MARKETING PLAN ON MARS INCORPORATED

Marketing Plan on Mars Incorporated

Marketing Plan on Mars Incorporated

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.

M&M's Global Marketing Strategy

A global business identifies world markets for its products. Global companies plan and co-ordinate activities on a global basis. By operating in more than one country, benefits from savings or economies on activities such as R&D, marketing, operations and finance are achieved, which may not be available to purely domestic operators. M&M's is an example of a successful global business endeavour.

MARS Inc. makes brands available to consumers 'wherever and however they want to buy them' and markets them in countless countries throughout the world. This global company treats the world as a single marketplace. M&M's is marketed the same the world over from Eastern Europe to Hong Kong, New Zealand or Ireland.

While treating the world as a single market MARS Inc is adapting a standardised marketing mix. Companies operating in many markets must decide how much, if at all, to adapt their marketing mix to local conditions. By standardising marketing efforts, costs can be decreased, however by customising efforts to each market, costs will increase but with the hope of a corresponding increase in market share and return on investment. MARS Inc. while thinking globally does act locally in its marketing efforts.

M&M's Market

The brand marketing and development of M&M's in Ireland provides a perfect example of how a global strategy translates in a domestic and local arena. While Masterfoods Ltd. had the advantage of knowing that their M&M's brand had been well received in America they nevertheless had to consider variations for the Irish market.The company also had a great deal of standardised promotional material in place but this needed to be adapted for Ireland. The 1980's saw a period of expansion for M&M's both in terms of new product launches and through accelerated global business expansion as M&M's entered most European markets for the first time. M&M's was first launched in Ireland in both its chocolate and peanut varieties in 1986. The launch campaign was one of the largest in the history of asterfoods Ltd. The initial strategy hinged on focusing on two main impulse lines (chocolate and peanut 45g bags) and then on driving sales through grocery channels via ...