Green and Blacks
Green & Blacks are a company that was founded in the UK, specializing in making organic chocolate. To add to their roster of quality products the company also make ice-cream and biscuits. The name ‘Green & Blacks’ represents what the whole company stands for which is to produce a more natural and organic chocolate. The ‘Green’ in the title conveys a more ethical way of living and the ‘Blacks’ conveys the cocoa beans from which they are made from. The brands target markets are consumers who like to eat chocolate but prefer to consume more of the luxury chocolates rather than the common ones; for example, Mars bar, Snickers, Twix etc.
Another target market for the brand is for the consumers who are more conscious of the healthier chocolate in which it derives from. As a whole, Green & Blacks initially started in West London, which could lead to the belief that its target consumer was one that were quite wealthy and that could easily afford the lavish chocolate. Potentially consumers could fit into the socio economic groups, C2 C1, B and A. The brand noticed there was a gap in the market and totally capitalized by making chocolate that doesn’t have different chemicals in them.
An important public that is associated with Green & Blacks is the Government public. This is evident because without any legislation and legal procedures, the cocoa beans which are being shipped from Belize would not be allowed into the country. This would only result to the company failing and essentially being out of business. Consequently, Green & Blacks have to coincide with the government so that their company can continue to progress and generate high revenue. They have to be specific and notify the government when the shipping will take place and how much weight of cocoa beans they are expecting.
Without doing so, the company could be prosecuted for smuggling goods into the country. The financial publics could be an issue to the company, due to the fact that the economy is not doing so well right now. The cost of shipping the cocoa beans over and manufacturing them into chocolate will be costly. The fact that they are a luxury organic chocolate company allows them to charge a higher price so that all the profit they make can go back into the developing of the chocolate and different types of promotion.
The company need to be aware that some of their customers could have been made redundant, so they might not be able to afford such luxuries anymore. This could be an issue for the company. The media publics could also add pressure to Green & Blacks but also create opportunity in the sense of upholding their reputation and always keeping their name in the media and letting consumers know that they are still a well known company. In terms of adding pressure to the company, media has the power to make or break a company. It is the media that tells consumers about the product.
Whether it is advertising, promotion or PR, media publics have a crucial part to play. Green & Blacks adopts a differentiated approach to positioning because they have found a specific benefit that differentiates themselves from competitors by making organic products. The fact that Green & Blacks were the first company to make organic chocolate tells consumers that they will and can deliver better than any of its competitors. They have effectively integrated brand touchpoints so that is doesn’t contradict the method of positioning they use.
Green & Blacks Pre-purchase experience enables them to draw in consumers who have never tried the product before. It also contributes to keeping existing customers. They do this by offering out samples to the public around different major UK supermarkets. This relates back to the positioning, due to the mere fact that they are offering a product that is the first of its kind, organic chocolate. The company have also capitalised on advertising through incorporating social networking sites such as; Facebook and Twitter.
Social networking sites are a key way to keep interacted with consumers. This way it allows the company to directly update consumers with what’s happening with the company, especially if there are any new products or special deals that are occurring. Now moving on to the purchase experience touchpoint, Green and Blacks packaging materials are environmentally friendly. They use recycled materials to package all of their products. The outer parcel which is used to package the chocolate is constructed from 100% recycled cardboard.
This relates back to the positioning because the aim for the company is to make a ethical product. If they never implemented recycling with a part of their company it would defeat the purpose of making an economical product. When delivering value, the company instil trust in the consumers so that they feel the price of what they are paying for the product is worth their money. Although their products can be more expensive than others, customers know that they are paying for more than just chocolate.
They are paying for quality and they are paying for a type of lifestyle. Green & Blacks post purchase touchpoints corresponds with the positioning because they take into consideration the package performance of products, which is essential. “Packaging stays true to brand promise” (business school department of marketing) also their customer service and the regular checks of web site visits. As time progresses and Green & Blacks become a stronger company in terms of being more established with consumers worldwide, they could potentially change their positioning.
They could take on the approach and become centrally positioned because they will become the best brand of its category for organic chocolates. Instead of consumers saying they want organic chocolate, they could just say they want some Green & Blacks referring to a healthier chocolate. This will also be a major threat and hindrance to competitors because consumers who purchase other organic chocolates would simply call it Green & Blacks just for the sake of it being the first thing that comes to mind.
Overall, Green and Blacks marketing strategy is well executed. They carefully thought about how they were going to strategise to stand out from other competitors. They have found a base for their compelling story so that it instantly creates a sense of trust between the company and the consumer. The thing that makes their story so captive is that there is passion behind it and consumers can see that through viewing short documentaries about the company and what they stand for. They have a high sense of value which will gain respect from consumers.
They have shown that the chocolate which is being made will give the people of Belize a sense of pride because they know that the product is being made in their country. This gives the people of Belize something to be proud of. They also tell consumers about the process of how the chocolate is made and the story of the cocoa beans. This sparks an interest for the consumer and makes it fun to read about. They have made it clear with the value their customers get when they buy from Green & Blacks. Clarifying to customers that their chocolate is the most natural and organic product going around.
