Coca Cola-A Global Thirst Quencher
James Wilson
Marketing 421
June 7th, 2015
Shane Akagi
Coca Cola-A Global Thirst Quencher Water is probably the simplest and healthiest beverage that we can consume. However, people everywhere in the world, when their bodies are thirsty, tend to reach for a Coca Cola product to quench their thirst. It is a staple of supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants / bars, numerous company and school vending machines, movie theaters, sporting events, and parties. It has great appeal in that it can be consumed by all age groups and often makes other items taste better. Coca Cola is often referred to as Coke, and comes in many different flavors. I remember as a small child having my first taste of Coke at the local 7-11 store in the form of a Slurpee. I was instantly addicted, and thought this was the greatest treat ever created to combat a hot summer day in Florida. If I started to act up as a child, my elders would threaten me with those horrendous words “If you keep acting up and being a bad boy, you will not get a Slurpee, when we go to the store”. As I got older, I thought I was too big to drink a Slurpee. It was at my fifteen year birthday party when my uncle brought Coke and some vanilla ice cream and introduced me to the Coke Float. I was so glad to make the move up to a more adult beverage. Speaking of adult beverages, I went to a party when I was eighteen when that was the minimum drinking age in the state of Florida, and I had my first mixed drink a Rum and Coke. From my earliest childhood, Coca Cola always made me feel pretty happy, but now that you add some rum to the mix, it took my happiness to a whole new level. Sometimes when my family was trying to save money, they would substitute Coca Cola with Pepsi Cola, RC Cola or some store brand soda but the alternatives did not have the same great tasting formula. I believe that since I was exposed to it a very young age, and it was a great thirst quencher on some very hot days, it is a major reason why it is one of my favorite brands. A second reason I am passionate about this brand is its global recognition. It ranked third in Interbrand’s 2014 Most Valuable brand list with an estimated brand value of 81.6 billion dollars. It also ranked sixth in Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of the world’s most admired companies (Bailey, 2014)No matter where you are it is socially acceptable to drink Coca Cola. I remember hearing the song “I’d like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company” and how the song stuck in your head as much as “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”. As a military veteran, sometimes I travel to third world countries where drinking the local water is an enormous health risk. Coca Cola is not the healthiest beverage to put in your body but at least you know what you are getting. Over the years many Coca Cola items have become nostalgic and are often collector items at various thrift stores, antique shops and auctions. A third reason I am passionate about Coca Cola, is just for the taste of it. “Just for the Taste of It” was actually the slogan to introduce Diet Coke in 1982 (Coca Cola Journey, 2015). It has other healthier and stimulating thirst quenching drinks such as Powerade, Vitamin Water, Dasani Water, Glaceau Smart Water, Fuze Tea, Honest Tea, Odwalla, NOS, and Monster Energy drinks. Warren Buffett, is a big sponsor of the company, and stated that the company which posted more than eighty billion in