Just Charlotte

Recession? What recession? That may very well be the question on Cadbury bosses’ lips this morning after it was revealed that the company’s revenue increased during the first half of this year. The news that Cadbury managed to increase its market share despite already being the largest chocolate brand will come as further music to the ears of those in charge.

The precise reasons for this growth are, as yet, unclear. However, the general consensus seems to be that families and individuals forced to stay at home in the evenings due to financial constraints are choosing to console themselves with the odd chocolate bar or two.

In my mind, the reason why Cadbury has managed to capitalise so successfully on this apparent trend (more so than its close rivals in the confectionery industry) is that it has recognised the potential power of nostalgia with regards to marketing.

The link between successful marketing and nostalgia is nothing new but the recession has created the ideal conditions for companies to take advantage of this powerful association. So, those individuals faced with the prospect of spending a night in front of the TV catching up on American sitcoms from the 90s which they’ve already watched enough times to be able to memorise the entire dialogue (I am, of course, NOT speaking from personal experience here!), might decide to overlook the Mars Bar and the Kit Kat, favouring instead a chocolate bar which, with one bite, takes them back to their childhood, when cosy nights in front of the TV were a real treat and not a consolation prize for those unable to afford a £20 trip to the cinema.

Cadbury have rolled out Wispa as their main weapon in this artillery of nostalgia and it’s been a great move for them. This pattern will surely only continue when they launch the highly-anticipated Wispa Gold later this year.

Other factors certainly deserve recognition in this attempt to explain Cadbury’s success. The company has benefited from lower advertising costs and has cut expenditure by closing a Spanish factory. However, it seems that a clever marketing move can have far more of an impact upon revenue than all these measures put together.