Monday, February 23, 2009

Responsiveness is key

By now I assume we've all been made aware of the Facebook Terms of Service debacle. The long and short of it is Facebook released a TOS update that stated all content posted to their site belonged to them. This in and of itself was problematic. Facebook then went further to say that even if you DELETED your account, they retained rights overall information you posted to their site. Yowsa! At the very least you'd think they would honor copyright law or something!

But, all of this was to no end because Facebook, facing an digital pitchfork and torch uprising of the villagers, has reverted back to the previous Terms of Service. So, what's the cool thing about this? In my opinion it's the responsiveness of Facebook to their users wishes. A while back they instituted their version of targeted advertising. People cried out, it came down. The same thing happened here. They tried something new, people said no, Facebook reneged and life went back to being beautiful. All in all, the company seems to look for ways to push the envelope but is very aware of the perils of doing so. Hey, they gotta figure out some way to make a profit, right?

In other news, it looks as though PepsiCo has lost the brand battle on Tropicana and is now pulling the new package design from store shelves.

You gotta wonder why this failed, especially when their new brand design for the Pepsi line seems to be doing well. Maybe it comes down to focusing too much on the Next Generation instead of the people who are buying the bulk of orange juice: moms. They moved from a wholesome, drinking the juice right out of the orange look to a streamlined, modern take. My gut feeling is that this shift just didn't jibe with their core consumer (based on the article, it seems my thought is not far off). However, it does bring us full circle to listening. Instead of forging ahead and shoving the new Tropicana down everyone's throats, they are reverting back to the old via mea culpa. Will it be the right move in the long run? I don't know. But I bet right now, it will be the right move for the bottom line.

Monday, February 16, 2009

The Guvment Gets It: PB Free

Couldn't resist a double post today. Stumbled across this post on an FDA app that allows you to track recalled products involved in the peanut butter scare. Is it pretty? No. Does it provide a service? Yes. Could it be better used as a mobile app? Probably but not everyone has those abilities. All in all I'd say the FDA gets a kudos on this for a quick turnaround and a stellar idea. What could your company be doing to get in touch with consumers and help them? Hey Macy's, why not an app that shows me 5 new articles of clothing a day based on brand and fit preferences? Wal Mart, help me save money with a tip of the day that doesn't require me buying anything! Give people information and they'll love you.

Forget Me Not

Scientists announce that it may be possible to "forget" bad things that happen to us. Turns out a beta-blocker, used to treat heart conditions, may also have an unforeseen effect of diminishing the negative emotional reactions felt when confronted with a bad past memory.

Check out the article here.

Implications? Of course there are. The first is what does this mean for us emotionally? Does everyone have things they'd rather forget? Sure. But don't those experiences and memories make us who we are and teach us things about life? Clearly more research will be done in using these drugs for secondary purposes, but maybe the first question to ask is should we be doing this at all...

In marketing news, the big thing today is Facebook and their Terms of Service. Ay, ay, ay! What are you doing Facebook?! Check out this brief synopsis from the Consumerist.

Here it is folks: The reason everyone is shitting their pants over the future. It used to be all one had to do was protect their SSN#. Now, as our lives increasingly move online, people can find out anything about us they want. The counterintuitive aspect of Facebook's new TOS is that it is designed to be a place to share about yourself with friends. Who the hell wants to do that when anything you put up there (original content created by you I might add, which brings up a whole other interesting legal twist) no longer belongs to you? It seems simpler to me to have the TOS read: When your account shuts down of your own volition, we erase any record of you having been a member of Facebook. What will that information help them do anyways? It can't help them advertise to you because you're not there. In fact it would screw up their stats. Would Facebook really have any interest in posting my response to a comment and pork and blogs? Probably not, but they shouldn't have the ability to do it.

The basic issue is this: Facebook is now treating its customers like content creators rather than partners. Turns out, we will do what we want when we want to (remember MySpace?). I come to Facebook to connect with friends, not serve as a breeding ground for banner ads. Keep sending me the bald guy ads, but leave my status alone for perpetuity.