Comments on: What Nestlé Should Do, In 4 Steps

By: Marta S.

Marta S. — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:32:00 +0000

Why is the company Nestlé was attacked by Greenpeace when there are so many others that also use palm oil?

By: Benjamin

Benjamin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:40:44 +0000

The Rage Against the Machine / X-Factor piece of PR genius is a book in itself .We should catch up soon!

By: Scott Gould

Scott Gould — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:45:39 +0000

Thanks Ben. I'm trying!

By: Benjamin

Benjamin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:16:20 +0000

Go for it! I do think they have a huge opportunity to make a big turn around – they can do it with the right support. The question is, will they?

By: Scott Gould

Scott Gould — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 23:10:01 +0000

Of course to help them it would take more money, and it is unlikely that they will.But lets discuss what, if they were going to act, what they should do this week – because then these points to stand – and these points could be used for many other companies in similar situations.Certainly Nestle are unlikely to care about this. My wife has no ideas what's been happening, and neither have millions upon hundreds of millions of others.But if we consider Rage Against the Machine v X-Factor, there is a strength to SM that cannot be denied in the years to come.Glad the series of posts have been useful!

By: Andrew S. Townley

Andrew S. Townley — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:22:43 +0000

I agree with Benjamin that Nestle isn't likely to take the kinds of strategic changes required to successfully implement your plan (I also agree that to really help them would cost more than 150K!). I was part of a project with them several years ago (no direct contacts for you, I'm afraid), and “forward thinking” wasn't exactly on the tip of my tongue.From what I saw, they were very traditional, very conservative, and seemed reasonably comfortable in that state of mind. Like Benjamin, I don't know how hard a hit the revenue impact will actually be in the long term, but I think that they should be seriously thinking about a new consumer engagement and interaction strategy in light of both this event and the untapped potential impact that it represents.One key difference between what happened this weekend vs. what has happened before is the level of visibility. Previously, unless you were looking for it or happened to catch a quick soundbite on a major news channel, you could pretty-much ignore Greenpeace and other similar groups if you didn't agree with their views.Having illustrated the potential impact of an organized campaign on social networking sites and their ability to get their message before people where they actually like to be (e.g. Facebook), they have a much greater chance of connecting to people who are more impressionable – like teenagers – and who might not be as prepared for the shock tactics being used – like non-tech-savvy moms. You still have to be a fan of the page to get the updates, but I'm sure it was quite a shock for people who enjoy Nestle products and had made the connection for that reason.Hopefully, Nestle and all other major brands getting into the Social Media space will give this stuff some serious consideration as part of their Risk Management program rather than thrusting unprepared staff or inexperienced business partners onto the front lines with little more than a stick and a baseball cap.Thanks for the series of posts.

By: Scott Gould

Scott Gould — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:28:32 +0000

OK – I will sort an open letter and get it moving!

By: Robin Dickinson

Robin Dickinson — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:25:25 +0000

We need a senior contact point with traction. Will do some digging at my end.How about posting an open letter with your case study in the press?Robin

By: Scott Gould

Scott Gould — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:18:04 +0000

Robin you are incredible.What you we can together is fine a better contact than just their Twitter account (which is bombarded)Is there someone on LinkedIn we can get to?S

By: Scott Gould

Scott Gould — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:16:36 +0000

Hey BenThanks for bringing your sharp mind to the discussion. I agree, Nestlé have made it clear they don't want to make those strategic moves.Knowing how schooled you are, I'm reticent to disagree – but I do think that actions like I've detailed would create a large mental shift. It would be such a radical turn that it would demand attention.Would it be a quick fix? No way. But I do think it's the only way to turn it around – it would take a long time to action.Nestlé have already (from what I've read) made a move towards Fairtrade – but no one knows and no one cars – unless they make the move to make EVERYTHING Fairtrade.Only something of this 'EVERYTHING' or Social Autheniticity talk will get people talking about them in any kind of positive light compared to the mass negativity.Of course they'll probably go and ignore everyone anyway. But if they do read this, and they do ask for help, I'll bring you on board Thanks Ben for commenting. Also – I need to speak to you soon if possible – I'll email you!