Ben & Jerry's marketing strategy seems to commit to social and environmental issues on a local and global scale;

and still market's itself as a traditional, homemade style of operation. After pouring through their pages, I found a great deal of emphasis on their social issue agenda, which actually was more of a turn-off to me than if they were to concentrate on the best product and even a top focus on their economic mission.

Ben & Jerry's Website Review and How it Applies to Marketing

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Post a comment The organization's mission statement is three-fold: Product, economic, and social. The product mission is to make, distribute & sell the finest quality all natural ice cream & euphoric concoctions with a continued commitment to incorporating wholesome, natural ingredients and promoting business practices that respect the Earth and the Environment. The economic mission is to operate the Company on a sustainable financial basis of profitable growth, increasing value for our stakeholders & expanding opportunities for development and career growth for our employees. Finally, the social mission is to operate the company in a way that actively recognizes the central role that business plays in society by initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally & internationally. Central to the mission is the belief that all three parts must thrive equally in a manner that commands deep respect for individuals in and outside the company and supports the communities of which they are a part. (Ben & Jerry's Website, 2004). Ben & Jerry's marketing strategy is consistent with its mission. A great deal of effort seems to be put on the Social Issue agenda for this business. The products being the highest-quality and the like was explained in the "From Cow to Cone" part of the website and seemed to impress upon the viewer the wholesome way their ice cream is processed. Environmental emphasis was displayed through their discussion of refrigerants and improvements they are studying and making to clean up their operations to be more environmental friendly. Does B & J's appear to be a customer-oriented organization? How is the company using its web site to build relationships with its customers? Ben & Jerry's appear to be a customer-oriented organization because of several features. They are: Quality products appealing to a wide audience, Extensively showing how their products are made, Asking for suggestions of new flavors from the public, Fun flavors that appeal to a range of ages, The Ben & Jerry's Foundation providing funds for various social and environmental improvements, Offering information such as "From Cow to Cone" to be viewed so that everyone

understands how their product is made, Use of organic products to appeal to organic customers, and Market their company like common people making quality ice cream. This is only some of the ways the organization appears to be customer-oriented. In addition, the organization asks its customers and website visitors for input. This request gives customers "buy-in" or product input that would make the customer feel more a part of Ben & Jerry's business; thus, making the customer more apt to buy the product. The company using its web site to build relationships with its customers by providing interactive pages; create a flavor suggestions; fun craft section; gift shop; ice cream by mail; the way the web site is developed (user friendly, fun, a bit cartoony, informative, bright colors, using real video feeds as a movie inside the Cow to Cone presentation, etc.); an appeals to a wide range of demographics. Also, when a customer makes a flavor suggestion, they receive an email (immediately) from the site letting the customer know that the suggestion has been received. This is what it says:

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Facts

Feed Your Inner Hippie

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In 1963, two boys would meet in a 7th grade gym class. But, neither one of them knew that they would go on to create one of the most popular brands of ice cream in the world. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are the masterminds behind Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. To many, these two men are culinary geniuses. From their Cherry Garcia to their Chunky Monkey, Ben & Jerry have been able to provide ice cream flavors for every palate imaginable. But, where did is all begin? How did Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream come to be the success it is today? Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Facts #1: 1977 Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield Learn About Ice Cream In 1977, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield wanted to open a business together. But, ice cream wasn't their first choice. In fact, they wanted to make bagels. Unfortunately, making bagels would involve buying expensive equipment that they couldn't afford. So in 1977, they took a correspondence course in ice cream making. The course was cheap enough, costing only $5 and the two men were able to do very well on the exam. In fact, that got a perfect score, but that might have something to do with the exam being open book. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Facts #2: On May 5th 1978 the First Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Shop Opens On May 5th, 1978 Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream was first sold. This actually came as a surprise to the two men, who had meant to open their shop on May 6th. Unfortunately, they had sent the wrong date to the newspapers and were forced to open one day early. But, it was a very successful opening. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Facts #3: On May 5th 1979 Free Scoop Day Begins One year after the ice cream shop had opened, Ben & Jerry started Free Scoop Day. All day they served free ice cream to their customers. Another fun fact is that this tradition continues at all of their American locations. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Facts #4: In 1980 the Ice Cream Goes Into Pints In 1980, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream was available in pints. This meant that the product could now be sold in stores across America. This also meant that the company would have to move to a larger location, several times over the next few years. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Facts #5: In 1983 Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Is Used to Make One Big Sundae In 1983, the world's largest sundae was made. The sundae was made using Ben & Jerry's ice cream and weighed in at 27,102 pounds. Talk about a large sundae and a delicious one. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Facts #6: The Company Went Head to Head with Haagen Daz in 1984 To be perfectly honest, Haagen Daz is like the child who takes his toys home because he's losing the game. In 1984, Haagen Daz was beginning to lose the game, the ice cream game that is. Stores were beginning to sell Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Haagen Daz threatened to pull their ice cream from store shelves if the stores continued to sell Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. At this time Haagen Daz was owned by Pillsbury. This led Ben & Jerry to start the campaign 'What's the Doughboy Afraid Of". All this publicity only made Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream more popular. Their sales increased 120% that year. Another interesting fact is that the company ended up having to sue Haagen Daz not once, but twice. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Facts #7: Cherry Garcia Hits Store Shelves in 1987 In 1987, Ben & Jerry's released Cherry Garcia. To this day, Cherry Garcia continues to be one of their most popular flavors. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Facts #8: Received the Corporate Giving Award in 1988

