____________________________________________________________________________

TO:
Mary Lee Gilliland
FROM:
Group 8, Section A
SUBJECT:
Team Final Brief (SweetTop)
DATE:
April 26th, 2016
______________________________________________________________________________
Introduction
SweetTop is a specialty milkshake brand that provides a unique and personalized
experience to its consumers. The brand strives to provide an experience and atmosphere that
other ice cream brands and companies currently lack. The following brief outlines a proposition
of the brand as well as an analysis of its advertising and competitors.
Company Overview
The proposed brand is SweetTop. Established March 10, 2016. SweetTop will provide
consumers with a gourmet dessert dining experience located in Chicago, IL. The restaurant will
serve a variety of flavors of milkshakes that are topped with extravagant toppings. Each week,
month, season, and even day may have a speciality flavor that is featured to provide customers
with an experience that is different each time they dine with us.
SweetTop believes that by offering customers speciality toppings on their shakes, the
experience will be significantly enhanced. SweetTop believes that the toppings on the shakes are
just as important as the ice cream itself. The toppings on the shakes give the product a custom
aspect that will be unique to each experience. We want to provide consumers with a dessert that
is just as visually pleasing as it is flavorful. We will incorporate unique combinations of ice
cream and toppings to give consumers products unlike the average milkshake.
Product Overview
The brand SweetTop will be endorsed by the tagline Top it off and would be in the Ice
Cream & Gelato Franchises market category (IBISWorld). Although there is currently a big
industry for ice cream already, the over the top specialty shakes that SweetTop offers are not
currently offered in the market category. SweetTop offers a product that very little, if anyone, is
providing to customers. Besides offering varying shakes, SweetTop also offers customers the
opportunity to be apart of a unique and customizable dessert experience. Although similar brands
like this exist, like Coldstone or Marbleslab, they do not currently offer the same experience with
shakes in the way this brand does. SweetTop promises quality milkshakes made with only the
freshest ingredients. The shakes are priced at $5 each, with only one size available, and would be
sold in a traditional ice cream shop in order to provide an overall modern soda shop or speak
easy experience.

The main target consumer for this product is urban millennials, specifically in Chicago.
They are attracted to higher end as well as fresh or organic products. These consumers are
currently buying products from brands like cold stone and marble slab but they want a new
customizable product similar to these brands. These consumers make their purchases at the main
locations because they enjoy the atmosphere that they provide (New Strategist Press) . SweetTop
offers a product that is new to the market space as well as unique and customizable to
consumers. This is what attracts the consumer to the product and the overall experience it
provides them with. Goals for the future of SweetTop in the first year include the brand gaining
national attention, introducing 5 new shakes each month, as well as selling at least 50,000 shakes
Competitor Analysis
Baskin Robbins:
Baskin Robbins is a key competitor in the ice cream and gelato restaurant industry. The
ice cream store was invented by Burton Baskin who was passionate on providing new flavors to
ice cream lovers. His father owned an ice cream store during World War II. Together they opened
up six stores that became Baskin-Robbins. Once the decided to start franchising the restaurants,
they invented the logo 31 Flavors to represent a flavor for every day of the month. (Americas
Favorite). By the 1960s, they had over 600 stores across the United States.
Today, there are 5,800 restaurants around the globe. Their key competing product is still
ice cream, and they have introduced over 1,000 new flavors in the stores. The company is now
owned by Dunkin Donuts Brand Group, which is why many Baskin-Robbins restaurants can be
seen in the same building as Dunkin Donuts store. Customers can get one small cone for about
$2.50. They are still dedicated to being Americas Favorite Neighborhood Ice Cream Shop.
In 2015, the company reported market share of about 17% (Crompton, 2014). In 2014,
the company reported 535.5 million dollars in revenue. Their current distribution is the #1 ice
cream franchise in the world, with over 5,800 stores. Because the company is privately held,
information about measurable ad spend was made unavailable.
Baskin-Robbins operates their advertising with a strong focus among their social media.
They use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Youtube to communicate with their audience. In
addition, press releases, radio, and television commercials are used. Radio is primary used for
local franchises and television is used nationally. They are currently promoting their Sour Patch
Kids Red Berry Blast flavor. On Facebook and Twitter, the brand seems to post once about every
other day. Their Facebook page has over 8 million followers. Their Twitter feed has about
157,000 followers, and they use GIFs and videos to interact with a younger audience that most of
their followers seem to be. On Youtube, the brand has ten videos, mostly commercials promoting
different flavors. Their Youtube channel only has 1,500 subscribers, and 95,000+ video views.
Some of their current ad and marking efforts include promoting #FlavorOfTheMonth on social
media. They also offered all regular and kid scoops for $1.31 on March 31st to celebrate their
classic flavors and logo. Online cake ordering was just made available in 2014. Baskin-Robbins
newest promotion includes giving fans the chance to win a trip to somewhere warm in honor of
its new warm cookie ice cream sandwiches.
Recently, Baskin-Robbins was named the top ice cream and frozen dessert franchise in
the United States by Entrepreneur magazines 35th annual Franchise 500 ranking. They also
recently won the Silver Addy for excellence in advertising for the Super Soft Serve Sling Shot
video. Most recently, they just opened a new franchise in Puerto Rico. For SWOT analysis, see
appendix

