Lindt Situation Analysis: The Path to Excellence

Erin Brachman, Spencer Johnson, Delaney Owen, Jayme Philp

Texas Christian University

Market Analysis

Lindt & Sprngli A.G. often known as Lindt is a member of the chocolate
confectionary industry. This industry encompasses the many different chocolate
types and brands across the globe, which nets 100 million dollars annually. The top
five companies in the industry make up 88 percent of total
sales. At the end of 2013, Hersheys company, the industry
leader, held 43 percent of the market share while Mars Inc.
held 29 percent. Nestle, Lindt & Sprngli A.G, and Russell
Stover rounded out the top five, combining for 16 percent
of the market share, a steep drop off from the industry
leaders. A major development in this industry came in the fall of 2014 when Lindt
acquired Russell Stover, which is projected to double Lindts market share, moving
them into the third spot. Mintel food and drink director of insight said, between
Lindt/Lindor, Ghirardelli, and Russell Stover, Lindt now has great coverage across
the chocolate spectrum in US (Bloom, 2015).

Lindt & Sprngli A.G is able to compete with the larger chocolate confectionery
market but Lindt considers itself to be part of the premium gourmet chocolate
industry. This analysis compares Lindt to premium gourmet industry competitors
including Ghirardelli, Godiva, and Sees (Biesada, 2014). While many markets were
impacted heavily by the
recent recession, the
chocolate market was able
to withstand any major
setbacks or drops in sales.
Actually, premium
chocolates were able to
generate 4.1 percent growth
in sales,
outpacing the industrys
overall growth. Industry
experts believe a possible
explanation for this trend is
that consumers are trying to
save money while still
indulging themselves and
others. Giving premium
chocolates as gifts or purchasing for oneself is seen as a way to splurge while still
saving rather than spending on more expensive products (Bloom, 2015).
In consumers minds, Ghirardelli ranks highest in quality right behind Lindt. Lindt
Excellence is positioned as the finest most rigorously made elegant chocolate bar,
whereas Ghirardelli is positioned is as the American Premium Chocolate Company
(Manning-Schaffel, V. 2005). Godiva is positioned as an exclusive luxury by keeping
the packaging simple and gold, another symbol of luxury. Lastly, American-made
Sees positions itself as a quaint chocolatier that provides premium chocolate;
reflecting the American Dream (Roberts, D. 2012).
Recent health and wellness trends have promoted a healthy living style, which in
turn has encouraged companies to maintain a sustainable and wholesome image.
The demand for dark chocolate, a healthier option with antioxidants, has seen an
increase within the past few years. This has led to emergence of new dark chocolate
products in the premium chocolate market. As well as the healthier chocolate
option, the movement to go green has also recently gained popularity. New
green packaging designs for various products have emerged and Lindt is one of
the companies to take advantage of this trend.
Competitor Analysis (4 Ps)
Products The product focus will be on Lindt Excellence, a premium dark chocolate
bar that comes in a variety of different flavors. Excellence is best known for the rich
cocoa percentages masterfully roasted for the most flavors. Excellence is offered in
bars that can be broken into smaller squares for consumption. Excellences biggest
competition comes from its own sibling company Ghirardelli, which also offers small
squares filled with caramel for eating. Ghirardellis advantage comes from being

individually wrapped, allowing calorie counters to feel less guilty (Chocoladefabriken

Lindt & Sprngli AG (Food), 2014).
Price Ghirardellis and Excellences prices are comparably close, in the upper 3 to
4 dollar range, while Godiva and Sees prices are much higher. This may be due to
the fact that most of Lindts products are sold in mass markets while Sees and
Godiva are more specialty products found in specialty boutiques.
Place Excellence can be found in all major retailers such as supermarkets,
specialty markets, and convenience stores. Along with being offered in their
specialty store and online, Ghirardelli is also offered at Ghirardelli Square in San
Francisco. Godiva and Sees are only offered in specialty stores and upscale
department stores making it more difficult to purchase, therefore removing sales
due to impulse buying.
Promotion Excellence promotional campaigns are sometimes lost because of the
products that fall under the Lindt line. Excellence has a considerable amount of
commercials on Network and Cable TV, most airing on the Food Network. Excellence
also uses forms of social media such as Facebook pages and YouTube accounts.

Advertising and Media Analysis

Lindt began to advertise their brand in the mid-19th century with newspaper
advertisements. These advertisements were the initial tactic in raising brand
awareness. In the mid-1950s television revolutionized the advertising industry and
the Internet revolutionized it again in the 1990s. These new media options, such as
television and the Internet, enabled Lindt to form more direct contact with the
consumer.
Lindt has placed a great deal of importance on product communication. Lindts the
main focus is on products that are already successfully established in the market.

