Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products. Their confectionery brands include M&Ms, Snickers, Twix, and Milky Way, while their non-confectionery brands include Ben’s Original, Dolmio, and pet food brands like Whiskas and Pedigree. Match Marketing and its client, Mars, partnered with 3 tier logic to launch their national ‘MARS® Road Trip Instant Win Game and Grand Prize Sweepstakes’ promotion, exclusive to customers in Canada. This was the first program Mars activated with 3 tier logic.

Program Objectives

• Drive purchases and sales

• Build brand engagement

• Increase brand loyalty

• Collect customer data

Strategy

3 tier logic used PLATFORM³ to create a microsite for Mars’s ‘Road Trip Instant Win Game and Grand Prize Sweepstakes’ promotion, leveraging the following modules:

• Contests and Promotions

• Purchase Receipt Validation

• Data Capture & Analytics

When consumers purchase one qualifying Mars product in one transaction from participating retailers, they are eligible to receive a sweepstakes entry for a chance to win 1 of 3 cross-Canada road trips worth $20,000. They also have a chance of instantly winning 1 of 2,000 Mars product coupons. Through the Purchase Receipt Validation technology on PLATFORM³, customers can validate their purchase by registering and uploading a picture of their receipt to the promotion microsite. They can make additional purchases and upload one receipt per day for additional sweepstakes entries.

Once their purchase(s) have been validated, customers receive an email confirming their sweepstakes entry and informing them if they won a secondary prize. Secondary prizes were limited to a maximum of five per person. Consumers were also given a no purchase entry (AMOE) option in which they were to mail a self-addressed return envelope to receive a Mars product coupon instead. At the end of the promotion, 3 tier logic generated a random draw to select sweepstakes winners.

Through PLATFORM³, Mars was able to track the progress of the promotion in real-time and capture valuable consumer information. The Data Capture & Analytics module provides insights on customers’ shopping behavior and microsite activity for the duration of the promotion. Mars is able to use this data to make well-informed decisions for future promotions and continue to drive sales and customer engagement.