1.What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Perfect Size concept for (a) Mars Belgium and Mars Netherlands, (b) the consumers, (c) the trade partners?

2. What do you think was the main objective of the big bang communications programme that supported the launch of the Perfect Size concept?

3. Mars Belgium used coupons. Would you have chosen another type of promotion? If so, which one and why?

4.. Looking at the integrated campaign,would you have mixed and matched different communications tools? Why (not)?

5. How important do you think trade promotions versus consumer promotions were for introducing the new pack formats?

PLEASE READ THIS CASE TO RESPONDE THE QUESTIONS:

CASE 12: 'The Perfect Size': for every moment, there is a Mars bar Introduction Frank Mars was born in 1882 in Hancock, Minnesota. Since he suffered from a mild form of polio, his mother taught him at an early age to make chocolate dips to keep him entertained. From 1911 onwards, Frank Mars started making and selling candy to small stores. Being successful in this business, he founded the Mars Candy Factory in Tacoma, Washington. The first big breakthrough came in 1923 with the introduction of the first Milky Way . Milky Way was an instant success and sales rocketed to $800 000. In 1925. Frank's son, Forrest, joined the company and added pet care and food to Mars' portfolio. Now, Mars Inc. is one of the largest family businesses worldwide with more than 70000 employees in 73 countries. Holding a leading position in each of the six different segments it serves, namely Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks and Symbioscience, Mars Inc. realises a turnover of more than $30 billion. Mars Inc. owns 52 A brands, several of which are real global favourites. Think of M&Ms, Snickers . Twix b, Mars , Uncle Ben's rice, Pedigree and Cesar dog food, and Whiskas and Sheba cat food. The global appeal of Mars' products is underscored by the fact that the products are sold and enjoy a high popularity in about 180 different countries. For example, Mars Inc. makes 7 of the world's 20 best-selling chocolate snacks. Changing consumer needs in Belgium Long-run success goes together with excellent products and a profound insight into customer needs. To this end, all Mars subsidiaries carefully monitor the trends in the environment and regularly conduct consumer research. As is the case for Mars Belgium, AC Nielsen data from 2006 showed that chocolate is an important category in the Belgian snack market, holding a share of 28% as compared with 33% for biscuits, 15% for crisps, 4.9% for candy and 6.7% for ice. However, the growth rate for chocolate (+3.3%) was markedly smaller than for the other categories (+4.7% for biscuits, +6.8% for crisps, +4.9% for candy and +6.7% for ice). A closer look at the specific chocolate varieties revealed that all varieties were growing, except for a decline of 2.2% in volume for chocolate bars. Making a distinction between biscuit, hunger and indulgent chocolate bars, the AC Nielsen data revealed that the problems were situated in the biscuit and hunger bars (see Figure 12.14). Although the general trend for biscuit and hunger bars was negative, this was not the case for the Mars brands in these categories (see Figure 12.15). Nevertheless, Mars Belgium felt it had to secure its future, especially because its core brands were situated in these categories and because other sources confirmed the negative trend in the category. Panel data from GFK, for example, indicated that consumers bought candy bars fewer times per year and less volume per purchase (see Table 12.5). Combined with Mars Belgium's own research, two important consumer insights were generated. Firstly, consumers in general, but also youngsters in particular, focus increasingly on a good balance between eating and exercising. At certain moments (e.g. just before exercising, at moments when they are hungry) they want products to fulfil their energy needs but, in general, they are looking for healthier and less heavy snacks. Secondly, the persons in the household responsible for shopping want both lighter snacks and greater value for money. Mothers especially prefer a greater number of smaller portions in a pack. Children do not notice the difference, but mothers feel less guilty if they can give their children a lighter snack. Moreover, more portions in a pack means they last longer. The Perfect Size concept To activate chocolate bar consumption and to regain gatekeeper acceptance on its core brands (Mars. Twix and Snickers), Mars Belgium introduced its Perfect Size concept. More specifically, Mars Belgium differentiated the bar weight according to consumption moments (see Table 12.6). When consumers buy a bar in the out-ofhome (OOH) channel (e.g. from a vending machine, at a petrol station, at the cinema, in an amusement park, etc.). they are often driven by impulse and looking for energy. At these moments, concern about calorie intake is low and a larger bar is preferred. Therefore, for the buy now, eat now' moments, Mars Belgium provides the regular, single bars in OOH outlets. Consumers also like to eat bars during