"The brand sits right at the warm, gooey center of everyone's subconscious. That's how Hershey's bars can sell on American store shelves for 125 years, in the same boring candy bar wrapper - dull gray letters on a field of brown - without much emphasis on paid media at all. So when Hershey's takes the rare step of overhauling its brand marketing creative and communications platform, it is news. And this Wednesday marks the beginning of Hershey's first major brand marketing campaign since 2018,"
"For one thing, even for a brand like Hershey's, "you still have to market it," Rinaldi responded. There is constant testing and churn in the candy category, he said, "and you've got to make sure that you're constantly at the top of consumer's minds." And if ever there was a time to market, it's 2026. The Hershey Company is a 2026 US Olympic team sponsor, on top of the company's annual sports sponsorships, like NCAA's March Madness tournament."
Hershey rarely invests heavily in paid advertising because the brand maintains deep, long-standing consumer recognition. The company retained the same basic candy bar wrapper for 125 years and has gone long periods without major brand updates. Hershey is launching its first major brand marketing campaign since 2018 to refresh creative and communications. The refresh aims to keep the brand top-of-mind amid constant category testing and churn. The company plans to leverage 2026 opportunities including US Olympic team sponsorship, recurring sports partnerships like March Madness, the US 250th anniversary, and a co-produced film titled 'Hershey.' A densely planned marketing calendar will pressure-test modern advertising approaches.
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