Mars manufactures a range of fast-moving consumer goods from confectionery to pet food. Gen Z spends an average of five hours a day on social media, so it made sense to use these channels to attract early talent with company-related content, harnessing authentic stories from existing associates at Mars. This wasn’t easy, however – associates are very busy and campaign messages needed to roll out consistently. Furthermore, Mars had also just launched a new employer brand and it needed to boost interaction across its social platforms.

Havas People helped Mars to align its concept with the broader employer brand strategy, focusing on purpose, development and people. It fed into Gen Z’s desire to make the world a better place and to see themselves within that change. ‘Made by You’ reflected career empowerment and the opportunities early talent could forge if they joined the business, placing them firmly in the driving seat. Fourteen early talent associates became influencers for Mars – or ‘Mars makers’ – and were given social media training and opportunities to reverse mentor senior leaders as an incentive.

The influencers were chosen after sharing a short video of themselves and offered support such as content guides, a Teams group with influencers from different markets, and a kit with instructions on how to get going. They were asked to create one piece of content a month, which was then shared over social channels. They also experimented with AI and animation. The campaign significantly exceeded targets for increased social engagement, gaining more than 100,000 followers on TikTok from scratch and many times more engagement on platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn.