How marketing transforms in the 21st century
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AHMET Bozer, executive vice president of The Coca-Cola Company and president of Coca-Cola International, interacted with hundreds of students recently and shared his thoughts about successful marketing in the 21st century in a lecture “Open happiness — can a business be a force for good” at Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management.
It was the first lecture under a 10-year partnership between The Coca-Cola Company and Tsinghua University. The newly established program will nurture the marketing leaders of the next generation through a global immersion program that gives Tsinghua students a chance to broaden their international horizons.
Bozer said there are three key elements in Coca-Cola’s global success — marketing, distribution and talent.
Profit and social initiatives can mutually coexist
Bozer said marketing can also be a force for good as making profits is not necessarily in conflict with creating social value.
“Business in today’s world has become such an institution that companies could and should be a force for good. They could help solve some of the social problems that the world faces,” Bozer said.
For an enterprise looking for a long-term presence in a market, it’s vital that it should contribute to the communities where it does business, Bozer said.
“Logically speaking, we don’t do business in a vacuum, we do business in a city, we do business in a country, and we do business in a village… Our business can only thrive if those communities thrive.
“Because of the presence of Coca-Cola in a society, we have convinced ourselves that we’ve made that society a little bit better, in addition to offering people refreshments, and giving optimism. That’s why I believe we’ve existed, that’s why I come to work everyday,” he said.
Since 2010, Coca-Cola has been devoted to a global commitment that aims to enable the economic empowerment of 5 million female entrepreneurs across the company’s value chain by 2020.
The initiative, known as 5by20, offers women access to business training courses, financial services and connections with peers or mentors — along with the confidence that comes with building a successful business.
And all of the 5 million women will be on the company’s supply chain, becoming retailers, distributors and suppliers.
The program is an example about how Coca-Cola finds solutions to benefit both communities and its business, Bozer said.
From the classic 3As to cultural leadership
Bozer said marketing is not limited to the so-called 3As — to make products available, affordable and acceptable — as expectations have risen.
“There are a lot of social issues around the world, people fight about these. It could be income inequality in some other countries, It could be other things,” Bozer said, “People expect big brands like ours, big companies like ours, sometimes to make statements about these things. That’s called culture leadership.”
Coca-Cola last year launched a three-minute commercial, Small World Machines, in which a live communications portal brings together people in India and Pakistan — two countries with tense relations.
In the ad, high-tech Coca-Cola vending machines were installed in two popular shopping malls — one in Lahore, Pakistan, and the other in New Delhi, India. The machines invited customers in both cities to interact with one another through a giant, touch-activated screen. The goal was to promote cultural understanding and break the barriers.
Although there had been concerns people in the two cities would be against the idea, it turned out to be positive.
“It’s the risk the big brand owner would not have taken in the past. But in the name of culture leadership, it is important. And a lot of people give us huge credit for taking a stand on this,” Bozer said.
With “Life+,” a program empowering Turkey’s youth to solve environmental problems, Bozer said Coca-Cola has spearheaded a new dimension in marketing known as “helping but not boasting.”
Coca-Cola Turkey aired no TV commercials for three to four months. Instead they aired “Life+” videos in which people called and shared stories as they were excited Coca-Cola was a part of their life.
“We tracked our brand equity indicators, and they just kept shooting up,” Bozer said. “We built so much goodwill, so the company, the brand, the equitation and brand equity all got a boost, which is good for us.”
Allow people to contributeand make a difference
Last but not least, Bozer stressed the importance of people. He said leaders should create an environment where people are able to contribute.
“If you can create a culture of empowerment, where people are encouraged to really have a point of view, you can move things forward,” Bozer said.
He also offered a prescription to students when facing paradoxes in the real world. Bozer advised students to see the holistic view of things and always believe a solution can be found to conflicting requests.
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