Mars celebrates Halloween with shoppable Instagram content
Global CPG treats and snack company Mars Inc. is giving Instagram users a new way to discover and purchase its products in time for a major candy holiday.
For the first time, Mars is offering shoppable content via its @MarsGlobal Instagram account. The shoppable Instagram posts feature products across Mars’ snacking, food and pet products, including brands like M&Ms, Snickers, Pringles, Ben's Original, and the Pedigree and Greenies pet treat brands.
Seasonal Mars Instagram content will also include recipes, Halloween party spreads and trick-or-treat basket inspiration. Customers can visit the @MarsGlobal Instagram account and tap the product tags on the Halloween posts to discover seasonal content and shop products.
"Whether you're hosting friends and family or picking out treats for pets, there's a lot that goes into Halloween," said Tim LeBel, chief Halloween officer and chief customer officer, Mars Snacking North America – a division of Mars Inc. "Our first-ever Mars Halloween shoppable Instagram content brings seasonal favorites together in one place, helping consumers spend less time searching and more time celebrating."
Mars is innovatively targeting Halloween shoppers as the National Retail Federation’s annual consumer survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics indicates Halloween spending is expected to reach $13.5 billion this year, maintaining the strong spending level of last year’s record $13.1 billion.
Mars reaches out to consumers
Mars Inc. has been experimenting with ways to innovatively perform direct-to-consumer (DTC) retail for the past few years. During the 2023 Halloween season, the company partnered with Uber to provide interactive content about Mars’ Skittles candy product to Uber and Uber Eats customers.
[READ MORE: Mars continues direct-to-consumer efforts in Uber collaboration]
Mars displayed interactive Uber Journey Ads and Post-Check Out Ads to consumers taking a ride in an Uber vehicle or waiting for their Uber Eats order. The ads enabled consumers to seamlessly interact with the Skittles website and add Skittles products to their Uber Eats shopping carts.
Earlier in 2023, Mars launched a pilot to deliver ice cream using the Conjure fleet of robotic mobile stores. Customers could order Mars brand ice cream goods from their smartphones with a single tap, using the proprietary Conjure mobile app.
Within as little as two minutes, the automated shop arrived, letting customers use Conjure's checkout-free system to select their Mars ice cream products and walk away.
