Hershey Marketing Plan

Abstract
How can a high-quality product with a loyal fan base and supported from a market leader grow into a Tier 1 product in its market and in the process become a star performer for its company? Answering that question is the focus of this paper. In doing so, the proposed promotional campaign increases brand awareness so that the inherent quality of the product can grow market share naturally into a dominant brand among the entire candy, mint, and gum (CMG) market. In the proposed integrated marketing communications (IMC) plan, the focus will be towards taking advantage of the strengths that both Take 5 and the Hershey Company have. The current brand image of Hershey is strong and positive, as supported by research findings.

However, Take 5 is an unknown brand to approximately 45% of adult consumers. Therefore, much of the first half of the proposed marketing campaign will be focused on building brand awareness. The second half of the IMC campaign will be focused on the development of sustainable brand loyalty through proposed events, sweepstakes, and promotions designed to create a positive virtual community in the social media environment. The theme of the IMC campaign will be based on an emphasis of the unique combination of five ingredients in the Take 5 chocolate bar, which are milk chocolate, peanuts, caramel, peanut butter, and pretzels. SWOT Analysis

The SWOT Analysis identifies the key factors that can have a positive effect (strengths and opportunities) or a negative effect (weaknesses and threats) to the proposed IMC campaign for Hershey’s Take 5 chocolate bar. The summary is provided in the following table with further explanations of the rationale in the narrative section that follows the table. SWOT Analysis

Strengths
1. Strong brand image for Hershey
2. Hershey’s market leadership position provides significant leverage
3. Take 5 has a base of brand loyal consumers
4. The unique combination of Take 5 ingredients is not duplicated

Weaknesses
1. Take 5 has low brand recognition in comparison to other Hershey brands
2. Previously low promotional support for Take 5 may hinder revitalized IMC campaign
3. Top management not understanding the benefits of social media and its ability to track ROI. Opportunities

1. Increase brand recognition by associating with the Hershey name
2. Reach the lucrative 18-34 year old market
3. Take advantage of consumer preferences for sweet and salty combination of tastes Threats
1. Potential copycat products from key competitors
2. Consumers, especially younger consumers, becoming more health conscious Strengths
Hershey’s primary strength is its powerful, trustworthy brand image. Currently, Hershey is the market leader for the United States chocolate market with 44.3% market share, followed by Mars at 29.8%, for a combined 74.1 % of the market (Pogharian, 2013). Hershey’s dominant market leadership position allows it the leverage to build its own brands with minimal opposition. If competitors were to respond with similar products to Take 5, Hershey would have the resources to protect against loss of market share. Hershey’s Take 5 bar is not only unique in the combining of five ingredients (milk chocolate, peanuts, caramel, peanut butter and the rare incorporation of pretzels) but it has done so with a great-tasting product (Steiner, 2013).

Weaknesses

The high brand recognition among other Hershey brands (e.g., Reese’s, Kit Kat and Hershey’s Bar) will be a challenge for obtaining critical internal resources to effectively promote the new product, Take 5. This is a concern given Hershey’s track record of supporting brands that already enjoy success over new brands. One of the primary reasons given by the company was that the Take 5 of early years did not achieve a sufficient return on investment (ROI) and the management leadership admitted to not knowing how to measure ROI in a social media environment. Opportunities

The company, in its packaging of Take 5, does not display the Hershey name in a prominent manner. That is rather strange, and adding the Hershey name might affect the consumer’s opinion of Take 5. An advantage of producing chocolate, mints, or gum (CMG) is that most consumers enjoy the products – there is no specific target demographic. Two of the reasons why marketers focus on reaching the 18-34 year old demographic is that they are not significantly brand loyal yet and they represent a customer lifetime value opportunity. Beyond this specific age, the unique combination of flavors in Take 5 can appeal to the general consumer base that prefers a sweet and salty taste. Threats

When a search was conducted on the United States Patent website, there were not any patents discovered for the combination of ingredients in the Take 5 chocolate bar. With that in mind, there is a concern that competitors could duplicate a product that would reduce the potential market share of Take 5. In 2010, Mars introduced its M&M Pretzels, only two years after marketing support for Take 5 ceased. Mars holds second place in the United States chocolate market industry with almost 30% of the market share. Mars may duplicate any product strategy that the Hershey company implements. Take 5 also has an internal threat from within the Hershey family in the form of similar packaging and theme.

