A decade ago, I bought several packs of notecards from corporate satire specialists Despair.com (see bottom of post) and mailed them to my clients.
They loved them (proof a little self-deprecating humor won’t hurt you), and now the wily business satirists are taking aim at the overheated social media space with a stunning t-shirt graphic:
The subhead on the t-shirt product page? “Unlocking the Awesome Potential of Behavioral Disorders.”
Yes, I think they’re making fun of all of us (at least the social media world), and frankly, it’s about time.
Stay engaged, Tom Chandler.
p.s.:
Snickers candy bars headed for a nastly Snacklash? Possibly. In fact, the candy giant took sweetness and turned it kinda sour, and they do so like this:
- Snickers launches a new online effort based on the “Talk Some Snacklish” theme
- A Snickers bar spoof site appeared on the Internet (snckrz.com) that allowed visitors to place their own text into an online version of the Snickers Bar candy wrapper
- Apparently unamused, the manufacturers of Snickers (Mars) – the former Official Candy Bar of Engagement Principles – threatened to sue
- The “Snacklash” begins
The image of online disappointment: a shuttered snckrz.com
Sadly, we’ve gotta say that Engagement Principles fave candy bar Snickers missed a golden opportunity to engage with users around their ages-old (and yes, tasty) candy bar. It’s a good example of large companies trying engage on the Intertubes yet failing to recognize this one little truth:
Brand control online is something of an illusion.
The Creativity site suggested a “Snacklash” was headed Snicker’s way, and Mediabistro had this to say:
It’s the same old story – brand shirk the love of consumers in favor of control. Okay. Well, Snickers… if you wanted control, why not just co-opt Snckrz! and make it part of what Nick Parish from Creativity called the “pretty-but-obtuse” legitimate site?
A quick search of Twitter will turn up numerous tweets from people who loved Snckrz! Snickers better hope there isn’t some backlash in this decision to get the lawyers involved. Oh! I spoke too soon. Already, Twitters are having a reaction with responses like the image below or the newly created Snickers fail tag (#Snickersfail). Seriously. Snickers, I thought you were smarter than this?
After a couple decades working with corporate clients, I realize it’s hard to hand control over their hard-won brands to the Internet’s capricious masses. After all, nobody’s ever been pantsed by their boss in a crowded conference room for whipping the customer base back into line.
Still, Snickers should have recognized the downsides were minimal, yet the upside was fun – and yes, a handful more engaged buyers. No doubt Snckrz.com creators Poke media (a New York digital agency) are enjoying eating Snicker’s lunch, though the upper left-hand corner of their snckrz.com site includes a swipe that said “Terminated by these guys” and links to the Snickers site, a puzzling move which would drive traffic to the Snickers site – hardly punishment for the brand.
Stay engaged, Tom Chandler.
snickers bar, snckrz.com, poke media, candy bar, spoof site, brand control, engagement
I got tagged by Ben at Social Media Marketing. That means I get to tell you five things about me you may not know, and tag five other blogging delinquents to do the same.
It’s viral, but interesting. How else would I know that Ben Wills used to DJ at raves?
Since it’s a deadline day, I’ll get right to it:
- An award-winning photojournalist in college, I left school for a copywriter’s job – which I got largely by accident. A friend sent “colorful” Hawaiin shirts to an assistant Creative Director buddy at an agency. I wrote faux ads to accompany them. Viola!
- I live at the base of Mount Shasta – a 14,162′ inactive volcano – and fly fish several times a week (I also write a fly fishing blog)
- I write on a 12 year-old IBM keyboard that’s outlasted four PCs. It’s tough as nails, but I know I’ll have to replace it someday.
- I hate pesto. Just can’t stomach the stuff. I tried hard to like it, but couldn’t. The secret’s out.
- I am not related to Raymond Chandler (though many people say I look just like Brad Pitt).
There it is. Exposed. I feel as if a great weight has been lifted.
Who’s next on the list? Megan at posts from the edge; Walter at Inklings; Kiwiwriter at My Year of Getting Published; Tom at Busy Being Born; and Alistair from Urban Fly Fishing on the Kelvin.
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There’s a lot to be said for meeting your customers’ needs, though I wonder if the Bakersfield Condors hockey team isn’t taking the concept of Engagement Marketing a teensy bit too far.
At an upcoming game, they’re giving away Fresno Falcons Toilet Paper, hoping their fans will help them “Wipe Out the Falcons.”
It’s certainly engagement of a sort. And no one ever said engagement marketing had to be pretty…
Technorati Tags: bakersfield condors, hockey, toilet paper