This continuous advertising strategy that builds upon product brands has proven
successful and has resulted in a loyal customer base.
1879- Lindts brand and product
communication started to gain
prominence with the original branded
items such as the worlds first delicately
melting chocolate tablet, the Lindt Surfin.
Adjectives like unique and
unmistakable were used to appeal to
consumers added value of the companys
product in the early age of the consumer
society (Chocoladefabriken Lindt &
Sprngli AG: ANNUAL REPORT, 2013). The
packaging of the product, a black and white wrapper, was utilized to convey
confidence and was an early form of advertising.
1950s- The demand for chocolate grew rapidly in the 1950s and marketing began to
focus more on product communication. During this time many classic products were
created, such as the Cresta and Lindor tablets. Advertisements centered on
premium chocolate and finding the perfect gift for someone (Chocoladefabriken
Lindt & Sprngli AG: ANNUAL REPORT, 2013).
1980s -The Excellence tablet, of which over 300 million were sold worldwide in
2013, has now become one of the most successful products. A consistently high
rate of innovation and steady investment in marketing this product has
strengthened its market-leading position (Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprngli AG:
ANNUAL REPORT, 2013).

Mid-1990s-Present -The beginning of the most successful publicity strategy in the

companys history occurred during this period. It focused on building upon the
concepts of quality, tradition, craftsmanship, innovation, and passion. It was an
umbrella-brand campaign, which continued to gain appeal over many years, and is
still used successfully today: the Lindt Master Chocolatiers. The campaign is
universally applicable, not only in different languages but also on different platforms
such as TV or print media, at points of sale, at tasting sessions, and live shows in
Lindt Boutiques and Chocolate Cafes and at many other events (Chocoladefabriken
Lindt & Sprngli AG: ANNUAL REPORT, 2013). Additionally, in 2013 Lindt had their
Master Chocolatiers truck at the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade. This was seen by
3.5 million spectators and viewed by some 50 million Americans on television (NBC
Macy's 2013 Thanksgiving Day Parade by the Numbers). Roger Federer has been
Lindts Global ambassador since 2009. Lindt feels that he uniquely embodies its
values of quality and passion. Federers presence and dominance as a tennis star
helps Lindt establish their brand in mass markets. As ambassador, Federer attends
various events for Lindt, giving fans sweet moments to remember forever.

History of Competitors
Lindt distinguishes itself from brands such as Hersheys or Mars because it is
classified as a premium chocolate. Therefore, the brands that would receive the
most competition from Lindt are Ghirardelli, Godiva, and Sees.
Ghirardelli Advertising- Lindt & Sprngli A.G. acquired Ghirardelli in 1998, but
Ghirardelli is one of the few chocolatiers that maintains complete control over its
manufacturing parts. Ghirardelli focuses its commercials on the indulgence of their
chocolate squares, noting the tradition in their making process and quality. The
commercial usually showcases their most popular square chocolate with caramel.
Their current campaign incorporates pathos with the tagline Moments of Timeless
Pleasure (Ghirardelli Squares TV Spot 'Rendezvous, 2015).

Godiva Advertising- Godiva spends most of their advertising dollars on print ads and
outdoor ads. Godiva most notable campaign was the Golden Moment with an
estimated $4 million budget. The Golden Moment campaign was composed of
print and out-of-home advertising. Godiva used an emotional appeal, making the
moments of indulgence your Golden Moment (Elliot S, 2009). Along with their
print ad, Godiva launched the Lady Godiva Program: a form of non-traditional
advertising that falls into some sort of Corporate Social Responsibility. Lady Godiva
chooses an honoree every year that embodies an inspiring woman who gives back
to her community and has a spirit of leadership and selflessness. It had an
advertising budget of $3.5 million and is estimated to have brought in $500 million
in revenue in 2010 (Lady Godiva, 2012).

Sees Advertising- Founded in the 1920s, Sees candies offers fresh chocolate and
candies in over 200 Sees Shops. Being a smaller non-global company, they do not
spend as much money on national campaigns as the other three companies. Sees
uses radio to promote their product, mainly during peak seasons like Easter or
Valentine's Day. Despite no strict formula for their advertising, they consistently
create a sense of nostalgia through their black and white print ads (The All Inbound
Blog). Sees does take part in social media by using and maintaining a Facebook
page regularly. They have strong brand awareness in the West and the exclusivity of
purchase location that helps their brand.

