Market Segmentation of Kit Kat

What’s something chocolate can’t fix? If enough digging is done, it is probably even scientifically proven that chocolate is a mood booster. Whenever you’re down, or tired, or etc., you know what to do. Ironically, the company that we are going to discuss today encourages people to have a break. Because when we are stressed, we tend to overwhelm ourselves. Taking a break and recharging is not something most of us usually think of. I am entirely sure that mentioning half of the slogan of the company gave away which one it is. Yup, you guessed it, we are going to talk about Kit Kat and its market segmentation in this blog.

Let’s start by learning about the segmentation strategy of Kit Kat.

Let’s watch the commercial below first.

The character in the video is a supermarket cashier. We all know that those machines make a sound. In fact, I think all of us were fascinated by it as children. Going to the stores with our parents just to hear those repetitive but addictive sounds.

Just like so, we see our character making those sounds himself probably out of boredom. That brings out not only positivity but may also be a coping mechanism of tiredness.

We then even see “Working like a machine?” written on the screen. The idea is not only literally making machine sounds and acting like one. But it is more of a humorous way to show how draining any job can get. Yet it is an inseparable part of our lives to take care of simple day-to-day needs.

Then he finally comes across a Kit Kat bar and decides to take a break.

The ad is for a giveaway based on Kit Kat purchases. It offers tons of prizes among which is a well-deserved vacation.

The video ends with an imaginary scenario of the employee being on a break on holiday as he refuses to accept more customers.

Obviously don’t do that unless you’re acting for a Kit Kat commercial. But do in fact enter giveaways like this because this could be your lucky day.

The vibe that this guy gives is pretty awesome. Keeping a positive attitude is challenging for most people. There are people, however, that keep a smile on their face regardless of their surrounding factors. He provides a positive aura for the people around him.

It is not that common to see a middle-aged man work at a supermarket as a cashier. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it just shows stability. How this man prefers to do his job in a place where he knows what to do. Where he is told how to work by somebody of a higher position. Because he likes to work for money and not for pursuing a career.

Also, he considers participating in the giveaway because he likes being smart with his money. He would rather spend it on things that are more urgent and important.

All of this leaves us with one simple conclusion.

The segment that Kit Kat has chosen to target is Floaters.

What does this tell us? Let’s do more digging.

Lifestyle and values:

Family is the center of this segment’s life. An inseparable aspect of family is the home that they all share. People in this segment share notably traditional values. Gender roles are pretty old-fashioned. Women in these families spend most of their time either in the kitchen cooking or elsewhere cleaning.

Even though Floaters have a low budget, they still do everything in their power to provide well for their families. Their children are particularly lucky to be raised in a caring environment. However, still, mothers do most of the work regarding their upbringing. Teaching manners, values, and everything else you can think of. 

Floaters don’t really care about their appearance. What matters is that they are comfortable in the outfits they choose. Style is in the furthest back of their minds.

Floaters are not the kind of people that will change themselves to be perceived uniquely by other people. It is important that others around accept this segment as they are.

This segment finds comfort in security. They don’t enjoy being in control. This is exactly why they don’t go for new career opportunities because being told what to do is so much more preferable. Work is mostly a way of earning money rather than enjoyment and personal fulfillment.

Their viewpoints about stability are the same about personal relationships. The bond between a Floater and a loved one has to be long-term and centered around trust.

If this segment is given a responsibility, even if it means personal sacrifices, they will never betray ones that trust them.

Attitude to shopping.

Somewhere along the line, it was mentioned that Floaters spend their money wisely. As they have an average budget, they always look for discounts and sales.

Lower prices enable them to purchase more goods. Yup, this segment prefers quantity over quality.

After all, understandably this segment is not one to care about the latest trends and new products. If they adopt freshly launched items, they will be among the late majority.

Interesting facts about Floaters:

They like

• To have a peaceful lifestyle focused on their family and their home
• A quiet evening with the family. It is a much better time than going out
• A daily walk as an exercise
• Setting family traditions such as a weekly dinner with everyone around
• Being in nature and familiar places
• Being reliant on TV for staying up-to-date
• Local news, sports broadcasts, request shows, talk shows, police news, and series

They don’t like

• Sports
• Social events
• National or international newspapers and magazines
• Serious news
• The internet
• Computers
• The radio

Next, let’s talk about the Positioning Plan of Kit Kat.

