Public
relations play a critical role in all organizations. Public relations are
something that grows and materializes with an organization. They are ideas and
solutions to what makes an organization successful. Public relations have
become so important in modern times that there are now organizations that
specialize only in public relations. These organizations represent other small
and large organizations. This essay will explore how the Coca Cola Company used
public relations to help build its organization.
Coca-Cola was first produced in Atlanta,
GA. in 1886 by Dr. John Stith Pemberton, whom was a pharmacist. It was first
introduced to the public in the form of syrup. It was offered to local citizens
and received great reviews from taste testers. Dr. Pemberton “carried
a jug of the new product down the street to Jacobs' Pharmacy, where it was
sampled, pronounced "excellent" and placed on sale for five cents a
glass as a soda fountain drink” (The Coca Cola Company, 2011). The first public
relations ideas came shortly after.
A partner
of Dr. Stiths’ by the name of Frank M. Robinson performed the first act of
public relations for Coca-Cola. “Thinking
that "the two Cs would look well in advertising," Dr. Pemberton's partner
and bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, suggested the name and penned the now famous
trademark "Coca-Cola" in his unique script” (The Coca Cola
Company, 2011). This simple act by Frank M. Robinson would become one of the
most recognizable logos around the world. This would also become a very
successful public relations endeavor for the Coca-Cola Company. This would be
the first of many successful public relations attempts during the evolution of
the organization. Because of his death only two years after formulating the
Coca-Cola syrup, Dr. Stith would not see his creation reach great success.
Before
Dr. Stith died, he began to sell shares of his newly found business. One of the
shareholders was Asa Candler. Asa Candler would begin to revolutionize what
would become The Coca-Cola Company. Asa Candler, with the use of public
relations, turned a carbonated beverage into a successful organization. His
means of expression for promoting and advertising were newspapers. “On May 1,
1889, Asa Candler published a full-page advertisement in The Atlanta Journal,
proclaiming his wholesale and retail drug business as "sole proprietors of
Coca-Cola ... Delicious. Refreshing. Exhilarating. Invigorating” (The Coca Cola
Company, 2011). Asa Candler was a strong supporter of advertising. He
understood and knew how to employ public relations strategies to ensure the
growth of the organization. “Mr.
Candler expanded on Dr. Pemberton's marketing efforts, distributing thousands
of coupons for a
complimentary glass of Coca-Cola. He promoted the product incessantly,
distributing souvenir fans, calendars, clocks, urns and countless novelties,
all depicting the trademark” (The Coca Cola Company, 2011).
Coca-Cola
began to gain a considerable consumer base. Initially, it was served strictly
out of fountains in social gathering places like lounges and bars. Fountains
were also located in convenience stores. In fact, a convenience store owner
from Mississippi would inadvertently come up with one of the greatest public
relations solutions for the distribution and consumption of Coca-Cola. “In
1894, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Joseph A. Biedenharn was so impressed by the
growing demand for Coca-Cola at his soda fountain that he installed bottling
machinery in the rear of his store and began to sell cases of Coca-Cola” (The Coca Cola Company, 2011). This
innovative act of public relations would be very significant for the Coca-Cola
Company. It allowed the beverage to be packaged and eventually distributed
around the world.
The
Coca-Cola Company would be sold again in 1919. Two investors, Ernest Woodruff
and W. C. Bradley, would buy the company and Ernest Woodruff’s son Robert would
eventually become the president of The Coca-Cola Company. “Robert Winship Woodruff, Ernest
Woodruff's son, was elected president of the Company, beginning more than six
decades of active leadership in the business” (The Coca Cola Company,
2011). Robert Woodruff would be a key member of The Coca-Cola Company until
1984.
Under
Robert Woodruff’s leadership and direction, The Coca-Cola Company would
experience many positive public relations campaigns. The Coca-Cola Company
would soar to heights Dr.
John Stith Pemberton and Asa Candler could not fathom, but would
be very proud of. Robert Woodruff “put uncommon emphasis on product quality” after taking control of
The Coca-Cola Company (The
Coca Cola Company, 2011). Robert Woodruff was ahead of his time in many aspects
of business. “Merchandising
concepts accepted as commonplace today were considered revolutionary when Mr.
Woodruff introduced them” (The Coca Cola Company, 2011).