Media Spending

Share of Voice & Media Mix

*Sees and Godiva are both private companies and therefore media spending data
was not available. (Lindt Competition, 2014)

Geography

It is clear that Lindt is a internationally sold product with its primary market in
Europe, accounting for about two-thirds of its total sales. Europes chocolate
consumption is on the rise with Germany consisting of 17 percent of sales, followed
by Switzerland with 13 percent of sales. Europe is followed by North America with
28 percent and other countries (Australia, South Africa) make up the rest.

In North America Lindt & Sprngli achieved organic sales growth of 13.7 percent,
which means the company is growing faster than the chocolate market as a whole,
a steady trend throughout North America (Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprngli AG:
SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT, 2014). According to Sylvia Klin, corporate communications
at Lindt, The US market is now [their] most important market sales and potentialwise for the group (Nieburg, 2014).

Google Trends
100
100
100
110
90 60
6455
60
70 4437
4746
4435
38
3635
3029
292928
28
50
27
2726
25
2524
1918
30
10

Subregion
Metro
City

Google trends offered the location of searches for lindt, based on a 0-100 scale
with 100 equaling the greatest number of searches in any particular region. The
information includes searches between January 2010 and December 2014 and was
broken down by popularity based on subregion, metro, and city. This trend of
searches is closely correlated with the sales in each given region and shows the
popularity of the chocolate on the east coast as well as the largest county size,
County size A (Fall 2013 Product, 2014), primarily in the Northeast, starting with
New Hampshire, which leads the subregion statistics with a 100 rating. In fact San
Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA was the only area west of Illinois represented in the
search data.

Timing and Seasonality

Based on an analysis of Google searches for lindt from January 2010 to December
2014 we were able to assess trends of online interest. Google Trends offered
monthly statistics on a scale of 0-100 representing the total searched term (lindt)

within the month relative to the total number of searches done on Google over time.
Seasonality Trends
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

June

July

Aug

Sept

The chart above reflects the fact that holidays such as Valentines Day, Easter,
Halloween, and Christmas provide an increase in chocolate sales. This is an area of
opportunity for Lindt as seasonal chocolate showed the highest sales gains in the
chocolate confectionery industry with $4.4 billion, making up 23.7 percent of
category sales (Albader, 2012).
Consumer

The demographic profile of Lindt consumers based on MRI+ data from the Fall 2013
Product Report on Candy, Sweets, and Snack, specifically Lindt candy bought within
the last 6 months, includes the following information. Consumption of Lindt
chocolate was most popular in women (135*), the higher household incomes, higher
house value, higher education completion, the North East region of the United
States (140*), in people with a child under 1 year old (151*), and people of Asian
race (132*). Some of the cable services that corresponded with a high level of
consumers were BBC America (158*), CLOO (159*), Discovery fit & health (134*),
Ovation (240*), PBS Kids Sprout (142*), QVC (140*), TBN (132*), and The Tennis
Channel (140*). There were several magazines that people who had consumed Lindt
in the past 6 months read including airline (175*), health (145*), home service
(144*), pets (132*), photography (213*), travel (151*), women (138*), and women
fashion magazines (157*).

Within the MRI+ data, there were two main trends that help explain the typical
consumer, the correlation between college, jobs, and money; and the high
correlation of magazine readers and Lindt chocolate consumers.

Oct

College, Job, Money

The women (135*) at the postgraduate level (167*) were the main consumers of the
Lindt Excellence bars. The higher household income levels, $75,000$149,000 and
$150,000+, were also the main consumers of the Lindt Excellence bars (133* and
131* respectively). This correlation between graduating college and high income
levels is something that should definitely be taken into account here. The idea being
that if you graduate from college, you will get a better job, and you will then be paid
more for that better job. It is known that living in big cities tends to be more
expensive than living elsewhere. This is also reflected in the MRI+ results where the
County size A (the largest 25 counties in the U.S.) results showed that consumption
was above average (116*).

Magazines
There is a positive correlation between magazine readers and consumers of Lindt
chocolate. The majority of the magazines have index numbers over 100 and even a
decently large percentage of those also had index numbers above 140. The trends
in the types of magazines consistently reflected a common interest in very
stereotypical empty nesters. The popular magazines revolved around the home
such as home service, health, pets, and fashionor around travel such as
photography and travel themed magazines.

