HERSHEY’S TAKE 5
CANDY BAR RE-LAUNCH
MARKETING PLAN
1 Situational Analysis
STRENGTHS
The main strength of Hershey’s lies in its strong brand recognition. The brand name is
well known and is considered a reliable brand to all chocolate lovers. The Hershey’s
Company has been around since the dawn of the chocolate industry, and this kind of
history proves that the brand is trusted among its customers. The success that
Hershey’s has expressed over the years proves that they have the capital necessary to
rebrand their Take 5 bar. This is a noticeable strength because we do not have to raise
capital, as competitors may need to do. Hershey’s also has an incredibly loyal fan base.
These chocolate lovers would love to try out another product from Hershey’s. The Take
5 candy bar’s main strength is that it combines salty and sweet in a candy bar. None of
the competitors combine salty and sweet, so this should be a leg up on the competition.
WEAKNESSES
The main weakness of Hershey’s is their weak overseas market. This leaves an
opportunity for competition to gain market share on the company and its brands. The
Take 5 bar’s weaknesses are more extensive than that of the Hershey’s brand overall.
The Take 5 candy bar is not well known among consumers, and the lack of marketing
results in little to no reminder that the candy bar actually exists. The candy packaging
does not differentiate itself among the many other bars on shelf, and the font used to
portray the “Take 5” message implies an energy/protein focus.
OPPORTUNITIES
An opportunity for Hershey’s is to expand its overseas market, given their weak
overseas market share. A few worldwide trends among consumers are the search for
an eco-friendly option and for a healthier, dark chocolate choice. Both of these trends
provide opportunities for the Hershey’s Company. When advertising the brand, its new
sustainability focus, and/or its new line extension, there is also the opportunity to use a
celebrity endorser. By hiring someone who is considered a credible source among the
target market, not only will awareness of the brand increase but also sales.
THREATS
Competition, natural disasters, rising awareness in health issues, increasing ad costs,
and imitators each pose a threat to the Hershey’s Company and its brands. Although
Hershey’s owns a majority of the market share in the Candy, Mint, and Gum industry,
Mars, a huge competitor, closely follows. Because of this direct competition, Hershey’s
must stay aware of all strategic moves the Mars Company makes to avoid any loss of
market share to the competitor. Also beyond Hershey’s control, natural disasters can
affect the resources used to make Hershey’s products, including the Take 5 bar, and
the prices associated with making them. Health concerns and diseases including
peanut allergies and diabetes pose a threat to the number of customers and the amount
of sales obtained. Imitators, increasing ad costs, and the clutter of advertisements are
consistent threats in any market or industry, and are each something that requires the
attention and awareness of the Hershey’s Company.
2 Primary Market Research
In order to create a successful re-launch of Hershey’s Take 5 candy bar, it was
imperative that we understand the current opinions of the product’s customers and what
they are looking for. Therefore, we developed several methods to obtain primary
research; an observational study, several focus groups, and a survey. These research
methods forced us to see the candy bar through the consumers’ eyes and not only
helped us pinpoint what Take 5’s strengths and weaknesses are, but also aided in
determining the opportunities that Hershey’s has to grow awareness and sales of this
product.
During our observational study, we set up a booth in one of our college’s buildings. At
our booth we laid out a variety of candy for students to take. For this experiment we
used Reese’s, Kit Kats, and Take 5 bars. The goal of our study was to gather data on
how the Take 5 bar performed against other popular Hershey’s candies in an effort to
see consumers’ opinions about the Take 5. At the beginning of this study we recorded
the number of each candy bar that we started with, then recounted what was left every
15 minutes. Our results are displayed in the graph below:
From the results of our experiment it is clear that Hershey’s Take 5 bar is one of the
more popular candy bars, if not the most popular choice from our selection. This study
proves that a re-launch of the Take 5 bar would be beneficial to the Hershey’s Brand
and instrumental in bringing awareness to this understated candy bar.
Another way that we gained primary research was by setting up three focus groups. The
35 participants were student volunteers from our business college. The three focus
groups consisted of 10, 11, and 14 participants for the first, second, and third focus
groups respectively. Each group was approximately a half hour long and the same
3 questions were asked in each session. Before starting all participants were given a fivequestion survey covering their general demographics (See appendix). Following the
questionnaire, we asked participants questions about candy in general, the look and
taste of the Take 5, the packaging of Take 5, etc. (See appendix). The focus groups
were recorded and analyzed for information that could help remarket the candy bar
based on customer demands. The following are the results that came from the three
focus groups:
1. Packaging: There were two main trends among our focus groups about the
packaging of the Take 5 bar. The first was that it reminded them of an
energy/protein bar. The font used on the packaging and the way that the number
5 is printed going “uphill” seems to draw in someone who is looking for a way to
reenergize rather than someone looking for a sweet and salty snack. The
second trend was the idea that the color of the packaging seemed to be too
similar to that of a Kit-Kat bar, and many people thought that it was one at first.
