CVS Is Sweet on M&M's

CVS/pharmacy really, really likes M&M’s.Mars Inc.’s flagship candy brand often enjoys a strong secondary presence at retailers of all types, thanks in large part to a seemingly endless parade of large-scale consumer promotions and the tremendous equity that Mars has built around its iconic “spokescandies.” (Its status as a $3 billion-plus global brand doesn’t hurt, either, of course.)Those M&M’s spokescandies have, in fact, become a standard part of seasonal graphics (for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, etc.) at a number of leading chains. But M&M’s consistent secondary placement at CVS now easily surpasses the levels it gains anywhere else – not to mention levels gained by any brand, anywhere.One of the retailer’s key visual goals these days is to immediately guide incoming shoppers over to the ExtraCare Coupon Center positioned at one of the more prominent upfront endcaps. Alongside the kiosk, which dispenses personalized coupon offers to shoppers who scan their ExtraCare cards, sits a temporary dump bin that has been the exclusive domain of M&M’s (and its sister brands) for several years. The displays change out regularly to present seasonal themes and offers while providing consistent additional support for the Coupon Center.More recently, M&M’s also has enjoyed an ongoing endcap slot in the power aisle (which leads from door to pharmacy) to promote a series of CVS-exclusive promotions. The streak has been obvious since September 2012, when the brand devised an exclusive mobile application for the chain. Using augmented reality, the app let smartphone users take and share virtual photos of themselves adorned with Halloween paraphernalia alongside lead spokescandy Ms. Brown; in November, the theme switched to Santa hats and other holiday novelties.Endcap headers and shelf trays carried QR codes linking to downloads of the app. When the app was in use, Ms. Brown occasionally popped up to deliver quips such as “Here’s a scary thought: a Halloween party without M&M’s chocolate candies. I shudder to think about it. Pick some up at CVS today.”The app had a return engagement for holiday 2013, this time made more accessible by eliminating the need to point phones at P-O-P materials to activate initially and adding a CVS-only coupon incentive to entice use. The mobile effort anchored season-long collaborative activity that also encompassed consistent feature space – including front-page placement in the chain’s Black Friday circular – as well as prominent positioning on CVS.com.In March 2014, as Easter merchandising wound down, yet another custom endcap header promised $3 off the purchase of $10 in new M&M’s SKUs (a “Birthday Cake” flavor and “Mega” sized candies). By early May, that offer had switched to a free “M-Ball” (a branded soccer ball) with $10 purchase of any M&M’s products. The latter header declared, “Summer fun is better with ‘M.’”These most recent examples are particularly noteworthy because they give M&M’s prime secondary placement during nontraditional periods for candy merchandising – a goal that often proves elusive in the holiday-driven category. In summer 2013, M&M’s even scored the endcap space without any communicated promotion.Mars has enjoyed a close partnership with CVS since the late 2000s when – having been rebuffed by CVS executives for its lack of commitment – the manufacturer began to strategically align with the retailer by delivering programs that met its business goals and resonated with its key shopper segments.“CVS’ efforts to personalize its shopper communications is one of the key reasons we partner so strongly with them,” Roy Benin, chief consumer officer of Mars Chocolate North America, told Shopper Marketing last summer. “In addition to marketing Mars products in stores to a broad audience, the ExtraCare data and customization tools like email, direct mail and affinity partnerships allow us to customize our messages and offers to make the best use of our marketing dollars.”

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