Quar ter ly magazine of the Social Media Leadership Forum Q1 2012

In this issue:

ASDAS SOCIAL APPROACH HISCOXS LEAP YEAR WHY FOLLOW NPOWER? THE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PEPSICO CAMPAIGNS

BUSINESS

S O C I A L

W I N D S O F C H A N G E AT M ET O F F I C E

The Social Media Leadership Forum is managed by Its Open www.SocialMediaLeadershipForum.org

| @SocialMediaLF

Produced by Its Open

| Tel:

0845 054 2299

| www.itsopen.co.uk

The fight against regulation

Strategy

ASDAS SOCIAL APPROACH

Grow your social customers organically

LEAP YEAR SUCCESS FOR HISCOX WINDS OF CHANGE

Cover Story

Strengthening an already strong reputation at the Met Office

Interview

WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO FOLLOW AN ENERGY COMPANY?

npower explains all
10

WELCOME
3 4 6 8
Q1 2012
In this issue:

IF ITS NOT BROKEN ...

I n Fo c u s

elcome to the second edition of Social Business, a quarterly magazine that looks at the rapidly developing field of social media. As before, this issue provides snapshots of the ways businesses embrace social networks as a means to make genuine relationships with customers. Hiscox shows what can be achieved by getting involved in the entertainment world. The insurance firm commissioned a web TV comedy series called Leap Year, which enabled it to build from scratch an audience of 40,000 active social media followers in the US. (If you have a spare ten minutes, watch the first episode on YouTube youll enjoy it!). Experience suggests that a careful approach to social media works best. In this issue we talk to Asda, which stresses the importance of having a smaller number of engaged followers than large numbers, and accordingly has allowed its presence on Twitter and Facebook to grow organically. The Met Office spent a year watching how other businesses use social media before jumping in itself. Its efforts have helped to strengthen the already high levels of trust it enjoys with the British public a crucial asset for a weather forecaster. We hear from npower how it set up a public online forum to handle consumers queries, at a time of major upheaval in the energy markets. We also learn from PepsicoUK about the role social media has played in marketing campaigns for its Tropicana and Walkers brands. And Dr. Andrew Currah records some of the top-line thoughts contained in his recent report on the social enterprise, examining the phenomenon of the social customer. We hope you find the magazine useful and look forward to seeing you at future Social Media Leadership Forum events.

Innovation

Research

THE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

Quar ter ly magazine of the Social Media Leadership Forum

ASDAS SOCIAL APPROACH HISCOXS LEAP YEAR WHY FOLLOW NPOWER? THE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PEPSICO CAMPAIGNS

BUSINESS

our thoughts, feedback and social media experiences are very welcome Please contact us with any enquiries and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Editor Robert McLuhan rob.mcluhan@itsopen.co.uk O C I A L Community Manager Fran Bodley-Scott fran.scott@itsopen.co.uk Designer & Production Manager Ian Head ian.head@itsopen.co.uk

W I N D S O F C H A N G E AT M ET O F F I C E

Thriving on openness and collaboration

12

Interview

S O C I A L LY I N T E G R AT E D

14

www.SocialMediaLeadershipForum.org

| @SocialMediaLF

Produced by Its Open

| Tel:

0845 054 2299

| www.itsopen.co.uk

Its Open talks to Pepsi about integrated campaign management

Cover Art Cozy Tomato

IF ITS NOT BROKEN

The fight against regulation

oliticians love to regulate, and with something as big and untrammelled as the internet in their sights they have plenty to work with. But the internet is working just fine, and they should leave it alone, argue digital media commentators.

Internet freedoms are under threat as never before. Governments everywhere are striving to control online activity, egged on by traditional businesses and industries. An outcry in the US led to draft laws against online piracy being put on hold earlier this year. But another similar initiative, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), has been making greater headway, having been quietly ratified by the US and a number of other countries, and is causing consternation among internet users in Europe especially. As social media commentator Jeff Jarvis notes, many things bother would-be regulators: piracy, privacy, pornography, predators, indecency, and security, not to mention censorship, tyranny, and civilization. But from another viewpoint nothing much has changed in the past ten years.The internet is working just the way it did then, and the sky hasnt fallen in. So why the rush to fix it now? Its true that technological advances bring anxieties aplenty. However with hindsight these are often seen to have been overblown. Take social networking sites: when MySpace took off a few years ago, fears were aired of the potential threat it posed to young people from sexual predators. In the US that quickly led to calls that access to such sites be

