Original Post #3

#ItsNOTJustACup

Do you recognize this infamous paper cup?

Figure 1

Yes, it is a holiday beverage cup design from Starbucks. However, this 2015 addition caused a controversy that mainly played out on the social media stage of Twitter and is still recognized today. 

Trying to change up their normally yuletide themed cups, in 2015 Starbucks opted for a simpler design: a simple red cup, with only a slight fading of color from the bottom to the top. No big deal right? Wrong. In the age of political correctness, the toned down cup was seen by a small part of the public as anti-Christian and anti-Christmas (CBS News). The quote below is what many believe to have been part of the kick-off to the controversy, with Feurenstein being the main figure in the call to arms against the coffee house giant.

Figure 2

The response? While a small (but loud) portion of the public took to social media to complain, the majority took to social media (most notably Twitter) declaring the controversy ridiculous with the now infamous twitter handle #ItsJustACup (USA Today). 

The Ellen Show Mocks the Red Cup Controversy

Figure 3

Figure 4

What did Starbucks do? Well aside from issuing a PR statement that they did not mean any wrong doing and that they are huge proponents of diversity and inclusion... the company did nothing (Social Media Today). They didn't remove the cups, or try to block the social media firestorm brewing in the Groundswell. Why? Because as silly the controversy was, the coverage of it on multiple platforms of media (radio, TV, print) along with the booming presence on social media all added up to free, wide-reaching, marketing. 

Everyone was talking about the cups, the coffee, the company. What started as a call to arms by a small religious group, resulted in a massive publicity swell for Starbucks--with Twitter as its leading partner. If the company had squashed the initial small negative response, they could have missed out on months of free advertisement and social media coverage (Entrepreneur).


Check mate Starbucks.

The lesson? Acting as an outlit for the consumer, social media can also be an incredible tool for a company. Especially when the company chooses to embrace the voice of social media, thusly harnessing (and profiting) off of the groundswell. 

Reading Reflection #2

Let's Get Energized!

What is the most wallet-savvy and effective way for a product or a service to be advertised to the public? 

Let me give you a hint: we (not big-wig company-paid marketers) are the ones who do it, without even realizing it, almost everyday with friends, coworkers, family. The answer: word of mouth viral marketing (Groundswell)!!! 

Explaining Word of Mouth

Ever complain to someone else about one product over another, or raved about your newest buy? Well, every time you speak about a product, every time you talk about the benefits of one product verses another, you are acting as a viral marketer (cool title, isn't it?) and your weapon of choice is word of mouth.

You and your handy-dandy word of mouth are pretty darn effective too:  

Figure 1

So why is word of mouth so successful? As summarized in the book Groundswell, the power of word of mouth enables "energizing of the base"-- a fancy way for saying that word of mouth increases the spread of recognition, which increases purchasing. Once tapped, word of mouth can be the most valuable microphone a business has (Groundswell).

How do companies use the groundswell to energize consumers through word of mouth? Cue the  review boards on almost every company website, and company social media page. Review boards are one of the key ways in which companies can amplify word of mouth. (Groundswell). 

This makes total sense. Who even thinks about buying something before they scroll through online reviews? Why do we do this when companies have already laid out their information? Because we trust Barbara from Montana more then we trust a company (Groundswell). Bellow you can find some screenshots of review boards. The first is off of Google Maps- so a review board powered by a company not directly affiliated with the business being reviewed. The latter is a review board from a company website that was set-up in order for customers to review their products and help other customers get a taste of what to expect from the product.

Figure 2: Review of Annie's Clark Brunch on Google Maps 

Figure 3: Review of Sperry sneakers on their website 

Companies know that, that is why they establish those review boards and spend time monitoring them --a small price to pay considering we do most of the work. So, next time you post a review about your favorite product give your self a pat on the back:  you are a viral marketer and you are helping to energize support by contributing to the groundswell.  

Original Post #2

The Secret Truth: The Humanization Element

Let's start with two truths.

1. Social media has become a giant fixture in our lives.

Figure 1: Data from 2014 (to increase size click on picture)

2. Both B2B companies and B2C companies utilize social media platforms as a way to engage with consumers while simultaneously pushing their product.

Figure 2: Data from 2014

Okay, but why? Why are businesses clamoring to create and maintain a strong social media presence? 

