Hershey's Releases Chocolate Gadgets (Well, Sort of)

by Warren Riddle on March 2, 2009 at 05:52 PM

In a move destined to create an uproar among chocoholics and anyone else who suffers from chocohol abuse, Hershey has announced a partnership with Jazwares to release chocolate-themed gadgets, including USB drives, speakers and cameras.

The USB drives will not only come in the form of assorted Hershey's miniatures, including Krackel, Goodbar, and the old-fashioned chocolate bar, but also as Twizzlers and Bubble Yum. They will be available with 1 to 4 gigabytes of storage capacity, and will range in price from $14.99 to $29.99. The partnership will also release Jolly Rancher speakers and a Hershey's Kiss digital camera.

All of this begs only one question, though. How long until your company's IT guy has to clean chocolate out of someone's USB port?

Update: We just heard from our friends over at TUAW about these absurd Ice Pod (get it?) ice cream bars. [From: Walyou]

Comments

AmandaMar 3rd 2009 9:31AM

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This is a cute idea.

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blongerMar 15th 2009 3:14PM

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There is no doubting Hershey’s success as a chocolatier over the last century, but does this recent brand extension hinder that image?

There will always be pro’s and con’s to extending a brand. On one hand Hershey’s can be said to be moving away from its hundred year history which can have a negative impact, whilst on the other it can positively be seen as reinventing itself in an imaginative
way. In this particular case it could however be about more than just extending the brand; the company is also looking to increase awareness of its chocolate through different means.

These latest releases for example will lead to some news coverage and many contrasting views. For Hershey’s this can be beneficial. Many companies spend millions of pounds on advertisements without having the desired impact. This is especially the case with long established companies using the same marketing stimulus. Consumers stop paying attention as they show signs of advertising wear-out. Many consumers also have memory lapses when it comes to advertisements, either through the tendency to forget, generalising between two brands or telescoping; where consumers cannot recall timing.These Hershey’s releases can be a new type of marketing stimulus. If they are popular they can also create repetition, as the technological device coupled with the brand imagery will be used and seen by a considerable amount of people. This will hopefully induce potential consumers to think of Hershey’s and its many products in a positive, light-hearted way.
This can also be a means of starting the process of spreading activation. This process describes when a consumer who shifts back and forth between levels of meaning is introduced with a new potential product association. We as people code any type of information as an individual belief, known as a node. A group of these combined become what is known as a preposition and these can be integrated further to become a schema.
Altogether this makes it easier to process information as a topic can be remembered through associating it with others. Consumers can now link Hershey’s as a chocolate company with other types of nodes, like technology, innovation and even webcams. All of these together give the brand more meaning and help activation amongst consumers, which could lead to greater sales for the company.

Whether the new brand extension is successful or not only time will tell, but what is true is that Hershey’s is trying something new and unique which could add to its already established brand and provide the new marketing stimulus that will attract consumers
interest.

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