Dairy Queen:
The second major competitor to SweetTop is Dairy Queen, originated in 1938. At the
time, soft serve ice cream was not invented. Franchising was not popular back then, and when
World War II began, only ten Dairy Queen stores existed. Shortly after the way, however, sales
took off. By 1955, there were 2,555 stores in the United States. Now, there are over 6,000 stores
in 18 countries. Their current key competing product are blizzards, and the tagline is Fan Food.
Not Fast Food. One small scoop can be purchased for $3.00 at most locations.
Dairy Queen currently trumps industry market share, holding 25.5% of the market. (Crompton,
2014) Their sales in 2014 measured 802.5 million dollars. (Crompton, 2014) Dairy Queens
current distribution is 6,400 franchises worldwide (One Source). Because the company is
privately held, information about ad spend was made unavailable.
Current marketing social platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Youtube.
Other strategies include press releases, radio, and television efforts. Their Facebook cover photo
and profile photo does not focus so much on specific flavors, instead just an overall gist of their
brand. However, recent posts (about one post every day) include videos and photos relating to
recent flavors, such as the Royal Blizzard, and Smores Blizzard. The ads are a little more
classic, not as bright, and probably not trying to focus as hard at standing out to younger
generations. The Dairy Queen Facebook page has over 10 million likes. Their Twitter feed
include all the same posts as their Facebook page, but mostly used for interacting with
customers. Dairy Queens Twitter has 375,000+ followers. The Youtube channel has about 50
videos, including commercials as well as interactions with communities where Dairy Queen
stores reside. This channel has almost 5,000 subscribers, but over 2 million video views. Lastly,
the Tumblr page is used as a page to showcase pictures of each flavor, different pictures than
those used on other social media channels, which are much brighter and appeal to a younger
generation. The number of fans on this page is undisclosed. Dairy Queen has created consumer
buzz over recent ad and marketing efforts including their April Blizzard Treat of the Month, New
Mini Blizzard Cakes ads, and their recent promo, Served Upside Down or the Next Ones Free.
Recently, Dairy Queen made news in its expansion in California. There is also a lot of
controversy on their social media outlets regarding the removal of the Snickers blizzard. They
are also under scrutiny for copying Ben and Jerrys Royal flavor for their newest blizzard. For
SWOT see appendix.
Cold Stone Creamery:
The third competitor for SweetTop is Cold Stone Creamery, a franchise whose key
products include customized ice cream, The Way You Want It. Founders Donald and Susan
Sutherfield created the first Cold Stone Creamery in Tempe, Arizona in 1988. They categorize
their ice cream as Super Supreme since it is made fresh in the store daily.
Now, the ice cream franchise has current distribution of about 1,000 stores worldwide,
and in 2013 they were named #53 on the Franchise 500 list in Entrepreneur Magazine. It costs
about $5.00 for a small scoop in a bowl, which is more expensive than its competitors. Cold
Stone Creamery owns 7.3% of the market share in its industry, with a reported 230.1 million
dollars in sales in 2014 (Crompton, 2014).
Current marketing strategies used by Cold Stone Creamery include social media
(Facebook, Twitter and Instagram), press releases, radio, and television. The Facebook page
focuses on new and classic flavors, with almost 2 million page followers. One noticeable
difference in their page versus competitors is including close up pictures of the ice cream, when
most of the other companies focus on different events around the ice cream. The Twitter page
3

