HULT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL MASTER OF DIGITAL MARKETING Marketing Class Professor Wahyd Vannoni
The M&M ’s Retail-tainment Experience By Ioanna Koliou The M&M ’s Brand FUN FREEDOM CHOISE CHILD
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PART 1: INTRODUCTION Overview of the history of M&M’s M&M's candies belong to the Confectionery products brand category. Confectioneries are food products that are rich in sugar and calories, low in micronutrients, and with high density of energy. The modern definition mentions that they have artificial sweeteners as well. Parent company Mars Inc owns a wide variety of products in this category. M&M's, Mars, Milky Way, Bounty, Snickers, Twix, Maltesers, Skittles, Dove/Galaxy, Hubba Bubba, Topic to name a few. Out of these products, Skittles could be considered to directly competing with M&M's, since they look a lot alike but then the former have fruity flavours and the latter chocolate and peanut (in Europe). It seems that the focus of the company has been to promote the chocolate flavoured ones (M&M's), hence giving them personas. It is generally considered that everyone likes chocolate! The idea for M&M's was conceived few years before 1941, by Forrester Mars, who is the founder of Mars Inc, parent company of M&M's. During the Spanish Civil War, he observed that soldiers were eating candies that had a hard shell, which was preventing the chocolate from melting. Like that, M&M's, “the milk chocolate that melts in your mouth not in your hand” was born. The M&M's logo stands for the names of the two most important stakeholders of the company (Mars and Murrie). The original colours were red, yellow, brown, green and violet and the initial packaging was a cardboard tube, similar to Smarties (product of Nestle). At the early beginnings of the brand, the main audience was the military and space shuttle astronauts. It started becoming popular in households approximately 10 years after their launch, along with the television boom. The characters though first appeared on the packages, TV and print ads, in a very raw and unprocessed format, in 1972. Over the years, there has been much experimentation around the colours and the text or shape that is imprinted on the colourful candy shells, as well as their flavours and sizes. Black Ms, holiday symbols, like Easter eggs, bunnies, chicks, Christmas trees and candles were used on the candies in different promotions; bright colours for Christmas and pastel colours for Easter. However, after 1993, all the symbols were replaced with the white trademark “M” and the main colours were down to red, yellow, green, blue and orange. Around this time, M&M's launched a marketing campaign, which personified these candies and using them as “spokescandies” in television commercials. According to Marketing Evaluation Inc, the characters were so well-built that they surpassed the popularity of Mickey Mouse and Bart Simpson. Over the following years, these characters developed into the distinctive personalities that we know today and gave to the brand the massive awareness and resonance all over the world.
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PART 2: THE M&M’s WORLD EXPERIENCE The concept of the “M&M's World” is relatively new and aims at creating an exciting interactive experience with the brand. It has been successfully implemented in the USA since 2005. The newest one in Leicester Square aims at re-creating this model in London, which is a great hub-spot of European travellers. It is the aspiration of the M&M's World in London to create some word-of-mouth that will spread all over Europe and make the spokescandies as popular as in the USA. The brand is already known in Europe, but people are not so engaged with it and especially with the characters. Essentially, this means that in Europe the candy has not been able to differentiate itself and achieve a competitive advantage. M&M's World in London aims at changing this. The owners of M&M's World want first and foremost to sizzle, to extend the brand into an interactive experience. They want people to associate the brand with London, then with fun and excitement and eventually make them desire it. Audience M&M's World in London is mainly addressing tourists and kids yet the majority of the visitors are adults. Surprisingly you will see very few kids in the store. One of the values of the brand is not to advertise to kids, because it is unethical to sell chocolate to kids, but the store, with its big variety of toys and interactive game installations, is definitely positioned more like a playground rather than a retail shop; hence trying to address kids. 4 levels of fun in short The M&M's World Experience is more than just chocolate. After a while, you forget that the brand is about chocolate and you find some object that is appealing to you, or you smile at the obvious yet clever associations you are making with the London, art and culture related items. You explore the characters more and you make connections with your own character and personality. Then, you can see yourself in the characters and in their world, they are celebrities; hence it's nice and easy to image yourself living in their world, where you become the celebrity and everything is happier and brighter than the real one. Obviously, you can't literally live in this world, but you can buy a product that will remind you of the experience