Comparison in communication between pepsi and coca cola in vietnam

I would like to analyze their communications relating toproduct features and marketing communication options to compare the differences betweenCoke’s and Pepsi in Vietnam.. Both of them

Brand Management assignment

Table of Contents

Abstract 2

Introduction 2

Literature review 2

Discussions 6

Products orientation 6

Cultural factors of Vietnam 8

Advertising 10

Conclusion 20

References 20

Table of Figures Figure 1: Main Coke’s products selling in Vietnam 7

Figure 2: Main Pepsi’s products selling in Vietnam (carbonated water – left, noncarbonated water – right) 8

Figure 3: A Coca's billboard “Slim Can, a happy break” in Ho Chi Minh City, 2015 13

Figure 4: "Emoticon board" campaign in 2015, “Be happy” with a happy emotion on the billboard 14

Figure 5: "Have a break, Coca Cola now" message 14

Figure 6: "Tet for Now" billboard, Pepsi Vietnam in 2015 16

Figure 7: "Happy New Year 2015" from Pepsi Vietnam 17

Figure 8: "Tet For Now" advertisement of Pepsi 18

Figure 9: "We are lucky to have wonderful collaborator like Zalo", from Coca Cola Vietnam, 2015 19

Purpose

Coca Cola and Pepsi has been growing more than twenty years in Vietnam with their uniquebeverages Therefore, they have their own communication to promote their products andtargeting to specific audience I would like to analyze their communications relating toproduct features and marketing communication options to compare the differences betweenCoke’s and Pepsi in Vietnam

Both of them are 100 percent foreign ownership corporations under Vietnamese laws andregulations; however, Pepsi was certified in 1990s whereas Coca Cola was around 2004.While Coca Cola made a loss in its business during 20 years (1994-2014), PepsiCo hasdeveloped the products (Pepsi and 7Up is two first beverages) and targeted to the potentialconsumers Moreover, PepsiCo Vietnam cooperated with Suntory Holdings Limited(Suntory) – a global beverage and wellness company based in Japan, forming a strategicalliance in Vietnam named officially Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage (SPVB) in thebeginning of 2013; meanwhile, Coca Cola Vietnam had a new CEO - Vamsi Mohan to create

an important change in 2012 and beginning to have some benefits selling the beverages inVietnam

It is clearly that both Coca Cola and PepsiCo present different type of marketingcommunication to promote their products in Vietnam, in regarding of culture, style, taste,appearance and reliability Thus, I would like to analyze how PepsiCo and Coke’s use theircommunications in Vietnam in this paper

Literature review

Marketing communication

According to Brand Management textbook, marketing communications are the means bywhich firms attempt to inform, persuade, and remind consumers—directly or indirectly—

about the brands they sell In a sense, marketing communications represent the voice of thebrand and are a means by which the brand can establish a dialogue and build relationshipswith consumers Although advertising is often a central element of a marketingcommunications program, it is usually not the only element—or even the most important one

—for building brand equity

The role of communication is essential for the brands to classify the important messagesdelivered to the consumers It can not only create a strong and closed-knitted relationshipwith consumers, but also a negative contribution in brand sales

Marketing communication process

A number of different models have been put forth over the years to explain communicationsand the steps in the persuasion process

Kotler and Keller (2006) described communication into five steps: sender, encoding,message, decoding and receiver The sender should understand the audience deeply beforedesigning the message Fill (2005) explained as the individual or firm who feels the need todeliver the message and selects the combination of symbols, pictures, music or words as amessage to be transmitted All the responsibility of the whole process depends on the sender,(how they design the message and deliver the information), encoding (the design of thesymbolic arrangement), decoding (how receiver perceives the delivered message), andreceiver the person/company receives the message), feedback (receiver’s communicationback to the sender) and noise

According to Kevin Lane Keller (2013), to persuade a person by any form of communication(a TV advertisement, newspaper editorial, or blog posting) in marketing communication, thefollowing six steps must occur:

1 Exposure: A person must see or hear the communication

2 Attention: A person must notice the communication

3 Comprehension: A person must understand the intended message or arguments of thecommunication

4 Yielding: A person must respond favorably to the intended message or arguments of thecommunication

5 Intentions: A person must plan to act in the desired manner of the communication

6 Behavior: A person must actually act in the desired manner of the communication

If there is a breakdown or failure in any step along the way, then successful communicationwill not result

Thus, both of these processes are nearly the same with some improvements from the first tothe second one

Marketing communication options

There are four main types of marketing communication options: Advertising and promotion,interactive marketing, events and experiences, and mobile marketing However, I would like

to analyze three main ones: advertising, events and experiences, and mobile marketing.Advertising

Advertising is one of the most critical elements of marketing communication It is theconcept of communicating a message about goods and services to specific customers LikeCzinkota & Ronkainen (1998) explained “Any form of non-personal presentation of ideas,goods, or services by an identified sponsor, with predominant use made of the media of masscommunication” Additionally, certain motivational or “borrowed interest” devices canattract the attention of consumers and raise their involvement with an ad For example, Pepsifrequently uses popular Vietnamese pop celebrities while Coca Cola prefers meaningfulcontents, and popular music

Mobile marketing

Mobile marketing is an activity designed for delivery to cell phones, smart phones and otherhandheld devices As growing technology nowadays, mobile marketing can providecustomers or potential targets what they desire

Events and experiences

Event marketing can be defined as public sponsorship of events/activities related to sports, art, entertainment or social causes Moreover, different kinds of events and experiences can engages the consumers’ senses and imagination, changing brand knowledge into the process

Importance of product in marketing communication

Product features

There are several features of product could be analyzed, but I will concentrate on somerelevant factors of product features such as packaging, quality, appearance, taste, design,style and reliability Jewell (2000) explained packaging is the unique way of promotionalopportunity, providing a unique opportunity in promotional activities and reminds thecustomers to buy the product Moreover, Brassington and Pettitt (2005) presented that theinformation contained in the offering about product identity, use and packaging serve thepromotional purpose I would like to classify each feature in details in the following

 Packaging

Jewell (2000) explained the packaging helps the consumers to choose the product on the basis

of colors, logo and style which were used in advertising Thus, packaging is one of theimportant tools which increases the awareness of the product and distinguishes from otherbrands

 Quality

Quality is the symbol of the uniqueness of the goods Quality delivers good values to theconsumers, according to Fill (2005), justified with high price as high quality product

 Appearance and Style

The appearance of the product delivers the meaning to the consumers Style is one of theimportant opponents for its appearance Brassington and Pettitt (2005) presented that thevisual impacts of the product can influence the perception of consumers for its quality

 Taste

It is an after-purchase activity which considers the consumers choose for the further purchase

As Kotler (2006) defined, if the packaging, appearance and style could not justify the taste ofthe product, it can be a severe issue with the product, leading to consumer’s dissatisfaction

 Reliability

To explain the credibility of the consumers, reliability is one of essential product features It

is an amount of money that the consumers pay for the products with their expectation andprobability within a specified time period (Kotler, 2006) In another way, reliability defines

as trustworthy products which the consumers trust and buy happily and quickly

Culture aspects to communication role

Culture is a learned, shared, compelling, interrelated set of symbols whose meanings provide

a set of orientations for member of a society, according to Terpstra and David (cited Morrison2002) Moreover, Brassington and Pettitt (2005) mentioned that culture is the total way of lifewhich is essential for the marketer to make the product successful Thus, I would like todemonstrate the culture into specific categories, such as language, dress, religion, music andsport

Language

Following to Czinkota and Ronkainen (1998), language can be described as the mirror of theculture which contains the spoken words and non-spoken communication as the gestures,body language and the eye contact Language is an element to understand other opinions andideas and then responding in the same medium

Dress

Dress, in fact, is the outlook of people which sells the personality and presents themselves toothers Additionally, certain kinds of clothes in a specific culture would create somemeanings from cultural aspects, Martin and Nakayama (2004) explained

