“Véronique Surget joined Coca-Cola Entreprise in 1996 as a research manager before holding several positions in the sales and marketing departments. Then, she finally became marketing director Europe, soft drinks category, of Coca-Cola Entreprise in 2011. She also sits on the group’s French management committee.
She wanted to share her experience as a marketer and manager advocating equality/mixity with her mentees from the marketing and international training courses.
Coca-Cola, a star brand
First of all, a point about Coca-Cola. Recognized as the best global brand after the 4 GAFAs, the brand is number 1 in the world for carbonated drinks and fluctuates between 1st and2nd place for water. The company has a total of 400 references including sprite, powerade, minute maid, innocent, honest, fanta…and its flagship product : coca-cola, created in 1886.
It remains relatively unknown to the general public but the eponymous brand is distributed in the form of a franchise. On the one hand, there is the manufacturing of the syrup concentrate (and the marketing strategy/quality control) and on the other hand the production and sale of the products. Its subsidiaries just produce the syrup concentrate, which is then sold to various bottlers around the world.
New areas of diversification are being studied, in particular towards tea and coffee. In this regard, the British chain of coffee distributors COSTA has just been acquired. A new product around coffee should be released in the coming months…
Digital marketing vs. reality in the field at The Coca-Cola Company
Coming from the world of marketing research, Veronique Surget attaches great importance to panel knowledge and data analysis. For her, all the ancillary areas of marketing are linked to this essential reading of the data. Merchandising, for example, consists of organizing the shelves to better sell ; this reorganization is based on consumer studies
To the question ” If you were a social network ? “, the Marketing Director answers surprisingly : ” a coffee “. Indeed, despite her position, she likes to say that digital is not reality. The field experience is sometimes necessary : talking with the customer, the distributor, getting a feel for the reality of the market and the customer experience. Similarly, as an international manager, face-to-face contact is essential to overcome cultural differences.
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Diversity and mix
Since 2018, Véronique Surget has been in charge of WoMen@coca-cola, which advocates for parity, mixity and diversity. She is fighting this battle as a woman but also as a manager. She wants her team to reflect the diversity of the company in terms of age, culture, gender and also consumer habits. Coca-Cola also has women mentors to help women combat the prejudices they often have against themselves.
Every year, she also organizes the digital woman’s day to encourage women to dare, innovate and undertake through digital technology.
Thank you Veronique Surget for this inspiring and inspiring speech !”
Updated 24 February 2022