Image advertising: The advertising strategies of Pepsi and Coca Cola in India

Abstract

The last decade has seen a shift in paradigm regarding the objectives of advertising. At the brand level, there has been a “shift in attention away from the physical aspects and functional benefits of products to their symbolic associations, expressiveness”. A variety of reasons for this increased emphasis on image in marketing can be suggested. * Marketing’s increasing cognizance of the behavioural aspects of consumer decision making. * An increasing variety of relatively homogeneous products often involving high product complexity and confusing messages which increase consumer reliance on the image aspects of products. * Technological innovation alone is no longer a source of sustainable competitive advantage, given the increased ability of imitation We plan to undertake a study on Image Advertising by looking at the advertising strategies adopted by Pepsi Co. and Coca Cola Ltd. in India. Both companies are primarily involved in the beverages industry and offer very similar products – from a physical standpoint. Yet, these fierce competitors have been able to establish very different brand images, reflected in their respective advertising strategies; Coca Cola connects at an emotional level and Pepsi has an aspirational appeal. We plan to analyse each player’s strategy for its different products and explain how these strategies have allowed each company to carve a niche for itself in the highly competitive Indian beverage industry. This analysis will give us an in depth understanding of the various aspects of image advertising.