Being fairly new to the social media scene from a business perspective (i.e. implementing social media for business), I hesitated about writing this post. Then I decided that I needed to… if only to, perhaps, offer a different perspective to a recent social media campaign.

This week the team at Edelman selected 25 bloggers to debut Pepsi’s new can design. Very exciting, right? Since I read Mack Collier’s, Chris Brogan’s, Shannon Paul’s and Valeria Maltoni’s blogs daily, I saw each one post their experience and perceptions day-by-day (in that order, which was interesting to me in and of itself). I am not sure who the other 21 bloggers are, but if I find out I’ll be sure to add on to this post with their experiences. (Apologies in advance to the other 21, but I haven’t had the time to sort through everything on Twitter.)

Mack didn’t reveal who the company was; he just mentioned that it was one we all knew. Chris missed a few key components of the ‘analog’ campaign, Shannon did a video unveiling with her friends Ken Burbary and Craig Daitch, which was totally cool because we as viewers could experience it firsthand. Valeria took pictures of the packages she was sent and added some brand thought leadership.

Here’s the thing. While it’s cool to share this kind of excitement with fellow bloggers (and I give credit to Edelman and Pepsi for that, who wouldn’t want kudos and word of mouth buzz from colleagues in this space?), wouldn’t have been better to engage Pepsi evangelists?

In just one Google search I found:

• The Pepsi Fan Club
• Pepsi Collector’s Club (They have local chapters in Chicago and Southern California!)
• Mike and Joanne at the Pepsi Collector (they have had over 67,000 views!)

Evangelists LOVE your company and your products…hence the name, right?! As Mack Collier put it so eloquently: “Evangelists for this company would have gone absolutely apeshit over the packages!” Just think of how explosive this could have been if Edelman/Pepsi reached out to any of the above social networking sites that they built themselves based on the love of Pepsi. WOW!

If I was doing social media for Pepsi (a dream, I know), here are 10 steps that I might have thrown on the table:

1. Join the above forums/groups and listen to what the Pepsi evangelists are saying.
2. After a bit, join the conversation. Let them know that they are loved in return.
3. Share some exclusive Pepsi goodies with them.
4. Ask the groups how they feel about the current packaging.
5. Share some ideas about some new branding concepts.
6. Get their feedback.
7. If, and only if, feedback is positive about a new brand, select 25 members and ask their permission to mail them a surprise package.
8. Get their reaction to the packaging.
9. Utilize their excitement (with their permission, of course) for exposure outside their community (i.e. traditional marketing)
10. Continue the conversation…daily, on-going, as long as the community exists. (i.e. DO NOT use the community for your branding efforts!)

These are just my ideas. What are your thoughts? Do you like the campaign? How would you have handled it? Does social media work within the chamber? Am I missing something?

If you are Edelman or Pepsi and see this post, please stop by! Inquiring minds would love to know how the campaign came about and your objectives for blogger outreach! Thank you in advance.

[Image: istock]

Added 10/30/08: Darryl Parker has been tracking the Pepsi 25 and his conversation with Edelman’s Pepsi’s B. Bonin Bough over on his blog, Employ the Web!. Check it out for more insights on this campaign.

Added 10/31/08: David Armano’s post on his experience: Classically Un-Classic.