CHOCOLATE WAR "HERSHEY VS MARS"

Tommy Andika
Graduate Student of Master Program Management
School of Business (www.mb.ipb.ac.id)
Bogor Agriculture University (www.ipb.ac.id))

MARKETING CLASS
Lecturer
Prof. Dr. Ir. Ujang Sumarwan, M.Sc.
www.sumarwan.staff.ipb.ac.id, sumarwan@mb.ipb.ac.id
Dr. Ir. Hartoyo, M.Sc.
Dr. Ir. Dodik Nur Rachmat, M.Sc.F.
Dr. Kirbrandoko, M.S.M.
Dr. Ir. Mukhammad Najib, M.M.


A video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVmWfTSr9Fk in 48 minutes about chocolate war between Hershey and Mars have gave us a knowledge about how competitiveness in business specially marketing challenge.

7P marketing mix perspective about chocolate wars :

1.   Products

·     Hershey and Mars always developing new products to match what the customer need. Start from branding, taste, packaging, until the product resistance to temperature. For example in world war I in the middle east, Hershey supply military chocolate “desert bar” that resistance to temperatur until 60 degree Celcius which is usually just 30 degree Celcius.

·     Branding strategy, hershey using company name strategy in their products, while Mars using individual branding strategy in their products (Mars, Milky Way, Snickers, Three Musketeers, M&M’s, dll.)

2.    Price

Price show the cost of products plus profit margin that accepted by company. In video no specific tell us about the product price in their products but some company like Godiva in now days make a premium price to their products and build the chocolate cafe/store to increase value added and sell product more.

3.    Place

·     Hershey and Mars use several distribution channel start level zero until level three tosell their products over the world.

·     Both Hershey and Mars have delivered their products to supermarket and candy store to make customer easy buy it. Even when country war they distribute the products to military as food supplies in the battlefield.

·     Some of the smaller chocolate company like Godiva just use level zero distribution channel with cafe or chocolate store.

4.    Promotion

·     Both Hershey and Mars have promoting their products in newspaper, magazine, pamphlet, but Mars is the first company use television to promoting chocolate and its make Mars to be Market leader.

·     Mars decided to stop buying chocolate from hershey and its make big effect to hershey business. But Hershey can rise with differentiation product and promoting to movie in Hollywood. E.T movie make hershey products sales increase significant.

5.    People

Hershey and Mars have different personal character. In side of business, Hershey isnot agressive to running their business, not profit oriented and more do social responsibility program. Its proven by no marketing division at that time. In other side Mars, so agressive in running the business and big ambition to be market leader. Proven when Mars stop cooperation with hershey in buying chocolate to M&M products.

6.    Process

Milton Hershey need about 8 years to make a good taste chocolate milk. Technology give big advantages  in chocolate process. Now days big company have used modern technology to make chocolate. Its standardized an computerized and make better quality of products than manually process. Modern technology make production increase fastly and efficient cost.

7.    Physical Evidence

·     School of Hershey is one of the physical evidence. Its have an important role to developing hershey generation.

·     Pabric expansion, both Hershey and Mars have grow up and hold over 70 percent market share in US. Of course, building more are needed.