ROYAL CROWN

COLA
INTERNATIONAL
LTD.
MARKETING PLAN
Abdullah Abbasi

MARKETING
MANAGEMENT

Contents
1.

SYNOPSIS............................................................................................................. 2

1.1 GROUP DETAILS................................................................................................. 2

1.2 NAME OF COMPANY........................................................................................... 2
1.3 INTRODUCTION TO COMPANY............................................................................2
1.4 REASEARCH OBJECTIVES................................................................................... 2
2.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................................................................... 3

3.

COMPANY OVERVIEW............................................................................................ 3

4.

OBJECTIVE............................................................................................................ 4

5.

MACRO ANALYSIS................................................................................................. 4
5.1 DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION.........................................................................4
5.2 GEOGRAPHICAL SEGMENTATION.......................................................................4
5.3 CULTURAL.......................................................................................................... 4
5.4 POLITICAL.......................................................................................................... 4
5.5 ECONOMICAL SEGMENT.................................................................................... 5
5.6 TECHNOLOGY.................................................................................................... 5

6.

MICRO ANALYSIS.................................................................................................. 5
6.1 CUSTOMERS...................................................................................................... 5
6.2 TARGET CUSTOMERS......................................................................................... 5
6.3 CUSTOMERS NEED............................................................................................ 5
6.4 COMPETITORS................................................................................................... 5
6.5 DIRECT COMPETITORS....................................................................................... 6
6.6 INDIRECT COMPETITORS................................................................................... 6
6.7 SUPPLIERS......................................................................................................... 6
6.8 COMPETENT ADVANTAGES................................................................................6

7.

SWOT ANALYSIS................................................................................................... 6
7.1 STRENGTH......................................................................................................... 6
7.2 WEAKNESS........................................................................................................ 6
7.3 OPPORTUNITIES................................................................................................. 6
7.4 THREATS............................................................................................................ 7

8.

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION....................................................................................7

QUESTIONNARE.......................................................................................................... 8

1. SYNOPSIS
1.1 GROUP DETAILS
IrfanUllah (59227, Fall 2014)
Syed Usama Akhtar (6887, Fall 2014)
Muhammad Abdullah Abbasi (59150, Fall 2014)

1.2 NAME OF COMPANY

Royal-Crown Cola International (Pvt.) Ltd. Lahore. (Ex. Union Bottling Works.)

1.3 INTRODUCTION TO COMPANY

Mr. Claud Hatcher, Founder, Established the Union Bottling Works in Columbus,
Georgia in the basement of the wholesale grocery business of his family. The first
line of fruit flavored beverages was named Royal Crown and the first cola drink was
called Chero-Cola. The Company changes its name to The Nehi Corporation. The
Company began to enhance its advertising by using entertainment celebrities like
Bing Crosby, Joan Crawford, and Hedy Lamar. In 1958 company changes name for
the third time to Royal Crown Cola Company. In 2005 Royal Crown Cola
Co. commemorated its 100th Anniversary.

1.4 REASEARCH OBJECTIVES

Our Research objectives are:

To find out why Royal Crown Cola International (Pvt.) Ltd. Falling down in
Pakistan.
How to revive RC-Cola Company in Pakistan.
Will define the new Marketing strategies for RC-Cola company to make a
place in market.
To define the advertising campaign.
A new marketing mix will be applied on the brand.

