Came across this wonderful post by Martin Bishop, Director, Brand Strategy of Landor and thought it was one of the articles that needs to shared and read widely by all CPG / FMCG brand marketers.
Martin captures the aspirations well when he writes that, though every CPG brand might wish to be loved so intensely, few reach the top of the relationship ladder. When you come right down to it, who wants a relationship with a bar of soap? Or as one commenter put it, responding to a blog post on the death of branding: “They buy something to drink because they’re thirsty. Not because they f****ng LOVE Coke!”
Simply mimicking the behavior of brands that have highly engaged audiences doesn’t work; social media applications have to be aligned with the strength of a brand’s consumer relationships. There are too many examples right now of brands assuming that their customers care about them when the reality is that most customers couldn’t care less.
It’s sad to see brands trying too hard. Of all the social media options, Twitter is perhaps the most difficult to use effectively without a resonant relationship.
There’s got to be an angle.
If you think of social media as being primarily about communication, it’s difficult to see how most CPG brands can use it effectively. But if you view social media as an infrastructure supporting a wide range of activities based on connection, then more opportunities present themselves.
