After following along with the M & M brand, I have learned about their company’s goals and mission in providing chocolate candies to millions of people across the globe.

One technique I learned in this course is brand resurgence, and while M & M’s have always been fairly popular, they are using this marketing technique by continuing to create new M & M’s to create excitement and resurgence for their product. Currently, they just created a hazelnut M & M that is brand new and now even on shelves yet, they are advertising this product and using PR like the president of the company to promote the new product.  This helps them to stay ahead of their competition because they have a multitude of products not just one candy bar.

Knowing that M & M’s is always trying to use brand resurgence to keep ahead of their competitors by creating new products I would use this to land a job by asking to first become a brand ambassador and promote new products for them. Then I would help them with their new product launches using radio ads, tv commercials, and social media. This would show I understand their marketing and advertising techniques by continuing to help with the roll out new products. They use brand resurgence to always keep their product new, fresh, and talked about. Understanding that brand resurgence is one of their main goals in staying relevant in their market. This would help me land a job at M & M’s by helping to create new products or help advertising new products for their next new flavor because they would want people who understand their marketing techniques and can help them move smoothly from one product launch to the next.

The M & M candy website is still rolling out a new product, the Hazelnut chocolate M & M. They had the CEO of Mars, Tracey Massey come on tv to NBC and talk about the new product herself. She spoke about the taste, the packaging, and when it will be released to the public.  As a company executive she is involved with all the decisions of the company and knows the most about the new products. Her excitement for the new product was a great tool to use on TV.  If the CEO of the company is excited for the release of the product customers will be too. She is a well known figure in the company and her self promotion of the product will help its launch to success.

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/02/14/mars-wrigley-ceo-unveils-new-mms-flavor.html

The most current press release on M & M’s is the new M & M’s chocolate bar instead of the usual M & M pieces we are used to. M And M’s created released commercials working with well known actress Christina Applegate, to promote the past years Superbowl and the new M & M candy bar. 

M & M’s brand benefits from their partner in this case by partnering with sports and entertainment products. Using the Superbowl to promote a risky new M & M candy bar is smart for M and M’s because a very high volume of people will see it during the Superbowl, especially when there is a strong focus on commercials and advertising for the Super Bowl. M & M’s also benefits from their partner Christina Applegate because she is a famous actress who brings humor, entertainment, and surprise to the commercial. This helps M & M’s benefit by adding another strong visual component to their ad and a well known actress who likes M & M’s, and if an actress likes the new candy bar you should too. Christina Applegate also gets a lot of exposure and benefits from the commercial being seen by a large demographic of people. 

When creating not only a new flavor of M & M but a new product it’s a risky move, so using a sports and an entertainment product that help promote and depth and trust to the new product to make people want to buy it.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/Ad-Meter/2019/01/30/christina-applegate-bicker-mms-super-bowl-commercial/38977433/

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/01/22/christina-applegate-star-mm-s-super-bowl-commercial

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mars-ceo-coronavirus-nobody-really-knows-ongoing-impact-131358541.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADt5tG1VxGqsYieeYwYzimrvl2QFJtMwswrIWSokGmDi1xMKg1-HuQkMWfgKFLmDWiPg8jkosqKffnNnM6BsIRIjfNFdYMDPpiBFI1L4AZKg8zdB7tnRC1TCJqWHcvpazSHFEwLlEZYeJpEGEATtO4-wS0-YZ2Y17WaAe3Woz6Di

The most current press release I found about M & M ‘s, was the CEO Grant Reid of Mars talking about the  economic impact the Corona virus will have on the candy company. 

The company is worth over $40 billion dollars, and most of their manufacturing comes out of China. Grant Reid said his main priority is making sure the over 10,000 in China are safe, and was quoted saying, “We have a big business in China,” he says. “We’ll worry about the business after that’s fixed.”

I think he spoke to this, and sent out this message to show it’s not about the money or the packaging and distribution of M & M’s and Mars candy, but the safety of all his employees.

He also said he was working closely with the Chinese government on when it would be safe to reopen factories.

This speaks to their company’s loyalty; to not only their customers but their employees as well.

They are sending this message to show that they care more about the safety and health of their factories and employees over the profits. This says alot about the character of the company that they really care about their employees and customers.

I am bringing a University of Arizona plastic cup to class. I received this cup for free at a college fair almost three years ago. I still have it to this day because it is a practical item and something I can use everyday. 

This item was a valuable advertising technique to this company and this college because it is a conversation topic every time you take a drink out of it. When you use it other people see it and you see it, and the school as a brand is reinforced in your head. I have kept this so long because I can use it often. It’s not a sticker or a frisbee or something I can lose easily or not use often. Giving away free cups even though they pay for them has a high return value because it can get a conversation started that may contribute to a student wanting to go to the school, and make a four year commitment. The cups are fun and valuable because they last and we talk about the University of Arizona often when I use the cup.

