MELBOURNE: Companies must strive to be authentic, truthful and open to scrutiny, according to Schweppes' top marketer.
Speaking at the Advertising, Marketing & Media Summit in Melbourne yesterday as part of a social media panel, Darryn Wallace, Schweppes marketing director, said that companies were no longer in full control of their brand identity and messaging.
Wallace, said: "You need to set out ways to communicate and how to manage social media. Comments should be relevant and there should be no restriction on who can comment, but people need to be truthful about who they are so that it is clear that comments are coming from the business."
Commenting on who is ultimately responsible for social media, whether its handled externally through an agency or carried out by the comms team, Wallace argued that responsibility should ultimately rest with the brand management team.
John Thompson, senior manager marketing for Transport Accident Commission, cautioned to approach the nascent medium with a laissez-faire attitude: "There is no need for heavy handed rules. Why not create a remuneration model around comments."
Thompson said the TAC spends 15% to 16% of its budget online and is looking to hike expenditure by 20% to 24% in the coming financial year.
Myer general manager of marketing, Adam Stapleton, said the department store has enlisted the support of brand advocates to facilitate online conversation.
He said: "We want to give them content or something they can't get anywhere else. The key for us in terms of social media is creating talkable content. How do we get people to talk about it."
In separate panel discussion called 'Building brand communities', Cadbury general manager, Candy, ANZ, Carl Nagle, argued that if brands listen, understand and respond, consumers will come back and love you again and again.
He said: "Consumers are faster and move more quickly than ever before - and if you don't listen to them you will lose lots of basis points. Consumers own brands, not companies" Nagle said.
The panel said brand communities share three traits; a shared consciousness, a sense of moral responsibility, and protection for the brand.
Andrew Mackinnon, managing director of The Taboo Group, said: "Whether you like it or not your brand is being spoken about. They [consumers] can now jump on and broadcast and shape the reputation of brands.”
Nagle said one of the advantages of online communities is that they hold a lot of valuable information that can inform service, quality and reputation.
"Google your own brand before you do more research - it is easy and cheap to find unbiased information,” he said.
Nagle and Mackinnon shared seven insights that should be deployed when building branded communities: have a purpose, be human, add value, find a home online or offline, include expert consumers, lose control and engage first sell later.
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