These two ideas/trends proved to us that it was imperative that we change the
overall look of the packaging to 1) differentiate it from other candy bars on the
market and 2) draw the attention of the correct target market.
During our focus groups, we showed a few different packaging options. While
preparing for our focus groups, we were unaware of the “energy bar” impression
that it gave people, and therefore left the font the same as the original in our new
packaging options. We offered three different colors: the original red, a yellow,
and a blue. We were very surprised to find that most people were drawn to the
red over any of the other colors, but were looking for a way to use the red while
also differentiating it from the several other red candies on shelf. With these
observations, we have decided on the following packaging for the re-launch of
Hershey’s Take 5 bar:
The packaging for our line extension, the dark chocolate Take 5 bar, will be as
pictured below.
4 2. The candy bar itself: When outside of it’s packaging, Hershey’s Take 5 bar does
not look as neat as it’s other well-known bars. Many of our participants claimed
that if they were given the candy bar without it’s packaging, they would assume it
was homemade and others claimed that they would not consider it appetizing
enough to try. When participants tried the candy bar, many shared their opinion
that the five layers were not as generous as they had thought they would be;
almost all participants stated that they would have liked there to be more
caramel.
With these observations, we have decided that the five ingredients will remain
the same, but using more caramel will provide the flavor that is most popular to
the target market more generously. We will also change the overall look of the
candy bar itself to make it look more appetizing outside of it’s packaging and to
match it with the reputation of the other Hershey’s candy bars: clean, neat, and
appetizing.
3. Advertising: The general consensus among our focus groups was that it is
imperative to advertise the brand in order to raise awareness. While the
agreement on this idea was unanimous, many also spoke of the importance to
use advertisements as a reminder that the brand exists rather than an annoying,
overly advertised product that will create a poor reputation. Our participants
suggested that using online social media and TV broadcasting would be the best
options to reach a target market, and that any commercial advertisements should
be played with ample time in between them or should be a series of different
stories that can create an image of the brand while being a simple reminder and
avoiding over exposure. These observations and opinions were used in our
communications decisions (please see page x).
Our final primary research method was a survey (found in appendix). We used the
information gained in our observation study and focus groups to create questions that
would provide us with answers needed to understand how the target market views the
current Take 5 bar, what they would like to see in the event of a change, where they are
most likely to purchase their candy bars, how we should advertise the product, and age
groups/demographics that we should be targeting. Our surveys were given online to
family and friends via social media and were handed out during class in our University’s
School of Business. Our survey reached ages ranging from 15– 72 and its results were
used to make distribution and marketing decisions.
In our survey, we learned that majorities of people prefer chocolate to alternatives, such
as sweets and gummies. We found that most purchase their candy bars at super
markets, and that the most popular ingredients in a candy bar are the simple chocolate
and caramel pair. The survey literally had a 50/50 split between those who had eaten a
Take 5 bar before and those who had not, and out of those who had eaten the candy
before, most would consider purchasing again.
5 Target Market, Positioning, Strategy, and
Objectives
To successfully market any product, Hershey’s must identify the correct target market
and then identify the correct marketing segment. To successfully re-brand Hershey’s
Take 5, Hershey’s needs to target consumers from the age of 18-30 (see appendix),
which can be seen through the extensive marketing research that has been conducted
from our chapter.
After analyzing the data, it was determined that college students and young
professionals are two of the largest segmentations for the Take 5 bar. College students
and young professionals are always on the go, quickly scavenging vendors looking for
that sweet, salty and convenient snack to ease their day. Instead of buying chocolate
and pretzels separately, they have the option to buy them together, which will satisfy
their need for a sweet treat with the right amount of pretzel. Also, college students are
always stressed from homework and exams, while professionals are stressed from
meetings and large projects. They are looking for that one stress reliever food and
more times than not, it is going to be a piece of candy, something salty, or both.
Positioning Statement: Hershey’s Take 5 bar is a convenient candy that offers five
ingredients in one bar. The mix of chocolate, pretzel, caramel, peanuts, and peanut
butter provides a flavor that is a unique snack that satisfies your ravenous craving of the
perfect candy bar. Your taste buds will thank you.
