With TVC inventory on TV getting scarcer due to the National Regulating Body restrictions for Satellite TV and TVC inventory inflation growing double digits, Branded Entertainment has been booming in China in the last 2 years, both on TV and Online video.Most of the current branded entertainment initiatives in China, however, offer the audience a passive viewing experience and often feature aggressive logo or product placement in the content, to which consumers –especially the younger ones- react negatively.M&M has created a holistic content integration leveraging the fun personality of it’s ‘spokecandies’ hosts, and delivering the brand’s core message through the spokecandies smart and witty behaviour.Different from most branded entertainment initiatives in China, we created a fully interactive experience which started with the video content, expanded to our consumer’s own social spaces and was further enhanced by our very audience’s inputs and interactions.

M&M’s Celebrity Glitz aired on 188 national TV stations and 5 video websites, making Red and Yellow true celebrities. As their popularity peaked, we wanted to move them from interviewers to the interviewees.

We made them aware that they were still M&M's and that fans wanted to eat them as well. To avoid this fate, they escaped!We issued a public statement on China’s top video portal, explaining Red & Yellow’s decision to take some time off. We then asked their new celebrity friends to find out where they went and why they wanted to escape the public, searching four locations in Greater China for their whereabouts.Fans helped to guess their locations from the video clues we released on video sites and their Weibo feed. When the fans finally found the candies, we organised a huge party with their former celebrity interviewees to persuade the spokescandies to return to Celebrity Glitz.

Previously inconsistent in the market and sometimes even getting removed from shelves in summer months, M&M’s is now a staple for Chinese youth, seeing 98% sales increase vs last year and outperforming category growth by 240%.Household penetration has also skyrocketed, increasing five points and market share increased to 54%.

Following this campaign, Chinese youth think M&M’s is “irresistible” (55%) and “unique” (60%).

Now, in a country where chocolate is exploding, M&M’s is its most wanted brand!