528 CHAPTER 15 E-COMMUNICATIONmedia diff erently. It is about being human and putting personal identity above an institutional
identity. About half of the European social networkers follow brands or companies on social
media. Th ey connect to brand pages because of personal brand experiences and conversa-
tions about brands by peers. Th ey seldom connect because brands or companies ask them to.
People in the south of Europe follow more brands (17.3 on average) than those in other
regions. Social networkers expect some sort of benefi t from companies on social networks,
such as product information, promotions and event announcements. Th ere is still a huge
opportunity for companies to get in touch with their customers: 58% have never experienced
any action by a company or brand on social network sites; 36% of the social networkers in
Europe post information about brands; 53% react to comments; and 51% ask for information.
Consumers prefer to react on brand updates rather than get into a dialogue with a brand.
Content planning and regular content updates are one way to increase the engagement with
fans. If people share information about a brand, company or product, it is oft en about the
product or brand experience they have recently had. Recall that positive experiences domi-
nate negative ones. One-third of European social networkers share much more than they did
in the previous year. Again, the credibility of word of mouth is important. Consumers trust
each other most. When people look for information on products, companies or brands,
they tend to look for information coming from their peers. Positive brand experiences have
the highest impact on brand perception and buying intention. Use your own employees as
brand ambassadors.^201
Social networkers with a smart phone follow brands on social media more oft en: 56% of
connected smart phone users follow a brand on social media. On the one hand, marketers
can expect more impact from reaching social networkers through smart phones, but on
the other hand mobile social networkers also expect more from companies and brands.
Th ey want to be more involved – almost half of them are interested in co-creating products,
packaging, campaigns – and they expect companies and brands to start conversations with
them.^202The power of people using social network sites towards brands is big. What started with a letter from a 3 year old
toddler over a Facebook page set up by the mother ended in a rebranding of Sainsbury’s Tiger bread towards Giraffe
bread. The new Giraffe loaves went on sale eight months after toddler Lily Robinson sent a letter to the supermarket
suggesting the splotches on the bloomer’s crust resemble more a giraffe’s pelt than that of a tiger. Sainsbury’s
customer manager agreed, explained to her the origins of the bread’s name and questioned the zoological skills of
the baker who came up with it. He also gave Lily a gift voucher to spend in the supermarket, which she could use
‘to buy some tiger bread (and maybe if mum and dad say it is OK you can get some sweeties too!)’. Further on, Lily’s
mother used the social media and started a Facebook page called ‘Campaign to change Tiger Bread to Giraffe Bread
at Sainsbury’s’ with 1000 ‘likes’ and comments, and nudging Sainsbury’s into action. Eight months later Tiger bread
received its new name.^203
Source : Copyright © Telegraph Media Group Limited 2012.BUSINESS INSIGHT
Sainsbury’s listened to 3 year old kid and rebranded its Tiger breadIn May 2012, 64 of the world’s 100 most valuable brands, as identifi ed by Interbrand, had
an offi cial presence on Google+, the social network of Google launched in September 2011.
Th e scale of brand activity on Google+ still pales in comparison with Facebook and Twitter.M15_PELS3221_05_SE_C15.indd 528M15_PELS3221_05_SE_C15.indd 528 6/6/13 8:55 AM6/6/13 8:55 AM