Example Consumer
Elizabeth is a 31-year-old stay-at-home mom of two daughters, aged 2-years-old
and 3-months-old, living in Manchester, New Hampshire. Prior to having children she
graduated from Boston College with a Bachelors degree in Accounting from the
Carroll School of Management. She worked at Ernst & Young for nine years before
deciding to spend her time with her first child after going on maternity leave.
Elizabeth met her husband in college who also graduated from Boston College with
a degree in business. He now works at Merrill Lynch as the Vice President of Wealth
Management. They both enjoy traveling, specifically to South Korea to visit their
families, and spent the majority of their free time traveling before they had kids.
Luckily, Elizabeth has a strong passion for photography and they have several
albums and prints of their travels around their house. Due to the young age of her
children, the one thing Elizabeth especially enjoys is the simple pleasure of reading
her various magazine subscriptions, such as Elle or Travel + Leisure while her kids
are napping. You can often find Elizabeth switching on PBS Kids for her oldest
daughter to watch while she gets ready in the morning and she waits for their
nanny to arrive at the house. One thing she cannot wait to do is lose the baby
weight from her second child so you can often find her at a yoga class or the tennis
court with her friends.

SWOT Analysis

High Global Brand Awareness

(Internationally known)
Strong financial base
Seasonal Purchases are increasing
Recyclable Packaging

Strengths
Opportunities

Weaknesses
Brand differentiation is unclear (main
competitor is under the same parent
company)
Price is relatively higher than nonpremium brands

Swot
Analysis

Room for growth in new markets

Tennis phenom Roger Fererer as a
global ambassador

Increased health awareness

Thriving premium chocolate
competitors

Threats

References
Albader, K. (2012, May 1). Chocolate segment revs up growth. Retrieved March 2,
2015, from http://www.candyindustry.com/articles/85161-chocolate-segment-revsup-growth

Biesada, A. (2014, December 1). Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprngli AG. Retrieved
February 25, 2015.

Bloom, B. (2015, February 1). Chocolate Confectionery - US - February 2015.

Retrieved February 25, 2015, from
http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.tcu.edu/display/716445/#

Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprngli AG (Food). annual report of Lindt & Sprngli.
(2014, January 1). Retrieved from Warc. February 25, 2015.

Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprngli AG: ANNUAL REPORT. (2013). Retrieved

February 23, 2015, from http://www.lindt-

spruengli.com/fileadmin/user_upload/corporate/user_upload/Medias/Publications/20
13.pdf

Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprngli AG: SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT. (2014, August 19).
Retrieved March 1, 2015, from http://www.six-swissexchange.com/issuers/services/tensid_news_en.html?id=0e04e822

Elliot, S. (2009, November 16). Godiva Rides in a New Direction. Retrieved February
28, 2015, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/business/media/16adnewsletter1.html?
pagewanted=all&_r=1&

EXCELLENCE. (n.d.). Retrieved March 3, 2015, from

http://www.lindtusa.com/shop/lindt-excellence

Fall 2013 Product: Candy/Sweets/Snacks, Candy (Regular Or King Size),

Bought/Last 6 Months Lindt. MRI+ Mediamark Internet Reporter. Accessed February
27, 2015. http://www.mriplus.com/.

Ghirardelli Squares TV Spot 'Rendezvous. (2015, December 1). Retrieved February

28, 2015, from http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7LJ7/ghirardelli-squares-rendezvous

Google Trends - Web Search interest - Worldwide, 2004 - present. (n.d.). Retrieved
March 2, 2015, from
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=lindt&geo=US&date=1/2010
60m&cmpt=q&tz
Lindt Competition. (2014) Advertising Spending 2014, January through December.
Retrieved from Ad$pender database.

Macy's 2013 Thanksgiving Day Parade by the Numbers. (n.d.). Retrieved March 3,
2015, from http://www.nbcbayarea.com/multimedia/NATL-Macys-2013-ThanksgivingDay-Parade-By-The-Numbers-233337421.html

Manning-Schaffel, V. (2005, January 25). Ghirardelli. Retrieved February 25, 2015,

from http://www.brandchannel.com/features_webwatch.asp?ww_id=211

Nieburg, O. (2014, March 14). Lindt shores up 'most important' US market with
factory expansion. Retrieved March 1, 2015, from
http://www.confectionerynews.com/Manufacturers/Lindt-shores-up-most-importantUS-market-with-factory-expansion

Roberts, D. (2012, September 3). The secrets of See's Candies. Retrieved February
28, 2015, from http://fortune.com/2012/08/22/the-secrets-of-sees-candies/

The All Inbound Blog. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2015, from

http://www.barrettrossie.com/portfolio/sees-candies/

The Lady GODIVA Program. (2012, January 1). Retrieved March 2, 2015, from
http://www.godiva.com/experience-godiva/LadyGodivaProgam_RichArticle.html

