Company: Fuse
Founded by: Cadbury
Fuse is a popular brand of delightful chocolate bar manufactured by Cadbury. It was launched in the year 1996 in the United Kingdom. In a mature confectionary market, Fuse is a snacking countline as well as a chocolate bar. Fuse was launched with a massive marketing campaign which led to the rollout of the chocolate bar on “Fuseday” – Tuesday, 24th September.
Fuse enjoyed sponsorship from the Live TV and Daily Mirror, and a PR campaign which included national TV, press and radio coverage. Cadbury had launched a new product for the first time in over twenty years and it was received by the consumers rather heartily. Over 40 million bars were delivered in the first week of the launch and achieved 75% independent distribution just within three days.
The Beginning
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Cadbury Plc today is the largest confectionary in the world and was formerly referred to as Cadbury Schweppes plc before it demerged in. Fuse was unusual as it was a solid bar of chocolate comprising suspended within it, nuts, raisins, fudge pieces and cereal instead of just having the ingredients coated in chocolate.
The chocolate bar did very well in the research stage, with 82 per cent grading is as either excellent or very good. 83 per cent also voted to buy the product on a regular basis. More than 250 ingredients were tested and tried before the final recipe was assented. The unconventional marketing campaign is glorified even on this day by the makers as one of the most victorious launch campaign. Within the first three month after the launch, over 70 million Fuse bars were sold widely. However, the product came to be discontinued in 2006.
The Success Story
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The market for chocolate bars is unquestionably rather competitive with a lot of firms out there. In the recent times, the market for the kinds of chocolate bars has changed. People now preferred on-the-go chocolate as opposed to the idea of sitting down with it in a room. The concept of Fuse was built around that concept and aimed to cater to the growth of snacking habit. A lot of ingredients were tested which was followed by surveys. The needs expressed by the consumers were considered and the development team was asked to curate recipes accordingly.
Fuse was targeted towards the chocolate consuming customers and people who were specifically between the age group of 20 and 45. This age group is considered as the one who is always on the go. For such consumers, the delicious Fuse bar was the ideal snack. The product’s chunky composition allowed it to be stored for a longer period of time and hence was an excellent option to be used as snacks on picnics and outings.
The product got discontinued as according to the manufacturers, the bars were never more than just an experiment to evaluate the trends of the market. There were several campaigns in 2010 to see the return of the product on the shelves. Cadbury in the year 2015 launched a Twitter Campaign known as #CadburyCraveyard. Fans could comment on their Facebook post or tweet the hashtag out of Marble or Fuse. People had the chance to choose the chocolate bar that they wanted to resurrect for the Halloween. Fuse turned out to be a popular choice and was then recreated and sent to 100 winners chosen on a random basis.
By July of 2016, Cadbury had started to test the secret product and taste trials were conducted across UK to get that perfect taste prior to the relaunch. Fuse was launched in India in 2016 and turned out to be a huge success.
Marketing Campaigns
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Confectionary giants like Cadbury choose the means of persuading consumers to purchase the product or explaining them detail what the product is. With Fuse, the company adopted both means. Cadbury hoped to earn the support of all its trade customers before consumers could get their hands on the product. Cadbury organised one-to-one briefings with more than seventy significant trade customers which aided in building commitment and awareness. The commitment was clearly reflected with display of support during the launch.
Public Relations was crucial and it went on to tell the story of Fuse, how it required an investment of £10 million, took five years to create, a new plant near Bristol and a lot of money put aside for advertising. The campaign was widely successful and Cadbury had to meet repeat order post the launch under a lot of pressure.
A marketing campaign was launched by Mondelez India in 2016 which through outdoor and exclusively digital initiatives aimed to bring people closer to the brand. The ad began with a yoga teacher conducting a corporate yoga session and guiding people with breathing exercises. For the next exercise, she sits straight up and moves her neck from one side to another while instructing all to follow her. Suddenly her eyes light up as she starts to imagine a massive Cadbury Fuse slowly sliding in through the door. The tempting chocolate with crunchy peanuts makes the instructor jump up in excitement with the class following her moves.
She then imagines the chocolate lying on the floor and jumps so as to grab it. The astonished class looks at each other and then obediently dive from their seats onto the ground. The instructor meanwhile takes the chocolate from her bag and is relishing every bite.
A recent advertisement of Cadbury Fuse featured Kriti Sanon, a young actress. She can be seen appearing for an interview but soon spots a Cadury Fuse in the hands of a crew member. Unable to resist her hunger and the tempting peanut-filled chocolate, she gets off the stage and walks towards the man as if to threaten him who hands over the chocolate to her. She can be seen savouring every bite and instantly is in a happy mood again.
The ads were aimed at targeting new age customers who are experimental and are open to trying products which can curb their hunger in a convenient way.
Summary
The very concept of on-the-go chocolate bars was compelling and there were a few other brands in the market which were aimed at same consumers. However, the marketing strategy of Fuse was very well planned out and is worth appreciating. The marketing research phase was done accurately and the needs of the consumers were recognized first. However, at the later stages, inadequate analysis of the market le dot the product being pulled back from the market leaving a lot of consumers puzzled. After its launch in India, the chocolate has come to be loved by a lot of consumers and is sure here to stay this time.
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