Global marketing - building and maintaining the m&m’s brand
Introduction
Forrest Mars Senior developed his recipe for M&M’s Chocolate Candies when he saw soldiers eating pellets of chocolate encased in a sugary coating during the Spanish Civil War. M&M’s went on to become a staple for American G.I.’s serving in World War II. They were also included in food rations for US astronauts on the first shuttle flight and were the Official Snackfood of the 1984 Olympic Games. M&M’s became widely available to the American public during the 1940s. In 1948, the brown pouch, we are familiar with today, replaced the original cardboard tube. M&M’s is a $3 billion global brand that has secured and retained its dominant market position as number one confectionery brand, through extensive use of global marketing strategies.This strategy has been underpinned with new product developments and strong advertising ‘personalities’ introduced to the M&M’s family. Deciding Between Standardisation and Customisation Standardised Marketing Mix Adapted Marketing Mix

Business 2000
Fifth edition

Building and Developing the M&M’s Brand Characters
M&M’s branding has hinged on the deliberate development of distinct personalities or characters for each M&M’s colour. Globally recognisable packaging, the ‘melt in your mouth, not in your hand’ slogan and the distinctive ‘M’ on each candy all play an important role. In 1954, M&M’s Chocolate Candies were introduced. Red first appeared in TV advertising in 1954 and in Ireland in 1986. As a frontrunner, he feels distinctly superior to Yellow and is proud to be a ‘Spokescandy’ for M&M’s. He feels the need to continually remind consumers why he is so special and in his relationship with the other M&M’s characters he has a tendency to be scheming, attention-seeking and cunning. Red is the undoubted ‘leader of the M&M’s pack’. The slightly more hapless Yellow feels that as a peanut, it is his right to be loved for being just what he is.Yellow relies