Mulling over M & M
In the 1930s Spanish Civil War, Forrest Mars saw soldiers eating chocolate pellets with a hard shell to carry these chocolates easily without the risk of melting. This gave him an idea, and the M&M’s Plain Chocolate Candies were introduced in the USA market in 1941.
The product was a hit with the American soldiers and U.S. Army became its first big customer as it gave the soldiers an option to carry chocolate in tropical climates without melting. In 1949, the brand introduced the tagline “Melt in your mouth, not in your hand,” and this led to a considerable increase in its sales because it delivered on a solid insight, especially from parents who did not like to see their children making a mess when eating chocolate. M&M’s are button-shaped chocolate-filled candies with hard shells surrounding a filling which varies depending upon the type of M&M’s. The product is available in various colors – red, yellow, orange, brown, green, and blue. Initially, there was only one M&M Plain Chocolate candy that had a semi-sweet chocolate filling. Then, in 1954 M&M’s introduced a variation through the launch of Peanut Chocolate Candies.
Within a decade, the brand became so popular that M&M’s started stamping each candy with the letter ‘m’ to help the customer find the real M&M’s from inferior imitators. They started marketing this through the campaign ‘Look for them on every piece.’ Incidentally, the initials of M&M’s are inspired by the names of its creators – Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie.M&M’s knows that the consumer profile, taste, and expectations are constantly changing, and they want to be relevant to this ever- changing market. They have always kept up with the trends, surprising their consumers by taking steps to be a part of the culture be it with their innovative product ideation or their communication campaigns.
As the brand custodian for M & M reflect on the following –
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Reflect on the salience of brand strategy followed by M & M globally
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Identify the brand's positioning approach
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