Lindt Phase 2: How to Achieve to Excellence

Erin Brachman, Spencer Johnson, Delaney Owen, Jayme Philp
Texas Christian University

Problem Statement
As a brand, Lindt is lost in translation in comparison to its larger competitors. It does
not have a distinct place in the market, which contributes to low brand awareness.
The Lindt marketing team needs to develop a campaign theme or anthem which
serves as a flexible outline, and can be altered to fit the changing creative and
current trends. With the flexible outline and continuing communication, ideas and
brand perceptions will develop amongst consumers. This will establish a unique
space for Lindt in the market, allowing it to distinguish itself from competitors.
Lindts identity is not clearly defined to consumers, which is why consumer-brand
dialogue is essential through the incorporation of new media.
An additional identification issue Lindt deals with is the misconception that it is the
same quality chocolate as Hersheys and Nestle. Despite similar purchase locations,
Lindt is actually a step higher than these lower quality chocolates. It is considered a
premium chocolate and therefore its price higher than other lower quality chocolate
brands. This is a perceptual obstacle that Lindt deals with and will need to
overcome.

Target Audience
Objective:
To target 35 to 54 year old working adults with a college education or higher, who
are single or married with children, and live in a mid to high-class town or in a
suburban environment.
Strategy & Rationale:
Target audience demographic and psychology:
Our target audience includes adults ages 35-54 in the middle to high class, which is
mostly made up of upscale and wealthy families with children. Our audience tends
to not live in the city but rather lives in suburban or town/rural areas. The
employment levels are mainly on the management level, which can be associated
with their academic achievement (college degree or higher). The ethnicities of this
audience include mainly White and Asian adults, with select markets including
Hispanic adults as well (PRIZM, Segment Explorer).
Their lifestyle revolves around their children and family activities. This is reflected
through the most popular model of car being an SUV (Mercedes, Chevy, Mazda,
GMC). This also is shown through their choice of vacation destinations, which are
family oriented. Beaches, amusement parks, ski resorts, and national parks are
among our target audiences desired destinations. Following the outdoors trend of
the vacation destinations, their preference for magazines also has a parallel trend of
including content that revolves around the outdoors (National Geographic, Shape,
and Outside). When it comes to their choice of television programs, network TV is
the most prevalent (PRIZM, Segment Explorer).
Target audience behavior
Figure 1 (refer to appendix) demonstrates the target audiences thought process
leading up to the purchase of a Lindt product. It includes the five stages of a
consumer behavior when making purchase decisions.
Target Audience Media Habits
PMN Grids Analysis:
During the workweek and during lunch are the heaviest media usage times,
followed by after dinner to the late evening. The most used media are mobile and
television which are close in their rating and significantly more prevalent than any
other media. During the weekend, the majority of our target audience uses media
shortly after waking up, after dinner, and in the mid to late morning. They tend to
use mobile, television, and the web during these times.
Our target audience tends to use more media during the week than on the
weekend, yet the top medium (mobile) is identical during the weekdays and on the
weekend. The reasoning for the increase in media usage during the week is because
they often have a schedule to follow for their work routine. Many jobs require the
use of media throughout the day and also require information seeking before and
after hours of work. When we combine the after dinner and late evening time

periods, it proves to be the most media filled time. Then when combining data from
weekdays and weekends, mobile is the most used medium.
Brand Contact Audit:
Lindt ranked in the top three premium chocolate brands purchased from the results
in our brand contact audit. Adults chocolate purchases were made in grocery stores
and superstores with a few purchasing chocolate in department stores as well.
When it comes to the perception of Lindt, the words that come to mind are about
holidays (specifically Valentines day) and the taste (rich, creamy, smooth, quality).
There also were a few responses with the term happiness. When asked about the
importance of the purchase location to the value of the brand, our target audience
tends to believe this is not of importance; however, the Lindt image is consistently
on the neutral to positive side. When asked what stood out in the advertisements,
the major theme was that the candy has to look good, the color of the ads, and the
benefits of consuming the product.