Take 5’s current packaging is almost identical to the Kit Kat brand. Both color and font of the packaging look almost identical to the Kit Kat brand, making it difficult for shoppers to distinguish Kit Kat from Take 5. Kit Kat uses the slogan, “Give me a break!” and Take 5 uses a similar slogan of “Take 5!” Both slogans are similar in meaning (i.e., “give” and “take”) and could create confusion for consumers. Another threat is the current health movement in the United States. Consumers are becoming more aware of what foods are harmful to their health and avoiding them. Part of this movement involves eating less sugar (Welsh, Sharma, Grellinger, & Vos, 2011). In addition, overindulgence of chocolate has been linked to overweight cases and diabetes (American Heart Association, 2013). These perceptions of consumers could have a negative effect on the purchase of chocolate bars like Take 5.

Competitor Analysis
The significant competitive companies and products have been discussed previously in this paper. However, another key competitive aspect to consider when targeting the 18-34 age is the use of social media to capture the attention of this demographic. Hershey’s key competitor, Mars, has embraced social media more effectively (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, a cocoa sustainability blog, etc.). Mars also uses YouTube videos that are posted on their website to inform customers of how they are helping families and cocoa farmers around the world. Though Hershey has resisted the use of social media in the past, the proposals in this paper will inform on how to take advantage of the low costs and high reach possibilities associated with using social media. Integrated Marketing Communications Plan

The goal of the proposed IMC plan in this paper is to present the most effective communications campaign to reach the identified target market segments. The components of the IMC Plan create the positioning statement of how the Take 5 brand should be differentiated in the minds of the consumers from competitive brands, the measurable objectives to determine if the proposed plan is achieving desired outcomes, the central theme or message of the proposed campaign, and an extensive review of the various promotional tools capable of delivering the message such as traditional media, social media, sponsored events, and public relations. Positioning Statement

For all lovers of chocolate who desire an occasional treat, Take 5 is a flavorful snack that satisfies one’s cravings and brings an exceptional taste combination of sweet and salty in the convenience of a candy bar, with more ingredients than any competitive products. Because chocolate candy bars are impulse purchases, part of the proposed promotional strategies for the Take 5 brand in this paper will include a comprehensive approach towards in-store product placement to strengthen brand recognition. In addition, this IMC plan proposes to change some of the packaging features in order to distinguish Take 5 from other candy with the same colors and fonts similar
to Kit Kat. Unless this step is taken, consumers may have difficulty locating the Take 5 product on retail displays. Objectives

The following objectives serve as key measurements of the proposed IMC promotional plan during the proposed timeline of May 2014 through April 2015: 1. Increase awareness of the Take 5 brand from 58% to 75% among the 18-34 age by April 2015. 2. Double sales revenues from $25 million annually to $50 million annually by April 2015, placing Take 5 in the top 50 CMG sales. 3. Increase sales revenues from $50 million in April 2015 to $100 million annually by April 2018, placing Take 5 in the top 10 CMG sales. Central Theme: “We’re better together”

The purpose of the central theme is to create a positive and energetic message, which conveys a sense of togetherness, just like the successful combination of flavors in the Take 5 bar. With that in mind, the slogan will be implemented “We’re better together.” This slogan brings the idea of all five ingredients working harmoniously to offer the customer the perfect blend of a sweet and salty treat and emphasizes a community among Take 5’s loyal consumers. This will be a focal point in the proposed IMC plan, with large emphasis placed in the social media area. Target Market

Based on the research conducted, though most humans enjoy the pleasure of a chocolate bar, the following market segments are exceptionally worthy of investing a promotional campaign in order to grow loyalty to the Hershey brand in general and Take 5 brand specifically. Descriptive names to each segment are given to reflect the general characteristics of chocolate bar consumption among individuals within those segments.

