Be a Social Feedback Dynamo, Not Dinosaur

So how many strikes does Arnell get before PepsiCo cans their a**? First there was the lame new Pepsi logo, then the raving brand manifesto called “Breathtaking” linking the Pepsi brand to the gravitational pull of the sun and Di Vinci’s Vitruvian Man; next, the Sierra Mist labeling that can’t be read, and now, the about-face Pepsi has had to do on the Tropicana packaging because of the uproar by consumers. The rest of us can only dream of such forgiving clients.

In the good old days, these debacles would have meant a flood of calls to Pepsi’s customer service lines and “Breathtaking” would never have seen the light of day. Not so anymore. Today, we can blog, Twitter, chat, Digg, and post on whatever other social media forum at our fingertips - all with the hope of being heard and driving action.

The problem for many major brands, or not-so-major brands, is the overwhelming flood of feedback can actually threaten the opposite response. Advertisers may become so concerned with consumer testing everything and getting complete approval from all potential constituents that they can quickly become dinosaurs rather than the nimble, fast-paced dynamos they need to be. People will always resist change, always complain, and always share negative opinions more readily than positive ones – it’s just human nature.

The trick for companies today is to use the tools at their disposal with discretion and remember the foundation they’re trying to build. If it sounds like a load of crap, it probably is (i.e., Breathtaking). Should companies test their plans? Absolutely; sitting in a conference room amongst themselves is not the best way to get the right answer. Should every decision be driven by their targets? Absolutely not. Ask ten people a question and you’ll get ten different opinions.

PepsiCo trusted their agency to help guide them and unfortunately, they’ve been receiving terrible input from someone with an apparent God complex. I do give Pepsi kudos for working with their agency and trusting them to be the experts. I hope they return the Arnell team to mere mortal status and show marketers how to use social media and social research to their benefit in the future.