Ben And JerryS - Presentation Transcript

1. 2. Ben and Jerrys "Ben & Jerry's, to know it is to love it". I scream, you scream, we all scream, for ice cream By Laura Teather, Sara Matharu, Sarah Butler and Aman Johal Who are Ben and Jerrys

 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield 1978, founded the ice cream in Burlington, Vermont, USA 1999, sold more than $208 million worth of ice cream, frozen yogurt & sorbet products 2000, acquired by Unilever 23 countries worldwide Environment Development of Ben and Jerrys Advertisement in the USA & UK UK Newspapers Cinema Word of mouth 1996 Cool Britannia USA TV commercials Free Cone Day TV shows 2008 Launch new flavour. 2008 2006 2004 Example advertisements Marketing mix The Marketing Mix consists of 4 Ps, which are used to describe the combination of marketing tactics used by a business to reach their objectives (Chartered Institute of Marketing, P.1). Product Price Place Promotion Pricing strategies Luxury ice cream Prices in supermarkets Comparison with Haagen-Dazs Pricing strategy used Premium pricing The ice cream market The total West European Deserts Market was worth Euros 112.4 billion in 2007 (Including UK) and the Top-10 West European companies supplied 39.1% of this market (Just-food, 2008). Going green in the next 12 months (Lewis, 2006, Just-Food) Ben and Jerrys ice cream has the largest share of the luxury ice cream market and is experiencing the fastest growth in the UK (IRI convenience sales, Nov 2007-March 2008) Ansoff Matrix The Ansoff Matrix (Taken from: Meldrum and McDonald 2007, P.126) What is the Ansoff Matrix? Ben and Jerrys Market penetration Ben and Jerrys product extension Market Penetration Product extension Market Development Diversification Products Market New New Existing Existing

10. Boston Matrix Taken from: GT Web Marque (2008) Stars: High Growth, High Market Share Cash cows: Low growth, high market share Dogs: Low growth, low market share Question Marks: high growth, low market share Ben and Jerrys: Cash cows/Question marks

11. Defining segmentation Segmentation is the process of splitting customers in market, into different groups or segments, within which customers share a similar level of interest in the same or comparable set of needs. (Market Segmentation, 2008)

12. Ben and Jerrys segmentation Products available 13. Sales value 14. Positioning Hippy image Competitive advantage Porters five forces Ice cream industry

15. Volume Large segment in the ice cream industry Ben and Jerrys premises Growth of Ben and Jerrys Increased sales

16. Questionnaire 17. References Ben and Jerrys.,(2008). Our story. [Online]. Ben and Jerrys. Available at: http:// www.benjerry.co.uk/ourstory / [Accessed 11 November 2008]. Ben and Jerrys.,(2002). Support Home Page: Cost of Ben and Jerrys. [Online]. Ben and Jerrys. 15 December 2002. Available at: http://benjerry.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/benjerry.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php? p_faqid =22&p_created=919122479&p_sid=DqEWx1jj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=& p_lva =& p_sp =cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD0yMjcsMjI3JnBfcHJvZHM9JnBfY2 F0cz0mcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MQ**& p_li =& p_topview =1 [Accessed 22 November 2008]. Dibb, S., et al., (2006). Marketing concepts and strategies. Fifth European edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. P.46-47, 662 Gilbert, S.,(2007). Haagen-Dazs vs. Ben & Jerrys: Battle of the Brands. [Online]. Blogging Stocks. 13 April 2007. Available at: http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/13/haagen-dazs-vs-ben-and-jerrys-battle-ofthe-brands/ [Accessed 22 November 2008]. Remove related content Flagged as inappropriate
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Ben And Jerry's

