Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Tim Hortons rolls up the social media rim




Note: Today com.motionblog launches a regular feature where we take a close look at a brand or organization using social media for marketing communications.


How much does a cup of Tim Hortons’ coffee mean to Canadians? For years, Tim Hortons has been receiving letters through its customer service department and franchisees. They’ve already turned some of these letters into commercials. Now they’re turning the concept into a social media campaign.


Everycup.ca is Tim Horton’s first foray into social media. The website, developed by our sister MDC agency Henderson Bas, is an effort to reinforce the idea that every Tim Hortons' cup tells a story. The site encourages Canadians to share their Tim Hortons’ stories, photos and videos and it features Tim Hortons’ first commercial. Similar to other social sites, viewers have the ability to comment on and rate the stories they are reading. Readers also have the opportunity to share the stories with friends over Facebook, send through their e-mail and even make the content the wallpaper image on their desktop.


These branded social sites are useful tools for marketers because they can garner great, honest feedback from their consumers. However, it’s at least as important to monitor and measure the conversations taking place away from branded communities. And time will tell what the company’s tolerance is for negative stories or comments.


What do you think? Is this a site that will build enough engagement that people will return to time and time again?

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