Creative Brief
Product/Brand to be advertised
Lindt Excellence
Why are we advertising/communicating?
Lindt is a global brand with an estimated 12% brand awareness. Lindts goal
in advertising/communicating is to increase identity among its main
competitors as a premium chocolate in order to increase awareness.
Who is our target? (Demographic characteristics, lifestyle)
A Lindt Excellence target user is a 35 to 54 year old working adult with a
college education or higher, who are single or married with children, and lives
in a mid to high class town or in a suburban environment.
What do they currently think? (attitude or perception)
Lindt Excellence is well known with its target audiences. Excellence is
recognized as a premium chocolate brand and offers an alternative healthier
option to traditional sweets.
What do we want them to think of us/the brand/the idea? (future perception)
Lindt Excellence is a premium chocolate brand, as well as the most desirable
within the category. It portrays the consumer as sophisticated and aware of
self-image and status.
Who is our competition? (direct, indirect, within/outside the category)
Lindt Excellence is a complex brand that competes with industry giants like
Hershey's, Nestle and Mars Inc., as well as premium chocolate brands like
Sees, Ghirardelli, and Godiva.
What is the single most persuasive idea we can convey?
Marketing techniques will focus on conveying Lindt Excellence as the highest
quality or degree of chocolate baras well as a chocolate bar rich in tradition
and consistency. Lindt excellence is a symbol of class and prestige.
What tone of voice should we use?
Excellence is an indulgent and luxurious brand that focuses on offering the
most superlative chocolate to its customers. The tone should convey
confidence, passion and maturity while also being prestigious.
Are there any executional (media) mandatories?
Excellence does not have any media mandatories that are needed to
advertise the brand. Some media, however, are more preferred to reflect the
message more efficiently, such as point of purchase advertising.

Objective, Strategies, and Rationales

Media objectives, strategies, and rationales
Overarching Objectives
To increase brand awareness by 10% to achieve an overall 22% aided
awareness.
To create a sustainable campaign theme.
To differentiate Lindt Excellence as a premium chocolate brand from nonpremium chocolate brands.

Media mix
Traditional Media
Television
Objective:
To increase the awareness of Lindt among the target audience of adults ages 35-54.
Use a mix of national broadcast, print and out of home media, with emphasis on
billboard use in 5 spot markets in emphasize brand personality.
Strategy & Tactic:
The ads will be featured during prime time while both working parents and stay at
home parents are watching TV. Utilize ABC and Food Network because these
networks reach a large part of our target demographic. Place 20 billboards in our
selected target spot markets during February, March, and December. These
billboards will increase awareness throughout peak seasonal months. The billboards
will use rich color and show indulgent pictures of chocolate that showcases the Lindt
Excellences brand personality. Place full page, four-color advertisements in
magazines such as Outside, Inc. and Shape. We will place 60 to 90 units, depending
on the month, for February, March, and December. (See flow chart and Seasonality
and Timing for more information.)
Rationale:
Television has the ability to communicate to a large audience at the same time.
Television programs that air at night are most likely to be watched by adults who
hold buying power. This is also the time period that would typically be post-dinner
when adults might be looking for a dessert food. Network TV offers a wide range of
programming options where ads are most likely to be viewed by specific target
audience segments. We chose ABC based on our research from PRIZM. With cable
TV you further reach your target segment more narrowly, tailoring the message all
the way down to specific zip codes. Our audience has an MRI+ Index of 106 for Food
Network. Audience members who see our advertisements on Food Network already
show an interest in premium foods as well as desserts, meaning they are more likely
to receive the ads positively. Using TV we can appeal to multiple senses in our
target audience with a combination of rich color and sounds to make Lindt chocolate
look delectable.
Billboards are a cost effective way to reach a large audience with large, eyecatching advertisements, especially if placed correctly along busy highways and
streets (Robertson, T.). According to MRI+ Quantile V has an Index of 113. We can
specifically customize which spot locations to be next to grocery stores and other
locations that sell Lindt Excellence chocolates, therefore increasing the impulse buy.
The billboards will use beautiful images of the product and its ingredients. The
billboards will show dark rich colors to reflect Excellences rich flavor and luxurious
images. It is also a channel to push consumers towards our social media sites and
chocolate boutiques.
Similar to billboards, magazine ads allow for the use of imagery and text to target
the audienceonly on a smaller scale. While they are smaller, they create a better
quality image and are often viewed as less intrusive than radio or television ads that
interrupt programming. Folio Magazine reports that a Ball State University study

showed that when consumers use magazines, they are the primary or exclusive
medium 85% of the time. Magazines have a longer life span since many consumers
hold on to magazines for extended periods of time; therefore, the ad we place in
them will be around for a while. Print publications consistently deliver high-quality,
reliable content develop credibility with their readers. Businesses capitalize on
something called the "halo effect" to use the credibility of publications to their own
advantage (Dontigney, E.).
(Figure 4)
Vehicle

Circulation

Index

Inc.

