Marketers —beware of the Facebook Effect. Facebook fandom can come with a price. If asked fans will respond. Fans will speak their mind. Fans may sometime say things a brand may not want to hear – like your baby is ugly.
Honda is finding out first hand out on their Honda Accord Crosstour facebook page what facebook fans think. Honda revealed their new crossover on facebook and the wall posts are resoundingly negative. Referring to the new Crosstour as “Has to be the ugliest car of 2009. Ugliest car of the decade?”or “The Crosstour looks like Honda’s attempt at building an Aztek out of spare Dodge Caliber and Chrysler Sebring parts. This really is hideous.”or “Just like other’s I became a fan to make this comment alone. It’s ugly,plain and simple.” You get the idea.
In addition to rubbernecking at the social crash on the facebook site,I was also checking out how the news and social bloggers are responding to the situation. Some are defending Honda’s move recommending to stay the course it will turn around. Others are stating it is a misstep,a social marketing faux pax,a debacle. One blog post,on Mashable,drew a nice parrallel equating Honda’s feedback on facebook to the Twitter Effect experienced when a movie is released. The “Facebook Effect”should not be taken lightly by marketers.
So what went wrong with facebook Crosstour page? Several things. The first is rose colored brand glasses. Marketers love their products,and why shouldn’t they. They spend years creating the new product —from concept to drawing board to production. It is hard to maintain objectivity. Sometimes they lose sight of how others may view their vehicle. While Honda may see a nice,streamlined crossover,facebook followers are seeing the Pontiac Aztek (with the track record of the Aztek,this reference may be worse than calling the vehicle ugly).
Another factor may just be the type of vehicle is not conducive to a positive response. Face it. There are very few nice looking crossovers. Crossovers are a minivan evolution without the SUV gas-guzzling hangover. Unlike most sports cars,the beauty is found in the utility of the vehicle —in less glamorous features like leg room,MPG or seating versatility. Therefore it is not a surprise Honda received such a negative response from the facebook masses,who were looking for a more appealing curb appeal. If the responses were confined to minivan and Pontiac Aztek owners,Honda may be hearing a different tune.
Lastly,I don’t think this type of public response is new. It just hasn’t been recorded. Imagine if we could have placed a microphone on television sets over the years and listened to consumer response to new product commercials. Depending on the product,the response may be very similar to the facebook Crosstour feedback. Marketers just never heard the response,becuase television lacked the listening platform. facebook and other social sites allow for reactions —many honest and brutal.
One last nore is an interesting phenomonon that did not occur: the lack of brand advocacy defending Honda. Most times,the negative conversation evens out as advocates come to the brand’s defense. In this case it seemed like everyone was piling on —from Joe Facebook to Honda Haters to Honda Advocates.