There is one quote that pretty much describes this brand’s positioning in one sentence. It is as follows: “Broad in appeal, young in feel, big in stature”.

Kit Kat comes in different flavors, it is incredibly affordable compared to other chocolate brands and appears in lucrative packaging.

The affordable price makes it possible to target a wider range of consumers. It is no secret that chocolate can get expensive which limits the target extent. As far as we’re concerned, Kit Kat is safe in that aspect.

People’s preferations regarding chocolate vary. Some like white chocolate, some like dark, or milk. Again, a broad scope of customers is taken into the picture.

Let’s not forget that the packaging sizes and types are also important. One day you may prefer a regular-sized Kit Kat, the next day you may fancy a mini Kit Kat bar.

Kit Kat is known for its signature wafer. Although other brands offer some products that have that ingredient included, Kit Kat kind of owns it as part of its branding.

The wafer makes it a filling food item. Thus, it is more of a snack rather than just chocolate. Plus, these sweets are associated with having a break due to the brand’s legendary tagline. “Have a break, have a Kit Kat”.

In the eyes of the consumers, Kit Kat is a lot more than just chocolate. It is a way of recharging and refreshing when most necessary. That is exactly why this brand has a good number of loyal customers. Something that every company deeply values.

Moving on, we are going to review the marketing mix of KitKat

“What is a marketing mix?” you may ask. Simply put, a marketing mix analyses a company while looking at four aspects of it: product, pricing, place, and promotion.

As noticed, all of those concepts start with the letter ‘P’. This is why the marketing mix is otherwise known as 4Ps.

Let’s deliberate about each of those Ps one by one.

Product:

Did you know that the original Kit Kat was orange flavored? It is even hard to imagine since we are so used to the milk chocolate version. The one that includes the following ingredients: sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, whey powder, lactose, and so on.

But what do we know now? There are many other flavors available out there, such as ginger ale, soy sauce, green tea, and banana. These are only four out of the 200 other possible variants out there.

The shapes and sizes of these candy bars are diverse as well. The traditional one consists of 4 fingers each 0.4 inches by 3.5 inches. However, these days there are even 12-finger sized bars available in Australia and France. There are also tiny versions, half-finger sized, sold in Japan.  

Now, obviously, just like any other big company, Kit Kat faces competition. The biggest competitor of this business is Cadbury which is also known for the production of delicious chocolate.

Pricing:

Chocolate is something people buy impulsively. It is not like a clothing item that one will see and like and then go look at other products. Once you find your go-to snack, you’re most likely going to come back to it. And that is exactly what matters most for chocolate manufacturers.

Kit Kat has maintained its affordable pricing throughout the years. It keeps people coming back. It does not only have a reasonable price but a unique taste. Also, because it is made of waffles, in case you want a quick hunger relief, it saves time and money.

Place:

Kit Kat’s distribution strategy is pretty strong. Nestle manufactures Kit Kat in over 16 countries across the world. Countries like Brazil, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Russia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Japan, China, etc.

Kit Kat even owns a Chocolatory. A Chocolatory is a chocolate laboratory where people experience the chocolate creation process.

Another special location that Kit Kat owns is in Melbourne. In that store, people can customize their Kit Kats however they wish, based on their selections of ingredients and flavors.

Promotion:

The smartest move that Nestle does to promote Kit Kat is coming out with unique flavors as special editions. This way they are promoted for a limited and specific time. As a result, their sales are high. However, what is also impressive, is that the sales of the original flavor are not really affected neither positively nor negatively. It goes at its own pace.

Also, as already mentioned, Kit Kat falls more in the snacks category. This means that people are likely to buy a Kit Kat bar at any time of day when they feel like snacking. The purchasing of this snack is not limited only to when one has a sweet tooth.

The other thing that Kit Kat does for brand promotion is a collaboration with other brands that do not necessarily belong to the same rank.

Kit Kat has worked together with Google, appeared in the show ‘The Big Brother’, various ads, billboards, and papers.

To sum up, Kit Kat is a leading Nestle brand offering chocolate-flavor wafer biscuit bars. In the blog above, we talked about some of the marketing steps Kit Kat has taken to achieve its success. Important points that we mentioned were the company’s segmentation and positioning strategies, and marketing mix. Make sure to come back to our website for many more educational and entertaining blogs similar to this one.