where tradition meets tech
Transforming 89 Years of Malley’s Chocolates Traditions With Digital Innovations
sweet since the 1930's
Nine decades of serving up delicious sweets and treats
For 89 years, Malley’s Chocolates has been operating out of Cleveland, Ohio, serving up their delicious sweets and treats to fans across the country. Mike Malley, a third-generation chocolatier and grandson of the founders, runs the company today.
A LEGACY FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
In 2023, with a vision of preparing his company for the next 89 years and beyond, Mike Malley found himself at a crossroads. His beloved family business had grown over the last century, but he realized he needed to usher the brand into a new era of business with a digital transformation. In need of seasoned marketing guidance, Mike turned to DOE Media to assess the state of the company and carve a new path forward. DOE came in and began addressing the needs of the brand from top to bottom.
the challenge
Malley's had no digital marketing infrastructure
With DOE Media, Malley’s not only brought on a team of marketing experts to guide their digital transformation, they also partnered with a group of business executives genuinely invested in the success of the company. Working as a fractional CMO, we began by conducting a full marketing audit to better understand the state of the business.
The most glaring need for Malley’s was to fill the void left by the departure of their longtime marketing director. They required an individual — or a team of people — who could carve out a path on the 21st-century playing field where global conglomerates and mom-and-pop shops stood shoulder to shoulder after the internet had washed away all traditional boundaries. Unfortunately, Malley’s was already behind the curve when it came to their online presence.
a new way forward
For decades, Malley’s chocolates relied on traditional advertising methods
With all of their budget allocated towards radio spots, newspapers, and display ads, Malley’s had no digital marketing infrastructure and lacked a data-driven approach to evaluate their campaign success. To shift their focus towards digital ads, we had to work with the existing budget constraints without the help of any additional investments.
strategizing for success
After conducting a full marketing audit, we hit the ground running with custom-tailored solutions to set the company on a sustainable path forward.
JUST AS DELICIOUS AS BEFORE
Malley's 2.0
Malley’s chocolate making techniques weren’t the only thing passed down through generations, their original marketing strategies were too. Seizing on an opportunity to give Malley’s the tools to succeed for the present and future, we stepped in with several key changes:
- Malley’s transformations began at the top. Our team restructured the marketing department and budget, integrating a robust digital marketing strategy while training legacy employees to operate with a data-driven approach. Despite years of working one way, longtime employees quickly rolled up their sleeves and took no days off, learning and integrating the new approach to push the brand they loved forward.
- With a new structure and a new way of doing things came a new way of allocating the marketing budget. We shifted radio ad spend from being the majority of the marketing budget to spreading it out across untapped channels including Google, YouTube, Meta (Facebook & Instagram), and TikTok.
- With brick-and-mortar being a large part of their business, we needed to find new ways to learn about customers and better understand their shopping habits. We tapped into the Malley's POS (Point of Sale) systems across 19 locations, collecting key customer information to empower future email and SMS campaigns.
- We implemented and tested strategic pop-ups on the company website to capture key visitor information, leading to a significant increase in the customer database.
new follow reQuest
Malley's Generates
Social Buzz
While Malley’s could be found on most social media platforms in 2023, they weren’t using these crucial channels to engage with customers to their maximum potential. We quickly turned this around with several new initiatives:
Malley’s was quickly transforming from a legacy brand on a steady decline, to an established brand on the cusp of a historic comeback. All without needing to sacrifice any of the ideals or traditional chocolate-making techniques that endeared them to millions of customers across the decades.
But, while customers were flocking in droves to get acquainted with Malley’s revamped digital presence, there was an untapped source of engagement waiting to be unleashed.
HEARD ABOUT YOU FROM A FRIEND OF A FRIEND
Malley’s Goes C2I (Chocolate to Influencers)
You don’t go 89 years of selling chocolates if people don’t love your products, but word of mouth in 2023 is a bit different from year’s past. To continue down the path of connecting with customers in the digital age, we turned our efforts towards contacting interested individuals with an established online presence:
the results
Malley’s + The Internet =
A Match Made in Chocolate Heaven
Every change implemented by DOE Media propelled Malley’s to the forefront of the digital business landscape:
- Lowering radio investment proved effective, as an overall ad spend for the critical month of December 2023 of $63,000 on Google, Facebook, and TikTok Ads garnered 7.5 million impressions, reaching 1.3 million people, and raising awareness of in-store sales opportunities, increasing overall sales by 27% YoY.
