Branding Strategy Insider helps marketing oriented leaders and professionals like you build strong brands. Readers know, we regularly answer questions from marketers everywhere. Today we hear from Paskaline, a marketer from Windhoek, Namibia asks…
Please help me with this question. If we were to look at a global brand like Coca-Cola, what would its strategic intent be and how would it be manifested in its output and communication?
Paskaline, thanks for your question. Assuming an organization is functional and not dysfunctional, its outward behaviors should shed some light on its strategic intent. Watch what it has done historically. Read its annual reports. Read its press releases. Read its “About Us” section on its website. Note any statements or signals about changes in direction. Other than intended changes in direction, its past behaviors should be good predictors of future behaviors and indications of its strategic intent. Another way to ascertain the strategic intent is to ask someone from the the company’s strategy & planning department about the company’s strategic intent. Maybe that person or a more senior officer, such as the company’s president or CEO, is speaking at a conference. Ask that person in that forum what his or her company’s strategic intent is. Regarding Coca-Cola, “pervasive penetration” is very important. It wants to be “within an arm’s reach of each person’s desire” — on a global scale.
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One comment
Chris Wren
June 11, 2010 at 9:09 am
When a brand has as much history as Coca-Cola, history is indeed a great predictor of a change in strategy. I’m glad you mentioned the often overlooked “about us” that in so many companies has been relegated to the footer. A look at their media kit, chairman’s message in the annual report, and as you point out, press releases, can give you insights into which direction the brand is heading.
Another wonderful article. Thanks.
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