Marketing Research

Objective: Describe the five steps in conducting market research

1. Define the Problem:
Does each bag of M&Ms contain the same number of candies?
How many of each color M&M is in each bag?
2. Analyze the situation:
Complete the M&Ms website worksheet.
3. Develop a data-collection procedure:
Get a bag of M&Ms and complete the Data Collection Worksheet
4. Examine and organize information:
Complete the Group Comparison Worksheet
5. Propose a solution
Complete the Solutions Worksheet

M & Ms Website Worksheet

Group Members: Philviet Ngyuen, Marwah Ahmad, Jay Rai, Cameron Mann
Directions: Use Google to answer the questions below.
History
1. What year were M&Ms first sold to the public?

They were first sold on March 3, 1941

2. How were they packaged?

They were packaged in cardboard tubes

3. When the packaging was changed, what was it changed to?

It was changed in 1948 to a brown bag/pouch

4. When were peanut M&Ms first introduced?

Peanut M&Ms were first introduced in 1954

5. Where are M&M candies made in the United States?

They are now made in Clinton Hill, Newark, New Jersey

6. What color was added to peanut M&Ms in 1960?

In the 1960s red, green and yellow were added

7. What does M & M stand for?

M&M stands for Mars and Murrie, the two creators of the candy

8. The original M&M chocolate candies contained what color mix?

The original candies contained the colour mix of: red, orange, yellow, green, brown and
violet.

9. What is colorworks?

Colorworks is a M&Ms store that has 25 different varieties of colours. You can
customize your own bag and buy as much as you want.

10. What is M&M world?

M&M worls is a retail store that specializes in M&Ms candy and merchandise in Las
Vegas

11. What happened to the original name of M&M plain chocolate candies in 2000?

M&Ms changed it from plain chocolate candies to milk chocolate candies.

12. Can you get your school colors?

Yes, you would be able to with color world.

13. What color was originally used for the letters on the M&Ms?

Black was originally used for the letters on the M&Ms

14. What % of each color do you get in a bag of M&Ms?

Brown= 30 %
Green= 10 %
Yellow= 20 %
Orange= 10 %
Red= 20 %
Blue= 10 %

For the following questions do a google search as well.

1. What are the details of the great color quest?
The details of the great colour quest was that M&Ms were only sold in black and white, and everytime someone
found a colour, it was added to the repertoire. This lasted until all of the colours of the M&Ms were found. An
added bonus was that whoever found a colour would win a prize.
2. What company has M&Ms teamed up with for the great color quest?
Master Foods USA has teamed up with M&Ms for the Great Color Quest.
3. The M&M Spokescandies were introduced as a form of marketing. Who are they? (List
their names)
There are 6 spokescandies. They dont have names, necessarily, their names are most generally their colour. Their
names are: Red, Yellow. Blue. Green, Crispy and Ms. Brown.
4. Th e r e a r e g a m e s yo u ca n p l a y wi t h M& M s. U s e t h e i n t e r n e t t o f i n d a g a m e
a n d t r y p l a yi n g i t wi t h yo u r g r o u p . W ri t e o u t t h e n a m e o f t h e g a m e a n d t h e
i n s t r u c t i o n s f o r h o w t o p l a y.
M&M Game
Summary: The M&M Game is an icebreaker that allows people to get to know each other. Each person
grabs some M&Ms and shares facts about himself or herself. This icebreaker is a simple way to help
people introduce facts about themselves.
How to Play
For each piece of M&M candy they took, they will have to answer a question, depending on its color:
Red candy: favorite hobbies
Green candy: favorite foods
Yellow candy: favorite movies
Orange candy: favorite places to travel
Brown candy: most memorable or embarrassing moments
Blue candy: wild cards (they can share any question that they choose)

M&M Data Collection Worksheet

1. How many candies are in your bag (count twice for accuracy)? _142
2. Count each candy per color and quantity (count twice for accuracy)
Color

Number

Red

12

Green

35

Brown

10

Yellow

31

Orange

27

Blue

27

3. What is the percentage of each color per bag? ((# of color/total)*100)

Color

Percent

Red

8.5 %

Green

24.6%

Brown

7.0 %

Yellow

21.8 %

Orange

19.0 %

Blue

19.0 %

4. Using Excel, create a pie chart showing the percent of each color M&M. (Use the data in
the first table above). Change the colors of the chart to match the colors of the M&Ms.
Submit the chart to the hand in folder so it can be marked in colour.

