Halloween is regularly one of the busiest times of year for candy, as brands want to be top-of-mind for shoppers loading up before trick-or-treating. But every candy product has its own approach to TV advertising around this time of year, as the last couple months have shown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since Sept. 1, candy & gum brands have seen 20.19 billion TV ad impressions, which is down 8.2% vs. the same period in 2021. Among the reasons for the shift: Some adjustments from No. 1 brand (by TV ad impressions) the Hershey Company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Hershey decreasing TV ad impressions by about 31% year-over-year. So even as Mars, Inc. (up 40%), Ferrero SpA (up 8%) and Lindt & Spr\u00fcngli (up 52%) all climbed year-over-year, it wasn\u2019t enough to make up the entire difference for the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hershey\u2019s Combines Efforts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Part of the difference for Hershey was a consolidated approach around some of its biggest brands. The Hershey Company was its top \u201cbrand\u201d this fall with 29% of TV ad impressions, versus 4% last year \u2013 all coming from combined spots for its products. This year, Hershey launched a new ad for Reese\u2019s and KitKat, with encouragement for consumers to \u201cchoose both.\u201d iSpot\u2019s Creative Assessment Survey<\/a> showed that respondents found the ad 13% more likeable than the norm for candy & snack ads in the last 90 days, and it garnered 10% more attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hershey also reduced broadcast TV ad impressions by 46% year-over-year. Though total cable impressions also declined, the move meant the brand put a greater emphasis on cable programming vs. last fall. The brand also put a greater emphasis on Paramount Network, MTV and CMTV year-over-year, while reducing share of TV ad impressions on TVLand and Hallmark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n