or spend some few hours of fun, enough to trigger this memory of M&M's next time you see them at the supermarket. Overview of the experience The M&M's World store in London is an experience, which primarily aims at extending the brand experience to more than just chocolate. First and foremost, the store is about interacting with the brand rather than buying chocolate. Surprisingly enough the famous yellow package of the M&M’s is not available in the store. The M&M's products are much cheaper and available in every supermarket; the branded merchandise however is very exciting and not available elsewhere. In any case, there are no lines to the cashiers and not a lot of people are carrying shopping baskets. As some of the salespeople in the store commented, “The sales have dropped 40% this year”. The atmosphere is over-enthusiastic and exciting. The store smells vividly of chocolate, something you start noticing after being inside for some 20 minutes. The colours are very bright and after staying for a while your vision could seem a bit blurry (compared to when leaving the store). Every single object in the store has a specific colour, from the buckets to clean the floors to the shelves to the clothes the salespeople are wearing. The only objects that are not colourful are the cash machines, which are black. The music in the background is popular, mainstream, recognizable and Christmas related. If the world had a constant soundtrack, this could be it, as it doesn't seem to annoy anyone; on the contrary, usually there are a few customers and salespeople dancing to it.
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Salespeople are happy and do random acts of kindness and childlikeness (scream, hug and kiss), they are dancing, smiling and they are always willing to interact with customers and help them around. M&M's employees have been known to enjoy the working environment a lot. They consist of a mixture of styles and races, which make every customer feel comfortable when entering. Also, people dressed up as M&M's make guest appearances so you never know when you will see them. They are well trained to behave according to the character they are impersonating; for instance, the green M&M was flirting with a lot of male customers. The brand has successful built “4 levels of fun” in a world where you feel you can do everything you do in the real world only a lot happier and more exciting. There are elements that trigger associations to people's minds for literally everything they do in their lives (shop, walk, play sports, go to the theatre/movies, go for tourism, eat, have sex, listen to music, etc.) The world is childish, playful, and colourful. The more you stay there, the more you feel you want to do something stupid or childish. Ground Floor: A global brand acting local Entering the store there is a huge red bus (M&M's bus), which forms a gate to the store and seems like it is ready to take you on a ride to the world of the M&M's in London. The first thing you observe is the strong correlation the owners are trying to project between London and M&M's (a massively recognized American brand). This aspiration of the owners is apparent through out the whole store, since you can see British symbols and UK branded products throughout all the sections. For instance, Beatles Abbey road on the basement, portraits of M&M as Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Shakespeare on the mezzanine, the M&M impersonating James Bond in the Aston Martin car on the floor below ground, the red M&M as the royal guard on the same floor, etc. The location itself in Leicester square, a very busy area with lots of tourists signifies the aspiration of the store to become part of the London Experience, “London's sweetest attraction”, as the Mayor of London talks about it. While this is being very successful, attracting lots of tourists and expatriates, it could create a bad perception in Londoners' mind, who see figures of their cultural heritage being associated with an American brand. Another installation that could trigger such feeling is the red M&M (symbol of power and leadership) holding the American flag and his best friend the yellow M&M (symbol of naiveness and happiness) holding the British flag. Mezzanine: Luxury and power Moving forward to the mezzanine, the atmosphere changes completely from touristy London-themed to a more luxurious and arty theme. There are very expensive Renaissance style paintings of M&M's impersonating King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare, personalities that have impacted greatly the British history. There are stands, similar to the ones you see in museums or art galleries, with overpriced M&M's products that have embedded Swarovski diamonds, like a £2500 worth jacket that looks like an Elvis Presley one. Most of the products in this section are positioned as collectibles, hence giving a new element to the M&M's characters, that of star quality and celebrity. This section is smaller than any other, something that emphasizes on the fact that luxury is something exclusive and not for a lot of people. Also, what's very interesting about the mezzanine is that from the round-shaped balcony you can observe the whole store and an interactive installation allows you to see live feeds from the in-store cameras. That in a subconscious level gives you a sense of power and control over what's happening in this world.
