Social Media Monitoring Project Part 1: Ben and Jerry's Pint Slices

Who doesn't love ice cream? More importantly who doesn't love Ben and Jerry's? Ben and Jerry's ice cream has revolutionized ice cream. From their wacky, "euphoric" flavors, to their frozen yogurt, to cores, and to their newer addition of non-dairy, there is an ice-cream to make almost everyone happy. This month Ben and Jerry's launched their "Think outside the pint" campaign. This campaign turned their well loving ice-cream pints into individual slices. Since it is just the start of this campaign, it is only available in 4 flavors: Americone Dream, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Vanilla Peanut Butter Cup. Below is their promo video. Have you seen this video sponsored on Facebook or somewhere else? I first saw it on Facebook, and I do not "like" Ben and Jerry's there. 

This is their newest addition, and only time will tell how the groundswell likes or dislikes it. We have learned that social media is key to marketing. So we need to discover if Ben and Jerry's has used it to their advantage or not. After a company recognizes the groundswell, they need to listen to it, talk with it, and energize it (groundswell).

It seems if Ben and Jerry's listened to the groundswell. Recently, there have been numerous videos online of people slicing pints of ice cream to make ice cream sandwiches (mashable). I remember scrolling through Pinterest and seeing this (see right picture). Ben and Jerry's saw this fad too, and posted their own how to video of how to make an ice cream sandwich.

This video was posted in September of 2016, and has almost 3 million views. Ben and Jerry's does not reply on it's YouTube channel, but to one comment it almost seems like they replied in another way. 

This person wrote what most of us were thinking (besides the fact that this is a pint of ice cream not a gallon). It's a great idea, but what about the extra ice cream? Even though Ben and Jerry's did not reply to this user (or any user on YouTube) they responded to the groundswell, and made something of interest to them. Individually wrapped ice cream sandwiches. Sure, it's not the chocolate chip cookie kind, but it's covered in chocolate... I'd say that's a fair tradeoff. 

Twitter

Ben and Jerry's may not respond on their YouTube channel, but they seem very responsive on Twitter. Many of the replies to Ben and Jerry's introducing Pint Slices included: where can they be found, will they be in other countries, if they will be sold in non dairy, if other flavors will be involved in this new way, and a lot of happy people tagging their friends with phrases like "omg" and "I want." Ben and Jerry's did not communicate with the groundswell after the first initial replies. There were some questions that were not answered, like if this would come in non-dairy. 

Here there are some really good opportunities for Ben and Jerry's to talk with the groundswell. The groundswell is voicing their opinions for a flavor they want to see. Ben and Jerry's also did not talk with people who replied with excitement either. If they replied to those people, they would help to energize the groundswell. The overall reaction from the groundswell on Twitter was excitement. The sadness came when it would not be offered in other countries, and when it was not offered in a particular flavor or type (non dairy). However, even with the sadness that is expressed from the groundswell, overall it is still happy and excitement. Other countries want it, so Ben and Jerry's succeeded there. People who want other flavors or kinds, are also still excited about the new product, but want to see it expanded. Ben and Jerry's should listen to what the groundswell wants to make this product even more popular. 

Instagram

Ben and Jerry's does not use Instagram to engage with the groundswell. The groundswell responded in a very similar way on Instagram. They tagged their friends in excitement so their friends could see it too, they wondered about other countries, other flavors, and other types, but ultimately the groundswell loved this new product. With over 150,000 views, and almost 15,000 likes, this post was seen by many.

Facebook

Ben and Jerry's engages with the groundswell the most on Facebook. They talk with, and they energize the groundswell. From liking the comments posted, to responding, to just keeping people excited, they are very active with their groundswell.

The same video, to introduce Pint Slices, that was posted on Twitter and Instagram was also posted on Facebook. It appears that Ben and Jerry's largest following is on Facebook. As you can see, with over 64,000 likes, and over 18,000 shares, this video made its rounds on Facebook. I don't even "like" Ben and Jerry's on Facebook, and it appeared on my timeline multiple times, and many days after. I mentioned that Ben and Jerry's does a better job of interacting with the groundswell on Facebook. Although, they do not answer everyone (it would be extremely difficult with the copious amount of comments), they respond to people who are just showing their excitement, not just asking questions. 

I really liked seeing Ben and Jerry's response to Kel. They acknowledged that they do not have it, they insinuate with that it could be on the way. With more push from the groundswell, it may make Ben and Jerry's move faster to making this product in a non dairy form. 

Social Media Following

Twitter:

Instagram: 

Facebook:

As you can see Ben and Jerry's reaches a large amount of people. Facebook reaches the most, then Instagram, and then Twitter. They reach people locally and globally. From their social media pages, we found the negative (if you can really even call them that) comments are based on the product not coming in certain flavors or types, and it not being available in other countries besides the US. From the way in which Ben and Jerry's responded to the groundswells comments (they can definitely do a better job on Twitter and Instagram), we can see that they are acknowledging people's opinions and hope to satisfy them once they see the product gets going. So the only potential flaws Ben and Jerry's has and could face, is if they do not respond to groundswell and make this product global, in dairy free flavors, and maybe in other flavors as well. 

They interacted and heard the groundswell, now they need to act on it. However, it is clear, especially on Facebook that Ben and Jerry's is doing much more than advertising, and they are talking and interacting with the groundswell. 

Ben and Jerry's interacts well on Facebook, decently on Twitter, and not at all on Instagram. They could use Twitter and Instagram more to help energize their customer base and then ultimately the groundswell.

Now that we looked at some qualitative feedback of Ben and Jerry's Pint Slices, let's take a look at some quantitative data.

Google Trends:

Ben and Jerry's

Ben and Jerry's Pint Slices

From looking at these two graphs we can see the introduction of Pint Slices (February 1st) is what caused both the brand itself, and the product to have a high peak. Since the initial release of the product, the talk about Pint Slices has decreased. Ben and Jerry's have had many peaks and valleys this past month. I would guess that it had to do not only with the release of the Pint Slices, but with the release of new flavors as well.

Meltwater IceRocket:

Ben and Jerry's Pint Slices

Ben and Jerry's Pint Slices Vs Ben and Jerry's

We can see that Meltwater IceRocket is showing a similar phenomenon as Google Trends: that Ben and Jerry's Pint Slices spiked when they were released, and consequently that Ben and Jerry's as a brand spiked as well. Like Google Trends showed, Ben and Jerry's has a lot of peaks and valleys. 

Something else Meltwater IceRocket shows is the amount of blog posts per day. It seems obvious that the brand would have more on its own then the product, but it still does not seem like the Pint Slices are generating much excitement within the groundswell. 

Social Mention:
For each of the following screen shots, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream is on the right, and Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Pint Slices is on the left.

Wednesday evening (5pm)

Sunday evening (4pm)

Thursday night (8pm)

From these screenshots it is somewhat difficult to get a true read on the data. Besides Sunday, Ben and Jerry's as a brand seems to be doing well with strength, positive comments and reaching a large number of people. Although the Pint Slices are not generating that much talk, it does seem that the talk they are getting is extremely positive and it appears the passion is growing with time. 

Conclusion:

The Pint Slices seem to be a huge success, even though the quantitative data is not reflecting what the qualitative data is...I feel this could be because Ben and Jerry's did in fact generate excitement within the groundswell, but they do not have as many Creators so this is why it is not reflecting in the quantitative data.