Hersheys
Chocolate Syrup is the kind of condiment that appeals to consumers of all ages and genders.
Chocolate being a hugely popular flavor, and ice cream being a staple of many households, the
market for chocolate syrup is enormous, especially when one adds the option of making
chocolate-flavored milk. Consequently, Hersheys marketing campaign does not need to be narrowly
focused towards any particular segment of the population. While consumption of ice cream
certainly increases dramatically during the hot summer months, it does not disappear during
winter, and tens of millions of American consumers who live within the so-called Sun Belt
enjoy lengthy periods of warm weather. In short, geographic limitations on the marketing of
chocolate syrup are essentially nonexistent. That said, the aforementioned warm weather
climates clearly present a more attractive year-round target for advertising.
Demographics, however, do factor in to decisions regarding marketing of chocolate
syrup. Again, while all age groups consume ice cream, there is no question that children are
the primary target of marketing campaigns for Hersheys. Children of all ethnicities and age
groups drive demand both for ice cream and for chocolate milk, the two main applications for
chocolate syrup, and parents are very susceptible to their childrens request for items like this
that usually appeal to them as well.
In the case of chocolate syrup, there
is tremendous overlap between demographics and psychographics, with children remaining the
principal focus. While psychographics incorporate emotional and intellectual factors, as well
as lifestyle decisions, into the equation, the market for chocolate syrup is sufficiently broad
that no reasonable advertising campaign can evade the relatively small segment that of the
population that identifies itself as vegan. Similarly, and more broadly, no advertising
campaign can evade the senses of those who eschew substances high in processed sugar, such as
the physically-fit, as they live among the rest of us and the surgical application of an
advertising campaign will invariably involve collateral damage among those who avoid such types
of food.
Finally, targeting a segment of the population according to
behavioral characteristics, as with demographics and psychographics, involves that sizable part
of the population that enjoys sugary snacks and that consumes large quantities of ice cream and
chocolate milk, and that means children and adults who are not particularly weight conscious.
Especially during the long, hot days of summer, when children spend much of their time outdoors
running around, and parents engage in lawn care and other outdoor activities, consumption of ice
cream increases dramatically. Consequently, marketing of chocolate syrup would increase during
those months. There is a reason we only hear the ubiquitous bell of the ice cream truck during
summer: that is when children are consuming much more ice cream. Behavior changes seasonally,
and food consumption changes with it.
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