COCA COLA PURO

Coca cola puro:

I. Problem

There remain over one billion people without access to an adequate water supply and 2.4 billion who lack basic sanitation, leaving millions to die every year from otherwise preventable water-related diseases.  Countries highly affected by catastrophes and natural disasters also don’t have the necessary emergency relief services, sustainable water purification systems, and storage devices for water.
“These projects will greatly improve the health of families and offer them the simple dignity of a clean private place to do the necessities of life.”

-Rob Bell, Executive Director of Nicaragua for El Porvenir

II. Approach to the Problem
The people of these poor countries need help.  Water needs in each country must be researched.  For example,  People of Payacuca came to El Porvenir asking for help to support a new gravity flow water system (clean, safe and closer to their homes) and new sanitary facilities in their community of Nicaragua.  Coca-Cola has the opportunity of extending lives by bringing clean water within physical and economic reach.  Supplying water purification systems/the means to produce clean water to third-world countries who’re victims of recent disasters or at high risk of natural disasters through the Red Cross and world vision.  Includes: Purification systems, distribution methods, company support, Includes: Branded water bottles, and themed products.  Creating an IMC initiative to support the charitable investment.

III.  Research Methodology
A. Primary Data
Primary data for this project was conducted through e-mail marketing.  Below are the e-mails that were sent to better understand the problem at hand.

Coca-Cola North America

Lauren Pettus

Sr. Marketing Activation Manager at Coca-Cola Co.

March 23, 2011

Dear Ms. Pettus,

I am currently working on a Business Spanish Project for introducing a new idea into Spanish speaking countries.  My group and I speculate that Coca-cola may have a future problem and need for finding new sources of water.  Thus, it was our collaborative idea to find people affected by catastrophes and natural disasters that have lost viable sources of water.  It has been prominently noticed that Central America is known for hurricanes and other disasters that continually destroy sources of water.   Example countries include Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.  Do you feel that Coca-Cola’s image could be better enhanced with its expertise in massive water system equipment developments and intellectual know-how?  Do you think that a promotional strategy for helping these countries in a relief sustainable water PR project would be feasible with Coca-Cola’s diverse portfolio of assets?

Our idea is to deploy emergency water solutions through Coca-Cola as a new promotional activity and product extension that will create even better publicity for Coca-Cola.  Do you think Coca-Cola can also re-position their image to these Spanish-speaking countries that need clean drinking water and also create a new relief bottle?  Also, if you could give me any knowledge you have of Coca-Cola’s best water purification systems as well as countries mentioned above, it would be greatly appreciated.  Looking forward to hearing back from you soon.

Kind Regards,
Benjamin Kepner

Hi Benjamin –

Sounds like a great project.  Unfortunately, this topic is totally outside of my area of expertise, but I can tell you that water conservation is something that the Company is VERY involved with on a worldwide scale.  The Company views it as our responsibility to all the communities where we do business and produce our products.  Coca-Cola is a leader in water conservation not in an attempt to enhance our corporate image or promote our brands in any way, but truly because it is the right thing to do and critical to our business moving forward.  In fact, I would caution you against any sort of recommendations in your project around Coca-Cola using our sustainability initiatives for promotional gain.  It just really goes against what the Company is truly trying to accomplish and could actually creative negative PR. However, any recommendations around building upon our sustainability initiatives and helping the company get the word out probably make good sense.

I hope this is of some help.  If you need to dig deeper with someone internally, I would recommend that you reach out to Bruce Karas who leads a Sustainability team in our Coca-Cola Refreshments division.  Bruce’s email address is brkaras@coca-cola.com.  Bruce leads the efforts for North America but should be able to connect you with the Latin American lead for the Company as well.  Also, you can probably find a great deal of information on our water conservation efforts on our corporate website.

Good luck with your project!
Laura

Dear Laura,

Thanks so much for your help and putting me in contact with someone I can talk more about the idea with.  If you don’t mind, I’d love to send you the project when I am finished with it?  Again, thanks for all your kind efforts and I look forward to building a better long-term relationship with you as I embark on my future career endeavors.

Best,
Benjamin Kepner

Dear Mr. Karas,

Hello, my name is Benjamin Kepner.  I am a Senior graduating from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia.  Laura Pettus passed your e-mail along to me in hopes of helping me with my Advanced Business Spanish Project that I will be presenting this Friday.  I understand that you lead a Sustainability team in the Coca-Cola Refreshments division.  I also understand that you lead the efforts for North America, but that you should be able to connect me with the Latin American lead for the company as well.

Through my understanding, Coca-Cola is a leader in water conservation not in an attempt to enhance their corporate image or promote their brands in any way, but truly because it is the right thing to do and critical to their business moving forward.  However, any recommendations around building upon Coca-Cola’s sustainability initiatives and helping the company get the word out probably makes good sense.

