BHAG? Oh no, not another acronym!
And to show off my PPM prowess in teasing and creating occasions, I’m not going to tell you what BHAG is until the end of this post, but trust me when I tell you that most people in radio don’t have one. (Don’t scroll down!)
Today’s entry focuses on one of Lori Lewis’ favorite examples to use when our clients ask, “So who’s doing a good job with social media?”
And the answer is almost always Coca-Cola.
And it’s not just because Coke has 42 million Facebook fans (compared to 8 million for Pepsi). Although that’s pretty amazing.
The people at Coke have an intrinsic understanding of what they’re trying to accomplish using social media. Their goal is simple – to exude happiness and optimism – two states of mind that are far too missing in action in our world today.
At a recent conference in Cannes, Coke’s chief marketing and commercial officer, Joe Tripodi, gave attendees a lesson in how social media can be used for the greater good – and for building brands, amassing customers, and selling product.
“It’s not just about pushing stuff out as we’ve historically done. It’s about participating in discussions with people. We have to provide a narrative that people can engage with. We have to create experiences that perhaps are only had by a few but are compelling enough to fuel conversations with many.”
So no “Bieber tickets at 2:15” or “Catch us at the Verizon store tomorrow” post or tweets from Coke. Instead, they are involved with collaborations with big brands, while looking for ways to spread the mantra of happiness through examples like their Arctic Home project, designed to protect the habitats of polar bears. It’s a simple, yet effective, marketing tie-in that integrates social – something that eludes so many other brands.
And another vehicle that Coke relies on is based on music – because we know it makes people happy. Coke has teamed up with Spotify to create an app. And their “Move to the Beat” campaign is all about tying in music to the Olympics.
As Tripodi notes, “Music is at the core of activation for so many of our brands.”
So doesn’t that scream “opportunity” for radio, especially at a time when all we hear is that spoken word is the future, and music radio stations are doomed to go the way of the dot matrix printer? How can radio’s biggest and best music stations use social media to fan the flames of music passion by integrating their legions of Facebook fans and Twitter followers?”
Isn’t there more to brand equity, customer engagement, and revenue generation that yesterday’s PPM weekly?
So where does all of this lead to?
For Coke, Tripodi says their aim is to double their business by the end of the decade. And he views social as a tool that get help get there.
Aggressive? Realistic?
Who knows? He calls it their “big hairy audacious goal” – or BHAG.
Does your brand have one?
And how can you use the power of social media to help you achieve it?
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Doesn’t this scream MISSED OPPORTUNITY for radio? Imagine, Coke eschewed all that reach that radio just needs to get the word out better on to team up with Spotify, lack of reach notwithstanding. Apparently, someone from Spotify was calling on the right people at Coke, uncovered a need and created a nice app partnership.
This should have been one of the big radio companies, Katz or the RAB – not Spotify. It’s not like radio doesn’t have its own apps – in fact there’s a consulting outfit whose name escapes me that is rumored to have developed some pretty good ones. This is a terrible loss for radio.
Spotify understood that it was about telling Coke’s story, not their own. Radio could have given Coke everything Spotify did and a ton more. Shame on radio. How many still think telling radio’s story better is the answer?
It is unfortunate to see a Spotify win this one, Bob. But perhaps it’s a wake-up call because there are more brand tie-ins and partnerships to be had in this space. And when I think of that consulting company, I’ll get back to you. Thanks as always for taking the time & for reading our musings.