Mars Case Study

Core Objective

The Mars campaign aimed to increase brand awareness and purchase consideration by showcasing how people reward themselves for everyday tasks using the slogan, “that thing you did.” By positioning the Mars bar as the ideal reward, the campaign sought to engage audiences with contextual messages that effectively utilized relevant triggers.

Solutions

To achieve the campaign objectives, Mars utilized the Hivestack Demand Side Platform (DSP) to execute a highly targeted and contextually relevant strategy. The campaign featured a diverse array of digital formats, including Billboards, Bus Shelters, Urban Panels, and Malls, across five major metro cities on a national scale in Australia. 

A total of ten distinct creatives were deployed across Digital Small and Large Formats, leveraging contextual triggers such as weather-based prompts (e.g., “Doing anything outside while it’s raining is a thing”) and dayparted messaging tailored to specific times of day. Dayparting was managed from 5am to 11pm, with creatives scheduled according to weather conditions. Additionally, creatives were strategically scheduled for weekdays versus weekends (e.g., “Meal Prepping on the weekend is a thing”). This approach ensured that the Mars bar was consistently presented as the ideal reward for everyday achievements.

The screen selection was optimized using GroupM’s proprietary audience tool, Journeys, which allowed for precise targeting and enhanced relevance. This comprehensive strategy effectively increased brand awareness and purchase consideration by engaging audiences with highly contextual and relevant messages.

Results

During its four-month flight time, the campaign generated over 9 million impressions. To further assess the campaign’s impact on audiences, Hivestack, in collaboration with HappyDemics, conducted a Brand Lift Study (BLS) and concluded:

• +32% increase in brand attribution

• +14% growth in brand familiarity 

• +30% increase in purchase consideration

• +206% uplift in specific intent to buy

Testimonials:

“We are thrilled by the positive results from the campaign, which were instrumental in achieving our goal of connecting consumers with MARS in a meaningful and relevant manner.” - Rachel Tan, Brand Manager, Mars & Funsize