If you're looking at an electronic screen as I write this, there's a good chance you have a craving for a Hershey's Kiss or two or 10, or for a Hershey bar with almonds, or just a plain old Hershey bar. At this moment, news headlines are being posted and shared about confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate Mondelez International's $23 billion bid for Hershey Co. A nationwide Pavlovian response surely has followed, as midday workers slink to candy machines, drugstore counters and bodegas for a quick fix.
Why is this story so hot that it's melting? Some chocolate aficionados might even say that Hershey's products don't qualify as chocolate. (I'm not one of them. In fact, I think I'll take the escalator down to the Duane Reade right now...There, that's better. In case you're wondering, it's a Hershey bar without almonds.)
Yes, people like chocolate nearly as much as they like kittens and puppies, but in this case it's not just the product that's capturing people's attention on digital channels. It's also the gut-level reaction to both the iconic Hershey logo—whether it's emblazoned in silver on a wrapper or etched in milk chocolate—and the shape of a Hershey's Kiss. The Hershey's font, the all-caps style, the immense size of the company name in relation to the dimensions of both the packaging and the chocolate rectangles themselves take the same direct route to the mind's pleasure center as a bite of the too-sweet treat.
Logos and product design are the fastest form of brand communications. Steve Jobs knew this, and so does Mondelez, apparently.
How long does it take for your brand's logo or product design to hit the pleasure center? Does it send people to Amazon, to the mall or to a customer service representative? It's a question worth asking in this age of the attenuated attention span.
—Steve Goldstein, Editorial Director, PR News @SGoldsteinAI