BRANDING AND TRADEMARK IN MARKETING OF SOFT DRINKS IN IMO STATE (A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIAN BOTTLING COMPANY IN OWERRI)
ABSTRACT
This project is written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of National Diploma (ND) in Marketing in this prestigious high institution Federal Polytechnic Nekede Imo State. This research project would be particularly useful to the company, Coca Cola Plc. Owerri and other marketing oriented organization where branding and trademark may play an important role in achieving organization sales objectives. The project will equally be very useful to other research students who may be interested in similar research studies. It ensured that simple and ambiguous words are severally used and points are detailed and straight forward, and examples are used were necessary to buttress the point raised in the study. The test books used for this work are both foreign authors. However, the topic discussed was related to Nigerian environment. Finally, it is believed that this project would throw some light on the application of branding and trademark in Coca-Cola Plc and other manufacturing oriented companies in Imo State.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The subject matter of branding and trademark has been an old phenomenon in both the manufacturing and marketing organization.
Branding can be said to be the act of giving name by a manufacturer or supplier to one product or a number of products or services. This name may be special or general as the case may be.
Trademark is a registered brand name or a patent right over the use of identification and which has legal backing sign from unauthorized user.
The branding of a product in recognition of different product with individual preference tasks and motivation. The recognition of the foreign makes a wise marketer to steer a careful course between regarding every individual as a discrete market opportunity and considering all customers as being the same.
The application of branding as a marketing strategy is in line with the application as a marketing concept. Thus, the use of a variety of distinctive feature which must be possessed by those within the group but at same time are absent from those excluded from it.
Branding and trademark has numerous and immense importance in the successful marketing and purchasing of product by both the manufacturer and the customer. The success and failure of a product in a market to a large extends depends on the rate of customer loyalty to such a product. Hence, with branding consumer loyalty and respect purchase is granted for a good product which has previously enjoyed consumer patronage and product differentiation. A key function of branding enables proper identification and segregation of a product from others and hence ensures repeat purchase from consumer behavioral point of view.
Branding helps in decision making process hence one does not have to undergo the total decision making process before a purchase is done.
In so doing, branding helps to speed pre-supposes that:
Individual who have different taste and preferences.
Individual who cannot consume one brand of their product as a result of taste or preferences can choose from the range of the products which satisfy them.
Total marketing can be broken down based on certain variable and each individual customers can still be satisfied with an alternative brand of the productive hence every individual customer of Coca-Cola bottling company Plc is a multi-national company, which has branches in all the countries of the world. The head office of the company is in Atlanta, USA but it has reached all the countries of the world through franchising.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The Nigerian bottling company Plc has been an old name in the Nigeria economy, hence it has been in operation for many years now. The Coca Cola came to Nigeria in 1859 and also starts it production on 1862. It is also a multi-national company which has branches almost in all the countries of the world.
The products of the company are:
Coca-Cola
Fanta orange
Fanta tonic water
Fanta soda water
Sprite
Bitter lemon (Krest)
Krest
The production of the products is that of assembling because the ingredient needed for the production has already been spelt out produced by the parents company and merely send the ingredient in package to be diluted and marketed in the whole world as prescribed. This has ensured the tasks of product to see universally the same everywhere.
In other words, Coca-Cola operates in the centralized source of raw materials. Coca-Cola is multi-national company. The production of her product in Nigeria is purely through franchising customers utmost needs at a profit to the firm. It is also very pertinent to review the strategy.
Offering of the company carryout innovation and if possible introduce new product apply new. Promotional programme to achieve the corporate objective of the firm. Marketing is a dynamic field. In the former years, the percentage shows to the parents company to the home is shareholders has been 60% to 40% but the recent years, due to nationalization of multi-national companies in the economy the ration, the promotional strategy as well as advertising is also spelt out by the parent company. In fact, the parent company produces more or rather half of the total environments of the company and the contrast over indent firms.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS
Every researcher deems it possible to safe some problem of the Nigeria bottling companies. The researcher has observed that the Nigeria bottling companies face a lot of challenges and difficulties usually emulsified form:
Financial difficulties
Technical difficulties
Evaluation problem
Poor communication
Lack of infrastructural facilities
Poor integration and co-ordination of branding and trademark.
Poor blending of the media and its resultant achievement of the promotional objectives.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The marketing environment is an environment where no product hold the customers preference for long time, like the marketing philosophy point out, every marketing oriented firm has the primary of not only making sales for the company but for the identification of customers’ needs and also plan how to satisfy this needs.
To identify the brand and trademark adopted by bottling companies.
To determine the relative importance of branding and trademark.
To verify whether these firms consider branding and trademark a major determinant of identification on the marketing of their goods.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The basic question which the study will attempt at uncovering will include:
How can the trademark in marketing of soft drink bring a maximum effective production?
Does branding and trade mark make meaning to the customers in purchasing of goods and services of a company?
What are the problem and prospect of professional management in the marketing of soft drink will help brand and trade mark of the product?
Does the branding and trade in the marketing of soft drink create an impact in the development of Nigeria economy?
1.5 FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESIS
Ho: There is no positive impact played by branding and trademark in the marketing of soft drink in Imo State.
Hi: There is positive impact played by branding and trademark in the marketing of soft drink in Imo State.
Ho: Branding and trademark in marketing of soft drink does not bring about profit maximization in Imo State.
Hi: Branding and trademark in marketing of soft drink bring about profit maximization in Imo State.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study proves the importance to various categories of people. The groups that stand to benefit from the study include:
The bottling companies actual and potential customers, other researchers, the researcher and students.
The bottling companies, this study will guide the producers of beer in adopting branding and trademark that will not be in conflict with the product lifecycle, market product nature and channel members.
To other researcher, it will serve as a source of secondary data for future researchers in the field of promotional strategies.
To the students, this will serve as a reference point as it will add to the pool of existing work done on this and relate topics.
It is from my believe that the study embarked upon will contribute in no small measure towards the determination for the most cost effective and efficient means of promoting this branding and trademark of companies goods.
1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
Carrying out a research of this nature needs courage, hardwork, dedication and enthusiasm. However, there are a lot of uncontrollable researches which tried to militate against this research work.
Lack of enough finance has caused the researcher not to conduct a detailed research on bottling companies. The study is only focused on branding and trademarks in Nigeria bottling company industries.
Lastly, the study is constrained by lack of appropriate time within the limited time available, assignments; lectures and unlocking for examination were carried on side by side with the research work.
BRANDING AND TRADEMARK IN MARKETING OF SOFT DRINKS IN IMO STATE (A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIAN BOTTLING COMPANY IN OWERRI)