M&M's

A Candy with a History

M&M’s Candy is priced as affordable by any one and targets the all age groups since 1941.

The reason why M&M’s has been successful to survive for 79 years and always been everyone’s one of the favorite snacks is because it has always been different, innovative and the brand built a great reputation with its historical contributions.

In the days that air-conditioners did not exist, the Americans were fed up with the melting chocolate bars and thus gave up buying them. So, Mars came up with a solution with Hershey’s and invented the M&M’s- the tiny button shaped chocolates surrounded with a candy shell that actually did not melt. The tagline that the brand launched its product was “Melts in your mouth, not in your hand” which was distinctive enough to grab the American’s attention.

When the U.S. army entered the World War II in 1941, the M&M’s candies were exclusively sold to the military as quick, portable, ready-to-eat meals which were not melting and were durable in warm climates. So these candies were actually a huge supporting partner of the military and had lots of loyal customers and a great name after the war ended.

M&M’s was also the first candy to go to space. In 1981, the candies entered the NASA’s space shuttle to support the team since the M&M’s features were also qualified enough for a space travel.

The M&M’s Mascots, Advertisements and Sponsorships

The M&M’s was able to keep consumer’s interest for so long also with its advertising strategy by creating 6 different candy shaped mascots portraying different flavours and personalities. Red, Yellow, Orange, Green, Ms. Brown and Blue; they are not just imaginary characters as the brand humanised the candies and represented them in amusing narratives. Each of the character has a gender, age, weight, turn-ons, best feature, shortcomings and even hidden talents. The mascots appear in the M&M’s advertisements which are narrated in a very humorous way and another thing that makes the ads distinguished is that they involve the characters together with celebrities in a way that actually giving the mascots a life in the human world. The brand’s advertisements have also been launched during the Super Bowl where it can reach millions and in the game of 2019, it came out on top with a total score of 9.72 out of 10 in the Super Bowl commercial battle.

The brand has been sponsoring popular events and activities including the NASCAR as it collaborated with the famous driver Kyle Busch. With the successful digital marketing strategies, M&M’s announced this alliance through the athlete’s and the brand’s social media channels as well as several advertisements.

Design Your Own M&M’s

It is also possible to personalise your own M&M’s for special occasions like birthday, Christmas, wedding, baby shower, anniversary, bridal shower, graduation, mother’s day, etc. From the web site of the brand, one can start by choosing a package and then filling it with the M&M’s candies according to the flavor and color, adding cliparts where there are lots of options of images to choose according to the theme of the occasion, adding a text message and even uploading an image.

The M&M’s Stores

M&M’s has stores in New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, London and Shanghai that offer the customers a really good time with the colourful environment, delicious candies that one can personalise his or her own bag from the candy bars. Different products for clothing and home decoration are also presented as it is possible to buy t-shirts, socks, slippers, bandanas, golf balls, bowls, mugs, pillows and even slot machine dispensers in the stores.

According to TripAdvisor, each M&M’s stores is one of the top 10 places to do shopping in that city. By creating an attractive store that people can have a real experience when they enter as well as they can have a subconscious experience with the sight and smell of the store when they pass by; the brand has set an unforgettable image in customers' minds. Patrick McIntyre, the Director of Global Retail at Mars, calls the M&M’s stores as a “marketing vehicle” that is "revenue generating".