banned in schools and libraries, and that age verification be compulsory. In fact subsequent research showed that the concerns were seriously overstated. And who now remembers the outcry against Googles Gmail service in 2004, in which targeted advertising is based on users interests? The fear of mail being read by Google led to attempts to ban such targeting. However, when it was understood that it was algorithmic processes that were reading the email, not actual humans, the panic subsided, and the service is now happily used by 350 million people worldwide. Digital commentator Adam Thierer notes a precautionary principle at work here. It holds that, since every technology could pose some theoretical danger or risk, public policies should tightly control those innovations until their developers can prove that they wont cause any harms. In other words, the law should always play it safe. But this poses a serious threat to technological progress and human prosperity, he argues. A regime guided at every turn by this precautionary principle would make digital innovation and progress impossible. For his part Jarvis advocates resistance. The reason why governments and some businesses want to throttle the internet is because they see it as a threat to their power, he claims, and if ordinary citizens dont want to lose its benefits they will have to fight back. If its enemies prevail, the digital connectivity we take for granted today could eventually be a fond but distant memory. n
| Tel:
0845 054 2299

Produced by Its Open

| www.itsopen.co.uk

In Focus

Strategy

ASDAS I SOCIAL APPROACH

Grow your social customers organically

n recent years Asda has discovered the value of engaging with customers through social media.

Dominic Burch, head of corporate communications and social media, traces the brands involvement with Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Until five years ago, our ability at Asda to pick up on customers attitudes was somewhat restricted. Internet blogs and forums were monitored, and at the end of each week the PR team would receive a report of what was being said about the brand. But it was all a bit after the event. Reading critical comments I used to think, if only Id known about that at the time I could have done something about it. In those days, to make changes to our corporate website we had to ring someone up and fill in a form. But there were so many untold stories that, from a PR perspective, were hard to tell through the mainstream media, and we wanted to talk to customers in a more compelling way. The ASDA brand is focused around price, but there are lots of other things we do that we could talk about: how we employ people, where we source products, our relationships with We started viewing suppliers, and so on. ourselves as a media At this time we created a YouTube owner in our own channel, inviting people to send in tips on right rather than how to save money. Making a video requires doing traditional PR effort, and the response was somewhat limited. So we did a little roadshow, going round the country in a branded VW van, and getting customers to give us saving tips directly. That generated a lot of content, and we learned how to create a new corporate website, posting regularly and allowing customers to post their own comments. It was still a

S O C I A L BUSINESS | Q1 2012

corporate site, but became an outlet for regular PR stories around food, clothing, health and consumer stories. By now we had started viewing ourselves as a media owner in our own right rather than doing traditional PR. This started to shift our thinking: we realised the value of listening to customers and the kinds of things they say in social media networks. Then along came Twitter. That captured a section of our customers who gave us a good sense of the things they love about Asda, and also things that frustrate them. Twitter gave us a really good window into what people really think about us what they say when you leave the room, that is. This was brilliant, as it gave us an opportunity to sort out customer issues before they got out of hand. Wed take them offline and find someone to talk to them directly and resolve their complaint. We learned a lot from this. For instance when it snowed, our home shopping business was struggling to keep up with demand, and we werent doing a good job of communicating with customers about the problems. There was a lot of noise on Twitter about it, but when we chucked more resource at it, the noise quickly disappeared. Some brands worry about where social media fits into the business, who should run it, and so on. In our case the business quickly understood its value. When we showed store managers typical tweets about particular store issues for instance, an anomaly where Mars bars might be on offer at 40p for two, while a single one cost 50p - they could immediately see how convenient it was. We came to Facebook relatively late, starting with our George clothing brand only.

That was because we were concerned the network might be a lightning rod for people with individual complaints. But we soon found that people on Facebook engage with brands around products and events in a positive way. If someone comes on to make a complaint, other users themselves will tell them theyre in the wrong place. About half of our mums are on Facebook every day, and our ambition is to have a million. But they have to be highly engaged. Id rather have a quarter of a million highlyengaged customers on Facebook than a million who are not really that interested. Thats where lots of brands go wrong with social media, using it to sell products from the outset. It should be a three-pronged strategy, where you listen and engage, and only then start to influence.You need first to hold conversations with customers to build up a level of trust before offering them incentives to buy. If you try to bribe them they will simply evaporate. Looking back, our approach to social media has been methodical, slow and organic, and thats the best way. If you accept that social channels like Twitter and Facebook will be around for a while, you need to be mindful of the relationship you build. Getting the right connections matters more than just collecting numbers. Youre recruiting ambassadors and cheerleaders for your brand, and over time their positive engagement will be hugely beneficial. n

www.facebook.com/Asda

Looking back, our approach to social media has been methodical, slow and organic, and thats the best way
| Tel:

