There is lots to admire in the way the Kellogg’s PR team in Manchester is tackling social media, dealing with both the challenges and opportunities it brings.
Kellogg’s was among the first corporates or brands that I followed on twitter because, unlike some others who hide behind a brand or a faceless company, there was always a named person in charge of their twitterstream. I wasn’t that interested to hear what they’d had for breakfast every day (cereal, obviously), but at least the people there understood that these days consumers expect to talk to real human beings, not just a PO Box number.
I talked about the way the company uses social media in a North West Business Insider feature I wrote last year too. The piece was on crisis communications and I was impressed with the way members of the PR team tweeted their way through an episode of Dispatches where Kellogg’s was being attacked for all sorts. Via twitter, factual inaccuracies, as Kellogg’s saw them, were corrected in real time, item by item, giving the company a platform which they believed hadn’t been afforded to it by the programme’s producers.
The company’s latest social media campaign involved mummy bloggers, a huge and important group of social networkers in the UK. I think it’s fair to say that, overall, blogging isn’t as universally adopted in this country as it is the States but in some areas, blogs are hugely influential. Parenting blogs fall into one of these categories and Kellogg’s has been smart enough to spot the opportunity they present.
Last month, mummy bloggers were invited to Kellogg’s HQ in Manchester. PR people interested in what went on can check out the hashtag #snapcrackleblog where bloggers were encouraged to participate in a running commentary on the day’s events in which all things breakfast were on the agenda.
I’ve had a quick scan around and bloggers have posted all kinds of reviews of the day since. Not all are positive but hats off to Kellogg’s for joining the growing numbers of big brands who realise that good PR these days isn’t all about glossy magazines and column inches.