Religion

Religion impacts the habits of people, their outlook on life, the products they buy, the ways they buy them, even the newspaper they read, according to Cateora and Ghauri (2000) Moreover, Garfield and Watson (1998) depicts religion as the confident expressions of the people on different things and trustworthy on things

Music

According to the favor and preference of the people, culture and companies, music contains different aspect to design the advertisement Furthermore, when music comes to the product,

it will be reminded to the consumer’s minds with the lyrics and melodies

Sport

Sport gathers the society on one platform where people unite and share their opinions, their feelings and spend in their leisure time A favorite sport of a particular country explains the pattern of likes and dislikes of people in their interests

Discussions

Products orientation

Pepsi and Coca Cola have different styles and products in Vietnam which increases thediversity of beverages and competitions There are 14 carbonated and non-carbonatedbeverage brands in Vietnam presented by Coca Cola’s and 13 by Pepsi’s All these beveragesare available in different sizes and packaging from 240 ml to 1.5 liter in the shape ofplastic/glass bottle and can As follows, Pepsi and Coca Cola’s will be studied in terms ofquality, taste, sizes, packaging and appearance

Appearances of Pepsi and Coke’s brands

 Coca Cola’s brands

1 Coca Cola 330-355ml/can, 390ml - 1.5l/PET, 300l/

glass

Transparent

2 Fanta 330ml/can, 390ml- 1.5l/PET, 300l/glass Transparent

3 Sprite 330ml/can, 390ml-1.5l/PET, 300l/glass Green

6 Schweppes Tonic

(soda water)

330ml/can, 10 oz – 33.8 fl.oz/PET Yellow

7 Lemon Soda 330ml/can, 390ml/PET, 300/glass Transparent

Splash Teppy –

fruit juice

Figure 1: Main Coke’s products selling in Vietnam

 Pepsi’s brands

330ml/glass

Transparent

3 Sting (red, yellow) 240ml/glass – 330ml/PET Transparent + Yellow +

Red

6 Tropicana Twister

455ml/PET, 320ml/can Transparent

285ml/glass

Green

330ml/glass

Transparent

Figure 2: Main Pepsi’s products selling in Vietnam (carbonated water – left, noncarbonated water – right)

Review of Pepsi and Coke’s appearance in Vietnam

According to the Vietnamese’ habits to soft drinks (Vina Research 2013), 61.3% consumersanswered Coca Cola when thinking about carbonated beverages in Vietnam, and nearly99.1% can realize Coca Cola’s brand Meanwhile, Pepsi and 7Up stayed in the second andthird with 98.5% and 94.9%

Moreover, depending on the geographic areas, the attraction of colors in package can bedifferent from specific regions Southern areas have hot and cozy weather during all yearwhile the North is divided into four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, mainlycolder than the South Therefore, Northern people tend to use Coca Cola because of its redand warm color whereas the South is favorable with the blue color of Pepsi, as being oppositewith the weather

Cultural factors of Vietnam

Culture reveals its explanation of thoughts and ideas in the society; additionally, it is differentfrom any other aspects when mentioning to communication Culture is the actions andreactions of people in different situations and countries Culture is a pattern of beliefs andlifestyles Moreover, it is the combination of norms, values, and symbols Therefore, when abrand invests to a specific country, it obviously understands the culture of that country tocommunicate the products effectively

 Language

In fact, Vietnamese is Vietnam’s mother tongue and English is official language English hasbecome the part of Vietnamese culture in big cities, such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City,

especially associated with educated people Many Vietnamese residents can understand fewsimple English words; therefore, Vietnamese language is important and dominated inVietnam PepsiCo and Coca Cola are indeed be careful to present the language in theiradvertisings Thus, they usually take an advantage of Vietnamese words to create catchy andmnemonic rhymes like poems

 Dress

The traditional costume of Vietnam is “ao dai”, which only presented in specific importantevents and occasions, like Tet holiday Thus, when Coke and Pepsi communicate with theaudiences on Tet, they will try to use this traditional costume, occasionally Additionally,both focus on youth as a target to promote the beverage products The characters can wearboth informal and formal clothes depending on the situation and advertisement, which do notviolate Vietnamese customs and laws