- A partnership with Brew Nuts Brewery drove thousands of people to show up in person ready to buy the tasty new collaboration between the long-time chocolate staple and their favorite local donuts.
business is booming
By the Numbers
After a renewed focus on digital holiday campaigns.
Gained with a reallocated digital marketing budget of just $63,000.
With the new marketing budget, reigniting the love from fans, and raising awareness of in-store sales opportunities.
Eager to see Malley’s next moves after learning to flex their digital muscles?
Dive into Part 2 of our three-part exploration of Malley’s 21st-century transformation
part two
Malley’s Has Its Sweetest Day Ever
For 89 years, Malley’s Chocolates has been operating out of Cleveland, Ohio, serving up their delicious sweets and treats to fans across the country. Mike Malley, a third-generation chocolatier and grandson of the founders, runs the company today.
In 2023, with a vision of preparing his company for the next 89 years and beyond, Mike Malley found himself at a crossroads. His beloved family business had grown over the last century, but he realized he needed to usher the brand into a new era of business with a digital transformation. In need of seasoned marketing guidance, Mike turned to DOE Media to assess the state of the company and carve a new path forward.
DOE’s first step in turning Malley’s around was to act as a fractional CMO, restructuring their marketing department and budget, and making several key changes to give Malley’s a digital foundation for the future. This included first-time organic and paid social media strategies, as well as launching digital advertising campaigns. We also responded to hundreds of unread business and influencer DM’s on Instagram, establishing partnerships with collaborators who would prove critical to the brand’s future success. You can read all about them in the first part of our three-part series:
the challenge
After decades of stagnation, Malley’s was back on the rise
Bursting onto the digital landscape with a new omnichannel marketing approach, new social media strategies, and blossoming partnerships, it was time to leverage all of these initiatives into the company’s most important time of the year — the holiday season.
- But, when do the holidays officially start?
- Is it when Halloween rolls around?
- Or Thanksgiving?
- Or do you consider the day after Thanksgiving the real start of the season?
- Maybe the first snowfall?
For Malley’s, it’s none of the above.
The candy holidays in the Midwest start on the third Saturday of October, better known as the “Sweetest Day.” Born in Cleveland, Ohio, the first Sweetest Day was celebrated on October 8th, 1921. After the success of the first Sweetest Day, the holiday continues to be celebrated every year, encouraging people to “steal enough time from the turmoil of routine affairs to bring a bit of good cheer to those you love.” And, of course, to indulge in plenty of delicious chocolate.
Despite the prominence of Sweetest Day in Malley’s hometown market, our marketing audit revealed that the brand had been missing out on potential revenue for years. Customers didn’t even bother trying to buy Malley’s Chocolates because they thought their favorite products had sold out — even though there was plenty of inventory left.
ONE DAY TO MAKE IT COUNT
Malley’s Scores a Win on the 102nd Sweetest Day
the results
Malley’s Just Had Its Sweetest Year Ever, and Many More to Come
- After 8 consecutive years of decline, Sweetest Day holiday sales rose by 13% year-over-year (YoY).
- Digital pre-order campaigns helped push a significant volume of online sales for chocolate strawberries—a previously untapped growth opportunity.
- Digital pre-orders accounted for 30% of total sales.
- Malley’s also sold an additional 2,100 units of strawberries online without negatively impacting brick-and-mortar sales.
YOU DESERVE A SWEET TREAT
By the Numbers
For the ‘Sweetest Day’ holiday campaign, after several years of stagnant sales numbers that failed to capture the full potential of the holiday’s local popularity.
Malley’s digital-first approach was already proving effective. Turning around a holiday that had seen little success in previous years into something to look forward to. Couple this with the new depth of relevant data available at their fingertips, Malley’s could continue to optimize their advertising opportunities and push the potential of what their success could truly be.