Media
The purpose of the media strategy is to integrate the central theme across both the traditional media outlets to reach the older target segments and the non-traditional media outlets to reach the younger target segments. For the traditional media outlets, it is best to develop television, magazines advertisements, Point-of-Purchase displays, sales promotional items, and public relations outputs. For non-traditional outlets, it is most efficient to utilize social media, direct marketing, and sponsored events. Television advertising is very effective because of its reach. Approximately 99% of Americans have at least one television in their house and those Americans spend over half of their daily leisure time watching television (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013). The television ads will be used to increase brand awareness for the Take 5 candy bar and the messages for these ads will vary depending on the intended target market.

The specific programs that will be sponsored are Fox News, Lifetime, and NBC. The Seasoned Sweethearts will be the primary demographic targeted through the use of this network, while the Reliable Rewarders will be the secondary target market. Fox News is currently America’s number one cable news network (Carter, 2013). This network’s audience median age is 56. Take 5’s commercial would air during Fox News’s number one show, The O’Reilly Factor, with over 2.5 million viewers (Kondolojy, 2013). This implementation timeline is for seven months running June 2014 – December 2014. Lifetime television network would be used to specifically target the female Reliable Rewarders, Mobile Munchers, and Chocoholics while reaching the Seasoned Sweethearts as a secondary target market. Lifetime is one of the most popular women’s networks on television boasting 99 million subscribers. The network has a 72% female audience with a median age of 49.5. According to Lifetime’s profile, 79% of its female subscribers recommend products and services to friends and family (Cable Nation, 2011). Take 5’s commercial would show during Lifetime’s show Drop Dead Diva.

The program recently completed its 5th season and averages 2 million viewers per episode (TV Series Finale, 2013). This implementation timeline is for four months running January 2015 – April 2015. NBC television network advertising during Sunday Night Football on NBC is designed to reach the male Mobile Munchers, Reliable Rewarders, and Chocoholics. According to a Harris Interactive poll, 64% of adults and 74% of men watch NFL football (Harris Interactive, 2011). The poll also found that 60% of those who watch football watch five or less hours of television weekly. Therefore, sponsoring Sunday Night Football is one of the most effective ways to reach this normally unreachable segment (Harris Interactive, 2011). The proposed ad will launch at the rematch of the Super Bowl champion and the runner up meet at the beginning of the 2014-2015 National Football League season. This implementation timeline is for five months running September 2014- January 2015.

The choice for print media is magazines because of the ability to reach a national audience and to provide rich media format. The magazines chosen in which to advertise are based on reaching a specific target segment.

Time magazine will be used to reach Mobile Munchers, Chocoholics, and Reliable Rewarders. Time Magazine is chosen because it is one of the largest magazine in the United States in terms of circulation and has over 17 million readers in the U.S. alone (Lulofs, 2013). The median age for the magazine is 48 years old and has a 55% / 45% male to female readership respectively. The implementation timeline is for three months running June 2014 – August 2014.

AARP magazine will introduce Take 5 to the potentially lucrative Seasoned Sweethearts target market. AARP magazine was chosen because it reaches the 50+ age demographic more effectively than any other magazine and has the highest circulation in the world with over 22 million subscribers (Lulofs, 2013). This implementation timeline is for two months running November 2014 – December 2014.

People Magazine will target the Chocoholics and Seasoned Sweethearts. People Magazine was chosen because it is the 9th largest magazine in the United States and boasts over 43 million readers (Lulofs, 2013). The magazine is read primarily by women (70%) and 67% of People’s readers are in the 35-55+ age demographic group. The median age for the magazine is 44.6 (People, 2013). This implementation timeline is February for one month through Valentine’s Day.

