NMS recently hosted a seminar for 19 precocious George Washington University interns spending the summer studying communications in DC. It was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate social media’s power to surprise and delight customers while solidifying brand loyalty. Turns out those of us who live and breathe marketing strategy were the ones who left a bit surprised.
We began with a case study: Last fall, KLM Airlines rewarded its customers by delivering “small doses of happiness” in Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. Over three weeks, KLM surprised 28 passengers with gifts based on preferences indicated in their social graphs, generating more than 1 million impressions in 88 countries on Twitter alone. The premise: “Creating a real smile on somebody’s face is much cooler than attaching a smiley face.”
Though the campaign was widely lauded in the marketing community, when the video finished, reactions were surprising. While many social networkers would be thrilled to receive a small present before a transcontinental flight, the GW students were split on whether this was cool or creepy.
Many students professed they still are not comfortable sharing information overtly harvested by brands. The idea of getting “tailored” advertising made them squirm and many did not realize their own Gmail accounts serve up ads based on the content they write. The thought of getting a local pizza offer in response to an “I’m hungry” status update garnered mix results as well.
Despite their squeamishness, we quickly uncovered that the brand itself could make all the difference. What might seem an unsolicited scheme by one company could be welcome social serendipity coming from a brand to which they felt a strong tie. The prospect of getting tickets to a screening of “X-Men: First Class” or gear from lifestyle-focused brands like Ray-Ban left not one student turning their nose up (disclosure: Ray-Ban is an NMS client).
As marketers surge forward to implement advanced social CRM solutions, it will be tricky finding the line between invasive approaches to conquest new customers and those which catalyze engagement among fans warm to our brands. Companies like Hugo Boss already excel at making recommendations based upon existing customer databases. Maintaining a lifelong customer with a deep knowledge of their habits, current life stage, and brand preferences can have a huge impact on revenue compared against costs of acquiring new customers. Moreover, the ability to use social media to affect and maintain relationships with tastemakers is limitless.
Despite the students’ reaction, KLM Surprise has its own fans and copycats. SpanAir quickly countered by surprising passengers flying on Christmas Eve. As the proliferation of social platforms continues, you can be sure brands will find more ways to create spontaneous touchpoints with fans. If you’re as skeptical as our visiting interns, please be careful what you wish for.