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

3. COMPANY OVERVIEW

(Parent company of all franchises of RC Cola in Pakistan) Since its launch in 1905,
RC Cola has been a soft drink that embodies individuality and entrepreneurial
spirit. RC's crisp, clean taste distinguishes it from other colas, and has become a
favorite of cola drinkers throughout America. RC originated in Columbus, Ga., when
a young pharmacist named Claud A. Hatcher decided to supply his family's grocery
store with drinks that he produced and bottled. Hatcher called his first line of
beverages "Royal Crown," and the first cola product "Chero -Cola." Other early
products included Royal Crown Ginger Ale, Royal Crown Strawberry and Royal Crown
Root Beer. Sales grew steadily and in 1912 Hatcher's basement bottling activities
grew into the Chero-Cola Co. Sixteen years later, he renamed the company Nehi
Corporation, after the successful line of fruity beverages he had developed. After
Hatcher's death in 1933, Vice President H.R. Mott took control of the company and
quickly streamlined operations to make the company debt-free within the year. Part
of Mott's plan was the reformulation of the classic Chero-Cola into a more
refreshing beverage. Chemist Rufus Kim was given the responsibility of coming up
with the new flavor, which took six months too perfect. The new cola was released
to the public with the name of Hatcher's original line of beverages: Royal Crown.
Royal Crown Cola was an instant sensation. RC Cola, as it is now called, was such
success that the company was eventually renamed Royal Crown Cola Co. By 1940,
RC products were available in 47 of the 48 states. As RC continued to grow, it stayed
true to its independent personality by producing
innovation after innovation. In 1954, the company became the first to nationally
distribute soft drinks in cans. Four years later, the company introduced the 16ounce bottle. In terms of beverages, RC produced the first low-calorie diet cola (Diet
Rite), the first caffeine-free diet cola (RC 100) and the first diet cherry cola (Diet
Cherry RC). Other RC innovations include the all-aluminum beverage can and Royal
Crown Draft cola, a premium cola made with pure sugar cane.
In 1998, RC was relaunched with new packaging, a dynamic logo, and a new tagline
:"Be Free, Drink RC."
RC also introduced RC Edge, the first maximum-power cola containing a synergistic
blend of Indian ginseng, taurine and caffeine.
What's in a name?
RC Cola received its name from the people who matter the most: its
consumers. When the reformulated product was released in 1934, the
manufacturer named it
"Royal Crown Cola."

As the soft drink became increasingly successful, consumers affectionately

abbreviated the name to "
RC.

4. OBJECTIVE

We were given the task of revitalizing a product which has not been successful to
occupy its desired place in the market. We selected RC Cola to revitalize. Actually, it
is not a failure product. It was failed to occupy a desired place in the market just
because of the companys financial problems. Our aim is to help Continental
Beverages by giving our opinion about their marketing strategies. We have disused
the segmentation, targeting and Marketing Mix for RC Cola and also gave
suggestion along with it. We want to introduce RC Cola with a new packaging and
image in the market. We try our best to give some promotional ideas and hope that
prove to be beneficial for the company.

5. MACRO ANALYSIS
5.1 DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION
Demographically the market is segmented on the basis of:
Age: 13 to 35
Gender: Male and female
family size: Upper, Middle and Lower
Occupation: Working people, Students and youth

5.2 GEOGRAPHICAL SEGMENTATION

Continental Beverages divided Pakistan into provinces and then into cities.
Continental beverages is actually a franchise of ROYAL CROWN COLA COMPANY,
which is the parent company and it is in USA. As you know ROYAL CROWN COLA
COMPANY has five franchises all over the Pakistan. Two franchises are in Sindh and
three in Punjab. Geographically, the market is divided into cities. But currently, the
companys franchises operate in four cities rather than in five. The Karachi franchise
is working by the name of Continental beverages. But now it has become the
authorized bottlers under franchise for province Sindh and Baluchistan. In summer
season the sales of the soft drinks increase as compare to other seasons. The
duration of the summers in Punjab is longer than in Sindh. So in this way the
Punjabs cities are very attractive market than the Sindh. Because the duration of
summers in
Punjab is longer and hotter than in Karachi and Hyderabad. Thats way the three
franchises are in Punjab.

5.3 CULTURAL
Carbonated drinks have become part of the culture in Pakistan and multinational
companies have maintained their standards over the years to provide consumers
with high-quality carbonated drinks. The beverages make a place in our life rapidly.
The demand of soft drinks increases in special events like EID.

5.4 POLITICAL
The period between 1986-1996 was very difficult for the company to run the
business. At that time some political parties in Karachi were very strong, and their
political activities affected the business of beverage industry. The company was not
financially strong enough to face these problems. They sold some of their assets in
order to pay their loans to bank and run their business.
The government of Pakistan has reduced excise taxes to encourage soft drinks
manufacturers and importers. The government also reduced other applicable taxes
to promise more profits not only for soft drinks manufacturers already in the market
but also to attract potential soft drinks manufacturers to invest in Pakistan. The
government also decided to tax the beverage industry on capacity of production
rather than on actual production and those brave move encouraged soft drinks
manufacturers to maximize production and reduce prices.

