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Do Looks Matter?

11/15/2014

 
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Give that about 90% of new products fail, creating and launching a successful innovation is no small feat, even if it’s ice cream.  “Ice cream novelty” is exactly what Baskin-Robbins set out to produce when it developed a very unique ice cream design—camouflage.

This past Tuesday, November 11, the world’s largest ice cream chain introduced camouflage to its stores in honor of Veterans Day.  The three-flavor, multicolored concoction consisted of chocolate (brown), salted caramel (tan), and cake (green).

Not surprisingly, consumers’ reactions to the special edition were somewhat “cool.”  While many people appreciated Baskin-Robbins’ efforts to support veterans, fewer were enamored by the actual product, particularly the ice cream’s appearance, which is not especially appetizing.

Strong social equity with poor product performance makes Baskin-Robbins’ camouflage ice cream “Simple-Minded” marketing, right?  Maybe not.

While Baskin-Robbins undoubtedly hoped to sell more cones and sundaes than usual on the 11th, the success of the initiative shouldn’t be measured just by ice cream sales.  In fact, the real ROI may stem from the promotional value of the camouflage flavor, i.e., all of the free publicity that the company garnered thanks to a wide variety of news media picking up the story and sharing snippets of it on TV, Internet, etc.

Of course, that coverage also helped to generate a lot of goodwill for Baskin-Robbins as people learned that the firm donated 10 cents per scoop of every ice cream flavor sold that day, not just camouflage, to the United Service Organizations (USO).  But the company’s support of U.S. military did not stop there.

Through the media coverage people also could learn about Baskin-Robbins’ “veteran’s incentive program” designed to help veterans start their own businesses by waiving the $25,000 franchise fee and offering a “0 percent royalty rate for the first two years of franchise ownership, and a reduced rate for years three through five.”

So, did Baskin-Robbins really mind if some people found its camouflage ice cream unappealing?  Probably not.  The novel flavor’s real value came through creating buzz, generating goodwill, and potentially gaining some new, and very deserving, franchisees.  All said, Baskin-Robbins' camouflage ice cream was a “Mindful Marketing" victory.

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Keith Quesenberry link
11/16/2014 10:53:32 pm

Great insights here. I gree that in the end Baskin Robin won out. Ideally they would have created a flavor that tasted good as well. Turkey Hill has been successful with their special professional sports teams flavors, but they all taste very good. I know because I have tried them all! Even Phillies Graham Slam which is scoops of choco marshmallow cups and a graham. This doesn't sound like a great combination, but it is amazing together.

David Hagenbuch
11/18/2014 07:12:32 am

Thanks, Keith. Blitzburgh Crunch is also very good, especially after a Monday Night Football win!

Graci'ana Jones
12/9/2014 08:44:41 am

I think this sounds like a great product. Not only was Baskin Robin's able to execute the camouflage design for the ice cream, but they were able to support Veteran's regardless of the success of the business. I wish I was able to try it! Overall, I agree that this was a success and a thoughtful idea from a respected company in the ice cream industry.

Ryan Mayer
12/10/2014 03:28:16 am

Baskin-Robbins seemed to be extremely successful with this campaign, and I'd agree, very mindful. While many may not have enjoyed the camouflage flavors or the look of the cone itself, the promotion of the flavor and the support of veterans' day and veterans in general were exposed to the public. It became apparent how much Baskin-Robbins really gives back to veterans and the community, and many people outside who may have never tried it before, will be influenced to do just that. Baskin-Robbins in this campaign effectively created stakeholder value and exposed and increased their care for societal values. This was a great, mindful move for the company, and they did nothing wrong.

