ICM 501 Module 11Gary Schroeder

We can see the images and the videos [social media users]create and comment on, monitor the conversations they are engaged in, read their blog posts and tweets, navigate their maps, listen to their track lists, and follow their trajectories in physical space. And we don’t need to ask their permission to do this, since they themselves encourage us to do by making all this data public.

L. Manovich - Debates in the digital humanities, 2011. Page 478. 460; PART VI. Chapter 27

Chief Marketing Officer Mark Addicks said that about 50% of marketing executives' time at General Mills is spent creating content. [“Brand purpose”] serves as the anchor keeping General Mills brands from getting lost in the currents of the digital age. "We used to think we were great at TV," Addicks said. "We're going to have to be great at content."

http://adage.com/article/special-report-digital-conference/general-mills-journey-tv-dependency-content-saavy/292420/

Pillsbury uses, over 3,000 social media sites [sic] to interact with its customers to create new ideas for product development. Blending caramel and bacon flavors, for example, came from the analysis of social interactions.

http://digitalmktganalytics.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-top-way-to-find-job-today-follow.html

"When Pillsbury re-thought its purpose, we found something that was under our nose the whole time, which was that people actually make a lot of things with Pillsbury.” So the brand tweaked its focus from baking to making, "which led to a whole content stream of simple vignettes” […] such as a video for Pillsbury GrandsUnsloppy Joes -- with the meat wrapped in the dough before cooking. That video inspired consumer riffs such as Grands wrapping shrimp and pesto that fueled thousands of posts.

http://adage.com/article/special-report-digital-conference/general-mills-journey-tv-dependency-content-saavy/292420/

General Mills [Pillsbury’s parent co.] learned through customer conversations that families were playing with the Pillsbury dough, making shapes and designs for fun; not just cooking with it. Based on this insight, General Mills revitalized a tired brand by focusing on the family activity value the product enables.

http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/what-brands-can-learn-from-customer-conversations-on-social-media/623872

Social Media Platforms

Platform Engagement*

Facebook 3,278,043 likes

Facebook (Pillsbury Baking) 717,359 likes

Twitter 132,000 followers; 1,480 likes

Instagram 31,700 followers

Instagram (Pillsbury Baking) 11,000 followers

Pinterest 188,500 followers; 234 likes; 8,305 pins

Pinterest (Pillsbury Baking) 16,700 followers; 941 likes; 2,498 pins

YouTube 25,784 subscribers

* Engagement statistics as of November 15, 2015

Pillsbury has done such a great job with its mascot that it has transitioned into pop culture. The Pillsbury Doughboy has made appearances on The Simpsons, South Park, Glee, and The Big Bang Theory. He even appeared in a GEICO commercial.

https://www.stickybranding.com/a-brand-to-love-brand-mascots-tug-your-heartstrings/

Social Media Platforms

Platform Engagement*

Facebook 3,278,043 likes

Facebook (Pillsbury Baking) 717,359 likes

Twitter 132,000 followers; 1,480 likes

Instagram 31,700 followers

Instagram (Pillsbury Baking) 11,000 followers

Pinterest 188,500 followers; 234 likes; 8,305 pins

Pinterest (Pillsbury Baking) 16,700 followers; 941 likes; 2,498 pins

YouTube 25,784 subscribers

* Engagement statistics as of November 15, 2015

Mascots Generate More Social Media Buzz

With the Pillsbury Doughboy, there is no way to separate the Doughboy from the name of the brand he sells. Research confirms that mascots are the way to go online: they are popular, have no competing agendas and they work for free.

http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/mascots-generate-more-social-media-buzz-for-brands-than-celebrities-study-reveals/130185

Working with a brand mascot means playing the long game. You’re deliberately incorporating the mascot into your brand strategy and drawing on it again and again. The more you can connect the mascot with your desired brand attributes, the better.

https://www.stickybranding.com/a-brand-to-love-brand-mascots-tug-your-heartstrings/

Anniversary Buzz Volume

Effort Engagement*

Nov. 2 FB invitation to “poke” Doughboy 832 likes; 231 shares

Poke website to release video 10,816 ”pokes”

YouTube Doughboy dance video 6,999 views

Nov. 7 FB invitation to watch dance video 449,000 views; 12,000 likes; 928 comments; 6,100 shares

Today show Doughboy appearance tweet 111 RTs; 290 likes

* Engagement statistics as of November 15, 2015