Thus, it was my groups collaborative idea to find people affected by catastrophes and natural disasters that have lost viable sources of water.  It has been prominently noticed that Central America is known for hurricanes and other disasters that continually destroy sources of water.   Example countries include Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Our idea is to deploy emergency water solutions through Coca-Cola as a new promotional activity and product extension that will create even better publicity for Coca-Cola as a humanitarian company.  By creating sustainable water resources, Coca-Cola will also help to improve the standards of living for these poor countries. Do you think something like this would be feasible?  Also, what sources of funding could Coca-Cola possibly obtain to perform this huge promotional idea of providing sustainable water purification systems.  Thank you again for your kind attention in this matter and I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Kind Regards,
Benjamin Kepner

B. Secondary Data
Notes on Water
Lack of access is disproportionately borne by rural populations, women, and children. 84% of the global population without access to an improved source of drinking water lives in rural areas. The impact on female students is likewise severe, as more than half of all girls who drop out of primary school do so because they lack separate latrines (toilets) and access to clean water.  Distant waterholes from which the women and girls carry water are distant. Among children, the leading cause of death in the world is diarrhea, a water-borne disease that is entirely preventable with access to clean water and basic sanitation. The projects hosted on the Global Water Network are working to provide water and sanitation to all peoples, one latrine and tap stand at a time.
Water Purification Units
Reverse osmosis, sand filters, chlorine components, and pressure osmosis.
Emergency Water Filtration
Stocking water reserves and learning how to purify contaminated water should be among your top priorities in preparing for an emergency.  Water from wells, cisterns and other delivery systems in the disaster area are unsafe until tested. You can prevent contaminated water from entering your house by closing the main incoming water valve. The tank of your hot water heater or water pressure tank can supply many gallons of emergency water too. You could also use water in your plumbing and in ice cubes. As a last resort, you can use water in the reservoir tank of your toilet (not the bowl), but purify it first.
Whole House Reverse Osmosis Systems

1. A Reverse Osmosis Unit to produce the daily household requirements. For example, a 500 gallon-per-day system would produce purified water at the rate of about 20 gallons per hour. Since 20 gallons per hour is not enough to supply the demands of all normal household functions, a supplementary storage system is required so that ample water will be on hand when needed.
2. The Storage Tank needs to have an atmospheric (non-pressurized) storage tank large enough to provide ample water for daily activities. The reverse osmosis unit refills the tank as water is taken from it. The water is stored at atmospheric pressure and must, therefore, be re-pressurized for use.
3. A Re-pressurization System can consist simply of a pump that comes on automatically when water is needed and supplies pressurized water to the home. Ideally, however,it should include a smaller bladder or diaphragm tank that is filled to house pressure by a pump and gives a more even supply of water.

*See Appendix for diagram
How Much Water to Store
In an emergency, an ample water supply is a priority. Needs differ depending upon age, physical condition, activity, diet, and climate.  But most people need to drink at least 2 quarts or 8 cups of water each day. Hot weather conditions can double the amount needed, and children, nursing women and ill people also will need more.  In general, We recommend storing a minimum of one gallon (preferably two gallons) of water per person per day, for two weeks of drinking and food preparation and other limited uses such as hand washing, brushing teeth and dish washing.

We do not recommend storing water in glass containers, used milk or thin water containers sold at most supermarkets. They become brittle with time. Also never-ever use any previously used plastic containers or barrels, even ones used for syrups and concentrates. These containers absorb and retain the residual of anything put into them regardless of how much prior cleaning you give them, thus contaminating your water reserve (and causing it to taste terrible).  Beware of savvy people selling used containers as being safe. Do not use pool, spa or water bed water for drinking; the acids, algaecides and other chemicals can be harmful or deadly if ingested.
Collapsible Water Storage Containers
Our water storage containers are 5 gallon size for a women or child to be able to carry. They allow you to safely and affordable store your emergency drinking water. Our five gallon water containers can be stored indoors or out and are made to withstand hot and freezing temperatures. We never sell used containers. We only brand-new, food-grade, FDA, DOT, and UN certified containers. This rating is added insurance that your water container will be able to to take extra abuse and still provide excellent protection for your water reserves.  Each container comes with a cap that is 3/4″ threaded in the center to allow the use of our faucets (spigot) (sold separately) that can easily be attached for convenient pouring withour lifting the container.  Excellent for emergency drinking water storageWeigh 44 lbs when fullCan be stored inside/outside.  For colabsible water containers these 5 gallon water storage containers are made of the best material and approved for the storage of drinking water to insure water containment even in an earthquake. Fold-down handle to insure safe portability and containers have a heavy duty cap with 3/4″ thread to attach spigot. A knock-out plug is provided with each cap, simply use a knife to cut the plug out, (be careful not to damage 3/4″ threads) than a spigot may be installed. Be sure to purchase a 3/4″ threaded plug (see water container accessories) to plug the 3/4″ opening after removing the spigot. It is not a good idea to store your water container for long periods with the spigot installed.  Dispense what you need and preserve the rest with these blow-molded, FDA approved HDPE five gallon jerrican water containers. Closed-head plastic, square water storage containers allow you to dispense as much water as you need while safely preserving what remains. Made from 100% high-density polyethylene (HDPE), rugged closed-head plastic water storage container can withstand temperatures well below freezing and can be hot filled. Light, strong, recyclable and suitable for foods materials. UN-rated, FDA-approved. Color will be similar to Coca-Cola.
Table:
Material: FDA approved plastic Usage: 5 gallon water container
size: 14″H x 10″W x 10″D Color: Coca-Cola Colors DOT and UN Approved

