Godiva maker of Godiva Chocolate Truffles Rides in a New Direction

At a time when many consumers are drinking tap water rather than bottled water, shopping at Wal Mart rather than department stores and eating in rather than dining out, a high-end chocolatier is making over its marketing to better fit in with the new mood.

The Godiva brand of chocolate is introducing a campaign that carries the theme “the golden moment.” The campaign, with a budget estimated at $3.5 million to $4 million, is the first work for Godiva from its new agency, Lipman in New York.

The campaign, composed of print and out-of-home advertising, does not seek to reposition Godiva as an alternative to Hershey or other mass-market candy brands. Nor does it suggest, as so many ads for upscale products do these days, that Godiva is a good value.

Rather, the campaign seeks to explain why Godiva is still worth buying during tough times, using an emotional appeal to make the case that a brief respite to indulge oneself — “the golden moment,” as it were — is as desirable now as it was when the Dow was at 14,000.

“When you give the gold box, receive the gold box, eating something from the gold box, there’s something special about that moment,” she says, adding that the hope is for the new theme of “the golden moment” to “become the new brand essence” of Godiva.

“It’s more inward-looking,” she says, “about how you feel about yourself” rather than trying to impress others.

“People can trade down from a Tiffany silver piece to a Godiva gold box,” Ms. Kien Kotcher says.

“You can still get a beautiful, classy gift for $15” from Godiva, she adds, and “$25 buys you a fabulous gift you’d be proud to give to anybody.”

Still, Godiva is not completely unmindful of the wrenching changes in shopper behavior wrought by the economy. The company has brought out a lower-priced line named Godiva Gems, intended to help make consumers perceive the premium brand as more affordable or accessible.

“The idea is to appeal to consumers in different places and times who want a little piece of chocolate,” Ms. Kien Kotcher says. “You can have your own golden moment at home, by yourself.”


Godiva Chocolate Truffles News
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Eating a Godiva chocolate Truffle would truly feel like a golden moment. Godiva Chocolates are not just for wealthy people anymore. Anyone could take pleasure a godiva chocolate truffle. True that.