In 1998, Nabisco’s sales (Kraft Foods) of Oreo Cookie exceeded $374 million and

Question

In 1998, Nabisco’s sales (Kraft Foods) of Oreo Cookie exceeded $374 million and Hydrox (owned by Keebler) sales totaled $16 million. Most people believe that Hydrox is an “Oreo Copy”, but Hydrox was actually the Original chocolate cream stuffed cookie, developed by Sunshine in 1908. The name Hydrox came from a mix of water and oxygen, meaning purity. Hydrox enjoyed considerable market share until 1912 when Nabisco launched their Oreo Cookie; market share has eroded for the Hydrox ever-since. Over the years, Sunshine’s Hydrox could never match Nabisco’s advertising and distribution. In 1998, Keebler changed the name to Droxies, because they believed that Hydrox sounded like a cleaning detergent. They changed packaging to look more like Oreo’s, illustrating a picture of the cookies and copying the same blue tone packaging. However, this new marketing campaign didn’t work because of the popularity of the Oreo and price competitiveness of private label/store brands.

Hydrox was conveniently priced between Oreo and private brands. The cookie did not gain market share and was dropped. Keebler/Sunshine came out with a 100- year anniversary version in 2008 and seemed to be successful. Although, this re-introduction seemed to create a “Hydrox” frenzy as described in the Seattle Times’ article, Keebler, who is now owned by Kellogg, has again dropped the Hydrox or Droxie.

Read the article and answer those 2 question:

Question 1. Who would be your ideal target market (think of Demographic and Psychographic trends) to re-launch Hydrox Cookies? Be specific and explain.

Question 2. Now that you have described your target market, think of how would you promote the cookie to your customers to make it more competitive with Oreo and Private Label brands. Describe 3-specific strategies from the Promotional Mix you would utilize to persuade consumers to purchase Hydrox Cookies.

This is the article:

Hydrox cookies make a comeback for 100th anniversary

By Tan Vinh

Seattle Times staff reporter

Hydrox cookies, those cream-filled chocolate sandwiches that look like the popular Oreo's fraternal twin, will show up again on grocery shelves by the end of the month.

Kellogg, which discontinued Hydrox in 2003, reported that the company has fielded more than 1,300 telephone calls, received a 1,000-signature petition and found dozens of online-message boards pleading for Hydrox's return.

So the company is bringing them back to celebrate Hydrox's 100th anniversary. If demand is high, they could re-establish their place in the cookie aisle.

The cookies' return has turned out to be brilliant marketing because Internet chat rooms have been flooded with fans vowing to buy all the Hydrox bags — and some even plan to sell them on eBay.

To hear Hydrox fans tell it, the original cookies are crispier and less sweet, and have more of a chocolate taste than Oreos. It's all subjective, of course. After all, according to Information Resources, a Chicago-based market-research firm, Oreo remains the best-selling cookie in America. (Chips Ahoy! is a distant second.)

"Oreo is an iconic brand," said Kraft Foods spokeswoman Laurie Guzzinati, whose company owns Oreo.

But Hydrox cookies have a die-hard fan base. "I'll go to the store and buy all of them. Or is that selfish?" asks Hydrox fan Kirk Knighton of Bainbridge Island. "You want to call a Hydrox person a snob? OK, we will wear that gladly. It is a more refined taste."

Bob Eshelman, 55, of Seattle said, "People look at me like, 'You're crazy.' But yeah, I can go through 12 to 15 of those (Hydrox cookies) in five minutes." Horrified, his wife Pam plans a "detox from Hydrox" for her husband.

On Camano Island, John Jensen, 65, plans to buy a Hydrox bag to share with his four granddaughters to revive an old family tradition.

Started in 1908, Hydrox was the original cream-filled chocolate-sandwich cookie that earned cult status partly because of its underdog role to Oreo, which came four years later. It's a sore point with Hydrox fans that the mainstream thinks Hydrox is an Oreo knockoff.

What started as a cookie equivalent to Pepsi vs. Coke turned into a rout, as Oreo not only emerged as the country's best-selling cookie, but its brand name became synonymous with the product, much like Kleenex.

Hydrox was originally owned by the Sunshine Biscuit Co., later sold to Keebler then in 2001 to Kellogg. Hydrox is a play on hydrogen and oxygen to evoke cleanliness and purity. Though Hydrox was renamed Droxies in 1999, fans still refer to it by its original name.

However slightly the Hydrox recipe has changed since the 1970s has been turned into an epic discussion or debate.

Even author Ann Beattie mentioned Hydrox in her novel "Chilly Scenes of Winter," lamenting, "What happened to them? They used to be so good. Sugar. No doubt they're leaving out sugar."

Part of the lure of Hydrox is similar to the anti-Microsoft sentiment. In 2000, a college student named Kim Burton of Wichita, Kan., posted her essay "Noncomformists don't eat Oreos," and was floored to get hundreds of responses from Hydrox fans. Her Hydrox Web site now gets up to 4,000 hits a month.

Hydrox "is a metaphor for the good, the old and traditional," said Knighton of Bainbridge Island. "It's modest. Oreo is a neon sign."

When Hydrox died, "those words struck me to my marrow," Knighton said. He wrapped up the last Hydrox bag he could find in plastic and aluminum foil and laid it in the back of the freezer, like a family heirloom.

When Hydrox returns to the shelves, Knighton, 52, plans to gather his wife and four kids for a Hydrox tasting. "My wife will be there reluctantly. My kids, though, have no choice.

"They are amazed and embarrassed," by his love of Hydrox, said Knighton.

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656

help please.Thanks

Explanation / Answer

1.Ideal target market would be
According to demographic trend
Population in the age group of 20 to 70 years.
This age group has already tasted the cookies of hydroxy group when it was Re launched in the year 1999 and renamed as Droxy. Targeting this age group would be beneficial and profitable because they would also help in spreading word of mouth and encourage their family members to take the biscuits.

According to psychographic trends
Population that became fan of hydroxy chocolate cookies is the best target market. They would also help in spreading word of mouth in marketing and promoting the biscuit.

2. three strategies from the promotional mix would include
1. Advertising aggressively: As mentioned in the case, oreo used aggressive promotional and Advertising strategy to gain significant market share. Using the same strategy would help hydroxy cookies to position itself as better version of chocolate cookies then that of Oreo.
2. Social media platforms can be used to promote hydroxy cookies by creating an engaging content that goes viral on social media. And creating a contest on social media. The contest would be to post a personal story related to Droxy cookies and the best story would be rewarded with tickets for 2018 FIFA World Cup.
3. Distributing free samples of Droxy chocolate cookies in malls and retail stores so as to spread awareness about the chocolate cookies and let the customer experience the taste of original chocolate cookies.

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