5.5 ECONOMICAL SEGMENT

They are already financially unstable and this unethical action also affected their
production capacity. Continental beverages stopped their production for 2 years,
between 2002-2004. If we analyze all the reason for failure, we concluded that their
product was not have any problem but reason for failure was financially unstable
and presence of tiger competitors like Coke and Pepsi, as a result of which they left
the market for 2 years.

5.6 TECHNOLOGY
The effect of Technology on beverages industry is increased. Even many beverage
companies make their own bottling production line. But RC Cola faced the problem
of SSRB (Single Served Returnable Bottles). They suffered this unethical problem
just because of Pepsi. They used to supply their products to the customers in single
served returnable bottles and used to collect their bottles after usage (or when they
are empty). But what happened is that Pepsi unethically started collecting COLA
empty bottles from the market and stocking them in their good owns
or warehouses. Due to the shortage of the empty bottles, they had to buy new
bottles from Baluchistan Glass Bottles manufacturers, and had to pay a large
amount.

6. MICRO ANALYSIS
6.1 CUSTOMERS
Peoples now these days are being status conscious. They celebrate their happiness
at hotel or at caf and use colas. There are many large customers in the market like
food streets, restaurant and Pakistan Railways.

6.2 TARGET CUSTOMERS

The target market for RC Cola will be the youth of Pakistan as 80% of the consumers
of cola products in Pakistan is youth of the age 13 to 35. It is easy to influence the
youth of sub-continent as compared to western youth according to a research. The
social class will be upper-lower to lower upper class.

6.3 CUSTOMERS NEED

According to customers need they are vary from time to time like demand of
beverages decline in winter seasons. Availability of product in their area. Price of
product is reasonable or not.

6.4 COMPETITORS
The competitors of the company mainly lie in the non-alcoholic beverage industry
consisting of juices and soft drinks. The key competitors in the industry are as
follows:
PepsiCo.
Coca Cola

6.5 DIRECT COMPETITORS

The direct competitor of RC Cola is Pepsi and Coca Cola. There is always ongoing
tuff competition between these arch rivals with Pepsi leading with 45% market
share and Coke gradually growing and catching up 40% market share in Pakistan.

6.6 INDIRECT COMPETITORS

The indirect competitors of RC Cola are Amrit Cola, Gourmet, Murree Brewery etc.
All of these companies are based in Pakistan. The remaining 15% share is divided
into these companies. Gourmet holds 7% to 8% share because of its variety of
flavors.

6.7 SUPPLIERS
The Karachi franchise is working by the name of Continental beverages. But now
it has become the authorized bottlers under franchise for province Sindh and
Baluchistan. In summer season the sales of the soft drinks increase as compare to
other seasons. The duration of the summers in Punjab is longer than in Sindh. So in
this way the Punjabs cities are very attractive market than the Sindh. Because the
duration of summers in
Punjab is longer and hotter than in Karachi and Hyderabad. Thats way the three
franchises are in Punjab.

6.8 COMPETENT ADVANTAGES

Brand name, symbol and bottle shape are distinctive features of RC-Cola. They
cannot be copied or imitated by others. Royal Crown Cola International trains its
bottlers in merchandising functions that will ensure visually appealing beverage
shelves, coolers and vending machines. With proper shelf management, the
customer will soon recognize the quality and value inherent in the Royal Crown Cola
International brands in Pakistan. Royal Crown Cola International has developed
intensive sales training programs. They provide complete, in-depth training
materials for both beginner and experienced sales people.

7. SWOT ANALYSIS

7.1 STRENGTH
RC Cola is the cola which is more than a 100 years old. In Pakistan the image of the
brand is already been made. The soft drinks market in Pakistan enjoyed dynamic
growth over the review period in both volume and current value terms. 30 years
back and it just want a good marketing strategy to recall the brand. Carbonates
dominate the market in both the on-trade and off-trade with lions share of sales.

