When a Local Competitor (slightly) Shakes Up the Global Giant: a case on the soft drink market

Curso: 

  • MPGI

Área de conhecimento: 

  • Estratégias de Marketing

Autor(es): 

  • Joaquim Mimoso Fachada

Orientador: 

Ano: 

2011

Global brands have retained much attention in the marketing field (Kotler, 1997; Holt, Quelch, and Taylor, 2004; Özsomer and Altaras, 2008) while local brands have often been underestimated (Ger, 1999; Schuiling and Kapferer, 2004). Nevertheless, the adaptationstandardization debate has been widely discussed. It focuses on defining how a an international company should build its strategy: by standardizing its marketing strategy or by adapting to better fit with local needs and culture (Levitt, 1983; Subhash, 1989; Herbig, 1998; Holt, 2004; Melewar and Vemmervik, 2004; Heerden and Barter, 2008). However, this subject has not been discussed in the specific context of alternative consumption offered by specific local competitors. Nowadays, an increase in the offer of alternative products is observed. The socially responsible consumption is growing (Sen and Bhattacharya, 2001; Holt, 2002; Loureiro, 2002; François-Lecompte and Valette-Florence, 2006). The cola soft drink market is of particular interest. Alternative colas are cola soft-drinks that have been emerging during the last decade in some regions or specific zones of the world. These colas clearly position themselves as an alternative to the global Coca-Cola soft-drink. The alternative is not built on price but on special characteristics of the products that usually constitute a specific value proposition, different from Coca-Cola. In France, for one decade, regional colas have grown in number, being more than fifteen today. Breizh Cola has been launched in 2002 and achieves almost a 10% market share in the Brittany region today. In 2009, Coca-Cola Entreprise started a specific marketing campaign in Brittany based on regional visuals and partnerships. This case of adaptation in a context of specific local competition is explored in this thesis which focuses on the reasons of the preference for Breizh Cola on the one side, and on the actions undertaken by Coca-Cola in Brittany on the other side. This study shows that Coca-Cola walks in the footsteps of Breizh Cola in order to better meet local expectations. 

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