As century-old CPG giant Mars works to maintain its dominance in the shopping carts of today’s consumers, it’s found that what’s old can be new again—with a little help.
Mars was created in 1911, and bought the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, founded in 1891, for $23 billion in 2008. The company now encompasses candy brands like M&Ms, Snickers, Twix, and Skittles, as well as chewing gum brands like Orbit, Extra, and Eclipse. Mars’s strength comes largely from those household brand names, its chief brand officer, Rankin Carroll, told Retail Brew; however, when it comes to marketing to consumers, the company has had to “change almost every aspect of how we work.”
Carroll joined Mars in 2002, eventually rising in the ranks to hold positions including president of its global candy and chocolate business units, before eventually overseeing its global branding and content starting in 2020. During this time, the company has worked to keep up with changing technology to keep these iconic brands relevant.
“Transformation is never going to stop,” he said. “That’s the conclusion we’ve come to in the last 10 years, probably, is that the pace of innovation is endless, and it’s only going to accelerate.”
Chewing it over: Carroll said the company has evolved its media approach, from 60% traditional linear television in 2019 to mid-30% now, moving much of its long-from video to digital channels. New technology and first-party data are allowing Mars to be “more precise” in where and how it delivers this content, while increasing how closely its marketing and digital technology teams work together from the start, he added.
“From storytelling all the way to performance, and making the story of the brand make sense across those touch points, is really the new challenge,” he said.
Last month, the company modernized the Snickers marketing strategy using generative AI. It partnered with football manager José Mourinho to create an AI clone that allows fans to send personalized coaching videos to friends and family. The campaign centers on personalization and co-creation, taking “consistency” and “distinctiveness” of the Snickers brand and “making it work in new media that we’ve never toyed with before,” Carroll said.
The campaign underscores Mars’s focus on “no dead ends” and connected experiences, as the experience can continually be passed on to more and more people, he said. If a consumer shops at the M&M retail store, for example, the engagement doesn’t end after the transaction—whether that means options for membership or loyalty program, or connected with consumers through other brand partnerships.
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“Data is flowing from touch point to touch point, and more and more, we can take that data to create an experience which encourages you to move to the next step and the next step in the experience if it merits your time and your money,” Carroll said.
Sweet spot: While the way it tells stories is changing, maintaining that throughline that extends throughout the company’s marketing is essential. Snickers has been telling stories about “satisfaction” since the 1980s, he noted, but reimagined that theme in 2010 with its “You’re not you when you’re hungry” campaigns (you must remember the ad featuring Betty White playing football). While the concept has been around for so long, it’s “embedded” in even younger consumers’ minds, he noted.
Carroll isn’t going to be the guy that pushes the brand away from such successful messaging, he noted. “We played around the edges and experimented and explored, but I think we’ve always been true to that throughline of the story and the meaning of Snickers,” he said.
Mars has also been working to reinvent its gum portfolio, earlier this year announcing “the most significant overhaul” of its brands in 100 years, according to a company release. The effort has been particularly focused around attracting Gen Z, a demographic that had “lost interest” in gum chewing, Carroll said. The campaign, dubbed “Chewtopia” extends the gum use to wellness occasions like concentrating and de-stressing, and its rollout included an AR Snapchat lens and social media content on Instagram and TikTok.
Carroll, again, said he won’t be the guy that moves its gum portfolio out from that core use of breath freshening, so instead the campaign is “building on the foundation” with a concept that’s important to younger consumers.
Looking ahead…Mars will be focused on doubling down on those connected, “no dead end” experiences, leaning into personalization and co-creation powered by generative AI, Carroll said, adding that it’s all supported by “brands with powerful media and distinctive propositions that stand the test of time.”
“If we can do that, we’ll be good,” he said.