Answer Happy

CASE 4: COKE Coca-Cola (Coke), one of the most admired companies in the world, re-entered India in 1993. It had been ousted in 1977, due to differences with the then Indian government. Post 1993, Coke tried to establish itself in the Indian market where Pepsi, which entered India with a joint venture in 1988, had already established its strong hold. Although the volumes in the soft drink market increased by 76%, from 5670 million bottles in 1998 to 10,000 million bottles in 2002, both the cola giants faced stagnation in sales. Coca-Cola India faced with the challenge of the saturation of its primary market of urban India. The company was left with no choice but to look at developing the rural India market. The company developed innovative mechanisms in distribution, promotion, and pricing to attract the rural population and how these strategies proved successful in attracting the rural segment Issues: How marketers can address the issue of market expansion after saturation in urban areas Customizing products and promotions depending on the target segment Innovative methods of developing distribution channels Questions for Discussion: 1. Compare and contrast Coke and Pepsi's rural marketing strategy? (15 marks) 2. Why did rural markets gain importance among cola marketers? (15 marks)