Last week, I had the pleasure of spending a few days of downtime in Vermont (with my family), and one of the must-sees in that state is, by all accounts, the Ben & Jerry ice cream headquarters.
S
o we went. And it was a great display of powerful branding in action.
Ben & Jerry’s grew from a quirky little local ice cream shop to a global brand with a dedicated following, all because a couple of guys (yes, Ben and Jerry) decided to start a business based on a $5 correspondence course on making ice cream.
The tour was lighthearted and informative, and very much in line with the fun approach Ben & Jerry’s takes to branding. You get the distinct impression that this isn’t put on–it’s just the embedded DNA of the organization. They are who they are, in this case, they like to have fun while also producing a high-quality product. Powerful.
I pulled three key marketing lessons out of the visit:
- Have a story to tell. Coming into the headquarters is all about the story. One wall (see picture) is dedicated to a timeline of milestone events and dates. The tour is an extended story-telling time. And it’s an interesting story, about quality and local commitment and innovative/socially conscious ways to do business.
- Stick to your principles. Ben & Jerry’s started out committed to certain core values and practices, and as they’ve grown (and even been bought by Unilever to aid the global expansion), they’ve stuck with them. You will see social and environmental causes writ large on the tour and in the company overview, and even if you don’t agree with some of those distinctives, it is nonetheless impressive that they’ve kept the compass pointed in the same direction all this time.
- Know when to step back and let your baby walk. Ben and Jerry realized, as they grew, that they weren’t the right people to scale the business. So they put the right people in place and continued to infuse the company with the unique perspectives that set it apart. Now, there are hundreds of employees and millions of customers carrying on the Ben & Jerry tradition. Founders rarely are the right ones to “operationalize” a growing business. But they are the ones that can set the tone for decades to come.
I guess I should also mention that being playful and having fun can lead to success. Clearly, these folks work hard and are good at what they do. But if you visit for the tour, the face of the company is one that smiles and chuckles. It might not work for mainframe computers. But for ice cream–yeah, that’s a winner.
Oh…and the sample at the end was pretty tasty as well. Ultimately, you’ve got to have a great product along with a great attitude!
Hey, Steve. Thanks for the nice post.
In my own point of view, I think that there is more to making a brand prominent than a basic knowledge in marketing.
You have to be creative, innovative and, of course, stick with your core values even if your brand is already a worldwide sensation.
As you said they stick to their core values, especially with their last move of supporting same sex unions in Vermont.
You realize, of course, that in 2010 those “core values” will be up for grabs? That’s when the 10-year contract B&J signed with Unilever expires and the latter will be free to tinker with ice cream formulas and brand formulations as it sees fit. If they’re smart, they won’t; but I bet B&J ice cream is way more expensive to make than the regular stuff, so the temptation to fuss around with it will be great…
Argh… I didnt’ know of the 2010 Unilever contract.
As long as they don’t touch the formula for Heath Coffee Toffee Crunch. Fool around with this and the space-time continuum will be irreparably disrupted, leading to the end of life as we know it.
Don’t touch what works!
Thanks for the post!
MAS
http://seoconsultantsdenver.thewebinfocenter.com
It will be interesting to see if Unilever takes the “If it ain’t broke, let’s fix it” approach that so many companies take. Wouldn’t surprise me in the least…
I lived in NYC this past summer and every day I rode the subway. Usually I was too tired trying to keep my eyes open, but I never noticed all the advertisements covering the wall at my West 4th stop.
At least twice a day I passed by the wall and nothing ever stood out, except an ad from Ben & Jerry’s. The entire wall was full of neon blue, bright green and yellow colors. It had the Ben & Jerry’s cows and text written, but it was all upside-down.
Talk about creativity. Ben & Jerry’s advertisement was the only one that caught my attention throughout the three months I lived there. With creativity and innovation like that, I think they will be here for awhile.
I like Ben & Jerry’s because it has a personality and it tastes really, really, good. Great story + great product = lots of sales.
Great post. Ben & Jerry’s was one of the few case studies from my college marketing courses that I’ve always remembered and mentioned to others.
They are a remarkable organization, and I am very sad to see the ‘core values’ have a potential expiration date next year. Hopefully someone from Unilever will see your post and these comments, and think twice before pursuing any changes. B&J is one of the VERY few major brands that truly upholds the mission they promote.
8PvDLf I want to say – thank you for this!