Now I know brands marketing through social networks are supposed to let the conversations flow, but at some point a brand manager is allowed to draw a line and engage in some filtering.
Case in point: I checked out Facebook tonight and saw Pepsi has a group based around its new promotion where you can design a new can. There are 48 discussion topics associated with the group, the first one listed on the promotion homepage being "sex," with 22 posts by 17 people. As Facebook is a closed network, where you need to log in to access the content, screenshots are included below (click to expand).
The post starts on April 4 with someone asking, "Will you have sex with me?" It devolves from there, with responses like, "im sorry to say, but i bet u like to have sex with animals in ur spare time,haha OH, and NO"
That’s the Pepsi Generation, I guess, but there are some conversations out there this brand need not be a part of.
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Thanks for pointing it out David. I’m gonna check it out 🙂
hmm… the topic is still there as of April 7. I wondered if Pepsi even have anyone moderating their board.
Andy, it seemed like they were responding to some of the legitimate Facebook member questions. There are other topics with subjects like “it wont [bleep]ing upload,” so maybe they’re intentionally keeping it hands off? Not sure.
Love the fragmentation of the the ‘Net. How will brand managers (consumer, political, etc.) manage there image when home-grown groups like the Facebook Pepsi Group can amass a huge audience in a relatively short time and hijack the brand? Reminds me of the recent Hilary-Apple YouTube spot. – Josh