To have a competitive edge over Hershey’s competitor, Mars, Hershey’s Take 5 bar
needs to compete on quality and price. The quality (taste) of the product must be
pristine, for having too much may turn consumers away and having too little will leave
consumers unsatisfied from their sweet and salty craving. While sodium may be an
issue, having too much of other products may give consumers a wrong impression of
the bar. Too much peanut butter and peanuts may leave consumers thinking of
Reese's and too much caramel may leave consumers thinking of Milky ways. While
quality is an important competitive edge, Hershey’s needs to focus on their price. Our
suggested retail for the Take 5 bar is $1.19, which falls below the competition, Snickers,
by six cents. Consumers are looking for a lower price and getting five ingredients
allows them to see the bang for the buck.
Also in order for the Take 5 to receive more attention, it must be featured in more
locations. Convenient stores and supermarkets are likely to have Take 5, along with
most other candy and chocolate bars. The most popular and successful treats can be
found in vending machines, snack stands, sports stadiums, and other locations. The
problem is, Take 5 isn’t featured in enough of these places for the consumer to feel like
it is a superior product. In theory, it is, because Take 5 can offer a combination of
ingredients that no other candy bar can offer. So in order for Take 5 to become a
premier candy bar, it must be featured like one. Through our observational study, we
6 found that compared to Kit-Kats and Reeses cups, Take 5’s were taken by students at a
quicker rate. Kit-Kats and Reese’s cups can almost always be found in all the
aforementioned places. Who’s to say Take 5 shouldn’t be there either?
Marketing Tactics
Our plan to re-launch the Take 5 Hershey’s bar will rely heavily on the way we convey
our message. Our communications plan will address how and where we will advertise.
We believe utilizing social media will attract people who haven’t heard of or tried the
candy bar before. Social media is a quick way of spreading information and reaches a
wide variety of people. A lot of social media is used by the younger generations so
advertising on these types of sites will expose younger people to the product.
We will create a Twitter Account and pay for some tweets to be “promoted” which
means it will show up on people’s accounts even if they don’t follow them. This will
spread the word and will catch readers’ attention. Instagram also has a new feature that
allows advertisements to be shown on people’s feed. We will use websites such as
YouTube, Pandora, and ITunes Radio to incorporate radio and video advertisements
that will reach our niche market before they view a video or in between listening to a
song.
Another way we will communicate our message is through Billboards, this will draw
attention to a mass market as they are driving by and urge them to buy a Take 5. We
also need to improve our advertising by re-launching new commercials. Our idea is
“Take a Break” scenarios, a series of commercials displaying humorous situations
where the person is in a hectic situation and needs to take a 5-minute break. Take 5
has not been exposed to successful aired commercials in years and this will be a great
way to break back into the competition. We will create and a series of five different
commercials throughout the year.
A final way to communicate our message will be to create incentives for consumers to
want to either try a Take 5 bar or to buy one again. Our plan for this is to print coupons
for a Take 5 inside of Hershey’s other popular candy bar wrappers such as Reese's, Kit
Kat’s, and classic Hershey’s bars.
Our distribution plan will involve the demographics in which we plan to target and the
locations where we plan to distribute the product. We plan to target lower middle class
consumers between the ages of 18-30. We will focus on attracting the cubicle worker,
the sports fan, the Hershey’s fanatic, the typical candy lover, and college students. To
best reach this target markets we plan on selling the product is: supermarkets, dollar
stores, vending machines, movie theaters, gas stations, frozen yogurt and ice cream
stores, convenience stores, airports, sports stadiums, drug stores, and chain retailers
such as K-Mart, Wal-Mart, and Target.
7 We will create displays that can be showcased in the front or center of store or featured
in display buckets that will increase initiative of consumers. Product placement is key
when looking at location in the store; we want to focus on breaking away from similarly
colored packaging like other Hershey’s products such as Kit-Kat. Also, through our
research we found that Take 5 is overlooked in stores because it is placed low on
shelves and does not stand out. We will change this by placing Take 5 higher on market
shelves to be seen easier by the target demographic.
Through research we found many students thought the exterior of a Take 5 looked
similar to an energy bar, this is why we are planning on making the following changes.
We will still advertise the 5 main ingredients and make the picture displaying them more
vivid. The exterior of our product packaging will change slightly to be a base color of red
with accents of golden yellow. We will have shadowing to emphasize the name and
include a swirl design in the background to make it stand out. We will use a simple but
alluring font. Overall, we want our packaging to be simple, honest, and original.