A recent example of the brand M & M’s product placement is in a newly renewed tv show called Superstore. This show is about a group of all different employees who go through the everyday craziness of working in a big store together.  The M & M’s brand product placement is front and center in the snack vending machine the employees often hang out in while on breaks. 

While this show is showcasing multiple product placement’s in the vending machine. It shows four different kinds of M & M candies in the vending machine. The reason M & M wanted their product in this show was to appeal to working people, families, and the average person who watches this show for the irony and relatability of the characters to one’s own life. 

If the characters in the show enjoy M & M’s and get them out of their vending machine at work  to relax and kick back on break, M & M’s thinks you will want to start eating them on your breaks at work with friends. Or even eat them to relax at home. The product placement of four different M & M ‘s allows even the newer M & M products to be showcased and get recognized besides the regular flavor of M & M everyone knows. This is smart product placement because you see it without even realizing it because it’s not so in your face that it’s almost a joke. Your eye recognizes the M & M logo even in the vending machine in the background of the scene.  It makes you subconsciously want M & M’s or a snack after watching this scene of SuperStore.

My favorite fast food place is Taco Bell. They usually have a lot of ads and promotions going on to introduce new products or deals. Right now it is difficult for most businesses to attract customers because people aren’t allowed inside fast food chains or restaurants. Taco bell is promoting itself by making their products available online, in the drive thru and for delivery.

They are specifically promoting to families saying, “Feed your Family” at home by ordering a taco 12 pack. This is an easy dinner solution they can be picked up or delivered to a house, in the spirit of keeping families together and spending time with your family at home and not out.

At this time they are also using the app GrubHub so people can get Taco Bell delivered to their house.  As a fast food chain Taco Bell promotes themselves as a company who can get food to people fast. Not being able to come into the restaurant may deter people from wanting to eat out. Taco Bell is promoting themselves in different ways to try to make themselves just as easily accessible to people.

It is a smart choice to take on a personal promotion to people during this time and not be too harsh or in your face. Taco Bell’s drive thru is still open and they are using the tagline, “One day and (One taco) at a time. Taco Bell wants to let consumers know they are here for us and they care about us personally and they are still willing to serve us. 

Lastly Taco Bell took on an interesting promotion strategy by creating Taco Bell backgrounds that can be copied and uploaded for free for anyone to use on online calls. Taco Bell is keeping things personal and not pushing promotions in consumers face’s. But allowing their customers to know they are here for them for family dinners, and fun backgrounds to keep online calls light hearted and fun and flavorful according to them.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-berkshire-buffett-brooks/ceo-of-buffett-owned-brooks-running-moves-production-out-of-china-cites-tariff-threat-idUSKCN1S91DU

The chief executive of Brooks running decided a few months ago to move much of Brooks running shoe production  from China to Vietnam. This decision came after President Trump threatened to boost tariffs on shoes. This boost would go from a 20% tariff to a 40% tariff. Moving shoes production to Vietnam was heavily decided upon because most Brooks running shoes cost anywhere from $100-$160 on average. Brooks can’t raise shoe prices any higher before customers start to turn away. Brooks shoes are sold in 56 countries and the move from China to Vietnam will bring over 8,000 jobs to Vietnam.

One way I could leverage this information and present a positive campaign message out of this brand would be to focus on Brooks’ commitment to customers first. Brooks could have kept production in China rather than having to deal with all the logistics of moving to Vietnam. Brooks knows that they carry high end running performance shoes and if they were to raise prices customers may not be able to afford their shoes or have to turn to another product. Customer loyalty and caring about the shoe and the person it’s on is something Brooks sticks to.  Brooks also is able to adapt and keep up with politics and government to make impactful choices that help revenue continue to rise in their company and make tough but smart choices about their production.

https://www.brooksrunning.com

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After not advertising for the Oscars in five years M & M’s came out with a creative and entertaining ad that brought more attention to their company that an ad in the Super Bowl. M & M’s decided to incorporate the M & M candy characters into the broadcast as if the characters knew what was going to happen. The M & M’s spoke to the audience so it was interactive and interesting, and it the ad also promoted Valentines day a huge day for Chocolate sales. The Oscars are closer in date to Valentines day as opposed to the Super Bowl as well. This firm decided to market their product on this awards show because they were able to have multiple ads and stand out like they may not have in the Super bowl with all the other attention worthy ads. The audience for the Oscars is undoubtedly more women than men, and is often called the female version of the Super Bowl. I believe M & M realized that more women may want or crave chocolate during a long awards show like the Oscars as opposed to having a super bowl commercial where people want nachos, chips, and burgers. This is a more targeted audience for M & M and allows their product to have repeated ads and be one of the biggest ads spots for the Oscars.