This Brand Audit Presentation analyses the brand M&M's in the UK market, and covers the following content: - Brand Overview, - Brand Value Proposition, - Current Brand Communications Audit, - Category Audit, - SWOT Analysis, and - Key Recommendations.

1. Brand audit

2. Content List
Brand Overview
Brand Value Proposition
Current Brand
Communications Audit
Category Audit
SWOT Analysis
Key
Recommendations

3. Brand Overview
• Product Category: Chocolate confectionary
• 1941: Invention of M&M’s brand
• 1980s: Launch in the European markets & UK
• Brand Owning Organisation: Mars, Inc.

4. Brand Promise
• ‘At Mars we take our responsibility for marketing our
brands appropriately very seriously. We have a
Marketing Code that governs all our promotional
activity and states that we only promote our products
to people aged 12 and over as this is the age at which
we believe that people can make informed choices
about sensible snack consumption. We apply our
Marketing Code to all our advertising and
communications and are committed to providing you
and your family with suitable and transparent
information about our products’ (Mars UK, 2014).

5. Brand Essence
to provide a high quality,
great tasting product that
gives pleasure to the
consumer
Brand Personality
Fun loving and easy
going
M&M’s
Brand
Onion
Brand Values
Quality, Responsibility,
Mutuality, Efficiency, &
Freedom
Functional & Emotional Brand Benefits
Functional- Convenience for both the
product itself and its packaging
Emotional- Fun and entertaining through
immature adult humour, ability to
personalize M&M’s for special occasions
Physical Brand
Attributes
High quality chocolate in
a hard candy shell

6. Current Brand Communications Audit
• M&M’s Characters
• Advertising
• Social Media
• M&M’s World
• myM&M’s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=fMUZUTjyk2Q

7. Category Audit – Key Strategic Market
Drivers
- Social Factors
- Macro: Changes to a healthier
lifestyle – traffic light system
- Micro: Snack as energy booster
- Economic Factors
- Macro: Economic downturn
- Micro: 16 plus brands in the UK
chocolate confectionery market

8. Category Audit – Product Category
Analysis
• Chocolate Confectionery Market grew from 2008 – 2013 by 8.7% (Mintel,
2014)
Size of the UK market in
2013 -> £: 3,079 million
Size of the UK market in
2013 -> Kg: 337 million
• Predicted to grow as long as it stays a ‘popular treat among consumers’

9. Category Audit – Positioning Map
High
Variety
High Maturity
Low
Variety
Low Maturity

10. Category Audit - Competitors
• Indirect Competitors
– Nutella
– Kinder

11. STRENGTHS
• Fun and easy to eat
• M&M’s spokescandies
• M&M’s commitment to
brand promise
WEAKNESSES
• Presence on social media
platforms other than
Facebook
• M&M’s Packaging
• Only offer 3 varieties
OPPORTUNITIES
• Dark chocolate
health campaign
• More active in sport
sponsorship
• Position as energy
booster
THREATS
• Healthy snack options
• Number of competitors
• Health issues and increasing
obesity rate in UK
SWOT

12. Recommendations
1) Increase presence on social media sites other
than Facebook
• Especially in the UK
2) To become involved in sport sponsorship
3) M&M’s need to prepare for the current
market trend of living a healthy lifestyle
• Dark chocolate health campaign
• Energy booster