Notes on Coca-Cola
On May 8th, 2011, Coca-Cola and our fans around the world will celebrate our 125th anniversary. Look more closely to the expressions of our consumers as a better measure of our success in keeping the world’s most valuable brand relevant for the next 125 years.

The company’s approach to consumer engagement as we work to double our business by 2020.  In the near term, “consumer impressions” will remain the backbone of our measurement because it is the metric universally used to compare audiences across nearly all types of media.  Awareness is fine, but advocacy will take your business to the next level.  Much of business is driven through personal referrals and advocacy by individuals for their agent.  So, in addition to “consumer impressions,” we are increasingly tracking “consumer expressions.”  An expression is any level of engagement with our brand content by a consumer or constituent. It could be a comment, a “like,” uploading a photo or video or passing content onto their networks. We’re measuring those expressions and applying what we learn to global brand activations and those created at the local level by our 2,700 marketers around the world.Local bottlers have emergency equipment.  The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC), in partnership with WWF, has set ambitious new global targets to improve water efficiency and reduce carbon emissions within its system-wide operations.

The partnership also is promoting sustainable agricultural practices and helping to conserve seven of the world’s most important freshwater river basins, which include the Yangtze, Mekong, Danube, Rio Grande/Rio Bravo, Lakes Niassa and Chiuta, Mesoamerican Reef catchments, and the rivers and streams in the southeastern region of the U.S.  The partners announced an agreement to extend their work two years through 2012 with an additional $3.75 million in funding from TCCC.
Coca-Cola key expression points

1. Accept that consumers can generate more messages than you ever could.

Feed Coca-Cola Puro with content that touches consumers’ passion points. We can’t match the volume of our consumers’ creative output, but we can spark it with the right type of content.

2. Develop content that is “Liquid and Linked.”

Liquid content is creative work that is so compelling, authentic and culturally relevant that it can flow through any medium. Liquid content includes emotionally compelling stories that quickly become pervasive. Coca-Cola Puro will be a leader in water conservation not in an attempt to enhance the Coca-Cola corporate image or promote their brands in any way, but truly because it is the right thing to do and critical to Coca-Cola’s business moving forward.  Any recommendations around building upon our sustainability initiatives and helping the company get the word out probably make good sense.  Coca-Coal Puro must link to Coca-Cola brand strategies and our business objectives to the content. No matter where consumers encounter it, linked content supports overall strategy.
When content is both “Liquid and Linked,” it generates consumer expressions and has the potential to scale quickly. An example of “Liquid and Linked” is the FIFA 2010 World Cup program, the largest-ever Coca-Cola activation in history. More than 160 countries used a common World Cup Visual Identity System, a pool of television commercials, and a common a digital platform. All were linked by the common thread of celebration.

3. Accept that you don’t own your brands; your consumers do.

Facebook page is growing by about 100,000 fans every week.   Increasing consumer expressions requires many experiments, and some will fail. Build a pipeline so you can quickly replicate your successes in other markets and share the lessons from any failures. Ex: “Happiness Machine” video was Make a hit on YouTube so we turned it into a TV commercial, and we’ve replicated that low-cost, viral concept in other markets.

4. Be a facilitator who manages communities, not a director who tries to control them.

Launch expedition again in 2012, we launched Expedition 206.Consumers voted for the three people they wanted to see travel the world as Coca-Cola Ambassadors, visiting most of the 206 countries where Coca Cola is sold and driving an online conversation about what makes people happy around the world.

5. Speak up to set the record straight, but give your fans a chance to do so first.

IV. Consumidor Presunto

1. Primary Target Market: Countries in need of sustainable water purification systems to store and have better access to viable sources of water.  Specifically, rural areas of poor countries.

