Digital Promotions are not the same as Social Media marketing.

The Nando’s Dictators campaign see TV ad here and its accompanying promotion using digital channels (although I don’t know how the customer gets from the TV ad to the digital promo) is very different to social marketing.

Sarah Britten in her article Is Nando’s ‘Last Dictator Standing’ the new ‘Old Spice Guy’? probably inadvertently, draws the correct comparison because in spite of the hoopla the jury is still out on the Old Spice Man’s effectiveness. Both are old style push campaigns and at best interactive.
I find it frustrating when I hear the discussions online and elsewhere referring to this campaign as a social media campaign, its an oxymoron – when you start understanding social media you realise that social media is not about campaigns – it’s not about push – it’s about facilitating communities it’s about ideas spreading.

I wonder when the power of social marketing of tapping into the value of communities, conversations and memes will dawn on brands? 

A #hashtag does not a social strategy make.

Posted via email from Organic Marketing…

Posted on December 1, 2011 at 10:32 pm by Walter Pike · Permalink
In: Uncategorized
  • http://twitter.com/ChrisOnderstall Chris Onderstall

    They got their traditional
    ad in discussions on social media channels, compared to the millions usually
    blown on above the line spend that everyone ignores this is commendable. I
    think alongside the Old Spice guy it shows how great content can become the success
    driver, even in traditional push campaigns. 

  • nowires (LPR)

    @Walter:disqus …. well actually the effectiveness of the old spice campaign was proven:1. P&G won the Golden Effie in North America
    2. Quarter to Quarter Sales rose by 60% in Q1 2010 and by 125% in Q3 2010

    … and yes, I think the new Nando’s ad is great. It is social as everybody is talking about it… even in good ol’ Switzerland (after I send the kink to a couple of folks). This is good marketing. 

    • http://walterpike.com Walter Pike

      Yes – and have they sustained those sales? I don’t doubt that it was a successful promotion, nor that people will talk about the Nando’s campaign for a day or a week or two, nor that it will win awards.

      I don’t think it’s great marketing, nor great social, I do think that it’s a good promotion. I am willing to bet that the conversation is – look at this crazy ad – I wonder if it’s – the best chicken is.

      I don’t think it’s building a Nando’s chicken fan base.

      Notice I am not criticizing it as an Interuption Marketing exercise nor as a promotion.

  • http://wogan.me Wogan

    How to build a community: Give people something to do, and somewhere to talk about it. The latter is well taken care of by the standing social media giants. The former, well, that’s where Nandos finds themselves.

    I’d say you’re right – Nandos isn’t tapping into existing communities. It’s creating a new one. People brought together by one of two things (or both) – a love for sarcastic, witty advertising, and awesome chicken. By the mere fact of its popularity, the Last Dictator Standing ad gives people common ground – something to talk about.

    • http://walterpike.com Walter Pike

      Find the talkers, give them something to talk about…

      If they have created a sustainable community of fans of Nando’s chicken as opposed to Nando’s ads then I would have been incorrect.

  • http://twitter.com/Nicholas_Duncan Nick Duncan

    Whether or 

  • http://twitter.com/Nicholas_Duncan Nick Duncan

    Its more of a branding campaign. I assume the main goal was to increase brand awareness and their secondary goal was to increase the sale of their current promotion. With the amount of attention this ad received, I believe they achieved their primary goal.

    • http://walterpike.com Walter Pike

      Traditional campaigns focus at the bottom of the CBBE pyramid, salience, awareness. Promotion focus on sales. etc so I think you support my point. My comment doesn’t say it’s a bad campaign just not a social one.

  • http://twitter.com/idale Dale

    All Nandos did was enable a humerous advert to be consumed through a digital channel. Enough people found it entertaining and passed it along. However, no community was created and saying “this is a good/funny advert” hardly qualifies as the start of a conversation that would be the catalyst for a s(pike) in sales.