Let Likers share in the brand - and profit from it

It was not Wander AG in Neuenegg, just outside Bern, that set up a Facebook page for Ovomaltine. That was the initiative of a private person and so the Ovo team had to switch to "Ovomaltine Switzerland" for its first attempts at walking, which was hardly noticed. Contact was sought and soon the right site could be taken over. Brand manager Sandra Stirnemann thinks it's "super" when fans lead the way like this, and sees it as a sign of the brand's strength. Even without much activity on the site at the time, 17,000 fans had already gathered on it, demonstrating the potential it has.

Since January 2010, the site has been regularly maintained in-house, which has "much more potential" than outsourcing, because it is felt that the brand behind it is present. Something new is posted on the site about three times a week, and the company always tries to respond to postings from fans. The focus is on customer loyalty, especially the contact between the brand and the Likers or even between Likers, which they try to promote, Stirnemann reports. Questions and comments have to be answered quickly, because this is the way to show an authentic presence. It is also important to give Likers added value, for example with samples, coupons and background information, so that they know before other consumers that a new product is available. Samples are particularly well received by Likers and "we'd like to do more of that in the future," because that's how you reach an audience with a connection to the brand. Customer service can also be handled easily and efficiently via social media channels, which Wander AG also sees as part of customer loyalty, but which is not the main focus on its own.

Stirnemann estimates the effort required to maintain and develop the social media presence at around 15 percent. Most of the work is done by herself, varies greatly and also involves Saturdays and Sundays, because you always have to keep an eye on what's going on on the site. But it's by no means just spontaneous reactions. Daily brand monitoring on the Internet shows what is being said about Ovomaltine on Twitter, in blogs and forums, and sometimes blog posts from third parties are taken over and posted on the site. In finding ever new topics, she is helped by the marketing team, where other products and other projects are also looked after. To cover topics that don't just come from marketing, a cross-divisional social media editorial team, which includes members from R&D and production, meets every two months for a half-hour brainstorming session. The vast majority of posts appear in German and French, with differences for certain regional aspects. They are translated by an Ovo fan at a texting agency, who answers simple queries straight away himself, and everything else is also coordinated with Neuenegg via Facebook.

It is particularly important to let Likers participate in the brand and then benefit from their input and feedback, reports Sandra Stirnemann, mentioning two examples: In the project for a chocolate for the tourism sector, there was internal disagreement about which packaging was better. So fans abroad were asked which of two packages they would buy and why. The feedback not only provided a clear result, but was also very good, with a response rate of just under one percent in German-speaking countries (59 comments) and almost two percent in France (13 comments). The response rate was similarly good when Ovo fans were asked for their opinion on the "Allez Didier" chocolate, with which the Ovo marketers wanted to support their best-known brand carrier, ski star Didier Cuche. "On Facebook, you get quick and honest feedback on such small questions," says Stirne¬mann, summing up her experience.

When it comes to key figures, it's clear: "I weight the right fans more than the total number of fans. More important to her than the number of followers is the interaction: How intensively do fans react to a post and how do they interact with the brand? To be able to assess this, Facebook provides good statistics. These are "very, very important" to her, because they give her a good sense of which types of post work better and which work less well, and that is an important indication for future action.

The demographic data of the Facebook fans corresponds very closely with the target group of 15-35 year-olds targeted by Ovomaltine. Around two thirds of Likers live in Switzerland, the rest in neighboring countries, where the brand presence is lower and not all products are available. Because this makes work on the social media platforms more difficult, the company is considering using separate websites to address the different countries. After all, "if you have to compromise too often, you end up communicating almost nothing.

For the past six months, the Facebook presence has been consistently promoted cross-media. Brand activities such as promotions from other channels are also posted on Facebook and the Facebook button is integrated in all print advertisements. Stir¬nemann also does not want to do without Twitter, although it is the clear number two among the social media channels. She often works here with retweets and publishes only about every tenth post here, that what works on Facebook does not necessarily also arrive on Twitter. Price promotions are only announced on Twitter, as there are no reactions or dialog on Facebook. There are often questions about distribution and products on Twitter, which gives the company the chance to respond to them.
Christoph J. Walther

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Topics relating to the professional use of social media are omnipresent. Much is new and proven recipes for success are scarce. That's why Werbewoche is publishing a series of mini-case studies to provide insights into everyday work with social media channels and thus contrast the pure numerical statistics surrounding fans and followers.

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"Slow down. Take it easy": Werbewoche 06/1.4.2011,page 31