Häagen-Dazs a big name in Ice cream industry, especially for anyone who lived in Asia (Mainland China, Malaysia, HK etc.) in recent years. You might have been surprised by its reputation locally, instead of getting a 3.99$USD pint at supermarket you tend to spend easily 30$USD for a romantic date OR an ice cream tea time at Häagen-Dazs. “If you love her, take her to Häagen-Dazs” served as slogan for China in 2008, the brand witnessed a huge success in its retail chain by providing premium in store experience.
Not quite a fan of its flavors, but I have always been amazed by its advertising all these years living in different continents France, China and US. From the TV commercial starred charming Bradley Cooper in 2013, to its incredibly pricey Moon-cake ice cream dedicated to Chinese Mid-autumn festival, to recent new print AD on New York subway embracing a Minimalist new look in 2016, Häagen-Dazs ADs always been engaging and eye-catching.
Expensive ice creams <=> Expensive ADs
The brand is also very active on social media with 1.3 likes on Facebook and 35000+ followers on Twitter ( US account). Based on above marketing strategies, I automatically assumed there must be a great Häagen Dazs app. In the age of “we must have it all” in terms of social media mix, is Haagen Dasz just keeping up with the Jones, or they are the pioneer in food retail industry? let’s take a look below 2 Apps I have found.
1. Häagen Dazs – launched in 2015, Apple store US
Contrary to Häagen Dazs previous daring, innovative and luxury style, this App with main focus on reward and loyalty is a bit disappointing to my taste. Classic design, black with a golden touch, the APP provides very basic functions such as collecting points, finding nearby shops and getting deals. Easy yet not so fun to use, there were merely 5 ratings from users. Emmm..this Apps risks of being 1 of 4 apps users open once and never return, according to Principles of Retail App google March 2016 by ThinkwithGoogle
2. Concerto Timer – Augmented Reality App in 2013
I actually couldn’t believe that the 1st App was the only thing the Ice cream giant has to offer so I dig into its efforts on social media in the past years. I am surprised to find this Concerto Timer App launched back in 2013 (but I could not find it in Apple store now), which was meant to provide consumers with a virtual violin concerto while they wait for their ice cream to reach an ideal temperature and consistency. Yes, just like your fine wine from Côtes du Rhône, Häagen-Dazs suggests it takes 2 min for ice cream to achieve an ideal creamy texture. The virtual violin can be activated by using the application to scan the lid of Häagen-Dazs products.
How fascinating! Beautiful and sophisticated, it was an unique innovation to leverage the premium image of the brand, but at the same time it also sounds ridiculous to me to download an app so I can wait for my ice cream to “breath”. I can imagine the App has won earned media for the brand while as an user, I would probably have shown it off to my friends at a home party, but how long it would be able to stay on my screen? According to ThinkwithGoogle, the App had only 4000 users. The fact that I could not find it anymore in store is probably a sign that it did not work well.
To App or Not to App is now the question to many brands, Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts convinced us that they deserve a spot on our screens by being our daily caffeine fix, while other brands like Haagen Dazs in retail or food industry must have a purpose to serve before they invest in an App. To end this week’s post with a fun fact : with a Sweden-ish name, Häagen dazs was established by Reuben and Rose Mattus in the Bronx, New York, in 1961. Yes, a authentic New Yorker!
LCDM 