 Taste

In fact, Vietnam is divided into three areas: North, Middle and South region; however, Hanoi(North area) and Ho Chi Minh (South area) is the main target audiences of Pepsi and CocaCola beverages, which have different tastes Therefore, Coca Cola and Pepsi have met somedifficulties in promoting their products

The South residents tend to eat sweeter than North ones; thus, they are favorite with Pepsimore than Coca Cola; whereas, North residents prefer Coca Cola because of its light taste

 Religion

In Vietnam, some of Vietnamese people have non-religion, although they usually go to thechurches to pray in specific occasions Some are religious in Buddhism, Catholic, Christians,Hindu or other local religions Thus, Coca Cola and Pepsi Vietnam frequently are carefulwith their messages and advertisements on public Until now, they have not had any scandalsrelating to religion in Vietnam

 Music

William Congreve, in The Mourning Bride (1697) expressed “Music has charms to sooth asavage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.” Music is a magic tool for anyadvertisements attracting consumers effectively For example, Coca Cola has usually used atypical song “Taste the Feeling” for their advertisements; therefore, several consumers wouldrealize the song came from Coke’s ads Additionally, Coca Cola Vietnam created aVietnamese Coke’s song with Vietnamese lyrics for advertising their beverages on TVcommercials Meanwhile, Pepsi cooperated with Trang TV (an online creative Vietnamesechannel for youth) to publish a new song for celebrating the National Day in 2016, hashtag

#YeuNguoiVietNam (#LoveVietnamese)

 Sports

Vietnamese consumers are likely to make fun, love their country and nation pride, especiallyfootball Thus, Coca Cola had a campaign with its slogan “Eat football, sleep football, drinkCoca Cola” for World Cup 2014 (as beverage sponsorship), whereas, PepsiCo sponsored forfootball/baseball team an amount of money to prepare for SEA Games 23 in 2005, “DrinkPepsi is to support Vietnam national team targeting to international arena” message,increasing the liking of Vietnamese people

Advertising

Advertising part is covered is along with three media which includes TV, newspaper andoutdoor advertising Outdoor media further contains billboards, transit advertising and streetfurniture advertising Moreover, advertising is one of the most suitable tools to increase theattractions of the consumers in a communication program

Television commercials

Television nowadays has played an important role to promote Pepsi’s and Coca Cola’sbrands in Vietnam Both Vietnamese men and women know carbonated beverages via TVcommercials, 93.1% and 95.3%, respectively Furthermore, both of them have decided totarget specific consumers, especially PepsiCo is considered as Pepsi for youth, a slogan of

“Generation Next” more than twenty years However, Coca Cola Vietnam has sent themessages not only for youth but also Vietnamese families

First, Tet holiday is an important event happening around January or February (lunarcalendar) in the country, which the families unite and stick together Therefore, they usuallyfocus on the warmth and close-knitted relationship of families to engage Vietnameseconsumers to each other by using their beverages Its target audience to Vietnamese familyand the children’s study/work or get marriage far away from their home Similar to Christmasholiday in Western countries, Tet is the union of families As a consequence, they createseveral meaningful impressions and story-tellers for Vietnamese watchers

Second, both target to Vietnamese teenagers and youth who like to use the beverages duringtheir hangouts and spare time In fact, reaching to 76.1% consumers usually drink carbonatedwater during Meeting/Hangouts with friends, 75.8% in parties or 58.8% infamily/acquaintance meetings

Thus, I would like to analyze two television commercials of Coca Cola’s and PepsiCotargeting to their potential consumers with detailed contents and messages in 2016 and 2017

 Coca Cola

Coke promoted Tet 2016 (Link Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li04_rRO3cY)with the typical gathering of the Vietnamese family in 30 seconds In detailed, Coca Colasent “Together gather, make Tet” message via Coke’s can and 1.5l plastic bottle with uniquesymbols Additionally, Coca Cola played its own Vietnamese songs through the ad Allmembers of the family, on the ad, seem to separate each other by doing different stuffs;