Objectives

Last year M&M’S announced a renewed global commitment to creating a world where everyone feels they belong, a world that is for all FUNkind. With this new brand Purpose being at the center of everything M&M’S does , the brand set out to reveal its Flipping the Status Quo program , releasing the first-every all female pack, with the intent to celebrate, support and uplift  women timed to International Women’s Day.

These limited-edition packs featured the three iconic female M&M’S characters - Purple, Green and Brown - on and inside the pack. As part of this launch, M&M’S donated money from every pack sold to female-founded organizations who support and empower women, as well as to women across the country who are flipping the status quo in their communities and every day lives. 

Strategy and Execution

M&M’S launched its renewed global commitment in January 2022  to create a world where everyone belongs. To reinforce this purpose and mission through the Flipping the Status Quo program, we built a two-phased approach to maximize impact, using a national announcement to build awareness and drive purchase, and local amplification to spotlight nominees and reaffirm our purpose through the below tactics:

Awareness:

• It is no secret that M&M’S has been the subject of many conversations within culture this year, with campaigns that have gotten the world talking like the introduction of the first M&M’S character in over a decade – Purple -, the Super Bowl ad and, of course, the Flipping the Status Quo program.
• To continue laddering back to the renewed brand purpose and celebrate women, M&M’S launched the Flipping the Status Quo packs to further support organizations who are celebrating and supporting women from all backgrounds who are making a difference in their communities.
• The first ever all-female packs featured the newly debuted Purple character, alongside Brown and Green, that served as the next chapter in Purple’s debut.
• Through this program, donations were made to four female-founded organizations that are committed to uplifting and empowering women doing incredible work in their diverse fields and everyday lives. Organizations that received donations include She Is The Music, We Are Moving the Needle, Female Founder Collective and The Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media.  

Engagement:

• M&M’S got fans involved by putting out a CTA for nominations of women across the country who are flipping the status quo in their everyday lives for the chance to win a $10k grant to continue their work and efforts in their respective fields. 
• The brand collaborated with the M&M’S FUNd Advisory Council - a group of experts who help drive M&M’S brand programming of diversity, inclusivity and belonging - to identify nomination criteria and ultimately align on the winners.
• The volume of nominations was so great that M&M'S even doubled down on its commitment, increasing the number of women who received $10K grants from 10 to 20.  
• The 20 winners of the M&M’S Flipping the Status Quo contest spanned from educators and innovators, to community leaders of all types, and were featured on M&M’S social channels and on the M&M’S Times Square jumbotron on International Women’s Day.

In all, M&M’S donated nearly $1 million in support of female focused initiatives throughout the Flipping the Status Quo program. 

Results

M&M’S Flipping the Status Quo nearly broke the internet, driving traditional and social media buzz that helped the brand secure its place in pop culture.  
  

Through our pitching efforts and buzz about the all-female packs on the internet, M&M’S Flipping the Status Quo campaign proved once again to be a culturally relevant moment among all generations, ultimately garnering 16B+ media impressions. This launch got media and consumers talking everywhere, landing the packs on media channels of all types, from the FOX News cycles to Stephen Colbert and The Late Late Show with James Corden.

In addition to the national buzz that this program garnered, we also conducted a second phase of pitching in each contest winner’s local market, supporting them in their hometowns and bringing more attention to the incredible work they are doing on a local level.  
 

The purpose-driven program and CTA for nominating women flipping the status quo helped increase MMS.com web traffic by 122% and contributed to a 32% increase in sales YoY.  
  
The M&M’S Flipping the Status Quo program also had a large impact across Mars Associates and customer partners, with these groups being inspired to host their own internal nominations/contests highlighting women who are flipping the status quo within their organizations.  
  
The buzz around this program reinforced M&M’S Purpose by sparking conversation that highlighted a diverse group of women who are embracing their authentic selves, changing lives and fostering inclusivity and purpose in their communities through their individual missions.  

Media