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November 17, 2009

Godiva Sweetens Their Naming and Branding

I love chocolate and thus am intrigued by Godiva's new naming strategy which is designed to make the high-end sweet appealing in these down market times. They've made some subtle but important tweaks.

Their new campaign and "brand essence" is called the "golden moment" and looks at those stolen moments of pleasure represented by eating high end chocolate. This is a departure from "luxurious celebration," the former brand essence that is now out of step with the times, when luxury is simply not in vogue.

What I'm really intrigued by, however, is the company's move from labeling itself as a "Chocolatier." They have replaced that word beneath the brand name with the words "Belgium 1926." This is an effort to "re-engage people around the Belgian heritage" of the company.

I have written before about how effective linking your brand name to a place is and of course the words "Belgium 1926" immediately conjure up not only the history of the company but also Belgium, chocolate capital of the world. "Chocolatier" sounds pretentious, sort of like "Sommelier," but we can all get behind buying a piece of Belgium.

Still, the name dies hard. Just a week ago, The Food Business Review announced that "Godiva Chocolatier Introduces New Line Of Specialty Coffee." Hmmm. Should we in fact refer to Godiva as a chocolatier? After all, this description is still on its web site. Well, yes, that's the name of the company.

But this move to remind consumers of the company's heritage and its association with Belgium is a way of repackaging luxury... selling luxurious moments - and places - in bite sizes.

Note that the Godiva name, while touting its Belgium heritage, is actually British - in fact just last week, some concern arose over her statue in Coventry.

She was the Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who rode naked through the streets of Coventry in protest over her husbands cruel taxes.

The Godiva ads, however, are aimed at Americans but show British people eating Belgium chocolates.

Technorati Tags: Godiva, Chocolate, Lady Godiva, Belgium, Chocolatier

Posted by William Lozito at November 17, 2009 10:14 AM
Posted to Brand Naming | Naming

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