Robert Woodruff would lead the charge to
globalize Coca Cola. “In 1926, Mr. Woodruff committed the Company to organized
international expansion by establishing the Foreign Department, which in 1930
became a subsidiary known as The Coca-Cola Export Corporation” (The Coca Cola Company,
2011). The Olympic Games would
also help The Coca-Cola Company with its globalization campaign. “Coca-Cola and
the Olympic Games began their association in the summer of 1928, when an
American freighter arrived in Amsterdam carrying the United States Olympic team
and 1,000 cases of Coca-Cola” (The Coca Cola Company, 2011). The Coca-Cola Company would continue
to evolve through strategic planning and remaining relevant to each generation.
With the advancements in technology,
organizations must stay attuned to the trends of their consumers in order to
stay competitive and maintain success. This includes incorporating social media
sites such as Facebook.com, myspace.com, and twitter.com into their
organizations. By incorporating these social media sites, organizations are
able to get the views and ideas of their consumers.
The Coca-Cola Company is no exception.
Although it is a long standing successful organization, The Coca-Cola Company
must continue to evolve and keep up with current trends. In order to adapt to
social media sites and other venues in the 21st century, Coca-Cola
has becom a client of 360i. 360i is a digital marketing agency. In an article
by Natalie Zmuda, she stated that:
The agency, owned by Dentsu Holdings USA, will be
responsible for formulating a consistent way of keeping track of what consumers
are saying across Twitter, Facebook and other channels. It will then report
back to the company to yield insights into how to improve or tweak marketing,
and determine consumer sentiment about specific products. Billion-dollar brands
such as Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite, Minute Maid, Powerade, Vitaminwater
and Dasani will be monitored (Zmuda, 2011).
360i
gives The Coca-Cola Company an ear to the viral world and helps them adapt to
the ever changing world of technology.
The Coca-Cola Company has been in
existence for over 100 years. In that time, despite the great success, the
organization has had their share of problems. So far they have obviously
overcome these challenges. Through the use of public relations the organization
has been able to find solutions and ideas to correct problems that have risen
over the years.
When the Coca-Cola Company began to bottle
their beverage, a problem arose when it was discovered that there were venders
selling an imitation of the Coca-Cola brand. This led The Coca-Cola Company to
package their beverage in a unique bottle style to distinguish the real brand
from the “bootleg” brand. “The never-ending battle against substitution was the
major force behind the evolution of the distinctive hobble-skirt bottle” (The
Coca Cola Company, 2011). Had the Coca-Cola Company not came up with a solution
for this problem; the organization could have suffered tremendously. They felt
that they deserved better. “Coca-Cola deserved a distinctive package, and in
1916, the bottlers approved the unique contour bottle designed by the Root
Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana” (The Coca Cola Company, 2011).
Another public relations incident
involving The Coca-Cola Company put a slight strain on the organizations
relationship with Burger King. An article by Scott Leith, stated that “First
came an internal investigation. Now Coca-Cola faces another daunting task:
repairing relations and holding on to a major customer that has a legitimate
complaint with the beverage giant” (Leith, 2003). Apparently a former employee
of The Coca-Cola Company “signed off on a fraudulent marketing test involving
Burger King” (Leith, 2003). In the wake of the incident, the organization
feared that it would lose its contract to another leading brand. Through good
public relations solutions, The Coca-Cola Company was able to repair the
relationship with Burger King.
The Coca-Cola Company is a for-profit
organization. This means that the organization “can be taxed by state and
federal governments, distributes funds to shareholders, employ paid workers,
and commercially based” (Cameron, 2008). Non-profit organizations “are
generally employed by volunteer workers, receive funding from donations, and
cannot be taxed by governments” (Cameron, 2008).
References
Cameron, G. T., Wilcox, D. L., Reber, B. H., & Shin, J.
(2008). Public relations today:
Managing competition and conflict. Boston, MA: Pearson Education,
Inc.
Scott Leith.
(2003, June 19). Coke faces damage control :[Home
Edition]. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution,p. C.1.
Retrieved November 28, 2011, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document
ID: 348921881).
The Coca Cola Company. (2011). The Chronicle
of Coca Cola: A Man Named Woodruff. Retrieved
The Coca Cola Company. (2011). The Chronicle
of Coca Cola: Birth of a Refreshing Idea.
The Coca Cola Company. (2011). The Chronicle
of Coca Cola: The Candler Era. Retrieved from.
Zmuda, N. (October 18, 2011). Coca-Cola Taps 360i to Handle Social-Media
Monitoring.