Carly Stelljes
12/10/2014 06:39:18 am

There are always going to be critics no matter how good a deed a company tries to do. There's always going to be someone who doesn't like the product. Personally, I think the camouflage looks great and would've loved to had tried it! I think this is an awesome example of a company fulfilling its corporate social responsibility. The main focus here wasn't developing the best new product, it was to draw attention to what the company is doing to support the community and develop brand loyalty. I think the "Veteran's Incentive Program" is a wonderful idea, and I am so happy for the company that they were able to get a lot of media coverage about it. While news tends to focus on the negative, this story highlights a great positive. The product may have not generated the revenue the company was looking for initially, but I am sure sales will grow in the wake of such a great story.

Max
12/10/2014 08:41:21 am

I think that this ad was fantastic. Personally I hate camouflage and would never support it. But just looking at the ad makes me want to go buy the ice cream so I can taste it. Also a tremendous amount of people are obsessed with camo. The look by itself drives in enough customers to consider it a success. Not only that but the "Veteran's Incentive Program" just gives me more incentive to go buy the ice cream. Because of the program I would say that Baskin Robins was successful, regardless of how much revenue was made.

Alex Pstrak
12/10/2014 10:10:29 am

The product looks delicious to me, but it seems that others would disagree. The whole idea behind the special ice cream for Veterans day was a great way to bring people into the store even though it did not work too well. Baskin-Robbins is making a great name for itself as they donate per scoop and wave franchise fees. After reading this article, I would not have to think twice about heading over for some ice cream. The company is doing very responsible things for those who are defending our Freedom.

Andrew
12/10/2014 11:28:17 am

This sounds like a pretty cool marketing campaign. The camouflage ice cream looks awesome and sounds like it would be good as well.
I was happy to hear about the USO support raised through not only the camouflage, but from every flavor, as well as their veterans incentive program. I believe this was a wise move for the company to get the word out on ways they are supporting our veterans and their families, as well as improve sales by doing so

Jordan Kirsch
12/10/2014 11:51:27 am

This decision to come out with the new flavor of ice cream called camouflage was genius. It wasn't just to produce a new flavor either. They had a great reason to do so because it helped honor the veterans on Veterans Day by giving 10 cents of every scoop of ice cream they sold and it also brought publicity to the Baskin Robbins company.

Matthew Rice
12/10/2014 12:58:33 pm

Like a lot of others who commented on this blog, I would love to try this ice cream flavor. I also do think that Baskin-Robbins was striving for a direct increase in sales from this flavor introduction. Instead, like Carly said, this new product was designed to promote the company's support for veterans, and increase consumers' awareness about the company. By seeing that an ice cream company is finding creative ways to encourage veterans, consumers may be more inclined to buy products from this company. This also helps establish the idea that business should not be solely concerned with profits. While profits are obviously pivotal, I believe that there are more important goals to achieve than obtaining the highest revenues every year. By promoting support for veterans, despite a potential decrease in profit, Baskin-Robbins is promoting what they believe in. Even though the ice cream flavor did not do well in terms of revenues, I think it was a good marketing move for Baskin-Robbins. It caught all of our attention!

Trinh Pham
12/10/2014 02:21:55 pm


Personally, I think Baskin-Robbins camouflage ice cream has a very unique ice cream design and I would love to try it. It looks very appealing to me. And the company’s campaign for this new flavor is very brilliant. They did a very good job in cooperating the company with its social responsibility. Using the new product to draw attention to how the company support the community really helps to develop company’s brand and reputation. I think the “veteran’s incentive program” designed to help veterans start their own businesses is an amazing idea. This can help to veterans to have better lives after what they have sacrificed for the country. Even though some people may have different views about this new product but I hope it will grow in the future.

Abigail
12/10/2014 04:24:45 pm

Baskin-Robins knew what they were doing when they came out with the camouflage ice cream. Their emphasis was clearly not on the monetary profit they would receive from the product, but rather they were focused on the intangible benefits they would receive such as goodwill and promotion. People came in support of the cause and even if people thought it looked a little unappetizing, it sure got people talking. It was a pretty strategic move on their part and even though they did not sell as much as they wanted to, I believe they will see more long term benefits as they continue to come up with products that support different causes and also draws attention to their company.


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