The Indian cola industry saw a major change in the early 1990s with the re-entry of Coca-Cola into the market. The MNCs had been eyeing the Indian market ever since the economy was liberalized and the fabled 200 million middle class customers proved to be a great attraction. However, in the early 1990s, the Indian cola market was dominated by Indian brands like Thums Up. When Coca-Cola entered the Indian market in 1993, the production of soft drink bottles were about 3000 million. By the turn of the new millennium, the production had doubled but Coca-Cola was still not seeing profits in India. Further, its aggressive pricing strategies have come under flak from various marketing pundits. The company adopted a number of innovative branding strategies for gaining penetration into the Indian market. Would these branding strategies enable Coca-Cola to achieve its objectives?

In May 1886, a pharmacist called John Pemberton in Atlanta (located in the state of Georgia, USA) created a caramel colored syrup which was christened Coca-Cola (Coke) by his partner Frank M Robinson. Initially, Coca-Cola was sold through a soda fountain wherein customers could buy a glass of drink for five cents. At that time, on an average, nine drinks were sold every day. The caption `delicious and refreshing' was used to promote the brand. As early as the 19th century, the branding strategies of Coca-Cola included celebrity endorsements by music hall performer Hilda Clark.

Some of the advertisements used for branding Coca-Cola became a part of people's consciousness and events in their lives were shaped around the brand. For example, every year before Christmas an advertisement shows the Christmas trucks and the jingle that says `holidays are coming - holidays are coming'. A customer claims: "It isn't Christmas until I've seen that I have to congratulate Coca-Cola on capturing the festive spirit so well". In the late 1940s, Coke used the tagline `Where there's Coke there's hospitality'. At that time, when the world was strife-torn after the Second World War, hospitality was a very sought after virtue. Families aspired to be hospitable and socially well-regarded.

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