It is written that Milton Hershey did not believe in advertising and built his Hershey chocolate empire without ads. His successors have continued and expanded his public and community relations approach, but have also used advertising to save and strengthen the international company.
In his July 2010 financial report, President David J. West said "Hershey delivered solid results in the second quarter driven by our strategy of increasing advertising, consumer investment and U.S. retail coverage on our core brands."
He reported that net sales rose 5.3% in the second quarter, following a 14% increase in the first quarter. Sales totaled $2.4 billion for the first half of the year.
Hershey S'mores Promotion
"In the second quarter, advertising expense increased about 50% as we were on air supporting our core brands, the kick-off of our annual Hershey's S'mores promotion and the launch of Hershey's Special Dark, Almond Joy and York Pieces new products.
“Advertising, as well as greater levels of in-store selling, merchandising and programming has resulted in strong marketplace performance,” West said.
That’s a real contrast for a company that went more than 70 years without running media ads.
Would Milton Hershey Approve?
What would Milton Hershey say about all this advertising? No one knows, but he was a practical businessman and changed jobs and business strategies several times before becoming successful.
Instead of advertising his chocolate, he built a huge plant, invited people to visit it, built an amusement park, a theater, a stadium and a town he named Hershey. He brought the first “horseless carriage” to his Pennsylvania area, put a Hershey logo on it and used it to deliver his chocolate.
Milton Hershey also built a school for neglected boys, which now owns most of the company. All of this building brought the company extensive positive publicity, which at the time may have been better than advertising.
It was an early use of the risky build-it-and-they-will-come business strategy. Eventually people came by the hundreds of thousands.
Hershey Billboards
Although legend says Milton Hershey did not use advertising, Katherine B. Shippen and Paul A. W. Wallace mention in their Hershey biography that he did use billboards to promote his chocolate. The Outdoor Advertising Association would certainly consider that advertising.
But Milton Hershey apparently did not use newspapers, magazines or radio, the other major ad media advertising of his day.
That policy was maintained even after his death in 1945. In 1970 the company changed its policy by purchasing ads in 114 newspapers to promote its chocolate.
Advertising is a major part of Hershey’s marketing program today, but the company still draws thousands of people to its various visitor attractions in Hershey. They include a theme park, chocolate museum, zoo, gardens, theater, chocolate store and numerous free chocolate samples.
It has the earmarks of a self-sustaining promotion program, now assisted by some substantial advertising.
Reference:
Milton S. Hershey, by Katherine B. Shippen and Paul A. W. Wallace, Copyright 1959 by Milton Hershey School
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