I was talking with Adam Kmiec the other day, and made mention that I think large, corporate brands have a distinct advantage with social media. My argument was that, although it does take skill and knowledge, someone like Scott Monty had a distinct advantage because of the Ford name. Adam agreed to an extent, but also made a good point that Monty came in during a great time – a brand that was facing potential bankruptcy, and was willing to invest in the social space. I don’t want to take anything away from Monty – the guy is brilliant. However, I think having a large and well-known brand makes it a bit easier to build a community. Adam then followed up with: what would you do if you were RC Cola?
First, please get rid of your current URL and change it to www.rccola.com. Also, you need a redesign of your site. To put it bluntly, your Web site sucks. Take a look below, and compare to Coke & Pepsi. Coke & Pepsi are clean and interactive. RC Cola – amateurish. Even the photo has suspect quality. So clean the site up and make it about your brand. RC Cola’s Web site reminds me of your stereotypical auditor, while Coke and Pepsi are more funky and fun professions – like a PR pro!
How do you approach interactive if you’re RC Cola? How do you maintain the retro aspect while trying to become relevant today?
How does your strategy differ if you’re brand is struggling and you have two brand giants that you have to compete against? Are you willing to take more risk? Or do you play it safer, focusing on activities you know will bring in positive ROI? The way I look at it, RC Cola has nothing to lose. In that sense, I’d be willing to take a bit bigger risk, while also integrating emerging technology into traditional strategy.
For smaller brands such as RC Cola, I think the social space can provide many benefits. Why not, like Kary mentioned, use some photos? Why not have fans submit video content? Most importantly, start a conversation. Start making your brand relevant. Get fans involved. In the 50′s, you had RC Cola and Moonpies. Play on that and use that nostalgia to your advantage Make your actions truly interactive.
None of what I mentioned above will propel RC Cola to the top of the soft drink market, but that doesn’t mean the brand can’t start getting involved in the social space and making their brand interactive. I mentioned in an early post that I want smaller brands and small businesses to really dive into social media and emerging trends. These are the brands that can engage in true, powerful conversations. These are the brands that will greatly benefit from non-traditional tactics.
What are your thoughts? How does a brand like RC Cola integrate social into their brand? Is the uphill battle worth it?
