M&M’s Launches Alexa Campaign to Help You Tackle Streaming Indecision

M&M’s has launched a new Amazon Alexa skill, ‘Red Recommends’, to help viewers navigate options across various streaming services, marking the first voice activation marketing campaign for Mars Wrigley Confectionery UK.

 

Red Recommends will invite users to chat with the M&M’s Red ‘spokescandy’ as he guides them through the selection of content available. Users simply have to ask Alexa to “open Red Recommends” and he will ask questions such as “Wanna be on the edge of your seat or settled on the couch?” and “How much time have ya got?”. Entertainment guru Red will then tap into his vast streaming knowledge and recommend the TV series or film which is the perfect fit.

 

Alexa Saller, M&M’s Brand Director, Mars Wrigley Confectionery UK, said: “This foray into voice activation marketing is an exciting move for us. M&M’s is a brand that aims to make the everyday fun, so this medium helps consumers have a more enjoyable way of tackling the sometimes-overwhelming world of streaming. 

 

“At Mars we are always looking for new ways to innovate our approach and we look forward to seeing if we can use voice in any other ways across our brand portfolio.”

 

The launch of the new skill coincides with new research from M&M’s, which reveals that the public are overwhelmed with choice when choosing from the variety of content available. Brits revealed they spend on average 24 hours every year navigating their way through various platforms to find a TV series or film which is ‘just right’ for their mood.

 

Short attention spans do not lend themselves to this quest for content, as 57% of Brits admitted to getting bored whilst browsing through the wealth of options available. The average user gets stumped four times a month, with 58% conceding defeat and not being able to find anything to watch at all. Once settled on a film, 53% revealed they give up at only 22 minutes through when it’s not grabbing their attention. Threatening relationships across the UK, the difficulty of picking the right thing to watch when in a couple is doubled, as 72% of respondents said it is more difficult when choosing together

 

Red Recommends is available to all Alexa users until the end of October.

 

The M&M’s campaign was launched by Mars Wrigley Confectionery with support from Voxly, AMV and MediaCom.