priority, associated challenges, the picture of success and possible future scenarios for the brand.