Grey Poupon is an elitist condiment?

So today I had the pleasure of reading an article on Mashable.com about this wonderful Marketing campaign rolled out by Grey Poupon Mustard. They call it, The Society of Good Taste. Catchy right? I love the concept of this campaign. What they are doing is through Facebook, Grey Poupon(from now on i will refer to them as GP) has created a loyal following of just over 26,000, this doesn’t sound like a ton compared to companies like Coca-Cola who has 50,812,179 likes · 1,102,306 talking about them, but remember GP is mustard, and they pride themselves on being a “high class” “upscale” mustard. The other interesting part of them only having 26,000 likes is that this was by design. 

By design you say, why would any company want to limit the amount of followers they have. Think about how many pages you like, I myself have a whopping 354 likes. I couldn’t even begin to tell you what they consist of. But what I can tell you is that I like GP’s page, and I will remember this for a long time, oh and tell other people about it (wink wink…that means you). 

The way that they are able to limit the amount of likes they have is that they ask you to apply to like them. This is an interesting concept that has never been done on a Facebook page before. What this creates is a society of dedicated fans, you are unable to just like this page and move on, you are inserted into an interactive almost video like process where a panel of “aristocrats” rate your Facebook profile to see if you are worthy of their society. they look through your pictures, posts, comments, likes as well as other details of your profile and give you a rating based upon their findings. If you make the cut you are admitted into their society and are allowed to like their page. If you do not pass the application process and like the page they will remove you from the page and ban you for not following their guidelines. 

In the Mashable article talking about GP’s campaign I was able to find out that this campaign is the brain child of world renouned and highly soutafter Advertising firm, Crispin Prter Bogusky. Their goal was to create a Facebook page that focused on “quality not quantity”. “It is definitely counter-intuitive, but it came from a place of seeing a lot of very cliched brand pages on Facebook that all kind of look the same and are desperate for fans,” said Tom Markham, executive creative director at Crispin Porter Bogusky. To hear more from Mashable’s article check out this link http://mashable.com/2012/09/13/grey-poupon-facebook-marketing-campaign/

This new concept can allow GP to really reach their fans on a one on one basis. It is also creating a much more engaged fan base because they, in their mind, really had to jump through hoops and be deemed worthy to like this page. This can create a much more engaged audience overall than large companies like Coke and Visa.

Although this campaign has some major advantages it would be unfair for me to dismiss the disadvantages of this site. In being that there is a feeling of exclusivity people who are denied access can become enraged with the brand and you have the potential to loose fans. This is something that all companies who have ventured into social media marketing have experienced in a way never before imaginable. In this digital focused time you really have to work to retain your relationship with your consumers. 

Overall I had somewhat of a nerdgasm over this campaign and I’m thrilled to see what more they do with it. Once you are “admitted” you are directed to their “members only” section where you are greeted with discounts and an invitation to allow you to invite your friends. 

 

I’ll post a couple of the comments that people have made both positive and negative and I hope that you check it out…..Let me know what you all think. Does this seem like a solid strategy and what companies do you think it would work well for, and what company would it really bite them in the rear?

 

Here are some comments from their page I enjoyed!!!

“Brilliant concept!! bravo Ladies and Gents of Grey Poupon. Thank you for allowing me into your society…”

“THANK you for letting me be in your society! I don’t mean to gush or get too excited, I know that’s unlady like, LOL! I mean, titter titter titter! I swear I will stay classy in spite of myself (I drink wine for breakfast) and uphold the highest standards that the society places forward for sandwich supremacy!”

“Goodness, as a classical music aficionado and opera singer, I would have thought I would be a star member of such an elite society. Could it have been my “like” of the Colbert Report – perhaps if you pronounced it with the proper inflection Français? With such credentials, it would be hard to fathom rejection?”

“47th percentile? I’m lamer than almost half of the people who applied?”

“very sad I didn’t get in to the society – it’s like applying for college all over again. sad face.”

“Screw you guys… I’m goin home…”

“This is super rad. I want to see my membership video again, is that possible??”

So as you can see there are really mixed emotions about this site. Take a look for yourself and see how you compare. Can you live up to the Grey Poupon Standards?

https://www.facebook.com/greypoupon