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Speed Dial: 60-Second Marketing Insight Newsletter
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Twelve years ago, on a crisp Fall morning like this one, I would
have been on a train from Manhattan to Westport, Connecticut, chatting with my friend & co-worker, Sarah.
When we reached our office, I would have gone to work on Pepperidge Farm cookies, and a few desks away, Sarah
would begin her day on Godiva chocolates. That’s right: at the time, Pepperidge Farm & Godiva were both
subsidiaries of the Campbell Soup Company. And while Sarah & I always had plenty to talk about on our
long train rides out of New York City, we never once dreamed that her specialty chocolates would be sold in
the same supermarkets as my cookies & crackers. Never.
How times have changed.
Campbell’s sold Godiva in 2008, and by last Fall, the new owners
announced the introduction of ‘Godiva Gems’, a line of individually-wrapped chocolates offered at
supermarkets & drugstores nationwide.
It’s taken nearly a century to build the mystique of the Godiva
brand- - so why would anyone risk tarnishing that high-end image through low-end distribution
channels?
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According to published reports, Godiva wants to add
an “everyday” appeal to its chocolates. Now that Godiva Gems are widely available in supermarkets
& drugstores, the marketing team hopes that chocolate lovers will be more likely to consume
these items themselves rather than passing them along to others. The team also hopes that if
Godiva Gems can attract a new group of consumers during these challenging times, some will
eventually ‘trade up’ to the premium offerings sold for as much as $480 at Godiva’s 450 retail
boutiques. |
After all, look at what Starbucks has done, selling pre-packaged
coffee in supermarkets throughout the US. Consumers can go to a grocery store to buy basic Starbucks blends
for in-home consumption, but if they want specialty drinks like Frappucinos & Cinnamon Dolce Lattes, they
still need to visit to an actual Starbucks location.
But let’s take a moment to think that through more thoroughly:
even the most extravagant Starbucks drink won’t set you back more than six dollars, and for all its premium
pricing, Starbucks has never, ever played in the ultra-luxury gift market. On the other hand, for almost a
hundred years, Godiva’s business has been built around one thing, and it isn’t premium chocolate. No, Godiva
sells the same thing as Tiffany’s: sweet nothings whose packaging is designed to speak VOLUMES about the
status of BOTH the purchaser and the receiver.
That’s because luxury is an elusive concept. To me, luxury is the perception of quality… sold
through aspirational stories… whispered to the deepest parts of our psyches. And because luxury has such
cache and profit potential, it has always held a special siren song for marketers.
But luxury is a game that can only be played by the world’s best poker players. You can
never blink. You can never flinch. You can never break a sweat. Once you sell your story, you’re ‘all in’- - and if
you waver for a moment, the house of cards built on the consumer’s willingness to believe will collapse, and the
game will be over for your luxury brand.
Godiva shouldn’t be selling chocolates at Kroger any more than Tiffany’s should make a move
into Wal-Mart. All rationalizations and wishful thinking aside, “mass” and “class” have always been mutually
exclusive marketing concepts, and always will be.
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I'd be interested in learning what Dove did that set it apart from "all the other" more upscale grocery store chocolates in the US market, especially vs Lindt, Ferrero Rocher, etc. Although Mars has been a client of mine, I haven't worked on their candy/confections business (and I'd be bound by a NDA if I had), so I'm curious, too!
I'll tell you this, though, if I were running those upscale Godiva shops in malls, I would NOT be happy to see my brand on grocery shelves. No way.
Let's keep an eye on what happens with Godiva. Thanks for your comments!
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