13. Thank you for
your attention
and….

15. Reference List
• Allred, A., Matthewson, N., Mevs, A., Seeley A. and Simpson, K., (2012). M&M’s Brand Case Study Update. [online] Available from:
<http://aprildseeley.weebly.com/uploads/6/9/6/0/6960696/comm_330_mmscasestudy.pdf> [Accessed 7 November 2014].
• Amazon UK (2014). M&M’s Fun Size Milk Chocolate Candies, 311.9 grams: Product Description. [online] Available from: <http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ms-Chocolate-Candies-311-
9-grams/dp/B008FZTMAG> [Accessed 7 November 2014].
• Bachmann, H (2009). Chocolate Sales: A Sweet Spot in the Recession. [online] Time. Available from: <http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1890565,00.html>
[Accessed 7 November 2014].
• Business 2000 The Irish Times, (2014). Global marketing - building and maintaining the m&m’s brand. [online] Available from:
• <http://www.business2000.ie/pdf/pdf_5/masterfoods_5th_ed.pdf> [Accessed 26 October 2014].
• Cadbury UK, (2014). The Story. [Online] Available from: <https://www.cadbury.co.uk/the-story> [Accessed 26 October 2014].
• Facebook (2014). M&M UK [Online] Available from:<https://www.facebook.com/mmsuk?ref=br_tf> [Accessed 4 November 2014].
• Fame, (2014). [online] Fame. Available from: <https://fame2.bvdep.com/version2014108/Report.serv?_CID=78&context=DSXM RUGO5SP8O9&SeqNr=0> [Accessed 16
November 2014].
• Ferrero Rocher USA, (2014). [online] Available from: <http://www.ferrerorocherusa.com/> [Accessed 26 October 2014].
• Ferrero Rocher USA, (2014). The Ferrero Timeline. [online] Available from:<http://www.ferrerorocherusa.com/history-timeline.php> [Accessed 26 October 2014].
• H2g2, (2002). Smarties. [Online] Available at: <http://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A571727> [Accessed 26 October 2014].
• Kinder, (2014). [Online] Available at: < http://www.kinder.co.uk/en/> [Accessed 26 October 2014].
• Lane Keller, K., Apria, T. and Georgson, M. (2011). Strategic brand management a European perspective. Harlow : Financial Times Prentice Hall
• Lindt, (2014). Executive Summary of Sustainability Strategy. [Online] Available at: <http://www.lindt.com/swf/eng/company/social-responsibility/executivesummary-of-
sustainability-strategy/> [Accessed 26 October 2014].
• Lindt UK, (2014). [Online] Available at: <http://www.lindt.co.uk/world-oflindt/> [Accessed 26 October 2014].
• Lloyd, J. (2014). 10 Reasons Why Chocolate is Good for You. [online] Immediate Media Company Ltd. Available from: <http://sciencefocus.com/feature/health/10-reasons-why-
chocolate-good-you> [Accessed 25 October 2014].
• Mars Official Website (2014). Marketing our Brands Responsibly. [online] Mars, Inc. Available at: <http://www.mars.com/global/about-mars/mars-pia/our-
brands/communicating-responsibly/marketing-our-brands-responsibly.aspx> [Accessed 25 October 14].
• Mars Official Website, (2014). Global Marketing Code for Food, Chocolate, Confections, and Gum. [ONLINE] Available from:
<http://www.mars.com/global/assets/documents/MMC_Handbook.pdf> [Accessed 16 November 2014].
• Mars UK Official Website, (2014). Chocolate. [online] Mars, Inc. Available from: <http://www.mars.com/uk/en/brands/chocolate.aspx> [Accessed 25 October 14].
• Mintel, (2014). Chocolate Confectionery - UK - April 2014. [online] London: Mintel. Available from <http://academic.mintel.com/display/679841/> [Accessed 06 November 2014]
• M&M’s Better With M&M’s Blog, (2014). #betterwithmms. [ONLINE] Available from: <http://www.betterwithmms.com/> [Accessed 16 November 14].
• M&M's Commercials, (2014). M&M's - Union Jack (2012, UK). [ONLINE] Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMUZUTjyk2Q
• M&M's Official Website, (2014). Our Promise. [online] Mars, Inc. Available from: <http://www.mms.com/us/> [Accessed 25 October 14].
• My M&M’s, (2014). [online] Available from: <http://www.mymms.co.uk/> [Accessed 25 October 14].
• Nestle UK, (2014). Smarties. [Online] Available from: <http://www.nestle.co.uk/brands/chocolate_and_confectionery/chocolate/smrties> [Accessed 26 October 2014].
• Nutella UK, (2014). Nutella&Go. [Online] Available at: <http://www.nutella.co.uk/en/nutella-and-go> [Accessed 26 October 2014].
• Price, A., (2014). Consumer Snacking- UK – January2014. [online] Mintel. Available from: <http://academic.mintel.com/display/679587/#> [Accessed 16 November 2014].
• Think Slogans, (2014). Candy Slogans. [Online] Available at: <http://www.thinkslogans.com/slogans/advertising-slogans/candy-slogans/>[Accessed 26 October 2014].
• Twitter, (2014). Red M&M'S®. [Online] Available from: <https://twitter.com/mmsred> [Accessed 16 November 2014].
• Vinton, K., Vinton, K., Murphy, A., Murphy, A., Chen, L., Hicks, J., Walton, A., Walton, A., Tassi, P., Porges, S., Mun-Delsalle, Y., Moore, S., Conca, J., Contributor, S. and Pentland,
W. (2014). Mars on the Forbes America's Largest Private Companies List. [online] Forbes. Available from: <http://www.forbes.com/companies/mars/> [Accessed 27 October
2014].
• Web.archive.org, (2014). M&M'S.com > About M&M'S® Brand > History > Story. [online] Available from:
<http://web.archive.org/web/20080409043530/http://us.mms.com/us/about/history/story/> [Accessed 27 October 2014].
• World Chocolate Guide, (2014). M&M’s World (London). [online] Available from: <http://worldchocolateguide.com/shop/mms-world/london/> [Accessed 16 November 2014)

