Alan Wolk, a creative strategist at digital consultancy Toad Stool, drools when he thinks of Oreos, not just because of the taste but also because of the thousands of fans the popular sweets have managed to amass on Facebook.
For Andrew Markowitz, digital marketing director for Kraft, Oreo, one of the brands they represent, he welcomes these irruptions of users who create their own spaces of expression to praise the brand and share, to create a sense of community.
"If they want to talk about sucking, flipping, dipping or advertising data whatever it is that people do with Oreos, that's fine with us," he said, clarifying that he is not responsible for this meeting place.
Both Wolk and Markowitz joined MillerCoors vice president Jackie Woodward at a conference hosted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) on Monday for a talk titled “Controlled Spontaneity.”
The main topic was whether brands can achieve something with viral strategies or rather whether it is within the power of brands to manage campaigns that do not come from their team but are controlled from start to finish by engaged users.
“Spontaneity is hard to control… to a certain extent, if you decide to have an authentic voice, it can feel controlled or not. It depends on where you come from,” Markowitz said.
For Bradley Kay, president of SS+K, experiences on social platforms are very valuable because the relevance and proximity achieved is priceless, which paves the way to consumers.
In social media, companies must understand that not all brands are created equal. For example, there is the superlative group of brands such as Nike and Apple that operate based on evangelists who do the real commercial work, so advertising does not seek effect but simply reinforces their group ideals.
For Wolk, businesses have three options: offer something of value, such as a coupon or discount voucher; entertain users and recreate certain images and attitudes; or inform them to encourage their own decisions.