Twitter’s Brand Crisis

The big talk right now is all about Twitter’s first promotional spot, which plays on the recent East Coast earthquake. It starts with one of Twitter’s software engineers sitting at a table with a cup of coffee. He gets a tweet that is presumably that the earthquake just happened and picks his coffee up off the table as everything starts to shake, continuing to read his book unfazed. The two main criticisms most people have brought up are a) that the goofball approach underplays how revolutionary Twitter is and b) that regardless, it’s just not a very engaging spot. I’d agree on both counts. Concerning the latter criticism, it got a slight chuckle from me, but wouldn’t make me run out and try Twitter if I hadn’t used it before. However, what I want to talk about is the the criticism of bad brand representation.

In reality, the spot isn’t really that off of Twitter’s brand image. They started with a goofy, techy-nerd image that appealed to their early adopter crowd and haven’t fully shed that yet. For example, if you try and tweet something that is more than 140 characters for the Twitter website, it will flash a message telling you to “be more clever”. The default background is still blue fluffy clouds. The problem is, Twitter has gotten popular enough that they might have outgrown this image.

Twitter has grown way past the little “see what you’re friends are up to” tool that it started as. 87% of people in the US are aware of Twitter. During Hurricane Irene, national news networks were instructing viewers on which hashtags to use when tweeting about the hurricane so the update could be tracked in real time. Twitter has helped spark revolts and revolutions. Whole countries have tried banning it because of the effect it can have. Twitter has changed communication in a real way. They need to decide how they want to be seen by the world. Is Twitter ok with keeping the fun, geeky brand image that this earthquake ad perpetuates? Or are they ready to grow up and embrace the fact that can and are changing communication as we know it?

Big Results for Smaller Brands

In the past, you could have over 90% ACV nationwide (for non-food folks, that’s grocery store penetration), and your product may sell $40 million nationwide, but that still doesn’t allow for anything approaching an adequate budget for traditional media on a national level. But there’s another way to approach it today, and we’ve seen the light bulb go on for several smaller CPG brand managers recently: “Maybe I can’t afford a ton of mass media, but a well-integrated social media campaign will really leverage my budget.”

Of course, every brand is different; some products by nature are better poised to spark a passionate following than others. But for many brands, fueled by solid strategy and creative, there is suddenly the real potential to stimulate trial, generate buzz, deliver effective promotions – and yes, over time, make a real impact on sales.

Consider the possibilities. There’s the online PR angle – pitching foodie or mommy bloggers or meet-up groups. There’s promotion – contests, coupons, and free samples sent as rewards. There can be easy integration with labeling, POS tools and other existing programs. And if you really strike a nerve, you can enjoy genuine viral success.

Who would have thought you could impact a national brand on a modest budget? Just a few years ago it may have been near impossible, but today it can be a realistic goal.