They have reiterated that they are by far the best in their field. In terms of creativeness, Green and Blacks have ensured that the visual look of their packaging is consistent so that there will be no confusion between their company and other competitors. The G&B logo which is imprinted on the front of the package is clearly executed to ensure visual iconic learning. (Kosslyn and Thompson, 2003) Green and Blacks recognize that there products will be categorised in the low involvement quadrant which basically means that there will be much less effort in deciding whether to purchase the product or not.
In other words, there is no risk in trying and they have less to lose. This means they will need to have an emotional benefit presented in an authentic way so that the target audience can connect emotionally which could lead to a long term buyer. Green and Blacks have done this by creating an advertisement that is slow paced and gracefully filmed that shows the rainforest, suggesting its organic and the slow pouring of creamed chocolate that gives it a touch of class. The style in which the advert is filmed conveys that the product itself represents elegance.
The company also excel in creativeness by giving customers the chance to design their own wedding basket. They allow customers to choose a tailor-made selection of their company’s chocolates. They have the option to choose a variety of 15 different chocolates and choose a ribbon colour that best suits their wedding day. This kind of creativeness is good for the company because it opens the door for another type of customer. Through this, word of mouth will be predominantly effective and the chance for more business will arise naturally.
The different types of chocolates and the producing of treats such as truffles, propose that they cater to different types of tastes suggesting that their creativeness could not be put in a box. As mentioned previously, a new target segment for Green and Blacks could be for business consumers who want to buy a bulk of products for different types of functions targeting; weddings, Christenings, business parties or even children parties. This segment could potentially generate high revenue because if buyers regularly purchase in bulk it could lead the company to make more orders.
Customers that want to buy for a younger party could be very prosperous for the company. Children love nothing more than chocolate and cakes and if it’s in front of them, they will eat it regardless if it’s organic or not. People in today’s society are a lot more health conscious and they will impose this thought and lifestyle on their children and younger generations. In terms of pricing, the consumers would still have to be financially stable so that it would be no problem for them to bare no expense when purchasing the product.
There would absolutely be no point in trying to target business and consumers who have little to spend and are on a low income because they would not benefit from buying the chocolate. Customers will purchase items knowing that it would not put them out of pocket. Referring to brand proposition, the consumer would get total control of making their own basket. They would choose what type of chocolate they would want, how much of each they would require and the colouring of ribbons and basket; this way Green and Blacks still get to keep their elegant image and still cater to the consumer.
It would be a win, win situation. The brand proposition would be effective because no other competing brand could provide this. In addition to this, the brand proposition will also be successful because they are fulfilling a need and want for their consumers. They want to be able to eat chocolate knowing that it will not take any class away from the function they are holding, especially if it’s a wedding. They want to comfortably eat chocolate that highlights elegance and brings a sense of sophistication. Assumingly they will want this to reflect the function.
A campaign slogan that green and blacks could use for the new target segment is ‘Organise for an Organic eye. ’ The slogan is short and catchy and it will be memorable to consumers because it is also a play on words. The slogan can easily be imprinted in the consumers’ mind because it leaves a key message which is for consumers to purchase an amount so that they can organise functions. The second part to the slogan ‘for an organic eye’ represents the foundation of Green and Blacks which is organic. This will make it easier for word of mouth marketing to take place.
The launch of the new positioning will be at the higher end of the market place because the foundation of the company is quality over quantity. So the fact that Green and Blacks can come across as expensive would not be an issue for the company because they have already established themselves and take great pride in making quality chocolate. This will immediately convey to consumers that organic is seen and known as quality. They will position the brand centrally so that they become known as the best in their category. Through this method of positioning the brand name will sale itself. Their marketing communication does not need to continually remind people of their benefits. ’ Strategic integrated marketing communications, Larry Percy; 2008. A prime example is the brand Hoover. People often generalise the name Hoover for a vacuum. This is because they were the first to position themselves as the leading brand in that category. Behavioural targeting is a newer approach to marketing communications and this will help reinforce the positioning by using modern technology. Website visits will tell the company if the new positioning is a success or not.
If they get frequent visits, this tells them that they are being receptive to the positioning. To ensure that the company continue to use that way of positioning, they will have to take risks; Risks in the sense of not over doing it with bold advertisements. If they want to centrally position the brand, they have to trust that consumers already know they are the best. Without doing so, it would come across as if they have something to prove. Subtle online advertisements will be perfect for it. They could use their adverts on YouTube just as a reminder for consumers that they are still number one.
The marketing communication of direct sales will help correspond with Green and Blacks new positioning. This will be effective through the use of sending out leaflets to existing customers. This way it continues to keep their loyal customers including the businesses that purchase in bulk. In the course of doing this, word of mouth marketing will take place naturally. This is a great way for the brand to continue to grow stronger and draw in more prospects. This way, people are purchasing from a brand that has earned respect from current customers.
This will support the new positioning because they are not desperately trying to sell their product and convince consumers that they are the best. Their reputation will speak for itself. To conclude, the newer approach to marketing communications would work better for the new positioning, rather than the traditional approach of using TV advertisements. If the company was just getting started, then the traditional approach would have been perfect because they need to grab the audience’s attention. The new positioning is saying that they are already established so they don’t need to be as bold as some of their competitors.
