Question

Topic: Strategy

Marketing A Premium Ice Cream Brand

Posted by Anonymous on 2/3/2010 at 4:09 AM ET 125 Points
Am charged with successfully introducing into the market a new brand of ice cream targetted towards the upmarket. However, i have not been allocated a limitless budget to support an extravagant marketing campaign. How can i achieve my goal all facts taken into consideration? Please give specific tactics.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 2/3/2010 at 9:05 AM Accepted
    Dear westson,

    First, forget all this crap about not having an unlimited budget.

    If you wobble through life blaming a lack of resources you'll never get anywhere. YOU must take the bull by the tenders and act. Got it?

    Next up: got a Facebook account and a Twitter account? If not, get one of each. Then start a blog (free via www.tumblr.com) and call it something compelling, perhaps something to do with premium ice cream.

    Then buy a Flip Ultra video camera and a tabletop tripod and begin making compelling videos about your ice cream.

    Keep your videos short, but make them appealing. Post them to your blog and post them to YouTube and www.tubemogul.com.

    Search the Internet for appealing articles on premium ice cream and write a short headline and two sentences of short introductory copy per source and add a link to the source and post THAT information on your blog too.

    Meanwhile, use Twitter and Facebook to drum up interest in your site. Use the search functions of both sites to track down groups (Facebook) and individuals (Twitter) interested in premium ice cream. On Facebook alone there are over 178 groups listed under the search "gourmet ice cream" the first page adds up to 534 members of ten different groups. Average that out over 170+ groups and that's 9,000 people.

    Join these groups and promote your opinions on premium ice cream and direct people to your blog where they can read and watch, and fuel their passion for great ice cream.

    Offer people the chance to receive regular updates from your blog by giving you their e-mail address. You then build a list to market YOUR ice cream products to, all shipped SUPER fast overnight in packages that lock in the freshness.

    Contact the major players in premium ice cream and offer a joint promotional deal based on your traffic and growing list. Do a series of webinars or telesminars and at the end of each, promote the main product and split the revenue 50/50. This way you both get to build your list, drive sales, and create revenue.

    So, follow this guideline and you've got what has the potential to be a 6 figure business plan. But do nothing and you'll sell nothing.

    I hope this helps.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA



  • Posted by thecynicalmarketer on 2/3/2010 at 3:03 PM Member
    Phil nailed it!

    You are a student and we will not do your homework. What the heck are you are going to do when you have to enter the real world? Whatever it is, I hope I am not around to find out.

    Try working hard and learning, it worked for all of us, JohnnyB
  • Posted on 2/5/2010 at 8:05 AM Author
    Hi guys,
    Given the limited information that i had given earlier, one will understand your cynicism.
    I head a small marketing department for a medium-sized firm that has been manufacturing and selling ice cream for the last 30 years. Since inception, it had been dealing with one brand. As a result, this is the leading brand in the region.
    In 2006, one of our main competitors started a price war and to counter that, we introduced a second brand which we classified as a "fighting brand' since we didnt want to interfere with our flagship brand. We made its packaging very similar to theirs but lowered its price and the strategy won the day. To date, we still use it for the same purpose whenever its necessary.
    Our market has a number of imported brands from the South Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Being a regional centre and hosting regional offices for many international organisations such as UN, UNEP as well as private firms, there is a sizeable market for these premium brands.
    As a result, we felt that we were losing out on the segment of the market. Last year, we introduced a premium brand to capture that segment. All aspects of the product (packaging, quality, price, target outlets)have been positioned to appeal to class AB who purchase other premium brands. What we are currently running is the promotion part of the P's of marketing.
    I hope you to hear your take on how to do this right.
  • Posted by J Geibel on 2/5/2010 at 7:52 PM Accepted
    Tough crowd here -

    I suggest you research Steve's Ice Cream (Boston, USA) one of the original premium ice cream vendors (1973):

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve%27s_Ice_Cream

    that Wikipedia article will lead you to others and you can study their marketing and product introduction philosophies.

    here's another take on Steve's:

    https://www.cambridgeday.com/2009/09/18/r-i-p-herrells-ice-cream-a-toast-fr...

    you might think it odd that Boston, one of the coldest cities in the US - sells so much premium ice cream (and beer) - go figure.

    Good luck or good lick, depending on how you look at it.
  • Posted on 2/8/2010 at 1:57 AM Author
    Hi guys,

    I appreciate your responses particularly Geibel and Gary.

    However, i have not found practical ideas applicable to my market situation.

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