24/seven why candy culture fell in love with social media

24/SEVENWhy Candy Culture Fell in Love with Social Media!

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Executive Summary

Desire creates demand…in social media or in candy (and in the next 3 points too!)

Once you indulge and incorporate it in your “life view,” it’s tough going back

Familia-rarity breeds excitement

For many humans, nothing beats a shared experience

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#1 PassionPeople, especially young

people are insanely passionate about their social media life

and all the emotional value it provides…

this ideally intersects with their candy desire!

The same can also be said about their moms!

Understanding passion points - and where they point - is a

competitive advantage!

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#1 Passion

People are flocking to “Like” the candy they love on

Facebook, follow them on Twitter and find other ways to immerse themselves in

the brand.

They share this passion with the community and share their love for the candy.

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#2 Seasonality/Theme-inality

Candy seasonal uptick in top of mind awareness/consumption be it for

Halloween, the Holidays, Valentine’s Day, etc and social

media’s calendar and thematic connection is huge!

Social media is a “greeting ground” for holidays

and a conduit for retail merchandising, as well as

enjoyment and indulgence!

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#2 Seasonality/Theme-inality

Candy and Social Media are uniquely aligned as two

sentiment-based realities. The meaning of candy changes by

season and/or theme and social’s sentiment is as

personal as it is dynamic.

Helping frame the brand message with lots of “smart elastic sentiment” value is

a winning proposition!

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#3 Social Sweetia is a Feel Good Story

Candy is so much about getting what you want, what

you’re craving. If a little is good, more is better… even

mom will admit this!

Few things bring out the laughter and smiles like

candy. Even fewer things can take you back to places

and people as deliciously fast as candy can.

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#3 Social Sweetia is a Feel Good StoryLink the emotional desire for sweetness, indulgence and everyday escapism and the

emotional bonding reality of the social web and it’s a pretty

compelling connection!

Plus, be it Tweeting which is akin to snacking - in between

longer blogging meals - candy delivers physical and

emotional “sugar rush rewards” that Facebook, Twitter, even

YouTube inherently deliver!

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#4 Mom 2.0 Goes Bloggers!

Moms are so connected in both the online and offline world. Five

years ago, you could think of mom in her historical role as

“gate keeper”… now you must think about who she is listening,

blogging or connecting with. She is no longer just a

consumer/customer, but in select categories, a true brand builder or wrecker.

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#4 Mom 2.0 Goes Bloggers!

Mom can be the Chief Influence Officer of not just her home, but limitless homes through both in-

person and online interactions! And, when it comes to managing health,

portions especially in “health influencing” categories like candy, she could not be more important.

The title of “Gate Keeper” not only seems dated,

but hardly seems adequate given the number of “gates”

she is informing, if not guarding...

Here’s a great list/resource by Guy Kawasaki: http://moms.alltop.com/

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#5 Social Shopping is how the Net-works

for Brands!

social media + ecommerce =

more customers + more sales

According to Nielsen, 90% of people trust recommendations

from people they know, and Facebook’s “like” button is the perfect way to recommend a

product to a friend.

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#5 Social Shopping is how the Net-works

for Brands!Since the start of 2010, over

86% of online US retailers have Facebook Fan Pages.

To date, more than 500,000 users have shopped for

products in Facebook stores.

By adding a “Shop” tab to your page and doing some

backend work, you’ve enabled fans to buy your stuff

directly within Facebook.

A customer visits your Facebook page

Goes to the Shop tab Browses your products inside your Facebook page

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Social Shopping on Your Facebook Page

Recommends product(s) to other Facebook friends

Makes purchase right within Facebook

Purchase is posted on the customer’s profile for all her Facebook friends to see

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Social Shopping on Your Facebook Page

#6 “It’s Trial Play”

Social media tools including apps provide fun, immersive brand

experiences without the consumer ever having to

commit to purchase. This has lowered barriers to trial;

while, raising awareness/interest in new products.

Mobile to Facebook apps are providing a range of innovative food experiences from saving and gaming to novel ideas to

food prep and recipes.

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#6 “It’s Trial Play”Apps aside, nothing lowers the

barriers to brand trial than reccos from friends or friends of friends. This along with coupons delivers huge brand growth opportunities.

Simply, social media is the most cost efficient new

product launch pad ever!

Candy with all it’s SKU proliferation and seasonal in and outs, couldn’t be better

positioned to benefit from the social web’s ability to generate

massive and timely interest.

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#7 The 2-0-11 on Candy Culture in a Social Media World!

Skittles has over 15 million Facebook fans today, making it one of the top brands on Facebook - which has over 530 million global members. Their Facebook growth potential is simply massive- given they have less than 3% share of the market.

But today, let alone into next year, Skittles has a social universe so developed they can leverage this asset in many different ways:

R&D new product or messaging platforms

Drive retail product acceptance or display compliance

Partnership leverage…Over 15 million “fans” is a big stick

Seasonal and Channel Strategic Takeovers… “Augmented Disruptions”

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#7 The 2-0-11 on Candy Culture in a Social Media World!

Facebook = Privacy concerns continue almost daily, but so does incredible growth. Mr. Zuckerberg has already said he is looking past 1 billion registered users. And, he just turned down 13 billion dollars from Google!

Twitter = Over 95 million tweets a day and over 180 million members!

Foursquare = 4, 5, even 6 million users is sooo 2010 - Try 6.5 million users and current growth rates expected to continue!

YouTube = In May 2010, YouTube served more than two billion videos a day, which it described as "nearly double the prime-time audience of all three major US television networks combined”!

Blogging = Continues to grow as both a website replacement and interactive brand sharing platform!

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Steak doesn’t have it

Chicken would be silly too

Pork would sound like a B Movie

Only Candy has it…

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Candyland! Candyland!

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Flightpath has a rich history of helping organizations create, connect or use emotional currency via digital channels to maximize potential and opportunities

www.flightpath.com 212-674-5600

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