Wednesday, December 23, 2009

let's be friends

ok, everyone's on facebook these days.

from school kids to grandmother's sharing pictures of the grandkids to MI5 agents (they've been taken off) to corporations, production companies and brands.

amongst the successes, brands that appeal to young people, that are also young, playful and spontaneous

like avon's mark

http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2009/12/14/Avon-Is-On-The-Mark-With-Social-Networking.aspx

so here's the question - can you be friends with a luxury brand?

i asked a couple of people what they expect from their facebook "friends"

they all said the same thing, they want to see what their friends are doing, want to see if their friends are interested in the same things, they want a window into their friends' lives.

for a luxury brand, they want some "secrets" - inside information on what really happened at the shoot, the items that people are REALLY buying, the most exciting trend predictions, maybe secret sales or info on how to get on the waiting list for the latest "it" bag - they want to feel like they are part of the brand story.

they want all that stuff that's "just between friends" - they want to feel part of something special.

what they don't want is recycled press releases and advertisements.