683,824

117

Outside

686,719

146

National Geographic

4,495,931

141

(MRI+, 2013)
Non-traditional Media
Point of Purchase #1
Objective:
To attract consumers through the use of store displays in order to increase brand
awareness and interest at point of purchase.
Tactic:
Use a familiar famous face (Roger Federer) to spark an interest at point of purchase.
There will be a life-sized cardboard cutout of Roger Federer displaying the chocolate
bar. There also will be a sign that encourages the consumer to pick up the chocolate
bar, upon which a Federer voice recording plays to promote the product.
Rationale:
Roger Federer is the brand ambassador to Lindt and his likeness helps Lindt to reach
a broader audience than just people who are heavy consumers of chocolate. Our
target audience has a large amount of people who enjoy tennis, therefore, they can
identify with this tennis star. Using Federer demands attention of people passing by
so even if a shopper does not purchase a Lindt product they are still aware of the
brand by creating an image that will stay in a potential consumers mind. The
display is interactive to create interest and promote consumer action (to pick up the
chocolate and purchase it). This point of purchase idea is also cost effective
compared to other media and easy to assemble.
Point of Purchase #2
Objective:
To use point of purchase store displays as a recreation of a traditional Lindt store,
therefore reinforcing the brand image of tradition.
Tactic:
This is an aisle end cap design that features shelves and multiple signs/posters. The
display will have side panels that display an external image of a historic chocolate

store/factory. The shelving in the center of the display is in the form of a glass case,
commonly found in old chocolate stores. The glass case will be part of the
background poster and the shelves will be laid out aligned on this image. Then
behind the case there is an image of what the rest of the store would have looked
like. Pending the stores approval, there will be a chandelier made of 3D cardboard
shapes hanging from the ceiling.
Rationale:
Lindt Excellence is a premium chocolate that should be associated with
handcrafted, top of the line chocolate. One of our goals was to emphasize the
legacy, authenticity, and the tradition of the company. We wanted to encompass the
feel of one of Lindts original stores. By putting the products in an image of the
original store, we are replicating the original experience. This gives a heightened
sense of oneness with the brand and its legacy.
Social Media
Objective:
To increase conversation and encourage interaction between the brand and the
consumer, by utilizing popular social media accounts, leading to more brand loyalty
and advocacy.
Tactic:
Lindt Excellence will set up individual Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest
accounts during a yearlong campaign to hold a constant conversation. These
accounts will promote upcoming events and welcome feedback from customers
about their Lindt experience. All of our traditional media will direct consumers to our
social media pages where they can create a connection with the brand.
Rationale:
Social media aims to create conversation with consumers and maintain it, which is
one of Lindts marketing objectives. Social media has a beneficial, humanizing
quality that is a result of having a readily available communication channel.
According to a report published by Texas Tech University, brands that engage on
social media channels enjoy higher loyalty from their customers. Social media also
enhances brand recognition by creating opportunities to increase visibility to
potential consumers. According to Hubspot, social media accounts are also cost
beneficial in that 84% of marketers found as little as six hours of effort per week
was enough to generate increased traffic. In the scheme of Lindts budget, paying
for six hours of work is not a significant investment for a channel as large as social
media (DeMers, J.).

Reach/Frequency
Objective:
This campaign will focus on optimizing the reach to increase the brand awareness of
Lindt Excellence. This will be done by achieving a 70/3 reach/frequency nationally
during all months except for February, March, and December when the
reach/frequency will peak at 80/4. Spot markets will aim for an 85/4.5
reach/frequency in selected months.
Rationale:
We picked a reach of 70 and higher because this is a moderate level of reach
coupled with a frequency of 3 and greater. We formed these parameters based on
our analysis of the Ostrow Model and feel that these are sufficient goals to achieve
our marketing objectives (Ostrow, Joseph W.). The reason we picked a higher reach
than frequency is because Lindt is already an established brand so the awareness
stage can be minimized. Most consumers already know about Lindt, so a lower level
of frequency is still effective. We chose to optimize reach because we have seasonal
opportunities to increase sales. The increased months include February, March, and
December because these months include holidays that rely on chocolate purchases
(Valentines Day, Easter, and Christmas).