The National Geographic magazine targets the Seasoned Sweethearts and Reliable Rewarders as the two primary demographics targeted for this magazine. National Geographic is the 8th largest magazine in the United States and has more than 4 million subscribers (Lulofs, 2013). Those who read the magazine are most likely 25 or older (85.3%) and over half of the total readers for the magazine are male (57%) (National Geographic, 2013). The implementation timeline is for three months running September 2014 – December 2014. Point-of-Purchase Displays

Point-of-Purchase displays increase brand awareness where and when customers are ready to purchase products; the displays encourage impulse buying. Because Take 5 has historically received its highest level of sales in convenience stores, it is recommended to place point-of-purchase displays in geographic regions where sales have been high, initially, but once brand awareness has increased, move the displays to geographic regions where sales have been low. Sales Promotions

There are two major sales promotional campaigns that involve sweepstakes designed to achieve the brand awareness objective in the first year of the IMC campaign. The first sweepstakes would involve Take 5 becoming a sponsor of World Cup 2014; the second sweepstakes would connect with a national tour of the popular musical group Maroon 5. This latter sponsorship would include using Maroon 5 to endorse the Take 5 brand. The World Cup 2014 sponsorship would target all of the identified segments and the Maroon 5 sponsorship would target the younger segments.

A World Cup sweepstakes will take place in May 2014 before the World Cup occurs June 12th through July 13th. The purpose for the sweepstakes is to associate Take 5 with the world’s most popular and beloved sport, soccer. The World Cup is one of the most-watched worldwide events. The theme of the World Cup is to bring nations together which blends nicely with the proposed Take 5 theme of “We’re better together.” The sweepstakes will consist of participants entering a special code online, which can be found in specially-marked Take 5 bars or through Take 5’s website, for the chance to win prizes.

The mega prize (one winner) will include five tickets to the World Cup 2014 finals, first-class airfare, transportation, and five nights at a luxurious hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Participants will also have the chance to win first and second prizes. First prize winners (100 each) will receive $1,000 to host the biggest World Cup party during the finals. In addition, they will receive an 55” flat screen TV. Second prize winners (1,000 each) will receive a giveaway package that will include World Cup jerseys, soccer balls, stadium horns, a flag, and a Take 5 fun size candy bag. This particular sweepstakes is directed towards the Mobile Munchers, Chocoholic, Cocoa Munchkins, Reliable Rewarders, and the Seasoned Sweethearts because the World Cup is the number one sport in the world and is popular within all ages.

In May and early June, the Take 5 website and Point-of-Purchase advertising would be used to promote the sweepstakes where consumers could win a trip to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The one Grand Prize Winner and four of his/her friends will go to five games including the final match. To enter the sweepstakes, consumers will find a code inside of specially-marked regular-sized Take 5 bars. They will check the code on the Take 5 website. Because U.S. laws require that no purchase is necessary, random numbers are also available on the website. Consolation prizes include soccer memorabilia.

During the World Cup series, Take 5 will sponsor a High Five world record competition. The goal of the High Five Competition will be to break the world record of the most consecutive high fives within five minutes. This will be a publicity stunt designed to increase brand awareness of Take 5. On the final weekend in July in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, contestants in the High Five Contest will compete in a series of qualifying rounds until the top five contestants are determined. The individuals trying to break the world record will be wearing Take 5 memorabilia. The finale of the High Five Contest will occur on the soccer field before one of the final games in the World Cup and will be broadcast live internationally through the internet. Though the event will be broadcast internationally, through the internet, the U.S. market is the target for this publicity.

The Maroon 5 sweepstakes will also occur in the first year campaign, beginning in July after the World Cup Sweepstakes has ended. Maroon 5 will be sponsored for fall tour 2014, from September through November. Maroon 5 is one of the most popular bands in the United States. After contacting the agent for Maroon 5 and being informed of the availability and the cost for this sponsorship, the tour will consist of 12 concerts across the United States. The opening concert will be held at The Star Pavilion located next to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. The Pavilion can accommodate 8,000 people. The purpose for the sweepstakes is to attract the 18-34 demographic and to associate Take 5 with the popular band that has the number “5” in their name.