includes a lot of the same content as the Facebook page, including a lot of customer service
responses and about 20,000 followers. The Instagram page includes all the same photos as
Twitter and Facebook and has 200,000+ followers. Recent ads on social media revolve around
the #BatmanCreationContest, #SupermanCreationContest and #WonderWomanCreationContest.
Theyve also been showcasing Bens Wishlist, a community outreach program through Cold
Stone. Cold Stone Creamery traditionally relied on word of mouth to advertise its brand name.
However, in 2007, it announced the first nationwide campaign for the company, named "Love it,
love it", at a cost of $10 million (PrivCo).
In recent news, Cold Stone Creamery announces 11 consecutive quarters of positive same
store sales as stores welcome new frozen treats for Spring. They also announced their parent
company, Kahala Brands as new Global Tastemaster. For SWOT, see appendix
SweetTop will differentiate from its competitors in the sense that it is not customized, but
instead only offers select flavors. The shakes are more high quality and offer more of a variety of
ingredients. They are a little more expensive, but only because they are attracting a different type
of target consumer in the sense that they will be more attracted to the experience rather than just
to get quick, fast-food ice cream.
Market Analysis
SweetTop is part of the Ice Cream & Gelato Store Franchises category. However the
product is more than just a typical ice cream restaurant, it is a gourmet dessert dining experience.
The restaurant will have menu items that are consistent, but will also have special shakes of the
week, month, season, or even day. This exclusivity will give customers a reason to pay more for
the experience that they are getting at SweetTop.
The Ice Cream and Gelato restaurant industry is a $3.2 billion a year industry. The market
for ice cream and gelato is currently decreasing in growth yearly by 1.3%. 29% of ice cream and
gelato is served in a restaurant where it is consumed in the restaurant, while 45.4% is consumed
off premises (IBIS 2014). However, the gourmet dessert category is increasing immensely
currently. People want to have a VIP experience while dining, and that does not stop for dessert.
SweetTop will provide customers an experience that feels custom and top of the line. There aren't
many players in the market currently, so SweetTop will use this opportunity to develop brand
loyalty. If customers have their first gourmet shake experience with SweetTop, they will choose
SweetTop when they want a milkshake made just for them.
SweetTop would be one of the first gourmet ice cream restaurants in the ice cream
market. And the first of its kind in Chicago, the restaurant is adding customization to a market
that has remained the same for decades. Ice cream should be fun, and adding extreme toppings
gives customers an experience to have a dessert thats more than just a milk shake. There are
options for cake, donuts, candy, maybe even something savory like French fries or a chicken
finger. Millennials are constantly using social media to share their food. Instagram gives
SweetTop the opportunity to attract business; the shakes will photograph well by any level of
photographer, which will benefit the restaurant very well.
SweetTop is bringing the over-the-top dining trend to desserts. It is very trendy right now
to have food that is more than just about taste, it's about presentation. It also gives consumers the
opportunity to have unusual combinations of food. A sweet chocolate shake, topped with fries
and pretzels gives a salty twist. Like the trend of serving a bloody marys with a meal on top, the
SweetTop shake will give consumers a shake with a second meal on top. The trend is something
that the business believes will succeed in a city such as Chicago, where people are concerned
with their social media and will enjoy posting a photo of a spectacular dessert.
4

Consumer Analysis for the brand/product category

Ice cream is consumed by almost everyone in the country, so targeting a specific
customer that consumes ice cream the most is difficult, however in the category, the most
consistent consumption of ice cream and frozen products is families. Households that have
children that are school aged or older living at home consume on average 42-44% more ice
cream then the average household (Best customers: Ice Cream and Related Products 2015).
Families consume ice cream because it is a dessert that children like, and typically requires little
to know preparation, parents can pull out a container, scoop out the product and then serve the
dessert to their families. Most consumers are married, and according to MRI, the highest product
index of ice cream consumers is a primary purchaser that also subscribes to FamilyFun
magazine.
Currently, the typical ice cream spending and consumption is declining, that is
consumption from ice cream bought in stores and then consumed at home or elsewhere. The
average household spending fell 24% between 2000 and 2010 after adjusting for inflation.
Behind the decline was price discounting due to private labels competing with premium brands
in the grocery store (Best Customers 2015). SweetTop does not see the decline of ice cream
consumption as a threat to the new business as the restaurant incorporates an experience. Most of
the decline of consumption of ice cream is from in-store purchases, not sales in restaurants that
SweetTop will provide.
Ice cream is consumed pretty much everywhere, there is no specific geographical hotspot
for the industry, and SweetTop can take advantage of this opportunity if opening a second
restaurant, they can open a restaurant anywhere in the country. (MRI 2014). Ice cream has been
around since the second century B.C., so it's a category that everyone in the world knows about,
but ice cream can be used for different purposes around the world.
Ice Cream is used in America, as a reason for families to come together. Historically
families have joined together after supper in the summer to enjoy an ice cream sundae, shake, or
cone. Ice cream parlors became popular in America in the late 1890s and they remained popular
to the mid 20th century. Ice cream parlors became a way for teenagers to meet up and connect
with friends. They were a place where teenagers went to escape their house and parents. Parlors
are not as popular today, but SweetTop wants to bring back the ice cream parlor in a modern
way. We want to give teenagers a spot to hang out in that is contemporary but has the feeling of a
parlor, a place to meet up with friends.
The Role of Advertising
Advertising is a key aspect when introducing a new brand and product to the market. It is
crucial that SweetTop uses advertising in Chicago and its surrounding cities to publicize the
restaurant to gain business. SweetTop is a restaurant that revolves around customer experience,
and the business needs to be seen as a restaurant that is gourmet and provides a unique
experience to customers each time they visit the restaurant.
With the right advertising, SweetTop will be seen as a restaurant that customers want to
visit. The experience is the real driving force for business, its not about the milkshake as much
as its about the toppings on the shake. Customers will see shakes that are topped with a second
dessert and that will bring them into SweetTop. The shake is something that photographs well,
and SweetTop believes that the products photo alone will intrigue customers to dine at the
restaurant.
5

