The Hydrox Cookie Test

I admit it. I’m a Hydrox person, and proud of it. As a child, I scorned the heavier, sweet taste of Oreos, the big, bad cookie giant. Instead, I relished the original chocolate sandwich cookie, Hydrox, with it’s light, rich, semi-sweet taste. If I wanted to eat the filling first, each cookie separated easily, without breaking, and the flower and scallop design stamped into each cookie made me smile!

About 10 years ago, I began to notice that my favorite cookie was becoming harder and harder to find. Alas, in 2003, Kelloggs eliminated Hydrox from their product line altogether, without any warning or announcement.

Now, five years later, Hydrox fans still haven’t gotten over it. A January article in the Wall Street Journal reported that Hydrox lovers had established a website and an online petition to bring the cookie back. After the WSJ article, Kelloggs was also inundated with phone calls from over a thousand desperate Hydrox fans pleading for its return.

Have you seen brand loyalty like that recently? Do your products have a faithful following that would petition, pester and hound your company for a product you let slip by the wayside?

Okay, I’ll admit that consumer cookie lovers are not exactly the same audience as production managers, engineers, maintenance supervisors and other industrial clients. But I submit that if you market your products and services faithfully in a brand environment that defines the unique benefits and advantages you offer…and...if your products and services deliver on those promises, you should have a core client base that is loyal to your brand.

If you don’t have some customers that could pass the Hydrox cookie test, take a closer look at your branding initiatives and product deliverables. Loyal customers are worth fighting for.

BTW - As a Hydrox lover, I was delighted to see that Kelloggs is taking advantage of all us fanatics with a “Biggest Fan” contest. They’re also bringing our favorite cookie back for a limited time to celebrate its 100th birthday. So I hope to be enjoying my favorite cookie again (for a short while, anyway) by the end of the summer!

Melinda