We also plan to change the interior of the product by making the actual bar appear more
appealing. We will make take the bar and break it up into smaller bite-size pieces rather
than 2 large pieces. To go along with this new design we will introduce a new slogan,
“Chose to share or be unfair”. This will promote the idea that it is a breakable candy bar
that can be easily shared and eaten.
Our Suggested Retail Prices will be as follows:
Standard Size
$1.19
King Size
$1.87
Snack Size (Pack of 15)
$8.95
Dark Chocolate Extension
$1.19
The Hershey’s Company will utilize the Pulsing Advertising Model, in which there will be
a low level of advertising throughout the year but an increase in advertising during peak
selling periods such as holidays and specifically during the winter months. Our timeline
of events will be as follows:
8 9 Measurement and Evaluations
In order to properly measure the success of our new packaging, advertising, and
distribution decisions, we will use several metrics:
1. Organic Search: Organic search represents the amount of times Take 5 will
show up in a search online done through a popular engine such as Google. The
more times that our product shows up through related words represents how
many times our product is talked about on the world wide web. This is advertising
that we cannot control and because of this, it is a great way to analyze how much
our product is reaching the world.
2. Traffic To Lead Ratio: Traffic to lead ratio represents how we can figure out
where our customers are gaining awareness of the brand name Take 5. Whether
it is through TV, in store promotions, or just through online twitter posts, there is
always a root that can be traced back to where a customer heard about Take 5.
By learning which leads work and which don’t, we can target the more effective
ones and increase brand awareness. We can also trace progress and figure out
what is working in the new strategy.
3. Customer Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is how the consumer feels about
Take 5 and any changes we make to the product. By enacting changes to
packing, ingredients, etc. we risk consumers becoming unsatisfied with the
product. By analyzing how consumers feel, we can figure out first hand what our
consumers like and don’t like and from there give the customer what they truly
want, thus increasing sales. Analyzing customer satisfaction also allows us to
discover what worked with our new strategy.
4. Compare to Competition: By comparing to competition we can discover how
much our changes have affected sales. If we look at Take 5’s market share now
against other Hershey’s bars, and all other candy bars, this will allow us to
understand how much of the market Take 5 truly has. Then, after our changes
our implemented, we can look at market share once again and see if Take 5 is
truly gaining any share. This allows us to understand what has been working and
how we can beat the competition and bring Take 5 to the top.
5. Product Margin: the amount of the money a company actually receives after
paying all costs. In order to stay successful as a company, businesses need to
keep a high product margin. This will continue success and profit in order to
expand as a whole company, which usually is an end goal.
6. Brand Awareness: how many people are aware of our product? This
measurement can be used to compare the awareness of Take 5 before our relaunch with its general awareness afterwards. The objective is to make sure that
consumers recognize the availability of the Take 5 bar. This is key when trying to
10 promote and product and increase sales. High brand awareness will make the
product more successful resulting in higher profits.
7. Promotional success: With this measurement, we will compare sales before a
promotion with that after the promotion. This will allow us to determine if firsttime purchasers that tried Take 5 during the promotion became repeat buyers
afterwards.
8. We will measure our flexibility by the number of SKU’s we offer. The more sizes
of the Take 5 we can offer, the broader range of consumer we can appeal to.
Customer appeal will be dependent on how they are feeling, the occasion for
what they are buying the candy for, etc. If we can adapt to these entire consumer
needs then we will dominate the market in each aspect by having the Take 5
bars being a versatile candy.
9. We will measure our performance by the amount of sales revenue we accrue.
The more profitable we are will conclude how well we have performed. We will
also determine how well we perform by the number of shipments we deliver to
customers on time. We want shipments delivered promptly to keep customer’s
satisfaction high.
10. Promotions will be determined on how well we do in the sales of the product. The
more we sell the larger discount we can give. We will also gauge promotions by
how we can package the product. This will include units such as Fun size, Minis,
Big Take 5’s, etc.
11. The amount of revenue we receive should exceed the amount of capital it takes
to produce the product. If we achieve this goal then we will have a successful
product. We want to minimize costs and increase our revenue stream. We will
minimize costs by finding alternative ways of producing Take 5 bars. This
includes making the candy, packaging, delivery, etc.
12. Social Media Reach: Increasing need for convenience relies on how easy it is for
a consumer to purchase the Take 5 bar itself. When the product is easily
accessible consumers become more satisfied. This will tend to increase the
demand of the product because it is always readily available for them. Following
this, the company’s profit will increase leading to more money and a bigger
product margin.