Grou

p Comparison Worksheet
Communicate with the members of other groups to complete the table below:
Group
Name

Total in
Bag
142

% of
Red
8.5 %

% of
Blue
19.0 %

% of
Green
24.6 %

% of
Brown
7.0 %

% of
Yellow
21.8 %

% of
Orange
19.0 %

Spencers
group

140

13 %

25 %

24 %

8%

18 %

11 %

Loveleens
group

141

9%

18 %

31 %

13 %

16 %

13 %

Maxs group

138

6.5 %

21.7 %

19.6 %

10.1 %

21.7 %

20.3 %

Hunters
group

142

8.5 %

23.0 %

22 %

8.5 %

18 %

20.0 %

Ryans group

141

7.8 %

19.2 %

31.2 %

12.1 %

11.4 %

18.4 %

*m&m
standard
%s

140

20 %

10 %

10 %

30 %

20 %

10 %

Our Group

*m&m % can be found online

Solutions Worksheet
1. Does each bag of M&Ms contain the same number of candies?
As seen above with all of the numbers in the chart, each bag of M&Ms does not contain the same
number of candies.
2. If the answer to number 1 is no, what is the average number of candies per bag?
The average number of candies per bag is around 140
3. How many of each color M&Ms is in each bag? (Approximately)
Average numbers: 14 red 29 blue 37 green 10 brown 26 yellow 20 orange
4. How do the Group results compare to the M&M website results?
The group results vary from the M&M website results, sometimes in great quantities. Since the M&Ms
are not put in the bag by a normal system that ensures that the percents will stay the same, they are put in
the bags at random, and that is why the results are varied.
5. Which color is most prevalent?
The colour that is most prevalent in our experiment is Green.
6. Is there a trend or reason for the most prevalent color?
No, there does not seem to be a trend or reason for green being the most prevalent colour.
7. Which color is least prevalent?
The colour that is the least prevalent is Red.
8. Is there a trend or reason for the least prevalent color?
No, there does not seem to be a trend and/or reason for red being the least prevalent colour.
9. Why do they introduce new colors as a marketing strategy?
M&Ms introduce new colours as a marketing strategy to make them desirable. People think a new colour
will be rare and that if they get that colour, then they are lucky. As well, with new colours, they have a better
chance of appealing to consumers favorite colours, if they have any. That way, consumers will buy to try to
get their favorite colours.
10. List any examples of advertisements, TV shows, movies that have used M&Ms (or
specific color M&Ms) as part of the script.
Somes examples of M&Ms in advertising is for SuperBowl commercials and when there are holidays, there
are ads that use M&Ms to promote them.
11. If you were marketing a bag of M&Ms what would be your breakdown of each color and why?
Red: 15%, Blue: 20%, Green: 20% Yellow: 20%, Orange: 15%, Brown: 10%
We would make the breakdown of each colour as specified above to make it seem that some colours were
rarer than others and if you go them then you would be lucky. As well, the colours that are bright we listed
with higher percentages due to that they are eye catching and they are fun. With red and orange, they are
bright as well, but they would be considered rarer colours. With brown, it is a very neutral colour, and not
many peoples favorite, so we had it with the lowest percentage.

12. What does your group think of the Great Color Quest marketing strategy? (Explain)
Our group thinks that the Great Colour Quest marketing strategy was ingenious. Using incentive and
rewards to get consumers to buy like crazy for 6 bags of M&Ms out of thousands is amazing. They must
have made a surmountable amount of money through that and consumers thought of it as a game. It may be
seen as cruel or just a money grab, but it was something that worked and that was based on pure luck.
--Orange Is Coming Back to the M&M'S Mix; Great Color Quest Consumer Contest Yields First
Winner with Discovery of Bag of All-Orange M&M'S
Feb. 5, 2004
Orange was officially "found" in South Carolina and will be added back to the M&M'S(R) stable of
colors. Black and white since New Year's Eve, M&M'S launched the Great Color Quest consumer
contest to bring back the color, enlisting the support of consumers to find the six all-colored bags
of M&M'S from among the more than 37 million black-and-white packages.
"The M&M'S(R) Great Color Quest contest is designed to give the wonder of color back to the
people," said Doug Milne, senior marketing manager, M&M'S Brand. "While the color orange has
now been found, there are still five colors to go, with full bags of brown, red, yellow, blue and
green M&M'S waiting to be found so that all the colors can come together again."
While the color orange has now been found, there are still five colors to go, with full bags of
brown, red, yellow, blue and green M&M'S waiting to be found so that all the colors can come
together again.
In South Carolina, a life-long fan of M&M'S purchased an all-orange bag at a local store and soon
discovered that she was the first Great Color Quest winner. Consumers who purchase one of the
remaining black and white bags of M&M'S(R) containing candies that are all one color may also
be winners. A total of six lucky winners will receive a 2004 Volkswagen New Beatle Convertible
GLS in the color of the candy they discover, a trip to Los Angeles, and $20,000 in cash.
Each of the M&M'S(R) varieties - milk chocolate, peanut, crispy, almond, peanut butter and minis have turned black and white and are part of the Great Color Quest contest. More information
about the Great Color Quest is available at http://www.mms.com/us/bw/quest/.