Thursday, October 20, 2011

An Evening of Chocolate Indulgence with 3 Musketeers®


The 3 Musketeers Bar was the third brand produced and manufactured by M&M/MARS, introduced in 1932.  Originally, it had three pieces in one package, flavored chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, hence the name. Rising costs and wartime restrictions on sugar saw the phasing out of the vanilla and strawberry pieces to leave only the more popular chocolate. Costing five cents when it was introduced, it was marketed as one of the largest chocolate bars available, one that could be shared by friends.  Flash forward 79 years later, and the 3 Musketeers Bar is still one of America's most popular candy bars.

Holly Homer, Mike Merrill, Laura Thornquist and Cynthia Smoot

Earlier this year, the iconic 3 Musketeers bar launched a reformulated version of its classic candy bar. This new bar now features MORE chocolate taste for a richer chocolate experience along with the light and fluffy texture we all know and love.

Keeping with the theme wanting MORE - because who doesn’t want more chocolate - they surveyed over 1,000 Americans to see what other types of things they would like MORE of. Along with things like vacation, TV channels and sleep, they also found that people would like more face-to-face real world interactions with their social media contacts.

So, they decided to host a party in Dallas and give the people what they wanted! And how lucky am I that I was asked to host this delicious soiree along with some other of my fab blogging friends: Mike Merrill, Laura Thornquist and Holly Homer.

David Lopez and Quynh Anh, Regina Bruce and Kim Fischer and LeeAnne Locken

Over 100 people gathered at the W Hotel for cocktails and lots and lots of chocolate. Each of the hosts got to give away a great door prize: a $250 American Airlines travel voucher, two $100 Spa Finder gift cards and a big basket of 3 Musketeers product and swag.   They even drug a big screen TV into the party so we could keep up with the Texas Rangers playoff series.

This event goes to show, that in this competitive world of choices, even a huge, iconic brand like 3 Musketeers needs to stay fresh and top of mind. Kudos to 3 Musketeers for recognizing the power of social media and harnessing the online power of conversation and viral buzz for their brand!