The best advertising for SweetTop is direct action. Because the parlor is the first of its
kind in Chicago, people need to go to the restaurant and experience the shakes to see what they
are. Advertising cannot be used in a way that provokes information seeking behaviors. Word of
mouth once the restaurant is more established will be a great source of advertising for the
restaurant because the experience that customers will have will generate a buzz through word of
mouth. However, before the restaurant opens, advertising will need to photograph the products
SweetTop sells to show consumers what the restaurant provides and to gain attention in the
media.
Marketing Mix
The overall brand promise is to provide a genuine ice cream experience with reasonable
pricing and quality ice cream while also developing a fun and light relationship with all of our
consumers. Our objective is to make our customers feel comfortable and to defy the current
culture of getting your ice cream and leaving the store. At Sweet Top, our environments and
themes might change according to events or special nights but our goals to create an enjoyable
aura will not. We will be using four main marketing strategies, including internet/social media
marketing, special events at the shop, catering and fairs/festivals.
Internet/Social media marketing
Social networking is inexpensive and extremely efficient with our target audience. We
will have a Facebook page for our store and post regular updates with sales, store information
and upcoming events. We will also include advertising throughout Facebook as well. In addition
we also want to also provide sponsored posts on Instagram to get the word out to our consumers.
We will aim to engage with our customers and ask for their personal input or suggestions for
new flavors, potential events or any other ways we can improve the business. We will also have
blog, to enhance the relationship with our customers by providing ice cream recipes and serving
tips. Customers are more likely to view our blog if we provide information they can use in their
own lives and becoming more relatable to them. Perhaps one of our most powerful techniques
will be Google Adwords. This will draw in customers who are searching for nearby ice cream
shops/locations. This way, our business's address and location will be provided for customers
who are looking for our restaurant.
Since our objectives are to differentiate ourselves from our customers, our social media
marketing will play a vital role towards the growing of Sweet Top. This part of our marketing
strategy will work hard to engage with our audience in order to not only provide constructive
feedback from our customers but also to build relationships with our market. This strategy has
worked well with Ben and Jerrys, Taco Bell, Old Spice etc. These are companies that give a
genuine effort to engage with their customers and have an enjoyable relationship.
Google Adwords ($1-$50 per word) - $1M
Facebook - (video and other social postings as well as other Facebook
advertising)-$20M
Instagram - $1M

Events at the shop

Family discounts/sampling Holding events at our shop will draw customers in. Some
events might include family night where we sponsor a family night out and offer discounts to
families with kids or a teens nights where we provide a more mature and fun atmosphere with
trending music, funny memes, quotes etc. We can also have a non-profit organization hold a
fundraiser at our shop, to enhance our involvement within the community and also providing
exposure. When debuting new flavors, we will give out free samples or offer a bonus scoop for
customers who purchase something. People are attracted to free events, and theyll be more
likely to remember our business if we gain enough exposure.
This strategy will be the most crucial towards our branding, considering our projection to
break into the market with the objective of differentiating ourselves. We will emphasize the
importance of the ice cream experience and how we can return to old fashion ways with a hint of
modernism. The environment of our shop will adapt to our events being held at the shop, for
example having live music on teen night. These shop events will show our customers that we
really do care about their experience and not just their money. With steady traffic of people, a
simple event can increase traffic immensely, causing more people to stick around to check out
whats happening inside the shop. Besides small discounts or promotions, ice cream companies
do not really hold many events at their locations. This strategy will take a lot of work to execute
but will be essential towards our goal of differentiating our brand.
-

