Mars is urging retailers to boost sales and raise money for charity by backing its Maltesers ‘Bake Yourselves Silly’ campaign for Comic Relief.

The drive will be communicated with PoS, including bunting and dump bins, and on packs, with 5p from every Maltesers and Teasers product sold going to the charity.

The campaign will be the largest for Mars this year and includes a print and digital partnership with BBC Good Food, as well as a TV ad running from February 1 until Red Nose Day on March 13. The brand is also investing in a social media campaign, running across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Mars recommends that retailers add a secondary site for Maltesers alongside baking products to encourage customers to buy them as a baking ingredient, and print out recipes from the Maltesers website to inspire shoppers.

Roli Ranger, Londis, Ascot, said: “I have been using my customers recipe cards in my store for a number of years now (all printed instore). It has been a great success and proves to be a good talking point . The key to success is to ensure the cards are placed near to the ingredients; this encourages people to try new ideas and buy the items needed.”

Bep Dhaliwal, trade communications manager, Mars Chocolate UK, said that the partnership with Red Nose Day is set to grow the bitesize category even further.

“The home baking industry is booming and we’re combining this trend with the power of Maltesers and Comic Relief to create a great category opportunity for retailers to increase sitings and drive sales,” she said.

Maltesers has raised more than £2.5m for Comic Relief since they began their partnership in 2011.