The Chocolate transformation is nearly complete
If you’re ready to see how Malley’s brought it all together to end their busy season with a chocolate splash and establish new lines of revenue, bite into the final chapter in our three-part series.
part three
Malley’s Taps in to Winter Holiday Sales
For 89 years, Malley’s Chocolates has been operating out of Cleveland, Ohio, serving up their delicious sweets and treats to fans across the country. Mike Malley, a third-generation chocolatier and grandson of the founders, runs the company today.
In 2023, with a vision of preparing his company for the next 89 years and beyond, Mike Malley found himself at a crossroads. His beloved family business had grown over the last century, but he realized he needed to usher the brand into a new era of business with a digital transformation. In need of seasoned marketing guidance, Mike turned to DOE Media to assess the state of the company and carve a new path forward.
the challenge
Searching for sweet success through the season
With the winter holiday season in full swing, and Malley’s riding high after its success on the Sweetest Day, this was no time to take our foot off the gas. Few times around the year get people excited about sweet treats like the weeks between Halloween and the end of December. In addition to the traditional holiday season, key hallmark holidays drive crucial sales for Malley’s. But a lack of planning and digital analysis had left the company with an uncertain outlook on their success for these critical days.
With our newly collected data and analysis of previous years leading the way, we implemented a renewed focus on these important dates. To take advantage of the holiday frenzy, we focused not only on engaging individual customers, but other businesses looking to work with this beloved brand.
the solution
Winning the holidays with B2B sales
- Our marketing audit uncovered a crucial piece of information, email was the top sales driver! Armed with this knowledge, we developed a B2B email outreach campaign to take advantage of these opportunities.
- After finalizing our B2B email strategy and securing buy-in from key stakeholders, we trained the marketing team on how to effectively design and operate email marketing campaigns, setting them up for future success without daily help from the DOE team.
- Trained on new email marketing techniques, we set our marketing team on a journey to develop a new revenue opportunity: corporate gifting.
- With our newly laid out digital infrastructure and data-driven decision-making, we were able to review campaigns from previous years to identify successful holidays and revisited what had worked in the past, crafting campaigns through the lens of our digital-first approach.
- By planning ahead months before a holiday or campaign was supposed to go live, Malley’s was now prepared to make the most of the short sprints of time that proved crucial to yearly sales numbers.
- Real-time tracking and analysis of campaign performance also gave Malley’s the ability to analyze campaign performance, quickly deliver reports after a campaign’s close, and provide seamless updates based on data-driven insights.
- A first for Malley’s, we shifted our focus towards new digital campaigns for top winter holidays, including Cyber Monday and Valentine’s Day.
the results
Malley’s Is Coming to Town
Every change implemented by DOE Media proved to be effective in driving Malley’s to the forefront of not only the digital business landscape, but of the entire chocolate and candy industry:
- With over 1.5 million emails sent, corporate gifting campaigns generated $300k in revenue.
- Malley’s had an average revenue per email of $12,000.
- The B2B email strategy proved fruitful not only in revenue, but in sales information. Growing the email list by thousands of new addresses, and setting up Malley’s for future success with countless new business relationships.
- Cyber Monday sales were up 20% YoY in 2023, pushed by the help of new digital campaigns.
CHOCOLATE, THE SWEETEST GIFT EVER
By the Numbers
Sent to potential businesses clients.
For Cyber Monday sales after digital campaign push.
testimony from malley's
"From the very first moment they were ready to hit the ground running, you gotta roll with them."
Mike Malley
founder & ceo of malley's chocolates
A SWEET TRANSFORMATION
Shaping Malley's Tomorrow
DOE Media helped Malley’s Chocolate reinvent itself, transforming a nearly century-old powerhouse whose future was melting away like a chocolate bar on a hot summer day into a digital-first brand prepared for the new age of advertising. With empowered marketing stakeholders trained to use new strategies and tools, this newfound digital presence allows direct communication with fans and provides plenty of options for people to purchase their favorite candies. While collecting key customer data enables Malley’s to better understand and engage with their followers.
Here’s to Malley’s Chocolates and another 89 years of success!
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