When you think about ice cream, your first thoughts are probably of chocolate versus vanilla, or cone versus cup. You probably don’t think of advertising campaigns or the marketing strategies behind them. But what do the people who make and sell ice cream spend a lot of time thinking about? How to best to market ice cream to today’s consumers. The marketplace for ice cream is competitive and crowded with ice cream brands and products. There are tubs sold by the pint, quart, half gallon, or gallon. There are ice cream sandwiches, bars on a stick, individual cups–the freezers are full! Ice cream producers must invest in the content development of their brand. If not, they risk being lost among so many other, similar products. Two ice cream brands that have taken divergent but strong approaches to content development are Blue Bunny and Ben & Jerry’s.
What is Content Strategy?
Content strategy or web content development is the master plan a business uses to communicate its targeted message about its product to its audience. This includes:
- Values and ideas about the product
- Writing and editing of the message to promote those values and ideas
- Plan to communicate that message to the target audience
Ben & Jerry’s
Ben & Jerry’s has taken the unique approach of creating a brand that is synonymous with both premium ice cream quality and social activism. Their commitment to social responsibility began with its founding in 1978 and has not wavered, but how the company has communicated that message has changed with the times. Regularly updating their content strategy has allowed Ben & Jerry’s to stay on the forefront of social activism while keeping its products in the forefront of consumers’ minds. This content strategy contains several components:
- A three-part mission that focuses on:
- The product itself
- Economic growth
- Sustainability of the company
- Social activism to improve the world.
- Identify movements and partners that support these ideals. For example, Ben & Jerry’s is committed to raising awareness about climate change, so it has partnered with Tesla for the Save Our Swirled campaign. Tesla created an emissions-free ice cream truck for a fun and catchy way to promote this campaign and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream at the same time.
- Partner with consumers to promote these values. By reaching out to Ben & Jerry’s consumers and identifying them as partners, Ben & Jerry’s gives consumers the ownership in the movement. When they buy ice cream, they feel like they are contributing to Ben & Jerry’s social activism.
Blue Bunny Ice Cream and Blu the Bunny
Blue Bunny has been around for 80 years. But its current content strategy is new and aimed at a new target audience: adult ice cream buyers. In contrast to Ben & Jerry’s, which focuses its content strategy on social activism, Blue Bunny has chosen to hone in on the fun nature of ice cream. Their new ad campaign reinvents their mascot, Blu the Bunny. It introduces him as a fun-loving friend urging adults to stop being so serious and “give in to the bunny.” This light-hearted content strategy is:
- Promoting its standard line of ice cream as a way to “give in to the bunny” who pulls pranks around the house
- Promoting its high-protein, low sugar brand Chilly Cow as a way to balance out an overly restrictive, too-healthy diet that lacks fun or flavor.
Blue Bunny ice cream has a whimsical approach to content strategy that will resonate with fun-loving consumers.
If you are interested in learning more about content strategy and how to craft an effective content strategy for your business, reach out to Web Content Development today.