The sweepstakes will consist of participants entering a special code online, which can be found in specially marked Take 5 bars or through Take 5’s website, for the chance to win prizes. Grand Prize winners (five each) will receive five Maroon 5 floor concert tickets, first-class airfare, a tour of the city of Hershey, and a two-night stay at a luxurious hotel. In addition, Grand Prize winners will receive the VIP treatment at the concert and be given the chance to “Take 5” with the band after the concert on their tour bus. First Prize winners (100 each) will receive a giveaway package with two concert tickets, a T-shirt, a Maroon 5 CD, and an autographed poster. Second prize winners (500 each) will receive a free one-night stay at the Hershey Lodge and a tour for five people of the Hershey Park. Media: Interactive/Events

One of the most effective promotional tools for the 18-34 age group is direct marketing for the purpose of creating a virtual community specifically for the Take 5 brand that will persuade the customer to buy the product and generate a buzz about the brand. The proposal is to use two teams of summer college interns to travel to strategic U.S. cities and spend a weekend promoting the Take 5 product.

The proposal is for one team to cover the east coast and the other team to cover the west coast. Each team will promote Take 5 in 12 different major cities on their assigned coasts, spending a weekend in each city. These interns will hire prominent Instagram users and bloggers to generate buzz about these weekend events. These interns will be very social media savvy, and will update Take 5 and their personal social media accounts with
snapshots of the city and promotional events attended.

Examples of host event activities could include an Instagram celebrity who will hold an “Instawalk” or “Instameet” in the city. Those who enjoy Instagram and the photos of this celebrity will be able to take pictures of the city and explore with Take 5. This will draw many teenagers who follow their favorite Instagramer.

In addition to the direct marketing in the cities aforementioned, Take 5 will sponsor a parade float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade of 2014. On the float will be Adam Levine, lead singer of Maroon 5. This event will coincide with the end of the fall 2014 Maroon 5 national tour, sponsored by Hershey’s Take 5 brand. Due to Adam Levine’s growing popularity from The Voice singing competition, and his growing public image as the “Sexiest Man Alive” as featured on the cover of People magazine, he would be a great asset to draw audience attention, especially if he sang in front of the television network booth. The Macy’s Parade has become a tradition for our culture and by adding Take 5 into this holiday memory it has the potential to help the brand become a larger part of American tradition. Public Relations

The primary function of the public relations strategy will be to establish a positive social marketing image with the Take 5 brand. The proposed theme of the PR campaign will be “Take 5, Give 5”. This initiative will highlight efforts to give back to the community, encourage community involvement, and reward social responsibility. The main conduit through which this campaign will be implemented is a Twitter scholarship contest and an awareness project using Instagram as a platform.

To connect with the college-aged consumer, the Give 5 Scholarship Tweet Contest will be initiated. In the contest, 500 scholarships valued at $5,000 each will be awarded to eligible contestants. In order to win, contestants would need to answer the question, “What are five goals you want to accomplish with your college education that will benefit society?” Each contestant will submit their tweet and end their submission with the hashtag
“#take5give5.” KFC attempted a similar contest and the result was enormously successful; various media outlets took notice of the viral power of the contest and the media impressions numbered in the millions (Black, 2011). Give 5 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Considering the proposed IMC campaign theme of, “We’re better together”, Hershey should continue its Cocoa Sustainability Strategy to aid in the modernization of cocoa farming. This CSR will extend the focus on the necessities of the local impoverished community. As a part of a Give 5 campaign, the proposal is to use some of the profits from Take 5 sales to launch CocoaLink in the Cote d’Ivoire. CocoaLink will involve community help projects like digging wells, building orphanages, and/or constructing local hospitals/clinics. In addition, Give 5 can supply farmers with modern farming techniques.

