Promote the Rainbow

Skittles, which is known for its colorful and fruit flavored candy is a brand that was created by Mars, Inc. Skittles is sold in a variety of flavor collections, such as tropical, wild berry, fruit, smoothies and sour. Skittles were first sold and introduced in Europe around 1974 and it wasn't until 1979 that the fruity candy spread across the United States. In 1989 new flavors of the candy were introduced, Tropical, which had flavors like banana, kiwi and mango. And Wild Berry which consisted of raspberry, wild cherry and strawberry flavors. Skittles continuously progressed through the years by introducing sour skittles in 2000 and fruit flavored skittles gum in 2004 all the way till 2014 where they introduced a ix of delicious dessert fruit flavors. Skittles has used social media as its third arm to help progress their sells and create their brand. 

Skittles start into social media was not one to brag about but one that should be recognized. The goal of the brand Skittles was to be the heart of social media and to give the candy a popular image and of course increase sales. The Skittles company decided to put a live Twitter , Facebook, and YouTube feed directly onto the Skittles web site. This was a bold move from the company. The BuisnessWeek article said,  “Just two days after its launch, Skittles was forced to rethink its social media strategy after users deluged the site with inane and often profane "tweets," the messages sent by Twitter users. However, even though the Skittles twitter page was receiving "garbage" they were still encountering interactions from potential customers. It may not have been the positive publicity they were looking for but it was publicity non the less. 

Skittles homepage is entirely built by its followers interactions through Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Youtube. Skittles monitors their site as a result of the garbage that was put on it but does not change its content. The features on the Skittle's homepage change based on what is popular at that moment. For example, if a new commercial comes out that day then Youtube would be the feature.   

Skittle Facebook page has over 4.1 million fans. Through Facebook Skittles offers 2 for one vouchers for their candy which benefits their fan base. The Skittles brand has a very unique voice that engages the customer. Their posts are written in first person which gives the customers the impression that they are talking to an actual being rather than a candy product and makes the experience more personal. The brand becomes humanized. Skittles also allows their fans to get involved through Facebook by having colorful online campaigns. Such as, "The Greatest Fan In The World" campaign where every week the brand showcased a fan submitted photo with a highlighted banner and quirky caption.

  

Some negatives about Skittles on Facebook is that they do not show their entire name or product  in their profile picture. This mean that in all of the companies post half of the bag and not even half of the name is shown with every post. Either the entire bag or at least the brand name should appear completely in the profile picture so consumers always see the name for brand reinforcement or repetition. 

Overall the Skittles brand is a force to be reckoned with. They have thrown themselves into socially media hoping for the best and to their luck it worked. Their brand has created an image and voice that is distinct, unique and entertaining. They give their customers the chance to talk through all social networks rather then just one. Based on Skittles use of social media i personally think that they are on the right track and are going to succeed in expanding their brand and it's voice. In reference to articles that spoke of the brand i believe that the brand will succeed because of the tactics they use to get people more involved such as, Biggest fan of the week on Facebook and vouchers that are only available on Facebook. Also their twitter is humanized. Their tweets are quirky and entertaining and are written in first person which allows for customers and fans of the brand to connect on a personal level. This also creates the illusion that the brand is a person rather then an actual product.