Robin Hoods marketing strategies

One of the reasons Robin Hood was so successful was because of how it marketed its product. This cookbooklet is an excellent example of Robin Hoods early marketing conventions since it was made only three years after the company was founded. Firstly, the ‘money back guarantee’ is a great way to build brand trust and please the customer. Getting someone to try a new product and especially a new brand can be tough, but the included money back guarantee removes the risk from the customers' mind. Once the risk is gone from the customers' mind, it gives them a good reason to try this new brand making all these claims about having flour that gives “more loaves of better bread.” Another strategy shown in this cookbooklet is the pictures of the child smiling while eating bread made with Robin Hood flour. The primary customer around the time of this cookbooklet would have been housewives who were regularly cooking/baking for their family. Knowing this, Robin Hood shows photos of a small child very happy at how the bread made with Robin Hood flour tastes. Wanting to make the family as happy as possible the mother would be more inclined to purchase an item that she thought would be more beneficial to the family. These strategies along with consistent quality product are what made Robin Hood stand out and strive in a competitive market.

Gender stereotypes 

During the early 20th-century gender stereotypes were prevalent and not uncommon to see in everyday life and this cookbooklet is no exception. On multiple pages throughout there are hints at gender stereotypes where the mother is the one doing all the cooking for the family. One example is on page three, which has a photo of a boy eating some bread with the caption saying “Mother Uses Robin Hood Flour For All Her Baking.” This quote directly implies that the boys' mother is the one doing all the baking for the house. Around this time (the 1910’s) it was extremely reasonable for families to have the mother staying at home cooking all the meals and this cookbooklet follows that stereotype.