Download PDF - Strategy

deconstructed.
NUTRISYSTEM ZEROES IN ON BLOGGERS
By Annette Bourdeau
When diet brand NutriSystem
launched in Canada
last December, it opted to use social media
to augment PR tactics and ads adapted
from its global HQ in Horsham, PA.
Mississauga, Ont.-based NutriSystem
Canada enlisted Toronto Web 2.0 boutique
Com.motion (a unit of PR fi rm Veritas
Communications) to give cyber social
butterfl ies all the info and tools they need
to share their “fi nd” with others.
Com.motion invited bloggers to
test-drive NutriSystem and document
their experience in their blogs.
“Although a blogger may not have the
audience a traditional journalist has, they’re
an important part of the mix. When people
type NutriSystem into Google [they often
fi nd blog entries fi rst],” explains Keith
McArthur, Com.motion principal and senior
director, media innovation at Veritas, who
says they opted to set up a separate site
for the release so bloggers have everything
they need, without having to navigate
through the homepage.
NutriSystem.comestocanada.ca
includes a fact sheet, “share” buttons
to post on Facebook and del.icio.us and
downloadable photos and videos.
At press time, blogs like Bargainista and
I like to cook had begun writing about
their NutriSystem tests.
We asked two social media experts,
Janice Diner, GM/CD of Toronto-based
Ripple Social Media (launched by Sharpe
Blackmore Euro RSCG), and Ian Barnett,
VP business development at
Toronto-based agency Spider Marketing
Solutions, to weigh in.
22 STRATEGY April 2008
The creds
NutriSystem Canada
Lou Carsley, GM
CONCEPT
Diner: Kudos to Com.motion for helping move the needle towards full adoption of social
media tools. This is a great example of a social media release, the new PR format that all
should follow. Having a social media release to support (or launch) this initiative is a perfect way
to get the word out to the news media and bloggers. It provides the right tools in the right way.
Barnett: I might be missing something, but why a separate, practically unbranded site/release
that contains a fraction of the information on the product itself? Nutrisystem.ca is pretty
good, so why not just add social media tools there and send a release driving people to it?
“SHARE” OPTIONS: IS THE INFO APPROPRIATE FOR
EACH NETWORK?
Diner: Without question. It provides the ability to share
information on a variety of networks in an effective manner.
Take note. This is how you do it.
Barnett: It is getting easier to create content specifi c to
networks simply because the networks have attracted huge,
diverse groups. Coca-Cola did a great job by posting their The
Coke Side of Life spoof ad of Grand Theft Auto, “Coke GTA,”
on YouTube. It really fi t the network and has over three million
views. But as networks like Facebook grow beyond control and
lose that specifi c target…suddenly the content doesn’t need
to be as relevant to just the network. So will someone post this
content? Sure. Probably the same person that keeps sending
me pictures of cats.
Veritas Communications/Com.motion
Keith McArthur, senior director, media innovation;
Brenna Flynn, Com.motion coordinator; Karen Cleveland,
senior consultant
www.strategymag.com
TOOLS AVAILABLE
Diner: It’s easy to read and navigate and
takes advantage of some of the multimedia
tools fi rms can utilize.
Barnett: The easiest and best free tool is
found at addthis.com. It’s a button that can
be applied to any page easily, that lets the
user select which social media sites they
want to attach the content to. I just don’t
see why sites/this release would add three
or four different tools when this one tool
covers pretty much everything. Sure, there
is one extra click, but then it reveals so
much choice and it is simple to use!
BLOG COVERAGE TO DATE
Diner: The Bargainista’s NutriSystem
Challenge [in which readers could win a free
product trial] was a great idea, but at the
end of the day, it was a one-week contest
that generated nine entries and two posts.
I’m sure there’s a left-brainer out there
somewhere mumbling the letters “ROI.”
Barnett: I tried to fi nd a disclaimer
somewhere that explained NutriSystem’s
involvement, but couldn’t fi nd it. This is a
pretty hot topic and the credibility of a lot
of people and agencies has been affected
by fl ogs. The content sounds too pretty.
[Editor’s note: while bloggers weren’t paid by
NutriSystem, they were provided with free
trials of the product.]