Comments on: Would you add a brand as a MySpace friend?

By: Chris Lengquist

Chris Lengquist — Mon, 07 May 2007 03:13:42 +0000

I have never heard of Linkedin. I do use Meebo, which is nothing more than an online IM. I’ll check it out. Thanks.

By: Dustin Jacobsen

Dustin Jacobsen — Tue, 01 May 2007 03:47:34 +0000

Chris, do you use other services like LinkedIn, and if so, have you found them to be beneficial?

By: Chris Lengquist

Chris Lengquist — Tue, 01 May 2007 03:42:06 +0000

I don’t have a facebook or my space account. But I consider Boulevard Beer a friend!

By: Jameson Huckaba

Jameson Huckaba — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 15:28:52 +0000

The idea of ‘friending’ a brand is interesting because of the fact that only brands of which people are passionate about can get away with it.

You may or may not agree that musicians/bands are brands. I see this more than anything on the social networks – bands will comb MySpace/Virb/etc for users that listen to bands that are similar to their genre. They will then send friend request after friend request. It’s great in their eyes to get people to listen to their music, but let’s face it – most of them aren’t that good. And it’s annoying. Because I get so many of these requests, I rarely even listen to the band before making my decision.

I can see the advantage for brands of which people are passionate about (Beer, Cars, and well, that’s about it) – I know I’d accept a friend request from Boulevard or BMW. If someone like Oneida Silverware asked me to be their friend, I’m not sure I could contain my laughter.

-Jameson

By: Stephen Sammartino

Stephen Sammartino — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 06:51:53 +0000

Your suggestion is a classic example of brand hyjackin. A great book too on where marketing is heading:
Brand Hyjack by Wipperfurth.

Smart companies know this and embrace it.
Steve