Frontiering Talk

Stacy’s chips .. (part of Frito lay), couldn’t afford to provide a sample of their chips to everyone in the US .. that would be 300 million chip packets. So instead, they sent a sample pack to everyone called Stacy .. which was 133,000 people.

As well as receiving the Brand story, the Stacy recipients were invited to share their sample with their friends with the following message.

“We hope you enjoyed getting your free box of Stacy’s Pita Chips as much as we enjoyed sending them to you. If you did, why not share the joy by sending a FREE gift box to a friend? Since we’ve already sent them to every Stacy, you’re free to send them to Bill or Mary or Cheryl or John—or whoever you think would enjoy Stacy’s chips the most.”

The Stacy Consumers were impressed, and many of them not only shared the sample, but also shared their story online. Like Josh, and Ryan (husband of a Stacy), and this Stacy, and no doubt many others.

Perspective: This is a great example of a brand creating an unexpected positive experience for consumers, that not only rewards, but provides the tools to share that experience when the samples are spread. Positive experiences do make things taste better, and when something tastes better, we tend to repurchase!

Tags: Frontiering Campaigns, Frontiering Products

Renovation has got to be one of the most talked about topics, and so it’s no surprise to see a social network built around sharing advice.

Refurber is a well laid out site, and built on the same platform as Minti (the parenting advice social network).

Refurber has some cool features such as Latest Activity which shows by timestamp how long ago the social network was updated and by who. It’s a good indication that this social network is very active.

The company behind Refurber is Vibe Capital and they are also offering the network engine to people wanting to build an advice driven social network. An example is Building London.

Perspective: Social networks will continue to appear and over time, there will be a place for just about every conversation. So think about the category your brand is in and explore what social networks are emerging. Make sure you establish a program to monitor the conversations as this is a valuable source of research. Then, figure out ways to engage in the conversations, such as establishing advice services, or sponsorship of existing social networks. Conversations in social networks are growing .. is your message being heard?

Tags: Social Network, Social Networks, Word of Mouth