When designing a marketing strategy, it is important to distinguish between one’s users and one’s customers. Though it is obviously necessary to deliver a product that satisfies the target audience, if the value proposition is not conveyed to the person(s) who drives the purchasing decision, the marketing effort will not be successful.
Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, the brand behind destinations like Hersheypark, confidently believes its product appeals to the active American family. Including fun amusement park attractions, entertainment venues and dining options, Hershey’s arsenal of properties provides a sensible, welcoming opportunity for families to vacation without abandoning the closeness and thirst for wholesome fun they so often seek—and sometimes struggle—to maintain.
Parenthood is often mocked as a non-refundable ticket to sacrifice one’s own time and interests for the impulsive, needy requests of children. And with gratuitous access to chocolate and plenty of roller coasters and water attractions, the Hersheypark property seems tailor-made for children who like tugging on their parents’ purses, wallets and senses of patience in order to consistently get what they want.
It would thus seem intuitive that a successful marketing strategy would revolve around courting children and teens. If Hershey were to get the youth demographic excited about its resort destinations, it would prompt them to beg and plead until the health of the parents’ eardrums required them to comply and plan a trip to Hersheypark.
The obvious youth appeal of Hershey notwithstanding, kids, it turns out, are not the target of the brand’s promotional message.
Rather, Hershey believes the key to attracting the active, all-American family lies with "moms."
According to Lisa Hultquist, associate vice president, marketing and brand integration for Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, all empirical and anecdotal insights confirm the family matriarch as the decision-maker when it comes to trip-planning.
Make friends with the mom, welcome a new family into the theme park!
But targeting the "mom" customer is not about speaking directly to her pleasures. Hershey does not overly emphasize its spa services to attract those mothers looking for luxury nor does it get overly aggressive with discounting to attract those mothers striving for frugality. Instead, it sells her on the benefit her entire family will experience.
The "mom" customer is technically selfless, seeing her role as the bridge between overall family desires and product consumption. By approaching the needs of her family members as her own, she looks for entertainment and tourism options that allow the family to pleasingly come together in an active environment.
When considering a resort destination like Hersheypark, she wants to know that the opportunity will be exciting enough for the kids without overly sacrificing enjoyment for the parents.
Believing that demand for its attractions inherently exist within many American moms, Hershey’s branding is about speaking to—and from within--the lifestyle of the active American family. Instead of playing on fear or guilt in trying to convince mothers that they are bad parents for not taking kids to destinations like Hersheypark, the brand focuses on maximizing engagement with those already inclined to see the value.
In addition to online media and some traditional media, Hershey Entertainment and Resorts notably makes promotional buys that place them directly within the active lifestyles of target families. Hershey advertises at concerts and sporting events, two destinations known for attracting on-the-go families who have fun, together, away from the house. It also sees value from Billboard placements near tourist destinations, hoping to capture interest from those already supportive of the "family trip."
In such cases, Hershey’s focus is not to tell family customers why they need to get off their couches or why they need to go to Hershey Park instead of the shore. Instead, it speaks to the reality of the active family—you already know how enjoyable family beach trips and concerts can be; here is why Hershey will work for you.
According to Hultquist, even at the height of the recent economic slowdown, families were not willing to sacrifice their trips and vacations. Armed with this knowledge, Hershey never felt any pressure to go "off brand" and transform its active-family messaging. It never stopped aligning customer operations with marketing to produce a memorable, wholesome family experience enjoyable by all ages, races and genders.
And by presenting this value proposition to "moms," it assured it could continually attract families to the Sweetest Place on Earth.