@asda

Produced by Its Open

0845 054 2299

| www.itsopen.co.uk

Innovation

LEAP YEAR SUCCESS FOR HISCOX

ponsorship allows some of the glamour of a popular TV series to rub off on a business brand. But what if the business were to go a step further, and create a whole new show from scratch? That is what insurance company Hiscox has done in America, achieving striking success with its web TV comedy series Leap Year.

The show features five young professionals who are suddenly laid off, and instead of seeking new jobs decide to strike out on their own. Ten episodes aired last summer on YouTube, Hulu,Vimeo and other web video channels, achieving four million views and building an audience of 40,000 active social media followers. Each episode is only eight minutes long, but in other respects the show is comparable to quality television content, with top class script, acting and production values, and plenty of laughs. Cowritten and directed by Yuri Baranovsky and produced by HLG Films, the programme has even won an award from the National Association of Television Producers and Executives.Yet the brand itself gets no exposure in the footage in the first season, just a name check at the beginning. So at first sight the benefits might seem somewhat limited. Not so, says Hunter Hoffmann, the companys head of US communication: this is an ideal way to build awareness among its target market. Hiscoxs heritage is British, and when it decided to launch a new suite of business products in America, the challenge was to create high levels of awareness in a crowded insurance market where it was hitherto almost unknown. Social media quickly emerged as the best approach, with 61% of small business owners using it to identify new customers and nearly three quarters of web users watching video clips online. Web television, it seemed, would help it cut through the vast amount of existing insurance advertising and establish itself as a trusted voice. We worked with a PR firm that had done this kind of activity successfully with Ikea and Trident Gum and that we were confident could make it work, Hoffmann explains. What was different in our case was that we wanted to resonate with start-ups and entrepreneurs, but without being part of the actual plot.Viewers know that Hiscox is behind it but we dont push it in their faces, and were not mentioned at all in the films. We got a lot of positive feedback for that.

S O C I A L BUSINESS | Q1 2012

Hiscox encourages innovation and trying new approaches to marketing. It was amazing for me that people within the company were not just interested in the series, but actually excited about it and not just here in the US, but around the world.

The main cast

Hunter Hoffmann, Head of US Communication, Hiscox

The company was involved in the creative conception, telling the writers how it wanted the plot to build and giving them a sense of the trials and tribulations of start-ups. After receiving the first set of scripts it got involved in the editing process until it was happy with the content. It also vetted the choice of guest appearances, who include well-known figures in the social media world, such as Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist for Apple, and Adam Ostrow, Mashables editor-in-chief. Outside the show itself there is plenty of other social media activity. Each episode is backed by an opinion piece on the Hiscox blog, which expands on the risks that the characters face and that the company can address. Sometimes these are very specific, Hoffmann says. For instance, in one episode one of the members of the firm makes a mistake and worries what the client will say, the same as what our clients will sometimes experience. Facebook contains profile pages both for Hiscox and for Leap Year, with 4000 and 13000 fans respectively. The brand also has a presence on LinkedIn and Twitter, helping users keep in touch with the tools and information they need to run their businesses and protect themselves. The aim is to start a conversation and get more people involved, growing the networks in a way that would have been harder to do without this interesting content. Financial services is a somewhat conservative sector, so was there trepidation within the company at such a bold creative approach? Not in the least, says Hoffmann. Hiscox encourages innovation and trying new approaches to marketing. It was amazing for me that people within the company were not just interested in the series, but actually excited about it and not just here in the US, but around the world. That global reach is mirrored in the viewing audience, which has extended to Britain, France and other European companies, even to Russia. Clearly this is not appointment viewing like a television show, but the ability to watch it at any time on a computer at work or home, or on a smart phone on the move gives it a special flexibility. Its been interesting to observe viewers habits, Hoffmann comments. People would watch it the day it came out, or they might wait until the end of the week, or they might watch several episodes all in one go, having read an article in the media about it. He concludes: A common response is how great it is that Hiscox is doing something that is different and creative, and here in America it has really helped put the brand on the map. n
Produced by Its Open

Guy Kawasaki has a cameo role

| Tel:

0845 054 2299

| www.itsopen.co.uk

Cover Story

Strengthening an already strong reputation at the Met Office

WINDS OF CHANGE

ere used to getting the weather reports from television, radio or the web. But these days we can also talk with the forecasters directly. Social Business talks to the Met Offices Dee Cotgrove about the organisations increasing use of social media. The Met Office is one of Britains oldest and most highly regarded brands, enjoying public trust at levels around 80%. Traditionally most of its conversations have been one-way, mediated through other channels. Now for the first time it can communicate directly with the public, via a highly active presence on Twitter,YouTube and Facebook that reaches more than 75,000 people each month. Contacts are overseen by the communications team based in the press office, which works closely with forecasters to ensure that appropriate messages are sent out. Before taking the plunge, the team first spent a year working with consultancy Its Open and the Social Media Leadership Forum to help it understand the environment. We wanted to watch and learn for a while, to see how it might to apply to us, says head of communications Dee Cotgrove. You cant just copy other people; you have to see how its relevant to what youre doing. Then in 2010 the team started getting involved in online conversations, entering comment threads on web forums to correct perceptions where necessary. This in turn helped it to adjust its own messaging,

The team first spent a year working with consultancy Its Open and the Social Media Leadership Forum to help it understand the environment. We wanted to watch and learn for a while, to see how it might to apply to us.
8

S O C I A L BUSINESS | Q1 2012

making it a two-way process. Sometimes the public attaches the wrong idea to our weather warnings, and social media has helped people understand what they mean and what they dont mean, Dee says. The Met Office also started a Twitter feed, with weather warnings directed at particular parts of the country. Initially this was on weekdays only, occasionally extending to weekends in the case of major weather events. In the third year the project went fully operational, with customer contact advisors handling tweets on a daily 24-hour basis. The catalyst was the eruption of the Iceland volcano Grimsvotn in May 2011, which threatened to repeat the travel chaos of a similar incident the previous year. We were still providing updates at the end of that week and we felt we couldnt just stop the conversation, explains Dee. The @Metoffice channel now has over 60,000 followers, who are encouraged to keep in touch by tweets such as, Im Dan, and Ill be here all night for your weather questions. Our advisors were already experienced in talking with the public, but were given extra training for contacts involving social media. The press office still oversees the messaging to ensure the nuance is right, and it provides guidance in the case of high profile events such as this winters snowfall. Dee distinguishes between two elements in the Met Offices use of social media. On the rational side, the medium can help it reach more people more quickly and improve the quality of the information. But there is also an emotional element, she says, in helping connect with audiences. For the Met Office as a brand its important that people trust our warnings, as it means they are more likely to heed what we say, she says. Its fantastic to see people taking action on the basis of our warnings, as they did before Christmas in Scotland when schools were shut following our gale Social media has forecasts, and again in February when Heathrow cancelled certainly provided some flights in advance of heavy snow. added depth and Social media is more intimate and two-way than clarity, which will traditional media, she continues. We can appeal to new help to ensure that audiences and interest groups, like the annual Glastonbury the level of public festival, for example, and connect to whats important for trust remains high. them. That gives them more of a sense of association and affiliation. It also means that other brands or individuals can endorse what we say. Social media was part of an integrated campaign last August in which the Met Office celebrated 150 years of forecasting. Elements included a timeline of its activities and progress over the years, and a competition for users to send in photographs demonstrating the indominatable British spirit in combating the weather The organisation is active on YouTube, for instance posting weather warning podcasts by the chief forecaster. There can also be found educational clips about the science behind the weather, such as the natural forces that cause thunderstorms. Clips can be freely syndicated to other web outlets, and in some cases organisations can be given special content, as happens with the NHS for cold weather alerts. Now into its second year, the Met Offices venture is clearly a success, reaching over 100,000 people every month. It would be overstating things to say that social media has transformed its relationship with the public, as this was already strong. But, Dee says, it has certainly provided added depth and clarity, which will help to ensure that the level of public trust remains high. n

Social media is more intimate and two-way than traditional media. We can appeal to new audiences and interest groups.