2. Secondary Target Market: Coca-Cola Consumers who will drink Coca-Cola Puro bottles.
3. Competitors: Beverage industries and companies that provide emergency relief funding (Tide).  Olympicas and Fifa World Cup.

VII. Product
Sustainable water purification systems and new Coca-Cola Puro bottle.  Coca-Cola will store their emergency water through plastic, glass, fiberglass or enamel-lined metal containers that are suitable for storing water supplies.  Intact, durable plastic containers, such as soft drink bottles or those you purchase water in, are best. You can also purchase food-grade plastic buckets or larger containers. Collapsible water containers should also be used.  All pumps should be at source of river, generator, and filtration units.  Emergency outdoor water services such as streams, rivers and other moving bodies of water, ponds, lakes, natural springs, and rainwater will need to be utilized.  A 20 oz. Coca-Cola bottle will be created with these purification systems.
V. Consumer Needs Match Coca-Cola Benefits:
Families need better access to water————–>Pumps and systems closer to rural areas
Storage for water————————————–>Disposable Storage Water Containers
Emergency disaster relief—————————->Providing sustainable emergency water systems
Purified Water—————————————–>Coca-Cola Puro is “purest” water quality
VI. Place
The water sites and rights of passage will be acquired from their present owners and title/deed will pass to the community. The systems will bring water into people’s homes, or at least very close to them. The rollout strategy for Coca-Cola Puro will start with Central America.  As time goes on, Coca-Cola will expand globally.  Key countries in Central America include:

1. Guatemala: El Naranjo River
2. Honduras
3. Nicaragua
4. El Salvador

VII. Price
1) Donations, Partnerships, and Coca-Cola will allocate costs for Coca-Cola Puro for:

• 1 Latrine = $325
• 1 Water Station = $560
• 1 Water Collapsible Water Storage =

2) Price of Coca-Cola Puro Product will be same pricing as normal brands.

VIII. Promotion
The promotional strategy for Coca-Cola Puro will be a model for international relations and public relations.

Building Partnerships For Sustainable Solutions

1. Global Water Trust
2. Campaign for Haiti
3. Doctors without borders
4. Campaign for Haiti
5. Japanese Relief International Aid

6. WWF
7. El Fundacion Solar

IX. People

1. Coca-Cola Contacts:

• Laura Pettus
• Joe Tripodi-Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer of the Coca-Cola Company.

• Lisa Manley, lmanley@na.ko.com, 404.676.4571

2. WWF

• Amanda Carufel, Amanda.Carufel@wwfus.org, 202.294.6408

3. Red Cross Contacts
4. partners@globalwatertrust.org
5. Central America Community

X. Marketing Strategy and Implementation
Goal: To provide sustainable water systems to disaster relief countries and launch a new product extension.
Project Objectives:
· Create clean water for approximately 100,000-200,000 people within each project region
· Create a minimum of 100-200 short-term and long-term jobs within each project region
· Provide training for local people to perform the required jobs
· Provide an in-country supply chain for consumables and spare parts
· Create long-term support businesses in manufacturing and assembly
· Establish a long-term presence in rural communities by creating Community Water Trusts
· Document the process in order to provide transportability to other project regions
Sell x amount of Coca-Cola Puro bottles

XI. Appendix
1. Understanding Reverse Osmosis

2. Collapsible Water Storage Systems

Sources
1.http://onlinewomeninpolitics.org/sourcebook_files/Resources/Case%20Study-%20Meeting%20Women’s%20and%20Men’s%20Water%20Needs%20in%20the%20’El%20Naranjo’%20River%20Watershed%20Organization%20(Guatemala).pdf    Guatemala Water Needs
2.  http://www.fcs.uga.edu/pubs/current/FDNS-E-34-3.html Storing Emergency Water
3. http://www.excelwater.com/eng/b2c/commind.php Reverse Osmosis Filtration Systems
4. http://www.globalwaternetwork.org/projects Initiatives and requests for aid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Guatemala Water Supply and Sanitation in Guatemala
5. http://water.org/ Global water purification initiative
6. http://safetycentral.com/5galwatstorc.html  collapsible water containers
7. http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/04/coca-colas_marketing_shift_fro.html Coca-cola marketing shifts
8. http://globalwatertrust.org/pilot_projects.html Marketing Strategy of Water Projects
9. http://www.facebook.com/cocacola Coca-Cola Fan page
10. http://www.worldwildlife.org/climate/wwfrole/index.html What WWF is doing
11. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0304-04.htm Dasani
12. http://www.infobarrel.com/The_History_of_the_Coca_Cola_Bottle Coca-Cola bottle
Dasani more
Honduras
http://shop.vtarmynavy.com/reliance-collapsible-water-container-p4487.aspx?utm_medium=cse&utm_source=googlebase Collapsible again