a break or for pleasure at work, in school or at home. This consumption is usually planned in advance and the shoppers' (i.e. parents as 'gatekeepers') concerns of less weight per bar and more bars per pack play an important role here. For these 'buy now, eat later' situations, Mars Belgium replaced its three-pack with a four-pack, its six-pack with a seven-pack and its ten-pack with a twelvepack. The weight per portion went down from 54 to 45g for a Mars bar, from 58 to 50g for a Twix and from 60 to 50g for a Snickers. For consumers who like to indulge themselves once in a while at home, minis varying in weight from about 15 to 20g are ideal. Finally, for social sharing and gift-giving, miniatures are offered, such as in the Celebrations box. The latter buying acts are assumed to be more conscious and planned in advance, and are more likely to take place at retailers. Early qualitative research results indicated that consumers really liked the concept. Comments from consumers included: 'with smaller bars, I can eat more often a snack to keep me going': 'a smaller bar gives me the opportunity to control the balance for me and my family'; and 'the larger the pack size, the more value for money we get, and the more snack times I get with my family'. 416 CHAPTER 12 BRAND ACTIVATION Perfect Size also in the Netherlands Mars Netherlands was confronted with the same trends and problems as Mars Belgium. Therefore, the Perfect Size concept was also launched in the Netherlands. The approach was more or less the same, although small differences did exist. For example, Mars Netherlands did not have a six-pack in the past, but a five-pack. With the new concept it moved from a five- to a seven-pack. It did not move from a ten- to a twelve-pack, but kept a ten-pack consisting of smaller bars. As in Belgium, the supporting campaign mixed and matched different communications tools such as advertising, sales promotions, personal selling, point-of-purchase communications, etc. The focus was also largely on the seven-pack. Also in the Netherlands, differentiating bar weight according to consumption and purchase moment turned out to be a good move. Qualitative research pointed to the same positive consumer reactions as in Belgium. Consumers mentioned among others: 'I want to be able to snack in between; three meals a day is not sufficient anymore': 'With smaller bars, I can more easily keep my weight in balance'; and 'The new pack format increases my value for money perception'. Also, quantitative results were very positive. The Perfect Size concept led to a total sales increase of 6%. Mars Netherlands lost two-person households (probably because of the larger pack formats), but this was more than offset by an increase in households with children. Indeed, total penetration increased from 14.7\% in period 3 of 2006 to 16.1% in period 3 of 2007 . Further, both 'promotion sales value' and 'neutral sales value' increased. Figure 12.18 shows the sales value that was realised with and without sales promotion support. As in Belgium, the seven-packs especially were very successful (see Table 12.7 for general results for all three brands and Figure 12.19 for period-byperiod results for Twix). This is not surprising in view of the fact that the campaign focused on this pack format. Conclusion By listening to consumers and carefully watching consumption trends, Mars Belgium and Mars Netherlands were able to tailor their products better to contemporary consumer needs. According to a company official, 'Big brands have to progress with their consumers.' With the launch of the Perfect Size concept, Mars Belgium and Mars Netherlands practised what the company preaches. Knowing that a good concept will not sell itself, a massive communications campaign helped activate the Mars, Twix and Snickers bars. The campaign cleverly mixed and matched different communications elements. Indeed, at Mars Belgium and Mars Netherlands it is also common knowledge that a full focus, or a 360 approach, combining among other things advertising and sales promotions, is much stronger than either advertising or sales promotions alone. Tailoring bar weight to consumption moments resulted in smaller bars, but larger bottom lines for both subsidiaries. Most importantly, this was the case not only during the marketing communications campaign, but also in the longer term. QUESTIONS 1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Perfect Size concept for (a) Mars Belgium and Mars Netherlands, (b) the consumers, (c) the trade partners? 2. What do you think was the main objective of the 'big bang' communications programme that supported the launch of the Perfect Size concept? 3. Mars Belgium used coupons. Would you have chosen another type of promotion? If so, which one and why? 4. Looking at the integrated campaign, would you have mixed and matched different communications tools? Why (not)? 5. How important do you think trade promotions versus consumer promotions were for introducing the new pack formats? 7. Source: Based on Information provided by Chantal Hendrickx, Trade Marketing Manager, Mars Belgium; www.mars.be; www.mars.nl; www.mars.com