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A massive multi-coloured M&M's chandelier is adding to the luxury feeling of the brand and the rounded stairs that take you to all levels are coloured in red in an attempt to create the feeling of a celebrity walking in a red carpet event. All the way down to the last level, there is the timeline of M&M's history on the wall, starting from early beginnings (the black and white M&M's of 1954) to the variety of the 22 colours on the “Wall of Chocolate” of today to the lab in the basement where all the great experiments happen and great inventions are being created for the future. It's very fascinating to see how the characters evolved over time, from very simple graphics that projected no emotions to common happy and smiley faces that all the characters shared to the graphics that today give not only unique personality but also distinguished attitude and behaviour to the characters.
Level -1: Inside the M&M’s Character Worlds When getting to the floor below ground (Level -1), you are going deeper into the personalities of the characters. Their “M&M’s Character Worlds,” as Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Orange are brought to life in themed, personalised in-store areas. It's like visiting the M&M's at their home, maybe sneaking into their bedrooms and exploring their interests and likes; most of the products available on this floor are clothing (casual and nightwear), accessories and stationary, things you usually find in anyone's room. First character you meet is the powerful red M&M, who as a royal guard seems to be protecting the precious “Wall of Chocolate”, a wall full of colourful tubes filled with chocolate and peanut M&Ms, out of which you can form your personalized M&M's selection. The lights in this area are very bright and resemble the wave pattern of lights that you see from the outside of the store. This section seems to be one of the most valuable to the M&M’s World as it is bringing memories of the Avatar (the movie) tree of life, where the M&M’s tubes are acting as veins bringing and circulating the essence of the M&M’s in the store. Next to the red, the happy yellow M&M, as a knight in an armour (king's right hand) is as if he is inviting people to an M&M's castle. Further down, the flirty Green, dressed as a princess is standing in front of her boutique shopping area that has clothes and accessories for every style (Green Street, Glitz, Ever Green, and Picture Perfect). She is also greeting people in the royal way. The Blue M&M can be seen at the back end of the floor where he is involved in a dangerous action scene that resembles a lot a James Bond scene. The bow tie and the sports car, which looks a lot like an Aston Martin emphasize more on the link to 007. Finally, the rather crazy orange M&M is seen playing football in a sports themed area. Even if you are not an M&M's fan, you can still find a character to connect with and something to buy. Every character is built so cleverly on the idea of giving them some generic features that could form an umbrella of more specific characteristics different people will connect with; hence making them flexible and easy to extend to more niche interest. There are branded products for every character and every taste. Walking around in this floor, you have two options. Either directly go to the character that is more appealing to your personality or experiment with different characters' Worlds and see how that makes you feel.
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Basement: The Secret Lab What most probably will attract your attention and make you want to visit the basement is the M&M's replica of Abbey road which is prominently placed at the basement, in the middle of the store, next to the stairs making it visible from many angles from the above floors. Once getting there, it's impossible to miss the Mix Lab, where you can create and order your own colour. The lab is very cleverly placed in the basement, because it is a well rooted stereotype in most people's mind that this is where the “secret” lab is and where great experiments lead to great inventions. You can even watch the mixologists preparing the new colours. In terms of products, you can find any branded home ware and there is even an M&M's bedroom like the one you would find in an IKEA shop. Interaction: Play, create and feel As mentioned before, the store is all about interacting with the brand. It’s a retail-tainment experience, where the main objective is to have fun and secondarily to shop. The store provides excellent opportunities to take pictures and create memories of visiting The M&M’s World in London, create your own M&M's selection, watch the making of the M&M's in the Mix Lab, get to know the characters better in their specific sections, play with the interactive game installations, like identifying your colour character based on what you are wearing that day, and watch the M&M’s characters in action through interactive screens. Consistent patterns After a whole walk of the store, you will observe a consistency in the placement of the products. Chocolate M&M's candies are placed close and around the stairs which is the first point of contact to each floor. Then, at every section of the store, independently of the audience is addressing to or the associations it is trying to impress, you will definitely find the round-shaped candy-like stuffy toys of all the characters, in order to prominently remind you of the actual candy. Also, there are innuendo jokes in many branded products, so that both kids and adults can enjoy the shop. Finally, all the cashiers and customer service desk have this white label with lights and black letters, resembling a lot the retro theatre and cinema sign boards. It projects a strong connection with Hollywood and when going at the cashier it seems like going at the theatre or cinema counter to get tickets. Essentially, you feel like buying entertainment rather than a product or chocolate. Thinking out of the box In a broad way of thinking, the M&M's world could be a very luxurious house. Ground floor could be the equivalent of the entrance and living room of the house, where you welcome guests and usually showcase your most expensive and nice items (e.g. porcelains in the house vs. M&M's Swarovski collectibles in the M&M's world). Then, Level -1 has the bedrooms of the house and basement has the kitchen (Mix Lab) and the less exciting products (maybe the equivalent of an apothecary).
