Hershey's Marketing Strategy & Marketing Mix (4Ps)

Published in Products category by MBA Skool Team

Marketing Strategy of Hershey's analyzes the brand with the marketing mix framework which covers the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). These business strategies, based on Hershey's marketing mix, help the brand succeed in the market. Let us start the Hershey's Marketing Strategy & Mix to understand its product, pricing, advertising & distribution strategies:

Hershey's Product Strategy:

The product strategy and mix in Hershey's marketing strategy can be explained as follows:

Hershey's is a popular brand which offers chocolates and other sweet sauces & syrups. A variety of products are available in different shapes and sizes. The conical shape of Hershey's kisses and innovative hand rolled packaging in some products adds to the appeal. Continuous product innovation in its marketing mix has helped Hershey's to grow through the years.

The product is positioned as something delicious and healthy for growing kids. The is known to produce more than 70 million candies every day. Globally, more than 15,000 people are employed with the company.

Chocolates

Hershey's, Kisses, Reese's, Kit Kat, Brookside, Take5, York, Almond Joy & Mounds

Candy

Twizzlers, Jolly Rancher, Allan Candy, Nuts & Caramel (Lancaster, Payday, Rolo)

Mint & Gum

Ice Breakers, Breath Savers, Bubble Yum

Other Desserts

Chocolate bars, Symphony, Extra Dark, Almond Joy, Mounds, 100 Calorie Bar, Bliss, Drops, Hershey's Miniatures, Pot of Gold, Nuggets, Hershey's Kisses, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, York Peppermint Pattie.


Image: flickr.com/photos/dno1967b/

Hershey's Price/Pricing Strategy:

Below is the pricing strategy in Hershey's marketing strategy:

Hershey's is a premium brand and charges higher price compared to other standard chocolates available in the market. It targets upper middleclass urban population and foreign tourists.

The prices vary from $10 to $50. There hasn’t been any price hike recently but the quantity in various SKUs have been reduced. Hershey's financial strength can be seen from the fact that is on NYSE & S&P500. The annual revenue for the company is around $8 billion.

Hershey's Place & Distribution Strategy:

Following is the distribution strategy in the Hershey's marketing mix:

Hershey's is available globally in grocery stores, drug stores, vending machines, wholesale clubs, gas stations, malls, hospitals, department stores. It can also be purchased online from Amazon, Walmart etc. Hershey's has a strong distribution network and is able to reach across many countries worldwide. All major cities are covered by the distribution channels of the company.

The chocolates are available at all leading retail stores & ecommerce platforms.


Hershey's Promotion & Advertising Strategy:

The promotional and advertising strategy in the Hershey's marketing strategy is as follows:

Promotion is done through TV Ads, Magazine Ads and Billboards. Hershey's mission is to create delicious chocolate that could be enjoyed by everyone. Hershey's milk booster Ad tries to position itself as a healthy product for growing kids and a substitute to traditional milk powders. A similar approach is followed in Hershey's spreads Ad where a cute child is shown playing dumb charades with his mother and its emphasised how the almond helps in kid’s growth and can be used in daily breakfast. It has traditionally tried to make Ads which showcase spreading happiness which is in line with the vision of its creator Milton Hershey. The My Dad Ad campaign can be seen which shows how a chocolate is used to strengthen the bond between a father and a son and spread happiness in the family. The company also has a tourist attraction place in Pennsylvania, USA, called the Hershey's chocolate world. Kids and families go there to have a good time and in the process the brand also gets some promotion. One can get to know the chocolate making process, taste free samples and experience the state of the art technology here. There are various promotional activities like 4D chocolate mystery, trolley tours etc. which tells the chocolate story to everyone. The kids can design their own candy and be a part of the chocolate making process. It also uses Instagram and twitter for social network promotions. They also provide recipes for Cakes & Cupcakes, Cookies, Brownies & Bars, Breads & Muffins, Puddings & Mousse, Pies & Tarts, Candies & Snacks, Frostings & Fillings. Hence this completes the marketing strategy & marketing mix of Hershey's.


About Hershey's:

Hershey's is an American food company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. Its headquarters are in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company was started by Milton S Hershey in the year 1894. It was named as the Hershey Chocolate Company. The brand was born in 1894 with the introduction of Hershey's cocoa. It was the first product from the company to be sold to the public. While chocolate was something enjoyed by the upper-class society only, Hershey's made it available at lower prices so that other sections of the society could enjoy the delicacies of chocolate as well. The company tries to keep its employees happy as they believe that happy employees can make good chocolates. In 1906 a Hershey's park was built for the same purpose.

It sells its products in around 60 countries throughout the world. Hershey's is also a member of the World Cocoa Foundation.

This article has been researched & authored by the Content & Research Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

Browse marketing strategy and 4Ps analysis of more brands similar to Hershey's. The Marketing Strategy & Mix section covers 4Ps and 7Ps of more than 800 brands in 2 categories.

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The names and other brand information used in the Marketing Strategy & Mix section are properties of their respective companies. The companies are not associated with MBA Skool in any way.

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