Faceless Companies

While we all use Facebook and social networking friends to communicate with friends and family, this blog is going to discuss how social networking sites has allowed companies and celebrities to communicate with their consumers and fans.

Many companies now have a Facebook page, where you can friend them or become a “fan”. Becoming a “fan” is just another way of saying you like the company. These companies then use the Facebook page to tell their consumers and fans when new events happen. Perhaps, as well, fans feel a personal connection when friending a celebrity on Facebook and seeing the celebrity update his or her status.

Oreo has recently launched a campaign revolving around Facebook. The commercial below is from their new campaign:
http://www.facebook.com/oreo?v=app_2392950137#!/video/video.php?v=334194375733

While this commercial effectively advertises the product, I believe it tries to form a connection between viewer and company. Oreo is trying to get its audience to interact with them. Will this poll have any significance? Is Oreo really going to “deem” a winner? I believe no, but they are taking advantage of Facebook’s popularity.

As someone interested in advertising, I find this campaign extremely effective. The company is not introducing a new product. They are simply putting a spin on an old concept. They knew that some like to dump cookies in milk while others don’t. The ad is simply a poll; however, it makes the consumer think how he or she eats. Perhaps the consumer will now buy Oreos and see whether or not it’s better with milk. Furthermore, the two people involved the campaign targets both the younger and older demographic. The kid could be seen as “the new,” wanting to put his cookie in milk while the father could be “the old” by eating cookies in a conventional, non-soggy, manner. What this campaign also shows is that Oreo’s target audience must be using Facebook.

If people do vote, Oreo can now see their target audience and what they prefer. I would assume they could care less about the poll itself and are more concerned with how many people vote and what demographic these people fit into. Therefore, they could build future campaigns targeting this audience or use viral campaigns to continue to attract this audience while using television campaigns to garner new customers.

Personally, I’m not going to run outside, buy a box of Oreos, and waste my milk by trying to decide whether or not I like to dip them. However, I personally have not friended any company or celebrity. Hypothetically, I could adjust my feed where it would only update when a celebrity or company posts, but I simply don’t see the point in it. I could go to the companies’ website on new events and I could care less what some celebrity is doing throughout the day. I believe I am in the minority as it seems companies are continuing to embrace social networking sites (such as the example above). There are no companies that I blindly follow and there are no celebrities that I am just amazed by whenever I see him or her on the small or big screen.

I have asked a few University of Maryland students whether or not they have friended a celebrity or company. It surprised to me hear, that out of the 6 people I asked, 4 of them had friended a company. Three of the four were girls and simply explained they liked “the brand” and always shop at the company when they can (they said they were fans of clothing companies). The fourth person said he was a fan of some musician I never heard of (or even remember the name of) and that this musician updates his page frequently with concerts and events. I then asked this fourth person if he felt any sort of personal connection to the musician. He shrugged and said the person updated his page often so he has some idea how he spends his time. I assumed the shrug meant a yes and I asked whether or not this has influenced him to see the guy. The respondent said he now feels more informed and will go to a concert if he can afford it and if it’s nearby. I asked the three girls, who responded yes, if they feel any closer to the company or more loyal to it and two of them said yes. I asked why, where they responded that the company lists whenever it has a sale. They find it more convenient than checking the website.

The two people, who were like me, also seemed pretty apathetic towards companies and celebrities. It’s not like me, and those two, hate all celebrities or companies. We all agreed we don’t have any incentive to follow them and don’t feel any personal connection towards these people by simply having quick access to their Facebook page. For those who are skeptical, like myself, I would be more compelled if their Facebook page offered something their website did not, such as a heads up for a sale, or a minor discount to an event. As if that would happen.