At ODM, we love promotional gifts & candy.  M&M’s summer promo combines both loves (and more) and is currently running in their dedicated shops in France.

summer promo m&ms

M&M’s summer promo – CDG Airport in France

Beach ball as a summer promo

M&M’s decided to go with beach balls for their summer promo in their duty free shop in France. The beach ball is not perfectly rounded, it’s not a rugby ball either, it actually matches the M&M’s mascot shape. That’s a very smart way to be visible on the beach.

summer promo

M&M’s summer promo – Beach balls

This summer promo is what we call a GWP (Gift With Purchase) promotion, client need to spend at least 15€ in the shop in order to get the beach ball for free. It’s a very common strategy but very efficient also. Even a small and cheap gift can push people to think “I might as well spend a bit extra to get the gift, I’ve already almost reached the 15€ anyway”: that’s how you get people to increase their shopping cart value.

Another option is to use a Purchase with Purchase promotional campaign where you add more money to get extra gifts.  This is a great way to increase in-store spend.

In this specific summer promo, the most attractive point is the fact that the the beach ball is printed with the eyes and mouth of the M&M’s mascot. People are interested in the promo not because it’s a beach ball, but because it’s a mascot.

The Gift with Purchase is displayed on a round Semi Permanent POS Display in the center of the store.   This POS is on multiple shelves and can be updated every few months with new promotions and specials.   If you do this kind of promotion and want to draw eyes into your store we strongly recommend in investing on POS displays.   You could incorporate more features into this.   How about a rotating mascot on the top or LED lighting to make this unmissable.

Some other case studies from M&Ms on Candy Marketing.

If you are wondering how to promote your own mascot click here or contact us directly, we’d be very happy to help.

Now a few words in French for our local readers: Nous avons beaucoup aimé cette campagne promo. Certes, l’idée du ballon de plage est très souvent utilisé en été car c’est un produit peu coûteux et généralement assez bien reçu par la clientèle. Le simple fait d’avoir fait de ce ballon une mascotte gonflable (uniquement en imprimant des yeux et une bouche) augmente la valeur perçue du produit de manière conséquente. En effet, la marque de chocolat, M&M’s, a bâti son image (et l’ensemble de ses campagnes de communication) autours de ces 2 personnages désormais célèbres.