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.