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PART 3: HOW DO THEY DO IT? M&M's goal of having such M&M's Worlds is to intensely influence the way people think, feel and act with respect with the brand. They project that this is their world, inside where they can do whatever they want. In-store product placement and marketing activities, brand personification and category or in-line extensions are just some of the ways M&M's owners achieve their objective: brand desirability. Essentially, it is up to the customer whether he/she will surrender to the over-excitement created around the brand and indulge in some short of excessive consumerism that the store enables. Most relevant Brand Elements The most relevant brand elements that you can easily recall after interacting for the first time with M&M's are the name, the shape and colour of the candies. Similarly the store is designed in such a way that these elements are prominent, yet not necessarily obvious. Below the table is accessing different brand elements of M&M's World in terms of how memorable, likeable and meaningful they are. Brand Element
Memor able
Name M&M's World
Logo M&M's with the Union Jack
Tag-line or catchphrase There is an M&M in everyone
Likea ble
Shape Round Graphics Different elements on the characters give them personalities
Meanin gful
Colour Red, yellow, green, blue, orange
Sounds Recognizable, mainstream, pop, Christmassy
Movement Vibes of music
Smell Chocolate Taste Chocolate & peanut
Feelings, thoughts and associations It is aiming at becoming a London sight-seeing attraction. More than just brand, it’s a whole world unfolding in front your eyes. The world is fun and childish. Either you will like it or you will hate it. Projecting the strong correlation of M&M's and London. Not recognizable in the store explicitly but the essence of it it’s apparent. There are products in instore themed areas for everyone. Everything is rounded in the store, e.g. the stairs, the chandelier, the mezzanine balcony, etc. Something that could only be identified subconsciously. But there are candy shaped toys everywhere to remind you of the shape. Instinctively, you make the face of the character you see. Basic colours and variations of them. Everything in the store has a specific colour, every object from the buckets to clean the store to the shelves to the clothes the salespeople are wearing. Too bright, too colourful. The store or the brand wouldn't be the same without them. If the world had a constant music in the background, this could be it. Relevant to season, relevant to every season, chocolate is anyways a gift for celebrations, parties and holidays. Mainstream – chocolate for everyone. Movement is the least important brand element of M&M’s. The only element in the store implying movement is the frequency/vibes of music that surround the store. It makes you crave it. Taste is very subjective. Personally, I like the flavour but I don’t think it has some special.
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Marketing activities Their marketing activities are consistent both offline and online. Their digital promotion is revolving around the spokescandies and personalizing your M&M's products. Similarly in the store, the emphasis is on the characters with a whole floor dedicated to discovering the “M&M's Characters' Worlds”. There are options for customizing your own M&M's bag in the “Wall of Chocolate” or even creating your own colours in the Mix Lab. Additionally, there are stands with offers and discounts in every floor close to the stairs (entry and exit point to each floor), in an effort to get customers to buy when they are coming in or leaving. Also, similar offers are close to the cashiers, encouraging impulse purchases. Concept of brand personification MM&'s brand strategy is clearly focusing on personifying their brand. The concept of brand personification is not new. Gardner and Levy research dating back to 1955 suggest that brand personification helps customers understand complex ideas related to the brand. Another research by Haire (1950) suggests that the concept can be used to help customers create associations that derive from various marketing stimulus and help them construct or follow a story, which was originated by that stimulus. One more study by Lojacono and Zacai (2004) suggests that brand personification is a technique to be used for making hidden values and emotions perceptible. M&M's is doing just that. Over the years they have created so unique mascots, that have generic characteristics, in order to form an umbrella under which people can link their more elaborate characteristics, that they feel are unique in them. All of the M&M's have a different story and they get involved in different situations with a different attitude. The company is using the spokescandies in advertising and events, in relevance to the personality of each candy. This helps the customers construct stories around them and essentially engage with the brand. The same concept is apparent in the M&M's World in Leicester Square. The personified spokescandies RED “Everything is under control” 5 Reasons Red could be president: He's loved and adored worldwide. He won't crack under pressure. Red is a powerful colour. He's been telling people what to do his whole life.
