Ben & Jerry’s Tests Social Media

Ben & Jerry’s is arguably the most social-conscience brand on the market today, so it is no surprise to hear that that they are venturing into the social media space. My only question is what took them so long?

Ben & Jerry’s mission has long been called  “Peace, Love and Ice Cream” and their new social media campaign titled “Imagine Whirled Peace“combines the launch of a new flavor, “Imagine Whirled Peace,” and 2008’s Peace Day on Sept. 21.

Visitors to the Imagine Whirled Peace site are asked to register their first name and last name initial, plus email address and city in order to upload their “messages of peace” in preparation for Peace Day. They may also post their photos and other relevant images. A quick link for sharing the site with friends is provided.

The User Generated Content site is being promoted to brand loyalists already on B&J’s e-newsletter database, and also through paid search on Google, a registration form on Facebook, and on the brand’s main Web site.

According to a MediaPost article,  one of the goals of the social media campaign is to reach out to younger consumers.

“Like all marketers today, we’re constantly learning about staying relevant to younger audiences,” says B&J Internet marketing manager Katie O’Brien. The campaign is “a natural fit with the brand and what we’re passionate about, and a new way to engage younger demographics,” she says. Given that ice cream tends to be associated with social occasions, the general concept of using social media also seems a natural for B&J, she adds.

Ben & Jerry’s is evaluating the campaign on the basis of registrations/postings on the peace site, compared with metrics for its main brand site–and the results have been excellent, according to O’Brien. Although the campaign has no direct objective of boosting sales of the new flavor, the flavor is selling “very, very well, because it’s delicious,” she reports.

This is a well thought out campaign by B&J. They have a clear goal in mind (reach a younger audience), metrics in place to measure the campaigns success (registrations and postings), and are promoting the campaign in multiple locations. Welcome to the social media space B&J. We hope that this is the first of many successful social media campaigns.