Kudos to M&M’s for their extremely practical, useful and engaging program around encouraging consumers to personalize M&M’s for Mother’s Day.

Here’s what’s so smart about what they are doing:

1) The program deploys multiple communications channels. I first read about it in a circular that arrived with my NY Times this morning. The ad featured a coupon promising free shipping if the order was early. The ad directed me to a Web site to make the order and engage with M&M’s in other ways.

2) There’s a strong element of personalization. Always attractive. Consumers get to “create” their own M&M’, In effect, consumers are part of design and production process.

3) The engagement has a powerful offline element: the shipping and receiving of personalize M&M’s. This promotes the idea of the Web as tool and part of everyday life versus the Web as a separate world. It’s all one world.

4) It’s such a good idea and personalized M&M’s are so much fun that people will keep coming back. So it’s not a one-off.

M&M’s could go a little farther though:

1) The “tell a friend” facility is a little cumbersome. It’s clear M&M’s wants to promote recommending and take advantage of viral possibilities. But if you’re asking people to fill out a form, even an email form, give them an incentive. Otherwise they will just send a link. It’s easier.

2) The Mbassador program is a good idea but seems to pay only lip service to the power of consumer engagement. It “reads” like a big brand trying to do co-creation. The program is looking for ten “ambassadors” who will win a years supply of candy and have the opportunity to do things like test new products and provide input. So what?

And only ten? Why not more? Worse, the program is setting up like a drawing. There’s nothing engaging or personal or competitive about a drawing. It’s random. Drawings engage with crowd without using the wisdom of the crowd. What a waste. M&M’s also makes it sounds like they are doing customers a favor versus the other way around.

That said, M&M’s is doing a lot that’s right. They are so far ahead of other candy brands that are on the sidelines.