Who doesn’t love Ben & Jerry’s ice cream? I know I do. Chunky Monkey in particular -yum! [Chunky Monkey is one of close to 50 Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavors. It has a base of creamy banana ice cream which is blended with walnuts and chocolate fudge. Oh – bring it on]
The story of Ben & Jerry’s starts in 1978, when childhood friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, two dramatic underachievers, opened an ice cream store in a renovated gas station in South Burlington, Vermont, USA. The company had a bit of a hippie approach to business, but flourished so fast that in 2000 it was overwhelmed by a generous $330 million offer by Unilever and got sold. Good thing: they were able to keep their philosophies and ways of working intact, delivering wonderful ice cream to the world. Unilever controls the financial and operational envelop, but Ben & Jerry kept control over the business, leadership and brand, with an independent Board of Directors. The hippie part of the business goes as follows. At the end of every month, the founders would ask themselves : “how much have we improved the quality of life in the community?” To date, B&J’s mission statement talks about a company that integrates product quality with economic success and social responsibility. They’ve preserved a strategy of slow and steady growth; not too fast, not too slow. Successfully. Here are 3 important building blocks of their business, and of their brand:
1] Quality first, and not just any quality
Ben & Jerry’s have always set a high standard when it comes to the quality of their products. They understand that a differentiated, exceptionally high quality product can command a good premium, and hence nothing but all-natural, above-market-price ingredients and innovative flavors are their way of operating. They crowdsource instead of market research. In 1981 Time magazine hailed Ben and Jerry’s as ‘The best ice cream in the world.’
2] Quirkiness as brand identity
Ben & Jerry’s brand is all about quirkiness and surprise. From the flavor names (Chubby Hubby, Wavy Gravy, Phish Food to Chunky Monkey), to the brand philosophy. If it ain’t fun, then why do it? is high on their values list, and you can feel that in the brand. Their overall corporate mantras also trickle through in the brand. In their book, “Double Dip,” Ben states that “Modern marketing is a process whereby faceless, nameless, valueless corporations hire marketers to determine what the consumer would like their brand to be, and then fabricate an image that corresponds. But they still only get a sliver of the market, because their made-up story isn’t any more appealing than the next. With values-led marketing you just go out there and say who you are. You don’t have to fool people to sell them your product” – something to think about! They create a wondrous world every day. With that also comes their fabulous design story [that wasn’t even an expensive exercise – Ben & Jerry hired a local artist to design cartoons and graphics; fits their mission of intertwining the business with the community]. Important addition, from what I can see: quirkiness never goes at the cost of authenticity, core the B&J brand values.
3] A company that embraced novel marketing from the start.
Ben & Jerry’s also uses social channels to facilitate consumer participation in many aspect of the brand and innovation, both online and offline. Their website home page is sort of a “jumping board”, branched out in a smart way to their Twitter and Facebook pages! They have apps such as their iPhone application, the Scoop of Happiness (how cool does that sound?), etc. Consumers can influence their menus in their stores, the next big launch, and interact with the company in cool ways. Their fans can post their own photos to the website, with a Fan Foto of the week honored on Facebook . Social media deployed in a nice way. Not bad for a couple of underachievers making ice cream. The center of their thinking is “how can we celebrate the fans and the product in a modern way” -or something of that sort.
TAKE-AWAYS
1- GO FOR EXTRAORDINARY! “Fly with the eagles, don’t scratch with the chickens” comes to mind when I think of Ben & Jerry’s. They wanted to stand out, be different, stay different.
2- SURPRISE. Core to their philosophy, Ben & Jerry’s surprise with whatever they do. They are creative in everything they do. Childishly creative.
3- BE SOCIAL. By that I don’t mean go social media. They have philanthropy, doing good to the community, real life as mantras. Commendable.
4- BE MONOPOLISTIC. Ben & Jerry’s operate their business as if there are no competitors (although there are many), hence putting them outside of the pack. That sets a very different tone to the business than being tangled in beating or catching up with competition.
The Result
An icon. Period.
Thanks for stopping by and reading this article! Let me know what you think – here, on twitter (@kurtfrenier), on facebook, or on LinkedIn. Kurt.
