Mars Snacking Adopts AI for Personalized Advertising Strategy
Mars Snacking, the company behind popular brands like M&M's and Snickers, is transitioning its advertising approach from broad, mass-market campaigns to data-driven, personalized marketing powered by artificial intelligence. This strategic shift aims to enhance precision in reaching consumers, reduce advertising waste, and align with evolving consumer expectations for interactive brand experiences. Rankin Carroll, chief brand officer of Mars Snacking, indicates that this new strategy is also expected to yield cost savings.
Mars Snacking is fundamentally altering its advertising methodology, moving away from traditional mass-reach campaigns towards highly personalized marketing efforts. This new direction leverages AI tools and extensive consumer data to deliver tailored messages across various channels and formats for brands such as Snickers, M&M's, Skittles, and Twix.
Rankin Carroll, chief brand officer of Mars Snacking, articulated that the era of "hope for the best" advertising, characterized by single campaigns designed for broad audiences over several months, is concluding. The company now plans to segment campaigns across multiple audience groups, channels, and mediums, customizing content for each specific group.
This shift is driven by a focus on precision targeting to reduce advertising expenditure waste. Mars has partnered with Publicis for its media business, primarily due to Publicis's "Connected ID" system. This system provides a global dataset of 2.3 billion consumer IDs, facilitating Mars's ability to identify and target specific audience segments across diverse markets and platforms.
Mars has already implemented AI in experimental campaigns. An example includes a Snickers campaign during the European Championship soccer tournament, which utilized Meta and WhatsApp to allow users to send personalized jokes via an AI-powered José Mourinho character. Another initiative, the "Twix Harmonizer," enabled users to send voice notes harmonizing bad news using AI-generated audio. These campaigns highlight Mars's intention to create more participatory brand experiences for consumers.
Despite the perceived benefits, Mars acknowledges the inherent risks associated with AI. Carroll noted that while AI presents exciting opportunities, it also carries dangers, prompting the company to proceed cautiously. Mars emphasizes that its campaigns, like the Snickers example, include multiple layers of protection to prevent misuse and ensure brand safety.
This strategic evolution in advertising coincides with Mars's integration of Kellanova brands, including Pringles, Pop-Tarts, and Cheez-It, into its portfolio following a $36 billion acquisition.
(Source: Business Insider)