Produced by Its Open

| Tel:

0845 054 2299

| www.itsopen.co.uk

I n t e r v e eg w S rati y

WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO FOLLOW AN E N E R G Y C nOp oMe r Pe xAp l Ni nY a?l l w a s

The absence of corporate branding is a way to demonstrate an openness not normally associated with utilities. This is neutral ground, where customers can air questions and gripes. All kinds of topics are covered, from smart meters and direct debits, to solar profits and green energy. Each question gets a public response from a customer services expert, and this is often followed up with one-to-one contacts. The site is also open to non-customers to ask general questions about the energy market. Its easy to see why an initiative like this can help, as these are challenging times for both sides. Energy companies are under pressure from a major programme of investment as existing power stations reach the end of their lives. But so too are long-suffering consumers, as upward price fluctuations leave them frustrated and confused. We wanted to be on the front foot more often, says Beverley Harrington, npowers brand reputation and social media PR manager. For a long time wed been concerned that the energy sector was taking a bashing, but instead of telling its own story was just reacting to criticism. Instead of stories about successful recruitment, new technologies and ambitious infrastructure projects, the headlines tend to be of the energy giant rips off customers kind.

powers Brighter Energy Debate website was the first foray by an energy company into social media, and is now in its fourth year. We talked to brand reputation and social media PR manager Beverley Harrington about its origins and progress. At first sight the Brighter Energy Debate website looks like a general advisory service, pleasant and colourful, and the kind of place one can go to find out about the energy sector or let off steam about gas bills. While thats true, its actually run by npower, one of the energy sectors heavyweights.

10

S O C I A L BUSINESS | Q1 2012

So the forum fills an urgent public need, a place where genuine dialogue can develop. Indeed, an initial concern was that the response would be so overwhelming that the company would not be able to cope. So there was little fanfare when the site launched in November 2008.Yet even without any overt publicity, it has gained 110,000 visitors and handled more than 1000 questions. It has also won critical acclaim, taking a silver for best website at the CIPR awards. The aim is to talk to customers directly about their concerns, such as pricing, customer service and environmental issues. Smart metering is a current hot topic, and many questions centre on whether the next generation of technology can save money. The questions are answered by panel members recruited from across the business: visitors can be sure to receive a personal response from a company expert rather than from a faceless forum user. That helps to give the site a friendlier, more open feel. Honesty and transparency were watchwords from the start, Harrington says. We wanted the website to have its own look and feel, rather than being npower branded. That encourages people not to hold back. Ive sometimes had battles inside the company about publishing hostile comments, but I maintain thats what its all about, to focus on what people are feeling. If theyve got the courage to come and say it to us, then we should have the courage to respond in an open manner. A challenge is to keep the site fresh, and ensure that the search is optimised so that it gets found.Video helps here, with new clips going up all the time and receiving large numbers of hits. One video featured chief operating officer Kevin McCullough explaining the future investment required by the energy industry at the same time as npower released its annual results. There are also peeks inside power stations and at new construction sites a means to remind viewers that npower generates electricity as well as selling it. On the subject of smart metering, customers have been filmed in their homes talking about their experiences of npowers

recent trial. There are also clips of television news journalist Peter Snow interviewing the npower contact centre staff who deal with customer complaints and give energy efficiency advice. If were facing a possible issue, say a price rise, well normally post a clip on the site to give more background detail - and also help present a human face to the issue, Harrington says. The Brighter Energy Debate is not the brands only use of social media. It is represented on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, where McCullough, a savvy social media user, is an enthusiastic participant. It also monitors online forums, such as Money Saving Expert, intervening to give an npower response. Thats quite popular, and weve had good feedback from it - people even sometimes ask if they can talk to the npower rep, Harrington says. We also monitor customer service sites where people have a bit of a gripe against us, or an issue with their bill, and we say hi, anything we can do to help? We often get asked, why would anyone want to follow an energy company? Its not exactly sexy, Harrington concedes. But as a way to relate to anxious consumers in troubled times, using social media makes sense. n
Produced by Its Open

| Tel:

0845 054 2299

| www.itsopen.co.uk

http://thebrighterenergydebate.npower.com
11

If the customer has got the courage to come and say it to us, then we should have the courage to respond in an open manner.