The most effective way for Hershey’s CSR to be noticed is to make short, two-to three- minute documentaries made by videographers within Hershey on the progress of various Give 5 projects. The videos could be released on YouTube or Vimeo weekly or bi-weekly. There is a strong possibility that these videos would be picked up by those on Facebook or Twitter and spread virally. Through the hashtag #Give5, Hershey will be able to communicate through social media how it is serving those who help provide the valuable ingredient to its products while making the world a better place in which to live. “We’re better together.” Social Media

To reach the young Millennials with promotional messages, companies need to participate actively, creatively, and effectively in the new Social Media. Millennials rarely visit traditional media outlets, and when they do, they rarely pay attention to promotional messages. Therefore, it is vitally important for the Take 5 brand to interact with Millennials to establish a personal connection. Through hashtags, drawings, and contests, the use of social media will greatly aid in the marketing of Take 5 and its campaign.

Take 5 should create and maintain accounts on the most frequented social media outlets: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. Specifically these accounts will be utilized to communicate brand messaging, update and engage consumers on events, and announce corporate social responsibility efforts (#Give5) and promotional contests.

Twitter is a social networking platform and microblogging service that connects people through sharing ideas and information. Twitter has more than 230 million active users monthly and 500 million tweets per day. Hershey should create and maintain a Take 5 Twitter account, which will engage, interact, and promote the Take 5 brand to consumers (Twitter, 2013). Tweets of 140-characters or less will include interesting facts about the ingredients of Take 5, the brand’s production process, questions posed to consumers about how Take 5 fits into their lifestyles, and visual images, using the photo posting application.

Because of Facebook’s global significance, Take 5’s Facebook page will be used primarily to connect with Hershey’s and Take 5’s consumers to effectively develop the brands’ cultures and interact with the designated target markets. It is important that Take 5’s Facebook page not just simply be filled with promotional material about the brand, but that the content is relevant and useful for the consumers, creating an overall appeal to the brand. This goal is achieved by interacting with consumers who have “Liked” Take 5 in conversations through comments and posts.

For the seasonal events, described earlier in the plan, it is very important to update the corporate Take 5 page regularly (every two to three days) with interesting photos and relevant status updates so that consumers can stay connected with the brand. “We’re better together.”

Instagram is a social media channel for editing, captioning, and sharing photos with the world (Instagram, 2013). The photo-rich app of Instagram is, quite possibly, the most critical social media channel for Take 5. This social media channel has the potential to bring the brand to life as followers can keep up-to-date with the activities of the brand through pictures and video clips. Currently, on average, every four photos posted using the hashtag #take5 is promoting the Take 5 Candy bar. It is through Instagram that the various events throughout the year can most effectively be shared through 30-second video clips and photo images.

Specifically, the Traveling 5 intern teams will reach out to popular Instagram users that are native to each city, and hire them to cover our Traveling 5 weekend events by generating buzz on their social media platforms. When not taking event pictures, the Hershey Take 5 Instagram channel will post interesting, out-of-the-ordinary pictures with witty captions, featuring the concept of Take 5, as well as appealing images to the target markets segments.

The Instagram video contest is created to familiarize consumers with Take 5 and to spread the word among their circle of friends. Take 5 will host a contest through Instagram with the hashtag #WhereDoUT5 and by placing @HersheysTake5 it will direct the video to Take 5’s Instagram account. Entries will be accepted September through October and the winner will be announced in the final days of October. Participants will create a creative video of where they take their break with Take 5. The video will be linked to Take 5’s Instagram account and the video that receives the most “Likes” will win a $50,000 scholarship. This contest will be directed towards the Mobile Munchers and Cocoa Munchkins since they are presumed to be the most involved in social media.

YouTube is the most prominent site for video sharing on the internet and reaches a massive audience of 1 billion viewers per month. It will be the most video-rich channel for Take 5 (YouTube, 2013). On the Take 5 channel, users will be able to view all of the seasonal Take 5 advertisements, after their initial airing on broadcast television. Using this channel, attention also will be focused on the various interactive events occurring throughout the campaign. Conclusion

Take 5 has the potential to become one of the most valued and easily recognized brands on the market today due to its unique combination of the five ingredients. Past sales performance is significant at $25 million last year but could have been much higher if there had been more marketing