YELLOW “Inside everyone there is a little nut” 5 Yellow's snappy comebacks: “Uuuuhhhhhmmm, what? “Your mouth looks funny when you talk.” “Ya lost me…” “Oooh look, a butterfly! Yay!” “Wait, wait…I got one…nah, I forgot it…”
GREEN “I melt for no one”
Characteristics: Perfect, genius and with impressive physical power, cynical, arrogant, leader
Characteristics: In touch with his inner child, smiling, happy, gullible, sees the good in everything, likes the ladies, his best friend is red
Characteristics: Beauty, proper romantic girl, hard to get, shops and flirts
Top 5 Green's classic quotes: “Go buy a bag!” “Just look at me...fabulous!” “You gotta work it!” “All you need is something sweet...and that's me!” “As if you don't know...”
BLUE “Never let 'em see you melt” Top 5 rules to being as cool as Blue: Never run when you strut. It's never too dark to wear sunglasses. Never play it the same way twice. The party doesn't start until you get there. A leather jacket goes with everything. Characteristics: Cool, fit, confident, ladies man, mature, friend, solid
ORANGE “I am a dead man.” Top 5 Orange's top places to avoid: Dark alleys (or well-lit alleys). Crowded elevators. Banks that seem quiet...too quiet! All-you-can-eat buffets. Anywhere with birds.
Characteristics: Stressful, crazy, hyper-active, has many phobias, paranoid, obsessive
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Link to colour symbolism: Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, all things intense and passionate.
Link to colour symbolism: Joy, happiness, betrayal, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard and friendship.
Link to colour symbolism: Nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, inexperience, envy, misfortune, vigour.
Impersonates: Royal Guard US Flag Holder King Henry
Impersonates: Knight (King's right hand) UK Flag Holder Harrison
Impersonates: Princess Queen Elizabeth Starr
Link to colour symbolism: Peace, tranquillity, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, technology, depression, appetite suppressant. Impersonates: James Bond John Lennon leading
Link to colour symbolism: Energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant, demanding of attention.
Impersonates: Footballer McCartney
Category extensions and product placement Segmented floors for every audience The merchandise that can be found in the shop is mostly category extensions and less the basic product. It feels as though it's easier to find branded products, rather than the M&M's chocolate itself. But then again the moment you start feeling like that and you start looking for M&M's candies, you will definitely find them less than 2-3 meters away from you. The product placement logic is that M&M's candies are placed close and around the stairs, which is the entry point to every floor and everyone can associate with. Then, the branded products have been very cleverly placed in the different themed-store areas. Clothes, home equipment, specially packaged chocolate, clothing, kitchenware, bedding, jewellery, and glassware, as well as seasonal items and speciallydesigned London-themed M&M'S branded products are the some of the category extensions that can be found in M&M's World in different sections. Ground floor In the ground floor, which is the only entrance and first point of interaction with the brand, you can find all shorts of touristy stuff and specially-designed London-themed M&M'S branded products. This is mainly because the area the store is located in Leicester square is packed with tourists daily and all the stores around are selling UK branded products. So, if you are walking by the street, it is highly unlikely that you will miss the huge M&M’s Union Jack logo or the massive red bus, which is inviting passing-by pedestrians into an M&M’s trip to London. Mezzanine In the mezzanine area, the main items for sale are very expensive, exclusive and collectible M&M’s items, like paintings or a Swarovski Elvis-like jacket and Christmas decoration items. The main reason behind this is that the mezzanine is located at the top of the store, at the highest place of the store, from where you can observe everything that is happening in the M&M’s World. This sense of power and control that you feel being in this position in the store has a strong correlation to luxury and money; hence the merchandise has a luxurious touch to it and is fundamentally more appealing to wealthier individuals.
