CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Soft Drinks Manufacturing Industries in Nigeria adopt many strategies to enhance the sale of their variously branded products, various sales methods such as branding, heavy promotional efforts in form of sales promotion, personal selling, advertising, public relations and publicity are adopted as strategies to enhance sales efforts. Besides, the effects of mass production and cut-throat competition in soft drinks market in Nigeria have equally called for various strategies to be adopted by the company involved. Mass production and competition are not the only factors that have contributed in making soft drinks industries apply strategies in promoting their products. Dwindling and deteriorating economy in Nigeria have drastically reduced per capital income of average Nigerians, making them’ to concentrate on basic necessities of life-food, shelter and clothing. Soft drinks are no longer in their scale of preference. This condition has not only brought the use of promotional tool to its strategies in promotion of soft drinks.
Needless to say that every soft drinks company in Nigeria adopts one or more of the promotional tools to inform and persuade the target market about its products.
If one looks closer at some of the strategies adopted by some of these soft drinks companies, one may discover that some of these strategies are wholesome and helpful to marketing managers “of these companies while some are grossly inefficient and run counter to the appeals and objectives of the organization. A typical example of inefficient promotion strategies is where a half nude girl is shown on the television screen serving some brands of soft drinks to a group of people. The objective may be to attract attention, but such strategy is very discouraging especially in the Christendom, many promotional strategy of this soft have collapsed resulting in a considerable waste of time, energy and company’s resources.
Nigerian Bottling Company Plc, makers of Coca-cola products, the focus of this study, is one of the best-known leaders in soft drinks industries in Nigeria and indeed the whole world. Although the company enjoys leadership position, its life is not altogether easy. Some firms in the industry keep challenging its strength while others try to take advantage of its weakness. The company’s risky and prominent position calls for well-designed and carefully throughout strategies .capable of achieving the promotional objectives of the company.
There is no gain-saying that promotional strategies that are not carefully designed and planned could easily make the company miss a turn in the road and lose its leadership position in the industry. It therefore, becomes imperative for Nigerian Bottling Company Plc, to be careful in choosing and ‘planning strategies it adopts in the sales of its variously branded products.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The Nigerian Bottling Company Plc was incorporated as a private company in November 1951, to establish and operate factories for the bottling and distribution of soft drinks in Nigeria,’ particularly the world famous Coca-cola Company of Atlanta, U.S.A. The company whose operation is presently spread throughout Nigeria has 17 factories located variously at Lagos, Kano, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Jos, Benin City, Enugu, Owerri, Otta, Maiduguri and Onitsha.
In an attempt by this bottling company to develop their soft drinks industries in Nigeria, many other so~ drink company’s raised their he~ in competition because they have seen that this bottling company has stand their grounds in the country. This made these companies to adopt several promotional strategies to attract the publics’ attention and also induce them to action.
These problems and many more that was encountered by this bottling company (Coca-cola) can be summarized at thus:
To crown it all the research study is prompted by 3 main problems:
1. To examine the extent of competition in Nigeria Bottling Company.
2. To identify those economic problems that can prevent the consumers from consuming the Coca-Cola Product.
3. To determine the extent of the effect of price and promotional strategies that has been adopted by the Nigerian Bottling Company as the market leader.