Where Oreo’s Content Falls Short
Why Oreo is not the content marketing role model you think
I’ve never met Bonin Bough, but I get the distinct sense I wouldn’t like him.
The global head of media for Mondelēz International is known for saying things like “Oreo needs to move at the speed of culture,” and the even less substantial and more ridiculous “Imagine a time when you’re watching the Super Bowl and the lights go out, you see us tweeting our conversation, and you can actually go to the store the next day and buy a cookie that tastes like that conversation,” as if that is something that consumers actually want.
It’s comments like those that continue to draw looks of derision for marketing from other departments. At a time where the rest of the marketing profession is pushing toward concrete results and measurable contribution to the bottom line, Bonin Bough is determined to keep us in the murky haze of buzzwords and unaccountability we are trying so hard to fight off.
It is for this reason that it frustrates and confuses me to no end that Bough and his flagship brand, Oreo, are constantly celebrated as the best of the best in content marketing. There is no doubt that Oreo is one of the best, if not the best, content creating brands in the world, but when it comes to content marketing strategy, there is no reason to put Oreo up on a pedestal. Let me show you why.
Social Stardom
Bough rose to marketing stardom in February of 2013, shortly after Oreo’s now legendary tweet just minutes after the power went out at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome during the third quarter of the Super Bowl:
The speed and execution of the playful tweet were staggering and impressive, not just to marketers, but consumers as well. The tweet could be credited with single handedly demonstrating the value of real-time marketing, a feat that hundreds of brands now attempt to duplicate at nearly every major event that draws more than a dozen viewers.
Because of it’s fast thinking and spunky personality, the cookie and it’s marketing became a media darling, and a content marketing brand to be idolized by marketers across the globe. Bough rode the real-time wave into the spotlight as the face of this new exciting brand of marketing, though he ostensibly had nothing to do with the tweet itself.
The Quality vs. Impact Argument
For all intents and purposes, Oreo has done some exceptional content marketing before and since the Super Bowl tweet as well. For example, initiatives like the 100 day social media campaign called the “Daily Twist,” in which Oreo transformed timely cultural crumbs like Gay Pride and the mars rover into Oreo-themed sculptures shared over social media have preformed tremendously well for the brand.
Additionally their “Snack Hacks” series, which had the simple goal of “Showing fans simple and unexpected ways to eat an Oreo cookie,” achieved similar success and media coverage. The video series had it’s own channel on Youtube and was expertly threaded through each of the company’s social media outlets.
When it comes to creating socially sharable content that is packed with brand personality, nobody is doing it better than Oreo. Each of their marketing campaigns is fresh and takes a unique perspective that fans can enjoy.
Where Oreo falls woefully short however, is understanding the impact of all of this social content.
Trying to prove that Bough’s work — his over the top ideas and pie-in-the-sky day dreaming — has any real benefit at all is nearly impossible for the brand. In 2012, the year the cookie debuted its massively popular Daily Twist campaign, US sales grew 7 percent. Yet Bough himself admits, “how much of that growth is exactly and directly attributable to the Daily Twist program alone is hard to isolate but it did represent the majority of our digital efforts that year.” Actually, in early August, Mondelēz reported that quarterly revenue had declined 2%. Profits did increase, but only due to cost-cutting measures.
In a recent article on Fast Company, author Danielle Sacks reported that “no one at the company can tell me how — or if — “Daily Twist,” the Super Bowl tweet, and the Twist, Lick, Dunk app affected cookie sales.”
“no one at the company can tell me how — or if — “Daily Twist,” the Super Bowl tweet, and the Twist, Lick, Dunk app affected cookie sales.”
When asked specifically about the Super Bowl, Oreo North America chief Janda Lukin admits, “There isn’t a great way for us to directly link it.”
Oreo is falling woefully short in one of the most basic areas necessary for content marketing success: analysis.
Reporting Matters
While not always the sexiest part of a content marketer’s role, reporting and analysis are huge. Analysis closes the loop between finding the right audience and creating content that resonates. If you understand how your content is performing, you can continuously optimize the audience you are targeting and the content you are producing. This allows you to perfect your approach and generate more effective content and better results over time.
Take a look at the diagram below to see where Oreo is falling short:
Content marketing isn’t just about the audience and content alone. These areas require analysis if they are to be perfected, optimized, or even reported on. For Oreo, these three areas look like this:
Audience: Oreo has a rabid fan base. Most americans have been enjoying the cookie since we were children and we’re not about to switch brands anytime soon. That loyal following manifests itself in the form of an incredibly engaged online community. The company’s social networks are always active and each posts racks up thousands upon thousands of shares.
Quality: The company’s creativity and execution are unrivaled. With innovative new ideas and content that is perfectly crafted for sharability and virality, the quality of Oreo’s content is something to be admired.
Analysis: This is where the content marketing machine for Oreo breaks down. With little to no idea how their content is affecting the metrics that matter most to the company, Oreo’s content team is unable to prove any real value from their efforts. What’s more, they have no insight into how well their content is working and if it can be approved. They are not certain they are hitting the right audience or if that audience could be more responsive to the content they are producing.
There’s Always Room For Improvement
While Oreo is undoubtably churning out some top notch creative content, be wary or idolizing their approach and techniques. When creating your content strategy, you need to focus on how you will measure and analyze your performance before you even begin. I admit that this process is notably easier in B2B companies like mine, but it should be at the forefront of every content strategy in every industry.
Identify your audience, deliver the content they need in order to move through the sales funnel, measure your success, and optimize constantly.
About the author: Matt Wesson is the content marketing manager at Salesforce. Follow him on Twitter or see more articles on his LinkedIn page.
