Consumers turn to social media when a favorite brand like Postum is stifled
Social media can empower consumers in ways our parents never dreamed of. I read a curious article in The Christian Science Monitor about ‘orphan brands.’ A brand doesn’t have to be unsuccessful to lose its place on the shelf. CSM says some are traded “from company to company or simply dropped.” That’s what happened with Postum. I’ve never tried this grain alternative to coffee, but I know the product’s been around for a long time. Kraft dropped the product cold. So a lot of Postum fans are talking now through a Yahoo group online and Postum-loving bloggers are making their voices heard. Fans have also emailed the company and posted on the company’s online forum. Meanwhile fans are also snatching up product wherever they can online. CSM says one woman even bought her own grains and made her own Postum after finding a recipe on the Web. There are tons of links on the Web about this right now. There’s even a cake recipe using Postum at the Kraft Foods site.
Brand loyalty is a curious behavior, once a product is set in the marketplace. That product also, somehow, works its way into the psyche of the consumer and hangs around. If a brand morphs into a yearning, well, you can’t ask for more successful marketing than that. One fan posting at the Kraft site online called the company’s action “sudden murder.” The product had been in the market for over a century. A company like Kraft probably escapes any long term fallout from suspending a popular product, but a smaller company may not. I wonder if the price of grain, a commodity seemingly in demand everywhere right now, has anything to do with the untimely death of Postum?
Technorati Tags: Beneath the Brand, Talent Zoo, Kay B. Day, orphan brands, Postum, branding
Filed under: Branding, Miscellaneous, Social Media Marketing
The most successful brands engender a relationship with consumers. Dropping a brand is like severing a relationhip, and companies can get a clue about the loyalty to that brand from consumer response. Loyal consumers are invested in the brand – the relationship shifts from company ownership to community ownership. Think NEW COKE. The revolt over elimination of the iconic beverage shows how consumers react when a product that is part of the fabric of their existence is suddenly absent. New social media gives consumers a bigger voice and a way to “posse up” to challenge company decisions and campaign for reinstatement of brands they love. Smart companies will take note.
Virginia, nicely put. I was pretty amazed at the loyalty these customers have. And they ‘possed up’ pretty good! Thanks for coming by. best, Kay Day