HHCL/Red Cell wins £5m Godiva relaunch
Godiva International, the luxury chocolate manufacturer, has hired HHCL/Red Cell to relaunch the premium brand in Europe and Japan, and take on such rivals as Charbonnel & Walker and Lindt.
It is believed that Godiva will need to invest at least £5m and that the strategy is likely to involve the “sexy” line taken by other treat products, such as Häagen-Dazs.
HHCL/Red cell was appointed after a pitch overseen by Tom Daly, Godiva’s director of marketing and strategic planning. A company spokesman says Godiva aims to be “the definitive luxury chocolate brand in each market”. Godiva is owned by the Campbell Soup Company, which invested £3.35m in a US push three years ago. So far, its advertising has been developed in New York agency Margeotes/Fertitta & Partners.
The agency developed a print campaign in 2002 that showed a woman in a museum eating a chocolate with the strapline: “Who says quality time has to be spent with someone else?”
Godiva has several dedicated “boutiques” and outlets in department stores and speciality shops in the US. It also has stores in a number of European capitals, including London, and operates an online ordering service.
HHCL/Red Cell has just appointed former Walsh Trott Chick Smith founding partner Amanda Walsh as European chief executive. She reports to Andy Berlin, chairman and chief executive of Red Cell.
