If there is one truth in our new conversation-marketing world, it is that brands need to be fearless and try new things. Three big campaigns in the pipeline right now – from Pepsi, Domino's and Taco Bell – are testing the new rules of marketing in a conversation-centric world. Will these campaigns succeed? Fail? From a branding perspective, does it matter?
Pepsi had a pretty bad Twitter morning on October 13. But Falcon Heene may have helped Pepsi escape major embarrassment. Just two days later, as the story about Pepsi’s “sexist” iPhone App, “AMP UP Before You Score,” began to gain some real traction, #balloonboy sucked up all the media oxygen and became the biggest trending topic in Twitter history.
So will there be any fallout?
Media Logic’s Z&C Poll, first posted on the 15th, shows there might not be much. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) said any controversy would soon be forgotten. And curiously, nearly as many people who said the story wouldn't be forgotten thought it was as likely to help the brand as hurt it.
The breakdown by sex is somewhat more interesting.
Way fewer women than men thought the whole thing would blow over. 67% versus 79%. Yet within those groups, as many of the remaining voters thought the story would help the brand as hurt it.
What’s the bottom line? A week and a day or two in, #pepsifail is still popping up once every hour or so on Twitter. By comparison, #balloonboy is popping up once every second. Pepsi apologized but did not pull its app. Perhaps brands, aware of the cynicism and short attention spans of the online audience, are learning not to panic when faced with bad PR. Perhaps Pepsi escaped only because our attention was diverted.
Pepsi sure has stirred up a storm with its ‘AMP UP Before You Score’ iPhone App. Bloggers are all over it, accusing the makers of a kind of casual sexism we haven’t seen in decades. Defenders suggest that since women were involved in the concept and development of the App, there’s nothing to see here. Tell us what you think. See what others think. Take the Z&C Poll. And be sure and come back and give us a quick comment.