Geography
Objective:
To increase awareness and interest of Lindt Excellence nationally as well as in more
focused spot markets to ultimately increase sales.
Strategy:
Use a national plan with a few spot markets. We will use an offensive strategy since
we are promoting the brand. The following are our spot markets, which are chosen
based on target audience lifestyle and social information.
Spot Markets:
o Albany, New York
o Boston, Massachusetts
o Columbus, Ohio
o Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
o San Francisco, California
Rationale:
We chose to form a national based plan and this is reflected through the only .5
increase in frequency for the spot markets. We think that the issue at hand is more
of a perception issue rather than an awareness issue so it is better to target the US
population as a whole rather than just the spot markets. There already is a high
consistency of Lindt consumers in the Northeast, so we focused on a few cities
there, but only if they offer an opportunity for growth. We then expanded the spot
markets to include areas on the West Coast and through the Midwest. The spot
markets that we chose were selected through research on PRIZM and the case study
on Media Flight Plan. We selected the social and lifestyle groups that fit in our target
audience and then found out where the highest percentage of these people live,
which are the areas that make up our spot markets.

Scheduling/Timing
Objective:
To increase the awareness of Lindt Excellence among the target audience during
key months (February, March, and December) with an 85/4.5 reach/frequency
achieved. Network and Cable TV will be running throughout the campaign and in a
flighting schedule. Television commercials will run in the evenings when the
greatest amount of our target audience is watching TV.
Strategy:
Use an increase in media during the peak months of February, March, and
December. These months all include holidays that rely on chocolate purchases
(Valentines Day, Easter, and Christmas). We will plan to air commercials on Monday
through Thursday. For billboards we will only advertise in spot markets during
February, March, and December. Social media will on a continuous schedule for the
whole campaign. The magazine advertising that we will do will be based off of
the peak months as well on a flighted schedule to connect with the TV commercials.
Rationale:
We will only air commercials on Monday through Thursday in order to not interfere
with the weekend nights when fewer people are watching TV due to weekend plans.
Not only did we pick our peak months to follow the increase in chocolate
consumption, but also due to the quarters the holidays fall in. We start the
campaign off strong with an increase in advertising in the first quarter and then
finish strong with an increase in advertising in the last quarter.

Sales Promotion Ideas

Facebook Share for Free Trip
Objective:
To support a national advertising campaign through a Facebook photo sharing
promotional program that will increase social media awareness of Lindt.
Strategy:
We will post on Facebook explaining to our followers how the promotional campaign
work. Users will share a photo of themselves interacting with Lindt as well as a
rationale as to why they deserve the chance to make chocolate with Lindt Master
Chocolatiers. One winner will be chosen at the end of December, and will be given
an all-inclusive trip for four to Switzerland. Once there they will get a tour of Lindt's
Factory and the once in a lifetime opportunity to make chocolate with the masters.
This campaign will run from October 15th through December 15th, with the winner
announced on December 16th.
Rationale:
A free trip is something the majority of the population would be interested in. We
chose to use Facebook as the promotional platform because the 35-54 year old
population tends to use Facebook over any other social media platform. This will
increase the amount of social media interaction. This also changes the users
experience with Excellence since it is something they have never experienced
before with the brand.
Loyalty Program
Objective:
To provide an incentive for consumers to continuously purchase bars and interact
with the brand, while promoting brand loyalty through the use of rewards programs.
Strategy:
After every fifth purchase of a Lindt Excellence bar, the consumer will receive one
for free. After the consumer achieves the 5 bar reward 5 times, they are entered to
win the Switzerland vacation. This program will be featured in Target stores so that
we establish a relationship with them. This will only run in quarters three and four of
the year.
Rationale:
We want to develop further benefits and incentive for our frequent consumers so
that they remain loyal to the brand. We decided to collaborate with Target because
it is the store of choice for our target audience. Target is one of their primary
shopping locations, given that our target audience is upper-middle-class and that
Target can be considered a higher level "superstore" in comparison to Walmart or
Kmart.

Works Cited
DeMers, J. (2014, August 11). The Top 10 Benefits Of Social Media Marketing.
Retrieved April 15, 2015.
Dontigney, E. (n.d.). The Advantages of Print Advertisements. Retrieved April 15,
2015,
Lindt Chocolate Case. Media Flight Plan 7 Ground School. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
http://mediaflightplan.com/student/gs.php
Ostrow, Joseph W. by personal permission. First published in Setting Frequency
Levels, in Effective Frequency: The State of the Art. Copyright 1982.
PRIZM, Segment Explorer. (Data Reported for Neilson). Retrieved April 7, 2015.
Robertson, T. (n.d.). The Advantages & Disadvantages of Billboards As an
Advertisement Tool. Retrieved April 15, 2015.

Appendix
(Figure 3) Brand Contact Audit

(Figure 2) PMN Weekend Totals:

Watched TV

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(Figure 3) PMN Weekday Totals:

Watched TV

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During
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Mid to
late
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g
During
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Early to
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es

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ny

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