D r. K a r i m K o b e i s s i

Consumer Generated Marketi ng

Introduction

An expanding component of the new consumer

dialogue is consumer generated marketing (CGM),

by which the concept of the influential consumer

has taken on a whole new level of importance. CGM

might happen through inviting consumers to play a

more active role in shaping products and/or brand

messages.

CGM – Shaping New Products

Consumer generated marketing can involve asking

consumers to shape new products. For example, Coca-

Cola’s Vitaminwater brand recently set up a Facebook app

to obtain consumer suggestions for a new flavor, promising

to manufacture and sell the winner (“Vitaminwater was

our idea; the next one will be yours.”). The new flavor—

Connect (black cherry-lime with vitamins and a kick of

caffeine)—was a big hit. In the process, Vitaminwater

doubled its Facebook fan base to more than one million.

Vitaminwater Asking Consumers For New Flavor

The New Flavor— Vitaminwater Connect

A new marketing site for Haagen-Dazs ice cream has a promotion going on, inviting ice cream lovers with video cams to upload their own ice cream recipes to the page.

Folgers involved the online population of content creators in its brand by asking consumers to re-record the famous theme song – "the best part of wakin up, is Folgers in your cup."

Website developers work closely with the website owners (website developers ‘ customers) to help them generate a very user friendly portal.

CGM – Shaping Brand’s MessageLately, consumer generated marketing campaigns have become

more and more popular. After all, what brand wouldn't want

tons of users to create free content on their behalf and share

it online with their entire social networks?

CGM campaigns show consumers that the company cares

about incorporating their views, concerns and suggestions,

and helps build positive, lasting relationships. Consumers are

more likely to purchase again, and the company develops a

reputation for being caring and involved with clientele.

CGM – Illustrating CaseFrito-Lay launched one of the most successful CGM contests on record.

Its 2006 “Crash the Super Bowl” contest was part of the company’s

larger effort to include consumers in their marketing. Consumers sent

in their own Doritos’ ads; people voted for their favorites online; and

the winners won prize Money. Doritos follows the success of their

consumer-created ads by tracking media value, brand equity, and

pass-along value. These have each risen in the years since the

contest, and so have sales. In addition, Frito-Lay received plenty of

free ads, and compiled the best ones into its 2011 advertising

campaign.

“Underdog” Won the Super Bowl Glory for Triangle Ad Company in 2010

MasterCard Priceless New Year Campaign

CGM – DisadvantagesUtilizing consumer generated content can be a time-

consuming and costly process, and companies may find it difficult to collect even a little gold from all the garbage. For example, when Heinz invited consumers to submit homemade ads for its ketchup on its YouTube page, it ended up examining more than 8,000 entries, of which it posted nearly 4,000. Some of the amateur ads were very good—entertaining and potentially effective. Most, however, were so-so at best, and others were completely awful. In one ad, a contestant chugged ketchup straight from the bottle. In another, the would-be filmmaker brushed his teeth, washed his hair, and shaved his face with Heinz’s product.

Kraft got lots of publicity when it used a competition to find a name for its new product, but the first name chosen, iSnack2.0, was widely criticised.

A tt e n ti o n ! !While CGM can increase sales and exposure, it can also

lead a company to pay too much attention to the

opinions of a small segment of their customer base.

Other product users may not be as vocal online about

their opinions. A company can make unwise marketing

and product development decisions based only on

Internet chatter. It is beneficial to couple online reviews

with other forms of customer data, such as surveys and

focus groups.