13. Distribution is the way a product is transported and given out. It must be ensured
that the Take 5 bar is correctly distributed out to all participating stores in order to
be successful. Keeping stock is essential for keeping sales high. Especially when
demand is high.
11 Budget
12 Appendix
Focus Group Information
The outline of the how each focus group was ran is as follows:
First, we obtained some general information about participants in a hand out that asked:
1. What is your age?
2. What is your gender?
3. What is your hometown/state?
4. Do you live on or off of campus?
5. Food allergies:
We then started the focus group by stating the following script:
“Thank you for agreeing to be part of our focus group. We appreciate your willingness
to participate.
“We are conducting this focus group to obtain information and opinions about the
Hershey’s Take 5© candy bar. Our American Marketing Association Chapter has been
given the opportunity to compete with other chapters throughout the United States. We
have been asked to conduct primary research, hence the completion of this focus
group.
“Here are some of the ground rules:
1. We want you to do the talking
a. We would like everyone to participate
b. We will go around the table and have each of you answer the questions
asked
2. There are no right or wrong answers
a. Speak up if you agree or disagree with an idea
3. We will be recording this group
a. Speak loudly
b. We want to capture all ideas and opinions
c. You will remain anonymous
“We will now start the open ended questions:
1. What comes to mind when you think of the Hershey’s brand
2. What type of candy do you usually purchase?
3. Where do you usually purchase candy (i.e. supermarket, drugstore, dollar store)?
4. Where do you usually eat candy (i.e. home, work, school, in travel, outdoors,
etc)?
5. When are you most inclined to purchase/eat a candy bar?
6. What type of promotions entice you to go purchase a candy bar (i.e. mailed
coupons, in store promotions, sale prices, etc.)?
13 7. What type of communication do you feel is best to market a candy bar (i.e.
internet, email, social media, print, TV, etc.)?
8. Do you believe that a high amount of promotion will always result in higher
sales?
9. Have you ever heard of Hershey’s Take 5 bar?
10. What age group do you think Take 5 targets or should target?
11. What comes to mind when you think of Take 5?
12. Have you ever had a Take 5?
13. If you have had a Take 5 bar before, how were you introduced to the candy?
14. Do you know why it’s called a Take 5 bar?
15. What was your first impression of the candy bar packaging?
16. Do you think it is wise of Take 5 to refrain from calling out that it is a Hershey’s
product on its packaging? Or do you think that it would be beneficial to have the
Hershey’s name on packaging?
[At this point, we showed participants a variety of different packaging options to obtain
information and opinions on which color would be best. We asked participants which
options they liked best and why. The options were as follows:]
17. What was your first impression of the way the candy bar looks?
18. What do you like about the taste of the candy bar?
19. What do you dislike about the taste of the candy bar?
20. Was there something about the taste that stood out compared to other candy
bars?
21. Is there anything else that you have to say about the Take 5 candy bar that you
feel would be beneficial to our study?”
Survey Information
Questions asked:
1. What is your age?
2. What is your gender?
14 3. What is your favorite color?
4. Do you prefer chocolate candies to other kinds (i.e. sweets, gummies, etc.)?
a. Yes
b. No
5. Where do you purchase your candy? Choose all that apply.
a. Drug Stores
b. Super Markets
c. Convenience Stores
d. Dollar Stores
e. Other:
6. What are your favorite ingredients in a candy bar? Choose all that apply.
a. Chocolate
b. Caramel
c. Peanuts
d. Peanut Butter
e. Pretzel
f. Other:
7. Have you ever had a Take 5 bar?
a. Yes
b. No
8. If you have had a Take 5 bar before, would you make a second purchase?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Never had one before
9. Where would you most likely eat a candy bar? Choose all that apply.
a. Home
b. Work
c. Travel
d. Other:
10. Why do you eat candy? Choose all that apply.
a. Taste
b. Craving
c. Mood
d. Other:
The results of the survey are as follows:
15 16 17 18 19 References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_search
http://www.contractortalk.com/f12/website-traffic-leads-ratio-79885/
http://www.surepayroll.com/articles/small-business/how-to-measure-success-of-smallbusiness.asp
http://www.surepayroll.com/articles/small-business/how-to-measure-success-of-smallbusiness.asp
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/83108
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/192213/costs-for-tv-spots-rocket-7.html
http://domainshane.com/complete-list-of-30-second-ad-cost-for-all-primetime-tv-showsa-200000-domain-looks-like-a-bargain/
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/559/01/
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