Print Promotion and Shop Events- $20M

Catering
An efficient way to get potential customers to taste our products while also getting paid.
Reaching out to local businesses, nonprofits and churches can help with business and exposure.
We can provide reduced rates for small businesses and have them hand out business cards and/or
serve ice cream in bowls with the company name/logo on them. Customers who like our ice
cream and know that we are local in the Chicago area will be more likely to visit the shop. With
this catering strategy, we will use come cross promotion with other companies through their
events. Our exposure to customers will be incremental, however with consistency, SweetTop will
undoubtedly buzz in the local area.
-

Catering and Cross Promotion: $2M

Fairs and Festivals

Distributing business cards, free shirts/stickers/hats
Summer festivals are ideal places to market our product, since the majority of the attendants will
be more than willing to try a cold snack. We will also distribute discount cards and/or business
card to customers. If they like our ice cream, they'll remember us from festivals & fairs that we
served at. Similar to the catering strategy, our attempt to reach our middle aged target audience
will be achieved through events around the Chicago Area similar to The Taste of Chicago,
LollaPalooza, Pitchfork etc. Ice Cream vendors are not very popular at these events but with a
reasonable price and quality product, selling our product at these events would hit the sweet spot.
This is similar to the technique that Dippin Dots used for their company by providing their
service at Six Flags Great America. Within a short amount of time, the majority of the Chicago
area will have at the very least heard about our brand. As a new company, awareness of our

product and service is important, so with enough exposure through local events, Sweet Top will
no longer be irrelevant to our competitors.
-

Music Festivals and Events in the Chicago Area: $6M

Budget Recap
Social Media
Google Adwords ($1-$50 per word) - $1M
Facebook - (video and other social postings as well as other
Facebook advertising)-$20M
Instagram - $1M
Print and Events at the Shop- $20M
Music Festivals and Events in Chicago Area - $6M
Catering and Cross Promotion - $2M
Conclusion
Analyzing the top competitors in the ice cream and gelato restaurant industry
revealed that SweetTop is competing in a different niche that the other competitors dont
satisfy. This is due to the fact that visiting a SweetTop store is not about making your
own mix in ice cream, and getting something fast and simple to satisfy your ice cream
flavor- its about the experience of not having too many decisions to make, being
adventurous, and trendy. The current biggest competitor in the industry is Dairy Queen,
with 25.5% of the market share. They have the biggest social media following through all
of their platforms, and the most restaurants open in the world. They also were the
inventors of the product category back in 1938. However, consumers these days desire
more of an experience that they can show off to their friends via social media and
conversation, which SweetTop can satisfy.
The Ice Cream and Gelato restaurant industry is a $3.2 billion a year industry. The
market for ice cream and gelato is currently decreasing in growth yearly by 1.3%.
However, the speciality gourmet aspect of SweetTop shakes will give the business an
edge that will make it a competitor in the market. The company will succeed in the
declining market because the customer experience is unlike that of any other ice cream
parlor in the market.
SweetTop will ultimately be a successful brand due to the fact that the product is
so new and individualized. By utilizing social media, the community as well as the shop
itself, the brand will have the opportunity to grow immensely in its first year. The
younger

References
America's Favorite Neighborhood Ice Cream Shop. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2016, from
https://www.baskinrobbins.com/content/baskinrobbins/en/aboutus/history.html
Cold Stone Creamery. (2015). PrivCo. Retrieved from http://www.privco.com/privatecompany/cold-stone-creamery#
Crompton, James (2014). Ice Cream and Gelato Store Franchises in the US. IBISWorld Industry
Report OD5547. Retrieved from IBISWorld database.
GfK Mediamark Research & Intelligence. (2014, Spring Product Report). Ice Cream, Ice Milk &
Sherbet used in last 6 months Total. Base: Principal Shoppers. Retrieved from MRI Mediamark
Reporter database.
James Crompton. (2014, December). Ice Cream & Gelato Store Franchises in the US.
IBISWorld. Retrieved from http://clients1.ibisworld.com/reports/us/industry/default.aspx?
entid=5547
New Strategist Press. (2015). Best customers: Demographics of consumer demand (11th ed.).
S.l.: New Strategist Pubns.
OneSource. International Dairy Queen Inc. (2016). OneSource Information Service, Inc.
Retrieved from OneSource Global Business Browser. Access date.

Appendix
Product Examples

10

11

12

SWOT Analysis

13

14

Competitor Analysis Chart

15