subject: Skittles - the End of the Homepage (as We Know it)? [print this page] Skittles - the End of the Homepage (as We Know it)?
Here's the latest cheap louis vuitton handbags and very bold example: The masterfood brand Skittles launched something quite radical yesterday that many marketers had thought about but didn't have the guts to actually do - the "Interweb." Yesterday Skittles' home page was reduced to a Skittles logo over-layed above a Twitter search for the word Skittles. Today it overlays their Facebook page.
This is the ultimate, strategic loss of brand control in the age of radical transparency, turning an alleged weakness into strength. Whether you like it or not, you can't control what people say about you on the social web where "the ants have megaphones" (Chris Anderson). Hence, as Federated Media writes, "Skittles' homepage IS the conversation."
The "Interweb" campaign will definitely give Skittles some nice short-term buzz (and that itself is of huge value in the attention economy), but the provocative appeal of the brand's new homepage will wear off quickly. Yet it is indicative of the continued rise of the Distributed Internet and the triumph of conversational over traditional web marketing. Who needs static cheap coach handbags web sites anyway if you can point to much more compelling dynamic content to educate and engage your audience?
Using Skittles as template, maybe tomorrow's web presence of brands will have only four main elements:
- a twitter feed (short-form real-time content);
- a blog/magazine (long-form edited content, branded and from third parties);
- links to social network profiles (LinkedIn, Facebook etc.);
- and a powerful search function to access everything that's being said about the brand on Google, Twitter, and elsewhere (press hits, events, other social media sites such as Slideshare etc).
Social media strategist Shannon Paul, who works with the NHL Detroit Red Wings, said many good things on a SXSW panel this Sunday, but the one thing that stuck with me most was her assertion that brands need to become more "human" in order to connect with their audiences. She wasn't referring to personifying a brand through a human face (be it an average employee or a charismatic leader), but rather to exhibiting branded' behavior that is truly human. What does that mean? What is the most human trait of all human traits? Shannon Paul posits it's vulnerability.
I find that idea compelling. Vulnerability encompasses anxiety, volatility, and inconsistency, and it also implies the ability to make mistakes (and admit them). Or, to encapsulate all of the above: it means having a distinct weakness. Chances are that business strategists will advise you to hide, compensate for, or mitigate this weakness (while exploiting that of others), but that kind of thinking no longer holds relevance for the social web. If you want to be a social brand, you have to be a vulnerable brand. The possibility of a "slip of the tongue" and the exposure to possible brand attacks increase exponentially when brands let their guard down on the web but that's valuable. No one wants to be friends with Mr. Perfect. Vulnerability makes you likable. It is the prerequisite for empathy, and if understood as an asset and not a deficit, it can flourish under the magnifying glass of social media transparency. Examples? Zappos' decision to let every employee blog; Comcast's having ordinary cheap gucci handbags company engineers go on message boards to answer customer questions; and of course every brand that is using Twitter for what it is best suited for ostentatiously public personal conversations. Remember: Personality brand personality comes from being personal.
Is your brand vulnerable? Does it have a distinct weakness, an Achilles' heel? Take it and turn into an asset by making everyone aware of it. Expose yourself and you will get exposure. On the web as in real life your most recognized weakness is your biggest strength.
