Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage -WI Students Begin Marketing Plan

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Hoping to get people to eat more chocolate, Godiva marketers wondered, how can we take chocolate from nibble to nosh? The answer wasn't inside the old brand's signature gold box, where people tend to deliberately choose a single piece, the company says. Instead, Godiva saw it needed to come up with new forms of chocolate for customers to munch mindlessly, and new places to buy them. Therefore, when Godiva Chocolate celebrated its 80th anniversary, updating its direct creative approach, redesigning its retail stores and even revamping its signature gold box with new pieces and packaging.The company which has seen double-digit direct growth in recent years, is currently snack-dab between its two busiest times of the year, The December holidays and Valentine's Day, says Beth Sash, director of e-commerce and direct marketing.Godiva's customers often buy for friends and family but aren't afraid to indulge themselves, notes Sash. "We're seeing more and more customers coming into our boutiques daily to buy one or two pieces for themselves as a treat in the middle of the day."Recent efforts to contemporize the brand have helped Godiva reach a more aspirational, fashion-forward audience, she adds. It now attracts younger people overall, 25 to 35 year-old vs 35 to 49 year-old previously.

High-end chocolatiers want to put their sweets everywhere shoppers are, whether it's chocolate covered pretzels in an upscale department store or chocolate-coveredespresso beans at the coffee shop."We want to get more Godiva into people's mouths more often," said Lauri Kien kotcher, chief marketing officer for Godiva and senior vice president of global brand development. "It's about chocolate snacks, little chocolate treats. --- When those things come, you just keep eating." Godiva says there are up more than 13% year-to-date, and it expects total sales to top 4650 million in recent years. Godiva's strong belief about its product is that there are three basic reasons why people purchase premium chocolate: to give as a gift, to share with a group and to eat by oneself. The first category, gift-giving, has been Godiva's strong suit for decades, especially at occasions such as Valentine's Day and Christmas Holidays Season.

Godiva stores, which used to be awash in gold boxes, now also stock small chocolate truffle bars(priced at $2.95), sleeves of chocolate-covered almonds($12) and boxes of chocolate-covered cookies($25 for three dozen). In other words it's a completechocolate experience. Godiva is looking to appeal to a wider audience of gift givers. Its holiday catalog reads like a shopping list, suggesting various new products ---a box of brownies? a chocolate-fondue basket? ---for babysitters, neighbors, teachers and clients.

  Godiva is venturing into new places, putting jumbo candy bars on grocery store shelves and cupcakes and brownies online. It is adding new products like chocolate-covered Oreos to the offerings at Godiva boutiques.The chocolate market has been getting especially competitive in supermarkets and drugstores, with European brands like Cadbury, Toblerone and Ferrero Rocher, fancy offerings from mass marketers like Symphony bars from Hershey, and familiar boxed offerings from Whitman's and Russell Stover. And there are niche products with cult followings, too, such as chocolate-dipped pears from Harry & David and Trader Joe's peanut butter cups.These supermarket products were created to be at the ready in case of chocolate emergencies which compels the customers' urges for chocolate. Godiva has dismissed the risk of diluting its brand to the grocery stores by maintaining the quality of its products and meeting the expectations of its everyday customers.