A Risky Ice Cream Name – Controversy or Smart Marketing?
Many ice cream shops name their flavors after a theme, a person, or some type of topic people can relate to. During the presidential election in 2008, some ice cream businesses named new flavors after the candidates. This became controversial, especially if it seemed a shop was favoring one candidate over the other.
By now I’m sure many of you have heard of Ben and Jerry’s launching a new ice cream flavor called “Schweddy Balls” after a classic Saturday Night Live skit on tv. While many people find this to be amusing, others have taken offense even to the point of boycotting the flavor. A group of mom’s have complained that this risky ice cream name is inappropriate for children.
Doing something on the risky side, such as giving your new ice cream flavor a controversial name, can have it’s pros and cons. Although it may attract some negative attention, controversy usually generates great publicity and marketing….and more business. Naming your ice cream something controversial will get people talking about your business. It may even lead people to visit your shop to see what everyone is talking about. Some people may boycott you, but you just might find a lot of new followers because of your new “fame”.
When it comes to choosing your ice cream flavor name, something risky just might work in your favor. What do you think?