7.2 WEAKNESS
Low advertising budget made this product value down in the market. Rooh Afza and
Jam-e-Shireen are traditional sandalwood drinks in Pakistan which are highly
regarded by consumers. These drinks can be found in every home in Pakistan,
especially in rural areas, throughout the summer and are mainstay of liquid
concentrates.

7.3 OPPORTUNITIES
The government of Pakistan has reduced excise taxes to encourage soft drinks
manufacturers and importers. To produce more concentrative and conglomerate
products drinks. The heat factor in the sub- continent. The government also reduce
other applicable taxes to promise more profits not only for soft drinks manufacturers
already in the market but also to attract potential soft drinks manufacturers to
invest in Pakistan.

7.4 THREATS
Very strong established competitors like Pepsi and Coke. Increasing health and
hygiene awareness among Pakistans has greatly increased sales of fruit juice
products. Fruit juices are doing very well in both urban and rural areas. On the other
hand, health and hygiene awareness has also led to increased sales of bottled water
in Pakistan.

8. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

Main reason for failure of RC Cola was their distribution network. Initially in
1981company started with their own distribution network and capturing the market
very well but after 1986 company was unable to carry out its own distribution
network as they were financially unstable so decline in the sales started which lead
to failure in unavailability of product at outlets.
As a part of publicity other companies like Coke and Pepsi were giving vesicular till
the retailer for storing product, but RC Cola were reluctant to do so as a result
of which retailers were start keeping competitors product. If we analyze all the
reason for failure, we concluded that their product was not have any problem but
reason for failure was financially unstable and presence of tiger competitors like
Coke and Pepsi, as a result of which they left the market for 2 years.

QUESTIONNARE
1. Which of the following soft drink have you used?
Pepsi
Coca Cola
Double Cola
Amrit Cola
Mecca Cola
2. How often do you drink a soft drink?
Once in a day
Twice a day
3-5 times a day
more than 5 times a day
3. Overall, how satisfied are you with your soft drink? (circle the %age)
100%
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
0%
COMPLETELY SATISFIED

NOT AT ALL SATISFIED

4. Please describe the reason(s) for your satisfaction or dissatisfaction?

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
___________________________.
5. Which factors influence you while buying a soft drink? (rate according to
your choice)
Packaging
Price
Easy availability
Taste

Advertisement

6. Where do you drink soft drink?

at home
at office
Anywhere
b. When do you prefer to take soft drinks?
at lunch time
with dinner
Party/occasionally/ with friends
Anytime

7. Which of the bottle do you want in 250 ml?

Glass bottle
Can
Disposable bottle
Plastic bottle.
8. Does price matter in your consumption?
Very likely
Very unlikely
Somewhat likely
Somewhat unlikely
9. What contents would you prefer in your soft drink? (give rates)

Fuzziness

Concentration

Sweetness

10. Are you familiar with RC cola?

Never heard of it

I am aware but never used it

Used it sometimes
Used it on regular basis

11. How did you first hear about RC Cola?

TV
Print media
Not sure
Never heard of it.
12. When did you use RC Cola last time?
2 yr. back
3 yr. back
More than 5 yr. back
Dont exactly remember
13. How often did you buy it?
Once in a day
Twice in a day
Once in a week
2-5 times in a week
Once in a month
Dont exactly remember

14. Tell me how much you liked the RC cola by pointing to the face that best
shows how much you liked it.
0%

40%

80%

100%

15. What are some aspects of RC Cola that can be improved?

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
___________________________.
Age group: *12-16yr, *16-20yr, *20-25yr, *25-30yr, *others__________.
16. In which media channels do you usually recognize Coca Cola's advertisements?
(Select as many as appropriate)
TV
Radio
Internet
Magazines
Posters

Neither
Don't know

17. In which media channels do you usually recognize Pepsi's advertisements?

(Select as many as appropriate)
TV
Radio
Internet
Magazines
Posters
Neither
Don't know
26. What's your general impression of Coca Cola's advertisements?
(Select as many as appropriate)
Traditional
Trendy
controversial
commercial
Enjoyable
Provocative
27. What's your general impression of Pepsi's advertisements?
(Select as many as appropriate)
Traditional
Trendy
Controversial
Commercial
Enjoyable
Provocative
28. What is your occupation?
Student
Working
29. What is your gender?
Female
Male