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Taste The Rainbow...
Yes, that's right, candy maker 'Skittles' are the latest brand to jump on board the social media gravy train. Skittles have opted to implement an online community designed to create and stimulate direct relationships with its customers. Many organisations are now realising that publishing content online is simply not one-way traffic. In order to develop a brand, constant two-way communication is required and customer feedback allows companies to refine and develop new product ideas.
However, Skittles have taken this philosophy to a new level. They have opted to replace their home page in its entirety with a Twitter stream. This means that any time you enter the word 'Skittles' onto your Twitter status, there is a fair chance it will actually appear on the homepage of the candy makers website. You can only imagine the fuss this is causing at Waracle HQ today! So, when I updated my status on Twitter to 'Michael knocked over 7 skittles today at the bowling alley', this information was relayed to the homepage of the Skittles website. What users will also see is a 'widget' type navigation box situated in the top left hand corner of the screen. This will direct visitors straight to the companies Wikipedia entry, YouTube, Facebook and Flickr.
The quality of its implementation is on the whole questionable. The console that appears in the top left of the screen is rather clumsy and tends to consume a large amount of eyeball space even when minimised. What is impressive and striking is the companies forward thinking attitude towards the way that its consumers view the product. By encouraging user feedback through social media, Skittles are putting their fate in the hands of the community, as opposed to an expensive Californian PR firm. This is indeed a brave and commendable approach not without its fair share of risk. One Twitter user exclaimed 'So just saying skittles lands me on the front page of skittles.com. I would never stoop so low to succumb to this cheesy marketing ploy... '.
Although this 21st century approach to marketing is new, Skittles are not the first brand to adopt such a strategy. Many successful bands and artists now view their MySpace page as being the first port of call for new content, live dates and news. It is unlikely that in the wake of Skittles actions we will see corporations from all over the world immediately jumping on the social media bandwagon. Marketers have realised for years that understanding the customer is central to long-term success. The fundamental difference now is that global brands have a mechanism through which to develop these relationships using the Internet. Over time, we may see a gradual migration towards products and services that are truly defined by the outcome of these direct relationships and customer feedback.
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