Ben & Jerry's positioning and segmentation

The ice-cream market is rather saturated as sales have been stable since the 2000s. In France, the average consumption of ice-cream is about 6 liters per year. This number is almost derisory compared to the inhabitants of the United States who consume 23 liters on average per year. In the general idea the ice-cream is considered as a product associated with seasons, more precisely with winter. This is the case for some brands but not for Ben & Jerry's, a company which tends to be a product of everyday consumption regardless of the seasons and therefore its temperatures.

There are several possible positions in the ice cream market. Similar to Häagen Dazs, Ben & Jerry's decided to position itself in the "super premium" segment. This means that they sell as a quality product with a higher price than other brands on the market. However, their idea is rather to bring joy to their customers as they promise to sell a good time, and a happy one at that. Hence they aim the premium positioning.

Their target is rather urban and young, between the ages 18 and 40 years old. In order to stick to their brand image, they target responsible customers, ecologic mindsets, thus by selling fair trade products. Furthermore, in view of the positions taken by the company, they are also responsible for their commitments. To summarize, they have a young target, trendy and respectful of their values.

Their communication is also an important aspect, both for their targets and for their brand image. Communication is rather light and offbeat, with the following slogan "If it's not fun, why do it?", which tells a lot about the way the company is working. The message of the two creators is well implemented: they want to go further than just selling a product by assuming the impact they have to costumers and thus taking actions. That is the reason why they refuse, or at least they do not favor, advertising on the big media but prefer conducting activist campaigns and increasing public awareness on their social networks.

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Source :

https://fr.slideshare.net/elsfauvel/tude-de-cas-communicationmarketing-ben-jerrys