Social Networking 101 & 102

The lack of clear understanding how to make use of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter has not stopped the larger CPG (consumer packaged goods) houses from embracing the breakout media phenomenon.

With some stats showing such sites now surpassing email as the preferred form of communication between younger consumers, both Kraft and Proctor & Gamble are putting extensive resources into adapting them to their marketing needs. Kraft launched an iPhone application that charged consumers 99 cents for new recipes on the go, and its Twitter page for the Oscar Mayer Winermobile alerting fans to the vehicle’s schedule now has 800 members. The Twitter handle for its DiGiorno pizza franchise has at last count on 28 members, so social networking isn’t a slam-dunk for brands.

Indeed skeptics insist consumers have little or no interest in being friends with toothpaste, and scoff at Kraft’s assigning brand-specific public relations teams when they need to move millions of units to be profitable. Money isn’t the only factor, though, and some marketers like Unilever and Budweiser have stumbled even after budgeting large sums for their social networking programs. Bud linked up with the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) to promote the latter’s tournaments on the beer’s Facebook page, yet attracted less than 1,800 fans, barely enough to fill a small high school gym.

In contrast, the Nutella site has over 3MM adherents. Like other top three sites such as Coke and Pringles, Nutella let fans build its Facebook page, dispelling the impression this is something being shoved down consumers’ throats by greedy marketers. P&G built its Pringles site by consolidating all the pre-existing fan sites into one. Yet much like the question about profitability during the dot com bubble, executives get all fuzzy and vague when asked whether social networking can "scale" to the needs of large marketers, saying such discussions are "premature."

I’ll take that to mean they’re still clueless.

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