16. Reference list online images
• Amazon, (2014). M&M's Milk Chocolate Candy. [online image] Available from: <http://www.amazon.com/Ms-Chocolate-Candy-1-69-Ounce-
Packages/dp/B001HXJP2S> [Accessed 25 November 2014].
• Candy Warehouse, (2014). Red Candy. [online image] Available from: <http://www.candywarehouse.com/products/mandms-milk-chocolate-candy-red-5lb-bag/>
[Accessed 17 November 2014].
• Eat more chocolate, (2014). Keep calm and eat m&m’s. [online image] Available from: <http://www.eatmorechocolate.com/blog/2013/12/keep-calm-and-eat-mms/>
[Accessed 17 November 2014].
• Ebay, (2014). [online image] Available from: <http://www.ebay.com/itm/M-Ms-Sweet-Treats-Dark-Chocolate-Raspberry-Candy-M-Ms-NEW-Flavor-40g-
/310830108190> [Accessed 17 November 2014].
• Fanpop, (2014). [online] Available from: <http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/m-and-ms/images/26303137/title/orange-photo> [Accessed 24 November 2014].
• Flickr, (2014). M&M’s. [online image] Available from: <https://www.flickr.com/photos/spellbunny/30752042/> [Accessed 17 November 2014].
• Foodpolitcs, (2012). [online image] Available from: <http://www.foodpolitics.com/tag/label-scoring-systems/> [Accessed 24 November 2014].
• Glossynews, (2012). [online image] Available from: <http://glossynews.com/society/health/201208150041/traffic-light-nutritional-coding-system-given-green-light/>
[Accessed 24 November 2014)
• Hackettstown, (2014). [online image] Available from: <http://www.hackettstownbid.com/news/2012/9/mars-chocolate-north-america-brings> [Accessed 17
November 2014].
• Livejournal, (2014). [online image] Available from: <http://dedalvs.livejournal.com/20218.html?thread=68858> [Accessed 25 November 2014].
• Martionette Land, (2014). Medium Package. [online image] Available from: <http://marionetteland.wordpress.com/po-collection/the-cocoa-tree/mm-
chocolate/mm-chocolate-in-package/> [Accessed 25 November 2014].
• Mobiles 24, (2014). Pile of M&M’s. [online image] Available from: <http://www.mobiles24.com/downloads/s/550564-328-mms> [Accessed 17 November 2014].
• M&M’s, (2014). [online image] Available from: <http://www.mms.com/> [Accessed 25 November 2014].
• M&M’s World, (2014). Orange. [online image] Available from: <http://www.mmsworld.com/charactercategorygroupdisplay.aspx?id=1326> [Accessed 24 November
2014].
• Pasch, (2014). [online image] Available from: <http://www.pasch.net/ferrero-rocher-weihnachten/wa-13622/> [Accessed 24 November 2014].
• Schutterstock, (2014). Vector unbalanced silver scale. [online image] Available from: <http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-95561191/stock-vector-vector-unbalanced-
silver-scale-with-money-coins-and-banknotes-isolated-on-white-background.html> [Accessed 25 November 2014].
• Simcik, C. (2013). Evolution of the Brand Logo. [online image] Available from: <http://cdn.foodbeast.com.s3.amazonaws.com/content/uploads/2013/11/mms-
logo.jpg> [Accessed 27 October 2014]
• Standard, (2012). [online image] Available from: <http://www.standard.co.uk/esrewards/taste-of-london-2-tickets-for-40-plus-delicious-lindt-excellence-chocolate-
7537304.html> [Accessed 24 November 2014].
• Voucherbox, (2014). [online image] Available from: <http://www.voucherbox.co.uk/flowers-and-gifts/gifts> [Accessed 24 November 2014].
• World Chocolate Guide, (2014). [online image] Available from: < http://worldchocolateguide.com/shop/mms-world/london/> [Accessed 16 November 2014].
• Wordpress, (2012). [online image] Available from: <http://jamesmignano.wordpress.com/2012/04/07/social-media-playbook-mms/> [Accessed 24 November 2014].