Enabling global, sustainable growth at Coca-Cola
A live virtual discussion with
Joanna Price
Chief of Communications, Sustainability & PA
The Coca-Cola Company: North America
This event took place on April 27th, 2022. Read about it on Linkedin here. Watch it on Youtube here. Watch her response to each question below.
A birthday party, a date, a summer holiday. No matter where you’ve been in the world, Coca-Cola was there. How is Communications enabling Coca-Cola to grow in North America? Consumers in 200 countries enjoy Coca-Cola. How do you manage such a brand? Born in Australia, Joanna Price has lived and worked in over six countries. She joined The Coca-Cola Company 15 years ago and has overseen public affairs, communications, and sustainability strategy and activities across North America, Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa and has experience working at country, regional, group, and global levels. Based in Atlanta, Joanna is a member of the Executive Leadership Team at the Coca-Cola Company North America Operating Unit, SVP, and Chief of Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability. In recent years, Joanna has led work around corporate reputation and sustainability priorities. One of her proudest achievements has been helping launch Coca-Cola’s industry-first goal to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can it sells globally by 2030. Joanna has also supported C-level executives and advised the Coca-Cola Board in the areas of strategy, governance, and public policy. Prior to Coca-Cola, Joanna served in senior corporate positions at Kellogg, ACNielsen, and News Corporation in public affairs, communication, strategy, and research role. She has an Executive MBA from Harvard Business School. In 2022, Joanna was named one of the top 100 women in business by the National Diversity Council.
Questions Ms. Price responded
1 Coca-Cola has built a reputation for soft drinks. So how is the company coping with the changing consumer trend toward less-sugary beverages? How can Coca-Cola tap into the healthy beverage market while not alienating its established brand for soft drinks? Watch full response
2 Has Covid-19 caused a change in consumers’ beverage consumption habits, and does Coca-Cola have a strategy to deal with this change? Watch full response
3 How do you generate great ideas in your organization? Like the “Essa Coca é Fanta” campaign in Brazil, or your annual Christmas advertisement with Santa? Watch full response
4 Coca-Cola launched Coca-Cola with Coffee Matcha in February. What process does Coca-Cola use to launch new products? Watch full response
5 Coca Cola has always been great at product placement in movies and tv shows. What’s the process of deciding in which movie/tv show and scene would Coca-Cola like to have a product placement? Watch full response
6 For those of us who are introverts, shy or our first language is not English; any tips? On behalf of a colleague who is a Senior VP at a Fortune 500, do introverts have a chance to make it to the C-Suite? Watch full response
7 What’s the most significant change you ever went through in your career? How did you handle the change? Watch full response
8 Sustainability has evolved. Consumers are getting savvier and have access to more information to hold companies accountable. How does Coca-Cola balance sustainability with the financial demands especially in a volatile macroeconomic context? Watch full response
9 Across the different continents where you worked, what differences and commonalities did you encounter as a woman in business, and how did you overcome them? Watch full response
10 Should global companies hire international students? Watch full response
11 Would Coca-Cola team up with other companies or NGOs about environmental communications? What is the role of internal communication in environmental advocacy? Watch full response
12 Starting in 2019, sparkling water with fruit flavors suddenly became popular in the Chinese beverage market. Take Genki Forest as an example; Genki Forest overtook Coca-Cola as the most popular brand by consumers in 2020. Genki attracts consumers through simple advertising slogans: 0 sugar, 0 calories, and 0 fat. I know that Coca-Cola also launched AH!AH! sparkling water in China to compete with other brands in 2020. My question here is How should Coca-Cola promote its sparkling water brand in the face of the competitive Chinese market? What strategy will Coca-Cola take to continue to maintain its competitive advantage in the Chinese market? Watch full response
13 How is Coca-Cola contributing to sustainability? Are there programs to increase energy efficiency at plants, decrease water usage, and create environmentally friendly bottles? Any best practices you have seen around the world? Watch full response
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Finance for Marketing Decisions
This is part of the Finance for Marketing Decisions class taught by Benaroya. In this class, students learn about Finance by choosing a company and acting as if they were the company’s financial executives. Each week, they decide whether to increase prices, reduce headcount, go public, and expand into new markets. Senior executives join as Guest Speakers to share how they make business and career decisions.
About the series
These talks are offered as part of the Leading Global Growth series from NYU’s School of Professional Studies, and managed in coordination with NYU SPS Integrated Marketing & Communications, within the Division of Programs in Business.