There are a plethora of reasons as to why companies engage in social media, and Figure 3 (below) helps to summarize a few of them. However, there is also a really human reason behind the madness. Its called the humanization element. Intrigued?

Figure 3: Data From 2012 

The humanization element depicts how companies are seen as more human due to their interaction on social media platforms. Over social media, companies can interact with their consumers just like the average Joe does. They can create a profile, respond to comments, post cool links, and even apologize for an error. The ability for customers to "friend" them, "follow" them,  or "retweet" something they said is the same as what we can do to one another. To put it simply, from behind a screen everything and everyone looks the same (B2B Community).

But what is so attractive about a company being humanized like this? Well, people love connecting with people and they love doing business with other people. Through social media, a company has a voice just like ours-- allowing the barriers between company and consumer to fall. Companies use that voice to have one-on-one conversations with multiple customers at a time. By doing this, they   connecting and engaging with their customers while simultaneously providing customer service, building loyalty, and increasing brand recognition in a way that they were once unable to do--in a way that makes them seem human (Audience Bloom). 

Some snapshots of companies engaging with the consumer through social media:

Figure 4: Jet Blue

Figure 4: Pizza Hut 

These two examples both depict how companies used social media and embraced the humanization element to engage with the customer in a way that will surely satisfy the customer and insure that they will be back for more.

What are your thoughts on the humanization element? Have you seen how a company humanizing itself through social media has impacted there bottom line or costumer loyalty? Share your thoughts and opinions by commenting below!

Reading Reflections #1

Branding and the Groundswell

Recognize the logo's above? For the most part, of course you did.

In fact, every time you look at the logo you probably also immediately think of the service and/or product the company provides. That “recognition” is all part of the companies plan. Companies can spend amounts exceeding billions of dollars to insure that their logo doesn’t just show you who they are but what they are (Branding Costs). Why spend that amount of dough on branding a company? As the Groundswell asserts, companies want to make sure that customers get a very specific view of the company, what they stand for, and what they have to offer to the public (Groundswell). Basically, they want us to see the product, the service, the brand as they see it. After all, it is theirs, isn’t it?

Not exactly…

You see, they may be the ones making the product or providing the service, their name may be emblazoned on the stock for the company or stamped on the back of their product-- but that ownership doesn’t mean that they get to define their brand. Now way, that power is reserved for the consumer. The consumers run the market and hold the buying power, not the company or its respective brand. For, in truth, the brand may be built in house, but it lives, thrives, or dies outside the company's walls (Groundswell).

Figure 1

So, if the consumers are the ones who are really running the show, then companies who plan on sticking it out for the long run have to always be hyper aware of what their customers think. The best way to figure that out is by paying attention to what customers say. Yep, that's right, the key to getting into the minds of the customers is by simple good old fashion listening. Well, listening with a twist that is.

This type of listening is called market research (Groundswell). Now, for most companies in today's plugged-in and wire-up world, the best approach to market research is not by survey or test group--  those approaches are now considered to be archaic and ineffective. Nope, in 2017 technology and the burgeoning world of social media dominate the world of market research-- and for good reason too (5-Ways-Technology-Has-Changed-Market-Research). To put it simply, social media platforms don't offer cut-and-dry answering of questions. Rather, social media offers vibrant insight in a much larger volume that would be otherwise impossible to match (and, may I add, very expensive).

Think about it. Whether a consumer directly searches out blogs or posts to talk about their review of a product or service, or whether a consumer simply posts a picture utilizing a product a certain way, the way they engage and talk about a product can be utilized by companies as raw data.

Figure 2

 However, the work doesn't end at spending hours scrolling through a few blogs and searching for hashtags on Twitter (Social Media and Marketing). With humans spending ample time on social sites (see chart below), there is certainly no shortage of input. However, in order for listening to the groundswell to be effective (aka profitable) companies need to act on what they hear (Groundswell).

Figure 3

Acting on the information: making the change that is needed, feels like the most daunting part of marketing research in the groundswell. Everyone has an opinion (whether good, bad, or ugly). But who do you listen too? Do you focus on the loyal consumers or would you rather grow your consumer base by taking the advice of an entirely different demographic? These are all choices marketing researchers have to make, and they have to make them based off of what you and I say on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter. Now isn't that something?

Next time your favorite brand comes out with a new advertisement, a re-designed logo, alters a current product or service, or adds a new product or service to their line-up, stop and think: do you see the groundswell's impact?