You know that infamous saying “out with the old and in with
the new?” well from the looks of it, Frito Lay is not following that ideology
in their marketing and PR practices. When it comes to the traditional and new
media relations, Frito Lay is making sure all of their bases are covered. Not
only do they have official accounts created for all of the go to “social media hangouts,”
but they are pretty active on them too.
As involved as they are with social community spaces like
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, they still make sure to engage in the traditional
media methods. In Social Media News
Release: An Overdue Facelift, Breckenridge talks about how a news release
still holds value because it gives journalists the “who, what, when, where, and
why” of a story, (Ch. 7). For journalists, finding a well-written press
release—inverted pyramid style, is music to their ears. On their website under
the About Us tab, Frito Lay has a whole press release archive that is organized
by year and dates all the way back to 2000! Whether you’re a Stockholder, Journalist,
or PR professional, you can easily find detailed information on what Frito Lay
has accomplished in the last decade. Fast-forward to the present day and the
Frito Lay brand is all over the timelines, walls, message boards, picture
boards, and blogs, and anything else that’s social and #hip.
Note: If anything that I listed in the previous sentence
went over your head, then that means you have not been fully sucked into the
digital social world. You actually just might still be (dare I say it) living
somewhat of normal life, kudos to you!
However, if you did understand
everything that I mentioned (including the hash tag) then you are a bona fide
“new media” expert, whether you proudly claim it or not. After completing my
Social Media Audit on Frito Lay, I found that they either participate or get
referenced on every relevant social media site out. On Twitter they’re
constantly tweeting a bit ly short link on how to enter an ongoing sweepstakes
or using fun hash tags like #ThrowbackThursday and #FritoGameTrivia.
While they
don’t have a Tumblr page, there is a page dedicated to all Frito Lay tagged
photos. A person can follow that particular feed and look at what other
consumers are posting about the brand. On Pinterest and Instagram the photos
posted are either sharing valuable content on recipes or displaying their funny
sense of humor with one-line phrases.
Facebook is definitely where Frito Lay
excels the most in their new media marketing. In Chapter 2, Rose and Tanton
gives a breakdown of what valuable content is, saying that it should be useful,
focused, clear and compelling, high quality, and genuine, (Pg. 24). They encourage conversations through
trivia-like questions, directly answer consumer’s personal questions, and post
visual reminders about their contests and free prizes to over two million fans.
Everything that Frito Lay posts on
social media is fun and unpredictable, it feels like one big party. The
headline on their Facebook page is “Get Tailgate Ready with Frito-Lay” and one
of their posts I about how the brand loves to sing in the rain (if it’s raining
potato chips, of course). There’s a very upbeat and positive vibe that comes
through on all of their content, which is what their target audience likes.
Where the media relations’ strategy can be improved is on Twitter. While they
are active on the site, they don’t really engage with their followers or mention
them. It would also be great if they did more twitter related contests i.e.
Tweet your best snack photo or your best Chester the Cheetah joke and win your
favorite snack for a year.
But all in all, Frito Lay is doing a fantastic job at
posting valuable content on ALL social media sites (not just one or two of
them), while maintaining their true brand personality. I think Chester would approve.
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