August 6th, 2008
The social media corporate identity crisis
The recent “hijacking” of the ExxonMobil brand for Twitter use made a whoosh as the news traveled around the socialsphere. It also brought into view a lot of questions around brand validity and responsibility in terms of social networking. Joel Postman, principal of Socialized, authored this guest piece on the social media corporate identity crisis, which includes a Q&A with one of the newest brands to join Twitter — Popeyes Chicken.
Call it “brandjacking”. Or call it “an open brand” managed through online consumer conversations. Either way, social media, with its often loose standards regarding user identity, has opened up a Pandora’s Box of opportunities for confusion about who is, and isn’t, an authorized company spokesperson.
Last week Exxon Mobil confirmed that Janet, who called herself ExxonMobilCorp on the microblogging service Twitter, was not an authorized representative of the company. The announcement spurred a flurry of reactions, including observations that social media is inherently untrustworthy, and that companies, like Twitter, that run these networks don’t do enough to police the usage of company and personal identities.
To reaffirm my faith in social media, I decided to contact Popeyes Chicken to find out a little more about one of my favorite company representatives, @PopeyesChicken, on Twitter. I did an e-mail Q&A with Alicia Thompson, vice president, communications & PR for Popeyes, and I am pleased to report, in keeping with Popeyes’ brand, their Twitter presence is “Bonafide.”
Q. [Joel] How was the decision arrived at within Popeyes Chicken to develop a presence on Twitter?
A. [Alicia] When we launched our Popeyes BonafideTM campaign in the spring, we knew that we wanted to reach younger demographics, so we included a number of social media tools in our marketing efforts including Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.
Q. How many people “staff” the Twitter handle?
A. One person “staffs” the handle…surprisingly NOT from the marketing group, but from the technology team.
Q. Have they been given guidelines as to what they can and cannot say?
A. No, however, he always aligns his tweets along our core brand messaging.
Q. The Popeyes Chicken person/people I have encountered on Twitter seem to be very friendly, and have a great sense of humor. Is this intentional?
A. He’s naturally a friendly, humorous person, so the tweets are in no way contrived. What you “read” is truly who he is.
Q. To what degree are they “empowered” to handle customer issues?
A. He acknowledges consumer issues and directs them to our Guest Relations team so that they can be handled appropriately.
Q. What did you expect to get out of being on Twitter, and what results (of any kind) have you achieved?
A. We are still experimenting with social media and have no real expectations. As for results, we have generated a good amount of interest (folks like you) and we are definitely being noticed.
Q. Any other thoughts you’d like to share on either Twitter or Popeyes Chicken’s social media strategy overall?
A. We will continue to explore social media where appropriate and hope to utilize it even more in the future as we continue our efforts to engage younger consumers.
Next: What are the ramifications of borrowing a brand? –>
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Jennifer Leggio, aka "Mediaphyter," writes about the "social business" side of social media - including enterprise, security and reputation issues. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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