My Opinion:
I don't mean to seem biased by any means, but of all the candy brands I can think of, M&Ms are my supreme choice when it comes to a nagging sweet tooth. Despite the M&M brand's successful history and classic marketing strategy, they seem to always be thinking of new ways to make they M&M name stick to the back of every man, woman and child's mind. Their variety of color and miniature size makes them easy and fun for everyone to eat when they need a quick chocolate fix. I prefer peanut M&Ms over the regular flavor, but really it’s all in the mind when it comes to the actual chocolate flavor. As time progressed they slowly introduced more colors innovative color hues and sweepstakes for the person who finds the white M&M in the bag.
The Purple Cow:
Using the modern term for being different and innovative; the M&M Company is turning their old school product into a purple cow. Giving the consumer the power to choose a picture or word of his/her own gives a strong connection between the person and the product. I see the M&M candy as one of the most diverse in the industry. The array of color and personalized design allows any person to choose his/her favorite color and make it their own. The only suggestion I would give to their campaign is to promote more online in order to hit their largest consumer group, pre-teen to age 20 and higher. Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are obviously the leaders in online social sites, so it is only right for a company the size of M&M’s. These days print T-shirts are in style, if they could sponsor an X-Games event or pro-skater, they could invest in the print up of T-Shirts for there sponsorship. They could also sign contracts with shoe companies to special edition designs with companies like Nike, World Industries, DCshoe, or Puma. This personalized idea can go a lot further with the technology available today.
The Future, inevitably, is the result of change or lack of change today. All companies must come to this realization regardless their preference of market strategy and long-term goals. Abraham Maslow’s pyramid gives you a clear understanding of human behavior; it also tells you that the more things change the more they stay the same. By looking at our past decisions, we can gauge the buying trends of the future. This new M&M campaign hits four of the five levels of the Maslow pyramid, self-actualization, esteem, love/belonging and physiological. Although I do not agree with commercials exploiting the emotions of their consumers, it is and effective means to get a product sold. I would even go as far to say there is a hint of mental manipulation at times in commercials, but in this modern age of the Purple Cow, it is essential to have a remarkable product overall. The M&M Company had figured this out early on from its inception during Word War II for the soldiers. Its compact cylinder tube shape gave it practical use for the travel of the soldiers. Now they are marketed towards people of all colors, ages, shapes and sizes, kind of like the M&M itself. Do you have any ideas for more promotion of this new M&M marketing strategy? Please Post. For more info on this new M&M campaign visit:
New Personalized M&M Commerical:
