Rom Chocolate Brand
During the communism years, mostly during Nicolae Ceauşescu's "reign", when basic products (food) were rationed and the other products were exported for economical growth, Kandia SA created the ROM chocolate bar.
More exactly, ROM is a chocolate bar filled with rum cream, a unique product created for the local, Romanian market, first created in 1964.
The brand, from the begining, was succesful, because of the lack of choices and, of course, the restrictions which were applied by the communist government.
At that time, ROM was a delight for everyone, and all the Romanians, from children to old people, knew the brand and identified with it, because they had to.
Therefore, the product now reminds Romanians of their childhood, actually linking generations. Since ROM was created in Romania, for Romanians, it's valid to say that the product brings out the patriotism from people. Other than the name (ROM - from Romania, and also "rom" meaning rum), the nationalist spirit which comes with this chocolate bar is also, represented by its packaging, being wrapped in the romanian flag, with a simple format of the name. (see fig. 1) fig. 1
Over the years, because the product started losing ground, ROM made some changes regarding the product, launching brand extensions, made the packaging more shinny and came up with good brand strategies in order to increase the popularity of the product once again.
I chose this brand because, even though created by communists, capitalists can still make it shine and include it among people's preferences. In my opinion, it's not just about the taste, but the feeling that you're eating something authentic, which has kept its tradition since 1964. So you can call me patriotic, but I do believe in the values that this brand represents.
A recent campaign which is still running, is a social one, where the brand ROM can be seen as an „ambassador” of Romania, in which customers get to be involved in
More exactly, ROM is a chocolate bar filled with rum cream, a unique product created for the local, Romanian market, first created in 1964.
The brand, from the begining, was succesful, because of the lack of choices and, of course, the restrictions which were applied by the communist government.
At that time, ROM was a delight for everyone, and all the Romanians, from children to old people, knew the brand and identified with it, because they had to.
Therefore, the product now reminds Romanians of their childhood, actually linking generations. Since ROM was created in Romania, for Romanians, it's valid to say that the product brings out the patriotism from people. Other than the name (ROM - from Romania, and also "rom" meaning rum), the nationalist spirit which comes with this chocolate bar is also, represented by its packaging, being wrapped in the romanian flag, with a simple format of the name. (see fig. 1) fig. 1
Over the years, because the product started losing ground, ROM made some changes regarding the product, launching brand extensions, made the packaging more shinny and came up with good brand strategies in order to increase the popularity of the product once again.
I chose this brand because, even though created by communists, capitalists can still make it shine and include it among people's preferences. In my opinion, it's not just about the taste, but the feeling that you're eating something authentic, which has kept its tradition since 1964. So you can call me patriotic, but I do believe in the values that this brand represents.
A recent campaign which is still running, is a social one, where the brand ROM can be seen as an „ambassador” of Romania, in which customers get to be involved in
References: C.W. Park, S.M. Young ,Consumer Response to Television Commercials, the Impact of Involvement and Background, Music on Brand Attitude Formation, Journal of Marketing Research, 1986, 23,1 p.11-21; Rust, R.T., Zeithaml, V.A., Lemon, K.N http://www.brandmatters.com.au/branded-house-or-a-house-of-brands/ ; Kwon Jung, Leslie Tey, (2010) Searching for boundary conditions for successful brand extensions", Journal of Product & Brand Management, 19 (4), 276 – 285; Loken, Barbara; Roedder John, Deborah (1993), Diluting Brand Beliefs: When Do Brand Extensions Have a Negative Impact? Journal of Marketing, 57 (3), 71-84; http://www.allchocolate.com/health/basics/ ; 4 Rust, R.T., Zeithaml, V.A., Lemon, K.N. (2004), Customer-centered brand management, Harvard Business Review, (82), 9, 110-118. 7 http://www.brandmatters.com.au/branded-house-or-a-house-of-brands/ 8 Kwon Jung, Leslie Tey, (2010) Searching for boundary conditions for successful brand extensions", Journal of Product & Brand Management, 19 (4), 276 – 285; 9 Loken, Barbara; Roedder John, Deborah (1993), Diluting Brand Beliefs: When Do Brand Extensions Have a