What is the recommended strategy? Implementation & Evaluation? Problem Statement: How can Wahaha continue to grow its cola business in the Chinese rural market while defending itself against Coke and Pepsi? Strong, well established distribution system Globalization of Cola: As the Cola industry increased internationally, in China, Wahaha focused its efforts in maintaining power over its local distributors. While larger Cola brands avoided local distributors because of their reputation in not paying their debts timely, Wahaha developed and implemented a new policy that ensured compliance and on-time payments. This policy introduced incentives such as end of the year bonuses and discounts for making early/timely payments. 5- Strong brand recognition and advertising budget Digital Advertising: In 2001, Wahaha expanded its advertising expenditures to more than RMB500 million with a media buying account of 80 percent. This placed Wahaha among the top 10 advertisers in China's US$11.2 billion advertising market. To promote brand awareness, Wahaha sponsored children programs, used Celebrity endorsements for their Cola and focused on a large digital advertising investment. This digital advertisement investment was allocated as such: 75%- Television Advertising; 5%-Printing Media; 10%-Promotion Advertising; 10%-Outdoor Advertising. 6- Leadership that understood the local markets Inelastic Pricing in the Rural Market Wahaha put an emphasis on becoming "China's own cola" which was a market positioning strategy to target smaller cities and the Chinese rural market. Wahaha's leadership understood the Chinese local markets best since that is where the company started. The Chinese rural market is more price sensitive compared to rural markets where larger competitors put their focus. Wahaha understands the rural market can only afford cola at a price lower than its competitors can risk selling their cola for. By becoming the rural market leader, Wahaha can gain brand loyalty and successfully build into larger markets. 7-Capitalize on Global Consumer Demand for Cola by Expanding Recognition of its other product lines Wahaha can leverage the increased customer demand for Cola by entering into the global market through its Cola products and strong marketing. Then, it can leverage its newfound global position by pairing its Cola offerings with its other product lines to increase recognition for these products and generate multiple streams of revenue in the global market. 8- Leverage leadership that understands the local markets to overcome customer brand loyalty to competitors by providing an excellent customer experience While Wahaha has a competitive advantage in the rural markets, the company can strengthen this advantage by providing a better customer experience than its competitors. Wahaha's leadership has a strong understanding of what the market wants and what kind of experiences they would like. If Wahaha leverages this knowledge through strategic local partnerships and provides a unique, high quality customer shopping experience repeatedly, it could sway customers to switch their loyalty over from competitors to Wahaha