Excellent Marketing Initiatives by Ferrero

Introduction

Necessity is the mother of invention. Successful companies are born because they understand the situation. Your product might be excellent and the most technologically advanced in the market, but it will not sell in the market if it is not helping customers solve their problems. The same is applicable while advertising and marketing the product as well. If the ads by the company are not hitting the right nerve, customers will not be motivated to purchase the product or know about the brand. Ferrero as a brand has been successful because it understands what customers want and what will motivate them to make the purchase, disregarding the price.

In this article, we will be understanding the development of Ferrero as a brand and the excellent marketing initiatives by Ferrero.

Image 1 − Transparent box with many Ferrero Rocher isolated on white, chocolates with crunchy wafer shell and hazelnut filled with chocolate wrapped in golden paper.

The Birth and Growth Trajectory of Ferrero

Ferrero, as a brand, has always focused on understanding market sentiments, reading global trends, and providing its customers with the best quality products. Ferrero started in Italy with a small pastry shop. After World War II, it became difficult for Italy to import chocolate, and the import charges were also high.

To satisfy the customer's demands for something sweet, Pietro Ferrero mixed 50% chocolate with 50% hazelnut (readily and easily available in Alba) and created the sweet Ferrero for its customers.

Ferrero started in 1946 and gradually developed in the confectionary world in Alba, then started its operation in major countries like Europe, India, Australia, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, France, Rican, Ecuadorian, and others. Ferrero is a brand that has been taken ahead by the Ferrero family, and today it is the 22nd most valuable brand in the world. Ferrero has more than 18 factories installed worldwide and more than 25000 people associated with the brand and working for it.

The most popular products of the Ferrero brand are −

• Ferrero Rocher

• Nutella

• Kinder Joy eggs

• Tic Tac, and others.

Image 2 −  Nutella (Attribution −  ajay_suresh, Nutella (50995087661), CC BY 2.0)

Ferrero offerings are consumed by consumers at all times of the day, starting from breakfast to dessert at dinner. The key to Ferrero’s success is quality and community development. Before entering any market, Ferrero ensures that they have enough supplies to serve the customers through retail outlets and that the customers in that region will be satisfied with the product offering.

The major competitors of Ferrero in the Indian market are Lindt, Cadbury, Nestle, and others.

Marketing Initiatives by Ferrero

Ferrero has always understood what the customer might need or demand before developing their products or marketing them. Following are some of the excellent marketing initiatives by Ferrero:

Being Customer-Sensitive and Analyzing The Global Market

Ferrero has a team of internal customers who will first consume the product and then rate it accordingly, on the basis of which the company will understand if their product standard is equal to how customers weigh the product.

The first expansion that Ferrero did was in Germany because it understood that customers there enjoyed the exotic chocolates. When Ferrero entered India, they realized that there was no market for premium chocolates as the customers were very price-sensitive. Even though the brand did not reduce the quality of the product or the price and strived to develop the market for premium cosmetics. As of now, more than 27% of the chocolate market is premium chocolate, and of that 27%, Ferrero owns more than 6 percent.

Marketing Through Social Causes

Ferrero as a brand not only invests but also promotes the social reforms that many individuals take for the betterment of society.

Ferrero is involved in the following −

• Ferrero is associated with food banks that distribute food and groceries to the needy.

• Ferrero makes a lot of donations to feed the hungry.

• Ferrero supports Brainwave, a charity supporting pediatric neuroscience.

• Ferrero introduced pink Tic Tac to celebrate as well as spread awareness about breast cancer during Pink Month, along with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF).

• Ferrero only buys coca from farmers who are not involved in child labor while producing coca.

• Ferrero also has a stake in forest conservation.

• Ferrero has also combated childhood obesity since 2008 and introduced Nutella to ensure that children have a well-balanced and healthy breakfast. It also took a pledge not to use children in the advertisement of Nutella as children are very sensitive and will overconsume the product.

Marketing as a Premium Brand and the Experience

Ferrero understood that the only way they can sell premium chocolate is by advertising the experience that the consumer would have if they consumed the product and how it can be used for gifting purposes. The functionality of the product was totally ignored. In many advertisements for Ferrero Rocher, you will see that the focus is on making your moments golden by having Ferrero Rocher. Along with this, other products like Nutella or Tic Tac also focus on having the product together with friends and family and having a light-hearted and fun experience while consuming the product.

Sponsorships by Ferrero

Ferrero as a brand promotes regular exercise, a balanced diet, and a healthy lifestyle. To convey this message to the larger public, Ferrero sponsored the Football Federation of Australia and the Socceroos, the Australian national soccer team. It wanted to convey the positive association that the brand has with the most popular sports in the country. As a result, sales and the household penetration rate of Nutella increased from 15.1% to 16.3% in Australia.

Community Growth

Ferrero will only gather its raw materials from places that can grow the residents in the best possible manner and will ensure to use of the local people to perform the duties necessary for ensuring development in the area. Not only the infrastructure develops, but also the locals can get a better-paying job.

Ferrero as a brand is living up to its standards and has been heavily involved in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for community development. Growing with people is the only growth that matters, and Ferrero stands by that notion.

Conclusion

The emphasis of Ferrero, as a company, is on serving its customers quality products with integrity, freshness, and innovativeness. Ferrero took 2 years to launch 3 products in Australia because the products were not meeting the premium standards set by the brand. Ferrero SpA brand represents the fact that customers will not only purchase, but will be delighted with the product if the company is providing it. Companies have to understand how the market operates and how they can serve the customer best with their products. They are ready to go, but they need products that will exceed their expectations and give them an unforgettable experience.