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Level -1 In the floor below ground level, the first thing that will get your attention is the “Wall of chocolate”. The placement of the tubes, out of which you can create a personalized selection of M&M’s is not random; being above the lab and below the exciting and luxurious ground floor, this section seems to be spreading the essence of M&M’s all over the store and inviting people to taste some of it. Also, after completing a walk on the ground floor, you will be craving some chocolate and this is the first place you will find it moving down in the store. The main product for sale though is clothes (mostly night-ware) and then accessories, jewellery and stationary. Clothes are the easiest and simplest way to distinguish your personality and be associated with a specific style or attitude. Since this floor is dedicated to the unique characters, it is very smart to place the clothing there and attract customers to choose the ones that match their style as well as their favourite M&M’s style. Basement At the basement, home equipment, bedding, kitchenware and glassware are the main products available for purchase. This is the less attractive merchandise, which is not intended for personal satisfaction in a way but for the house. At the same time you have to be an M&M’s fan to buy these items and decorate your house with M&M’s branded equipment and if this is the case, then you would be more than willing to go all the way down. The same logic applies to the Mix Lab, targeting M&M’s enthusiasts, who will take the time to create their own colours as easily as they will explore every section in this world down to the basement. In-line extensions While the variety of brand extensions products is long, the in-line one is not so impressive. The only two flavours that are available are chocolate and peanut, which come in their respective shape. The only differentiator between confectioneries from M&M’s World and the classic M&M’s you can find in any supermarket is the variety of colours, exclusive only at the source (“Wall of chocolate” and Mix Lab). Especially for brand enthusiasts or people that follow the brand online, it is rather disappointing that these are the only flavours available. You would expect that in their world they would have everything. Salespeople commented that there is a growing demand for the other exciting flavours, especially from people from USA, but there are regulations that restrict them from selling any other flavour, besides milk chocolate and peanut. The following table has few examples of the price sensitivity people have towards brand and in-line extension products, available in the store: Product M&M dispensers
Target Customer M&M enthusiasts
Key Benefits Collectible, Refill
Price +20%
M&M T-shirts “I love London”
Tourists
Exclusivity
+10%
Custom-blended M&M's selection
M&M enthusiasts Personalisation and explorers
+10%
Value Proposition Another M&M object to add to the collection for just +20% in the price You can only get such T-shirt only in M&M World in London for just +10% in the price, compared to the rest touristy Tshirts A personalised option for gifts and oneself; create your own selection and meaning behind it with just a +10% in the price
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PART 4: THE ESSENCE Values/Personality/Character/Exceptional properties/Visual identity Fun, exciting, childlike, Shape confectionery candy, logo and colours, chameleon personalities that everyone can associate with Substantiators Candy that doesn't melt, eating candies made fun (gaming, choose the colour you want to eat), M&M’s doesn't advertise to kids Points of Parity Confectionery candy, fairly priced, exciting packaging Point of difference Fully customizable chocolate, more than just chocolate, it's a world, a concept, the M&M’s have voice and people can easily connect with them. Brand mantra Chocolate made to be fun / Bring out your inner child / Freedom of choice The essence of the brand lies in 4 words. Fun, freedom, choice and child. The candies are made to be fun and inspire a gamified consumption, where you choose which M&M’s to eat or in which order and make subliminal associations with your character; fundamentally this is a very childlike behaviour. Since M&M’s are not advertising to kids, their brand mantra is a call to adults to bring out their inner child. At the same time, they have the freedom to choose which character will be their favourite one. They can choose one day to act like the blue and the next like the red, the choice to behave like a kid; be immature. Over the years M&M's expanded its line and brand category, always under the mantra of “freedom to be a kid again”. They have been consistently developing the personalities of the spokescandies, making them more exciting and fun. The volume of freedom the brand projects is more than promising about the new ideas the company will come up with to create hype around M&M’s.
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