Research

THE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

Thriving on openness and collaboration
nce confined to its own silo inside companies, customer service is becoming a keystone of communications and strategy. But to succeed fully, companies need to attract and engage a new generation of social customers, argues Dr Andrew Currah. Last year arguably marked a tipping point where social media finally entered the mainstream. According to a recent survey by IAB and Lightspeed, over 44% of adults now use the web to share grievances about products and services. The result can be disastrous, as brands worldwide have already discovered, with social media wielding the power to bring a company to its knees. This has propelled customer service to the front of strategic thinking. The Arab spring will soon be followed by a corporate spring, argued Marc The Arab spring will Benioff at last years Dreamforce soon be followed by a event: Weve seen Mubarak fall, corporate spring. weve seen Qaddafi fall. When will we see the first corporate CEO fall for the same reason, because his or her customers are rising up, or not listening to their employees, or not paying attention? Customers desire to be heard and respected, and to get an immediate reply when they interact with a company via social media. One survey, by Useful Social Media, suggests that 55% of customers expect a response the same day, yet only 29% receive one. Similar research by Cap Gemini suggests that 20% of Facebook users expect a reply within 60 minutes when they post on a companys page The social customer has given rise to the social company, one that listens to its customers in real-time and asks them to
12

collaborate in future developments. In turn this has led to the emergence of hosted community platforms, through which companies can harness the support of their most loyal and passionate customers. Momentum towards the social enterprise continues to develop worldwide, as witnessed by the record attendance at the Dreamforce event. As a result, it is taking root in a widening array of markets, including heavily regulated domains such as financial services. In the UK, for example, HSBC recently launched an online newsroom integrating Facebook, Twitter and blog posts, as a means to outline the companys position on key issues and seek the engagement of customers. The UKs Financial Ombudsman Service plans to significantly expand the use of social media in the resolution of disputes between customers and financial service providers. A fully-fledged social enterprise thrives on openness and collaboration. Its lifeblood is a set of reliable and realtime flows of

S O C I A L BUSINESS | Q1 2012

themselves contribute towards service and marketing functions. Executives also need to look beyond standard metrics to the value of brand loyalty, advocacy and a sense of community. They should make themselves more visible, providing all employees with the training, tools and authority to engage with customers. Investment is needed in the systems and guidelines that will facilitate Executives also realtime communications between need to look beyond employees and with customers. standard metrics to The social enterprise will need to the value of brand listen and engage across a range of loyalty, advocacy media: telephone, email, mobile, web. and a sense of The catalyst is the next generation of community. customer relationship management (CRM) technology, which is largely platform-agnostic. CRM software can help harness the collective knowledge within the company, a powerful analytics and monitoring platform that can be tapped into without requiring significant capital investment. That said, the technology behind the social enterprise is still young, and a company needs to understand the online social dynamics of its customers before committing to any investment in social CRM. It should conduct a wide-ranging audit to identify in which parts of the conversation prism it needs to establish a presence, and what types of engagement would be appropriate in the context of the wider market and regulatory obligations. Its fair to envision a bright social future for customer service. The rise of the social customer has powered a broader transition to the social enterprise, that seeks to emulate information, that span every level of the the speed and simplicity of the social web. company and involve every employee. The We can expect to see a new kind of realtime customer is placed at the very heart of the and frictionless sharing begin to reshape the companys vision, so that the entire workforce modern enterprise, in turn transforming the is equipped with the tools to ensure customer relationship between managers, employees satisfaction, both directly and indirectly. and customers. n There is also a shift away from the old belief that power comes from Now were seeing hoarding information, as Yammers that sharing For more information read the Future of CEO David Sacks has noted. Now information is Customer Service report by Its Open were seeing that sharing information power. is power. The more you can share, the more you can help other people - and the more it becomes apparent youre an expert and a valuable contributor, he comments. However this requires all kinds of cultural, functional and technical changes, and to move forward, support is needed at the highest level. Executive leaders need to stop treating http://socialmedialeadershipforum social media as a passing fad. Instead, they .org/index.php/blog must recognise the positive impact on both costs and satisfaction ratings as customers
FUTURE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE:
A report from ItsOpen and first direct Report by Dr Andrew Currah

THE RISE OF THE SOCIAL CUSTOMER

Executive Summary by Natalie Cowen, Head of Brand and Communications, first direct

www.SocialMediaLeadershipForum.org @SocialMediaLF

www.itsopen.co.uk

www.firstdirect.com

Produced by Its Open

| Tel:

0845 054 2299

| www.itsopen.co.uk

13

S O C I A L LY I N T E G R AT E D

Interview

Social media is a key ingredient when it comes to marketing food and drinks brands

ts Open talked to Kate Woolf, media relations manager for PepsiCo UK & Ireland, about the part it plays in integrated campaigns for products such as Walkers crisps and Tropicana juices. On a dark January morning this year, London commuters spirits were lifted by the sight of an artificial sun glowing brightly over Trafalgar Square. The one-day art installation, commissioned by Tropicana, was well received in Britain where it featured on live television. But the publicity event

also caused a stir around the world, with a video posted on YouTube and word quickly spreading on Facebook and Twitter. Its an example of creative innovation working to raise brand awareness, and also of how social media can amplify a campaigns reach. The Tropicana Sun captured peoples imaginations as far away as Russia, and they told us theyd like that for their own cities, says Woolf. Social media also features strongly in the campaign for Walkers Crisps held between January and March this year, a competition to guess three mystery flavours and win a 50,000 prize. Prior to breaking the campaign on TV, the brand posted a YouTube video of Gary Lineker and other celebrities making guesses, and this too was further publicised on Twitter and Facebook. We had record numbers of guesses online, which was really great. Its an early indication of how good a campaign has been, Woolf says. So far the total exceeds 793,000, with 1.7 million visits to the website and over a quarter of a million views of the YouTube content. Meanwhile the Facebook page has grown by around 100,000 fans. Sales The Tropicana Sun are tracking well captured peoples ahead of last years imaginations as far hugely successful away as Russia, Comic Relief and they told us campaign, she adds. theyd like that for their own cities.

www.facebook.com/walkers >

14

S O C I A L BUSINESS | Q1 2012

their own ways, says Woolf. Copella, our UK Both brands maintain a strong presence on apple juice brand, has a very different kind of Twitter, where named employees respond to tone with its audience. Its more homegrown, for comments about samples and promotions, and instance talking about what were doing on the follow up queries. For the Walkers competition, orchards today. celebrities tweeted to keep the conversation In line with a growing trend in companies, the going until the climax, and Sam, who runs the brands representatives are given the freedom to feed, went round the country finding well-known represent it on social networks, within people to interview. Participants established guidelines. Our colleagues included the popular boy band The We have colleagues are empowered to share relevant Wanted and cast members of the who blog on our main information responsibly - absolutely, TV programme The Only Way is US homepage, and Essex, both of which attract a lot of Woolf says. We have colleagues the corporate Twitter who blog on our main US homepage, attention online. feed has a named and the corporate Twitter feed has a This idea is to offer content personality behind named personality behind it, so that it that is exclusive to both Twitter and it, so that it doesnt doesnt feel as though its just coming Facebook, trying to give followers feel as though its and fans something special. For from the business, but from a real just coming from the individual who works here. instance with the Walkers campaign business, but from a Social media is a key aspect, we dropped hints about the mystery real individual who flavours via a special app, says Woolf. although one of many, Woolf works here. concludes. Theres sampling As a global company, Pepsico happening in stores, theres owns hundreds of brands across engagement happening with our different territories, each with their customers and our buyers, and then there is also unique characteristics. Accordingly the tone used the social part of it - that ongoing conversation. n in social media varies greatly. They do things in

The vision of the social enterprise is

one where both customers and employees are free to communicate more intuitively, across time zones, across abandoned hierarchies, to find and use the information they need, to find the people they need to talk to, when they need to. Its about making technology help people reach their goals to get a job done more efficiently. At Its Open we help organisations become social enterprises. Together with our clients we define step-by-step roadmaps that suit their unique culture and specific reasons to change.

Sometimes this starts with the commission of a piece of research into a specific problem, like The Future Of Customer Service report we recently produced for First Direct. Other times it involves getting started with a pilot project, a public-facing blog or a new Twitter feed, or an internal collaboration platform, to test the waters and gain valuable experience. From there our consulting efforts always focus on staying true to the culture of the business, but never abandoning the principles we believe lie at the heart of the social enterprise: transparency, authenticity and accessibility.

0845 054 2299 Its Open Consulting founders of the Social Media Leadership Forum. If you would like to find out more about Its Open and how we can help w www.itsopen.co.uk your organisation change for the future, please contact Justin Hunt (justin.hunt@itsopen.co.uk). Produced by Its Open | Tel: 0845 054 2299 | www.itsopen.co.uk 15 @ItsOpen

Quar ter ly magazine of the Social Media Leadership For um Q1 2012

www.SocialMediaLeadershipForum.org

| @SocialMediaLF

Produced by Its Open

| Tel:

0845 054 2299

| www.itsopen.co.uk