Hersheys … 

As I was brainstorming ideas to do this assignment I thought to myself, well what would make this interesting and exciting. I threw over some of my favorite things like clothing brands and stores and food and as always my mind shifted to the world of chocolate and candy and then bam, like big letters looking down at me from the sky, HERSHEYS came to mind. I thought, oh what a deliciously great idea! I quickly searched up the hershey's company online and here i am getting right to work, excited and now slightly craving their delicious treats.

Hershey's value proposition: To make more moments of goodness.

I scrolled through the Hersheys instagram facebook and twitter page in the search for a nasty review on any of their products. The most dramatic thing I found on those sites was probably the nagging of the customers wanting a new arrival to come sooner, or asking for some sort of unique flavor or kind of chocolate. After coming up unsuccessful I took to google and searched up “bad reviews on the hershey's company. I found this place called “SiteJabber” and wow I hit the jackpot. I found reviews of all kinds. Wonderfully poetic 5 star ratings as well as the one star ratings where the customers don't give an ounce of grace while voicing their experiences and opinions. There were a few reviews that stood out the most. One happy customer said that hershey bars turn their bad days into good ones. 

 

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, there is no shortage of complaints. I saw that this past year, in 2020, a customer let it all out in the comments after they discovered a mysterious white material in their candy bar. They had quite a bit of words to say with little punctuation. 

I have to say, I cannot personally relate to what this seems as a horribly life threatening experience. However this is something that should not go un addressed by the hershey's company. 

According to their website, Hersheys has a vision of becoming an innovative snacking powerhouse. They are one of the greatest leaders in the US confectionery market as they focused on strong brand equity innovation and superior quality. Their most famous brands being, kisses, twizzlers, reese’s, kit kat and the classic hershey's chocolate bar. Despite these classics, there has been a continuous product innovation in its marketing mix that has helped them throughout the years. Their president and CEO states that her vision for her company is to be an innovative powerhouse through their 4 interconnected strategies. 1) driving growth by capturing more snacking occasions 2) profitable and sustainable international expansion 3) operating with the best-in-class capabilities and partnerships and 4) investing people in communities. All of which seem like they would be similar to the goals and values of any other company. But what makes them truly unique and such a strong competitor from the rest? Well that comes down to their retail shopping expertise, global supply chain and being able to meet consumers in retail online. When it comes to making them stand out in the isles at the shopping stores, Hershey's works to anticipate where and how people will shop next and through a team of people overlooking the insights, retail sales, media, supply chain, pricing, promotions and marketing drive. These frontliners are the backbone to their success on the market. Through consistent calculation of data and collaboration with every new year that comes along, they are able to predict their customers' moves. On top of this, their global supply chain is their biggest strength. Their goal throughout this is to continually have a variety of snacking options all within reach of those that love their brand. 

Communication through technology has become such an important part of good marketing and keeping a good look on the company. Hersheys uses all forms of social media, through instagram, facebook, tv ads, they even have their own blog. Through those different platforms they are able to connect with their customers on a variety of levels all different from the rest. Their use of tv ads, built towards the greater community of chocolate eaters. Then through their other forms of advertisement, such as instagram, they are able to have that direct one to one connection through precise digital media. 

When it comes to responding to backlash hersheys never shies away from a necessary explanation. There was one ad in particular that aired on live tv back in november of 2020. It was a so-called “new twist on a classic holiday ad”. They took the classic song “we wish you a merry christmas'' and changed it to sound more upbeat, sort of like a remix of the song. 

See Video >>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1WkQSAP67w&t=9s 

This is what upset the views the most. Users took to the media claiming they felt as though hersheys took the song and warped it, in a bad way. It became quite the talk and because of this Hersheys took the liberty to come in. Their response was this, “for those viewers who love the original version -- don't worry, it hasn't gone away forever… Our hope this season is that our updated version not only harkens back memories of the original Kisses bells tune but also brings the genuine feeling of heartwarming to life with images of holiday baking between a father and daughter.” 

If I were to have been their brand manager and responded to this backlash, well, first of all I do understand where the public is coming from when they say they warped the song and not in a good way. I personally didn't think the remix was necessary, it was distracted from the purpose of the ad and does more damage than good. If I were in their place I would have reminded the public of the main purpose behind the ad. It was not the music remix that was the main focal point, but the depiction of the brand hersheys bringing family together that was important. However since that ad, the one with the father and daughter was technically a second variation of that ad, I would have honestly taken it down. I personally feel as though the music was enough of a distraction to negatively impact the company's sales, and what worse time to have an accident than during christmas time. I would have stuck with their original ad. 

Throughout this process of learning hershey's marketing strategies, finding what makes the unique and addressing backlash they have received, i came to learn how tedious and work can be. When associating your brand with something other than who you are, in this case it was a classic christmas music that everyone knows and loves, it is so important that you use your content wisely. I think it can be an extraordinary strategy pairing your products with those other popular enjoyments but society is harsh and any wrong move or interpretation can cause major setbacks.