Promoting Pop Culture

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With the ice cream industry taking a hit from the healthier alternatives, Mister Softee needs to find a new way to revolutionize the game and re-attract those frozen treat fans who may have strayed away from the original summer treat. Mister Softee will need to innovate and think of new ways that it will change its game up in order to stay relevant with what people want. Ice cream is not the healthiest of options so changing the basis of a company would be extremely hard. Mister Softee’s soft serve ice cream recipe and convenience of coming straight to you was what helped it become so successful.

Implementations Mister Softee Inc. has added to its company to make them more popular and reach out to consumers is through its website. On the website www.mistersoftee.com fans can download the Mister Softee jingle, for free, as an mp3 to use as a cellphone ringtone. For individuals who perform in the realm of music, sheet music can also be printed at home via no charge. For kids, or kid like adults, the website also allows you to print out a black and white Mister Softee man logo that you can color in. Unfortunately, the website could use a major revamp as it has that feel and quality of a 1990’s website. On the bright side, Mister Softee also serves at events such as parties, fairs, and company picnics. One statement on the website for readers says, “Mister Softee also makes a great fundraiser for your church, synagogue, school or non-profit organization.” Mister Softee’s portability is part of what makes it more than your average ice cream stand. Places such as the Yogo Factory are great, but they cannot relocate their entire selection of products to your location.

Implications for the Future

There are a variety of ideas that can be tossed around on how to make Mister Softee great again. Mister Softee more or less already delivers the product straight to the consumer. If there is one thing American’s do not like, it is going somewhere when what they want can come to them. There are a few options that could possible increase the relevance and popularity of Mister Softee.

The first idea is to create a healthier ice cream to keep with this “health movement” that is currently taking place. Right now, Mister Softee already serves two different versions of chocolate and vanilla soft serve. One is the original recipe, while the other is a lower calorie, lower fat version. If there was a way to possibly reduce the calorie intake and fat content of ice cream even further, it could draw those consumers who are trying to keep healthy. However, to create an ice cream that would become healthier than frozen yogurt without creating frozen yogurt is slim.

A second idea is that Mister Softee could simply serve frozen yogurt along with their famous ice cream, instead of trying to beat it. To get rid of ice cream altogether would be too radical of a change for Mister Softee, and it would stray too far from its original base. Though, if trucks would begin to offer new types of products, customers may be more inclined to spend their money with Mister Softee than to travel to the nearest Yogo Factory. Of course, the trucks would be limited to what flavors they could serve due to the limited amount of space on the truck. Mister Softee has had the same exact menu for decades. If frozen yogurt cannot be implemented, at least add some new flavors.

Mister Softee in China has been a success, and as mentioned previously, the Chinese franchise has a whole host of new flavors. Attempting to implicate Chinese-styled flavors into America could be hit or miss. Green tea ice cream has a potential chance of becoming a success due to the popularity of green tea in the U.S. Green tea ice cream appeals to a change in flavor, while also appealing to a somewhat healthier option. Other Chinese flavors such as kiwi sundaes, and red bean ice cream may not be such a hit due to its outlandishness to American culture. Having a large assortment of flavors has been one factor in the success of frozen yogurt shops such as the Yogo Factory. Another successful tactic taken from small shops that Mister Softee could implement is the valued guest punch card.

The punch card refers to the small business looking cards that are starting to be given out at a number of locations. It’s simply in design, when a customer purchases so much of a product, they get a little for free. At the Yogo Factory, after about 8 purchases, you get so many ounces of your next purchase for free. Even non-desert type stores use these cards to keep customers coming back. Heritage’s Dairy Stores uses a “milk club card” where customers can purchase six gallons of milk, and get the seventh for free. This punch card is something that people love because they eventually get something for free by continuing to be dedicated to one organization. If Mister Softee incorporated this into their business, consumers may feel more desire to purchase from the ice cream truck when the jingle sounds within their neighborhoods because they know they have a free cone on their way. What if customers for some reason do not know Mister Softee is in the area?

Mister Softee should create a phone app to bring their company into 2016. Yes, they have a website that is very outdated, but they are not on any mobile applications. If Mister Softee had an app that produced notifications whenever a Mister Softee was entering the user’s area, people may already be more prepared when they see the ice cream truck coming toward their street. This app could also contain a menu of products purchasable at the truck along with each frozen novelty’s nutritional facts and cost. The Jingle is found on the website for free, so it could also be added to the app so users could easily download the song. Lastly, the phone could also contain a couple of fun and simple Mister Softee related games, such as a version mirroring diner dash, except with ice cream and in a neighborhood. The exposure of Mister Softee will only increase its popularity to consumers. Mister Softee is well known in the areas that it currently runs in, but it can become known nation-wide.

Expansion, something that has slowly happened since the beginning of Mister Softee Inc., could result in major success. Unfortunately the company is operated through franchises, so it will not begin to appear in new territories until willing franchise owners begin to purchase trucks and routes in newer locations. Plans for expansion in China were discussed but no real evidence of Turner Sparks and Alex Conway escalation is available on the Internet. Without creating healthier product that people want, expansion could either be a major success, or it could be a dead end. Though, I believe areas that are not use to seeing