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M&M's
sweet
by Charlotte Jane Dyson
January 7, 2002
Everyone loves confectionery, and these days, kids can find everything from purple chocolate to popping candy. With so many new goodies on offer, it is increasingly difficult for the old favorites to remain fresh and exciting to a target market with a notoriously low threshold for boredom. Can a website featuring baking recipes and freebie video games keep the M&M’s brand alive and kicking?
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For many youngsters today, M&M’s remain a real favorite. Who can resist sugarcoated chocolate in a fun, playful format. For young kids, it is desirable and entertaining. For teenagers it has street cred from endorsements like Davina McColl – the Big Brother UK TV presenter. There is no doubt that an M&M’s website is the ideal medium for talking to this age group. But as every consumer marketer knows, no one is more fickle than kids at deciding what is hip and what is not.
From the M&M’s home page it is clear that there is much to amuse. It is a vivid, interactive site – just what the target audience would expect. After some routine background info about M&M’s, the site comes alive with the use of the M&M’s characters. Each color of M&M’s has its own web page with great graphics of the cheeky heroes. There is a personal history, a desktop design and an action-packed game linked to each of the characters’ styles. To an adult, a resumé of an M&M’s life may not seem that interesting, but if you’re nine years old and want to know what your passion for red M&M’s makes you, then here is the answer to your never-ending questions. ("Big headed" in case you’re wondering.)
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The games linked to each of the characters are an innovative idea. But this age-group is very techno-literate and not all of the games have the necessary pace and skill level to keep kids interested. "Save Yellow's shell from the Choc-lare" is without doubt the most fun and dynamic. And as a Red M&M's, you are armed with a jet-pack so you can destroy security locks and weapon-toting foot soldiers to save yellow’s shell. It could become addictive.
This is an international site, so the page on the American sponsorship of Nascar motor racing is confusing and irrelevant for anyone who does not live in the US. If not put-off, you can buckle in and pretend to drive in the M&M's racing team, with exclusive 3D panoramic shots of parts of the real car. This can be exciting but without Java capability on your browser don’t expect the drive of your life.
After hours of games and driving racing cars, the average teenager will probably be feeling a little peckish, so now is the time to delve into the baking section and get the juices flowing. There are recipes for all the colors of the rainbow and you can customize your own M&M’s colors through the "colorways game," allowing you to mix and match. There is also a ready reckoner to help you work out how many M&M’s you would need to satisfy the desires of all your party guests. Will it occupy teens? Probably yes, at first, but it is unlikely to hold their attention again – after all how many teens will admit to being into baking?
The confectionery field is laden with all sorts of goodies to tempt kids, so for a brand to stay on top it needs to keep fresh and be constantly communicating to its target audience. Overall, M-Ms.com is a positive association for the brand. It builds on its character heroes and is easy to use with bright graphics, cool language and fun games.
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Charlotte Jane Dyson is a marketing consultant. She lives in Yorkshire, England, and spent fourteen years in consumer marketing with Nestlé.
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*Due to the constantly changing environment of websites, some reviews may no longer reflect the current website for this brand.
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