Given Ben & Jerry's track record in entering foreign markets, does it make good strategic sense for Ben & Jerry to commit to entering the super premium ice cream market in Japan? Why or why not? What prior "mistakes" will it need to avoid? Ben & Jerry's had been traditionally slow to enter into the foreign market they have lost market share to both Haagen-Dazs and other ice cream suppliers. Ben & Jerry's had begun to inquire about the Japanese market in the mid 1990s. Japan represents the second largest ice cream market in the world, with annual sales of about $4.5 Billion, but there are high barriers to entry. Ben & Jerry's would be a late entrant, more than 10 years behind Haagen-Dazs initial entry, and there are at least 6 Japanese ice cream manufactures selling super premium products. Ben Cohen, one of the founders of Ben & Jerry's, was opposed to growth, so the company had limited adventures overseas therefore had limited opportunities. Haagen-Dazs had no hesitation and by 1997 it was in 28 countries with 850 dipping shops around the world. Haagen-Dazs non-U.S. sales were about $700 million, compared to Ben & Jerry's sales of $6 million. Haagen-Dazs had completely taken over the international market by entering when the barriers to entry were low and now they are high. It makes sense for Ben & Jerry's to enter the market in order to gain whatever market share that is possible, but since barriers to entry are so high they have to find a way to enter the market and get recognized whether it is through Seven-Eleven or by using Mr. Yamada. Entering is also a great idea if they proceed with the Seven-Eleven marketing plan. This plan allows Ben & Jerry's to enter into 7,000 Seven-Eleven store shelve, but still competing with other brands. Also Ben & Jerry's would not have to promote its super premium ice cream is since it is already part of the ice cream market(for example Haagen-Dazs) and Japanese people are aware of it. A plus for this is that convenience stores appeared to account for about 40% of super premium ice cream sales in Japan, and Seven-Eleven was Japan's largest chain.

What resource strengths/ competitive assets does Ben & Jerry's have to support entry into Japan? What resources weaknesses/ competitive liabilities does Ben & Jerry's have in trying to successfully enter the Japanese Market? Several factors resulted in reluctance of action by Ben & Jerry's in entering the Japanese market. The company was unsure on whether the company had any business in Japan. They had trouble finding a lead option for an entry, and Ben & Jerry's was struggling with so many changes in the CEO office, and also having no strategic planning. Ben & Jerry's got an offer from Ken Yamada, a JapaneseAmerican entrepreneur who offered to oversea marketing and distribution of Ben & Jerry's products in Japan. He proposed to take charge of all the Japanese market in exchange for a royalty on all Ben & Jerry's products sold in that market. In 1997 Seven-Eleven joined Yamada as a leading contender for the

interest in the Japan strategy. Perry Odak was the new president for Ben & Jerry's and met with Mr. Iida, the president of Seven-Eleven Japan. Seven-Eleven Japan is the parent company of Seven-Eleven U.S. Seven-Eleven's more than 7,000 stores represented a major market regardless of all the possible outlets in Japan. One of the problems is if the product were introduced to the Japanese market through the Seven-Eleven convenience stores it would be just one of the many brands there. Ben & Jerry's might not be able to build its brand equity in Japan such as Haagen-Dazs had. Without brand equity it could be difficult to distribute the product beyond the Seven-Eleven chain. Also there is always the possibility that Seven-Eleven could cut off Ben & Jerry's at some future date if it doesn't sell effectively.

Is the market for super premium ice cream in Japan a competitive attractive market from Ben & Jerry's perspective? Why or why not? Japan is the second largest ice cream market in the world making it very attractive from Ben & Jerry's perspective. Some of the challenges that Ben & Jerry's will face are the high barriers of entry for foreign products and dealing with the immense distance for shipping the products over seas. Despite these challenges, there are several......... You must be registered and logged in to access the full text of this essay. Click here to register, or if you are already a member you can login below.