Let Twitter Build Your Social Media Project

October 5, 2008 · Comments

oreo Out of the blue, I asked Twitter what it would do if Oreo came knocking looking for a social media project. In about 20 minutes, I had some interesting ideas (shared below). I’m not sure what motivated me to ask the question, but it came out of thinking that went something like this: We’ve all got decent ideas. We’re all passionate about seeing how social media might help businesses and people. We probably could do something reasonably creative, if motivated.

The answers turned out fun. I’m happy that I asked the question, and thrilled with who responded. So, with all that said, why not pour a glass a milk and see what people had to say?

What Twitter Would Do for Oreos

audreychernoff – How about just creating a new Oreo, with fiber, less sugar, etc? Something that tastes great but appeals to dieters.
lfamous – something like JibJab where you can put your kids in an Oreo commercial (& an oreo ringtone & download for music player) Yum!
carlweaver – I love your questions like this but never know what to say. I’d do an Oreo building competition. Imagine an Oreo building.
KariRippetoe – place to post videos and/or photos of creative Oreo stacks, community can vote for coolest structures
bradatpharma – Oreo avatars. I’d have an opportunity for people to offer new flavours, I’d have a feedback loop for taste testers… hmmm…
KariRippetoe @planetrelations – love the Remember the Milk widget idea!
KariRippetoe – they already have a YouTube channel for Oreo Moments videos…but does that sell cookies?
jsmibert – First blush.. Id do a Cross platform competition… (Out ur Inner Oreo Addiction) w/ liberal winner pool 2 win fun oreo stuff!
SpaceyG – I’d blog, Twitter, place an ad, whatever, for say… a year’s supply of Oreos. Love those things. I’d be fat as a pig too.
coachbriany – Sports colors oriented voting I.E. Vote for Bengals color oreos. Black Cookies with Orange filling & so on
planetrelations – oreo campaign should include a Remember the Milk widget that sets a recurring task about adding cookies to the shopping list.
mecarluen – How bout a make-your-own Oreo cartoon using GoAnimate, ey? http//goanimate.com/go/watch
divorceddadwkly – A place to post photos + video – how and where I eat my Oreos…
mecarluen – How bout a make-your-own Oreo cartoon using GoAnimate, ey?
howlvenice – you know they had a youtube.com contest..w/ 4,000 subscribers http//www.youtube.com/oreo
urlgrl – ugc of the different ways people eat oreos!
garykoelling – who’s the target? what problem can oreos believable solve for them? and btw, who owns oreos?
NextInstinct – A blog, away from mothership Nabisco, named ‘We got milk!’ cute pics, dessert recipes, “where’d you dunk?” pic contest, etc
Orbius – Collection of “Oreo Moments” of child-like (not childish) happy moments
bertil_hatt – Make something to use Oreos in fun, edible, creative ways you know the oreao-flavoured ice-cream, why not the castle? Prizes?
RoyalAntsJosh – funny that you put that up, I’m currently working on a blog post on the same idea for Peanut Butter
shashib – good food for thought – What social media campaign idea do you have for oreo cookies. i will think about that
bwagy – Create a competition on how you best enjoy your oreo cookies and let them upload to youtube (simple, easy, cheap)
LeisaWatkins – – An art contest – art created out of Oreo Cookies. Everyone could vote for their favorite work of art.
Aronado – lots of milk?

And…

**UPDATE: Kari Rippertoe blogged her response here.

Bryan Elliott recommends a game.

**Update 2 from Royal Ants Josh and another from Todd Jordan . Fun!

What do YOU think should be done?

Photo credit, mihoda

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  • Twitter is great for that, I throw ideas out there all the time to see the reaction, such as Hiring or Acquiring Innovation, Best way to tackle a project, and actually direct feedback on a start up idea.
  • I tried to answer the question here: http://rorowe.blogspot.com/2008/10/what-advice-...
    From reading the comments you already received, it looks like I was close, but I'm really loving some of the other ideas shared. How could I forget "Remember the Milk"!!!
  • AJ
    Address how Oreos solve problems --

    Recipe contest for last-minute, on-the-way-to-work/school potluck dessert ideas.

    Art contest for how Oreos solved a problem for you... Categories like writing, video, photography, drawing/painting -- Oreos ended an argument with my wife, made my kid feel better after falling off the bike, saved my life by building a raft during the last hurricane (okay, that's a reach), helped me understand quantum theory...

    More importantly, how does Twitter solve your problems? Yeah, it's very cool.
  • I made a blog post as my response to this inquiry.
  • Mistakenly tweeted to ShashiB about this @
    https://twitter.com/chiefhotmomma

    ...here's my idear:

    1. Sponsor an entire day on Twitter where the site is black with white writing.
    2. Add social cause: all tweets that day worth $
    3. Oreo matches
    4. Total donated to cause (voted online or pre-established).
  • Ed
    HotMammasProject FTW!

    Great approach!
  • I'm very anxious to see if an official representative from Oreo responds...or thanks Chris for this, etc. While it may be tricky to monitor a brand as popular as Oreo, this should get the attention of anyone monitoring those airwaves.

    Then again, a Google Alert for Oreo would probably lead to way too much snacking.
  • Once again, I'm not following directions, but I will still put my idea here just for fun. :)

    I really like the idea of the recipe contest using Oreo cookies. The idea would be to show how many different desserts could be made using Oreo cookies as an ingredient.

    But, instead of just simply getting written entries, contestants would enter by putting together a 3-minute cooking segment that they could post on YouTube.

    Celebrity chefs could judge to help guide the public in the voting process a la American Idol. Finalists would be posted on the website and the public could vote for their favorite recipe/amateur chef. The winner(s) of the contest would win a spot on a celebrity chef's television show, a three-page spread in some kind of homemaking/lifestyle magazine and become a regular blogger/vlogger on the site in order to establish an Oreo-centric recipe swapping community.
  • Ok, how weird is this - I asked my Twitterer followers (in Australia, mostly) how we could social media market to get our grubby hands on Vodafone Australia's $33 million marketing budget. The outcome was http://twitteragency.com - a crowdsourced agency that in one day (2nd October) signed up 100 "staff". Prescient no? :)
  • WOW, quick response! Ask and ye shall receive, a Twitter repository of ideas.

    Especially loved " lfamous – something like JibJab where you can put your kids in an Oreo commercial"...

    Absolutely! Make it about them and it becomes about you. What say you Oreo???
  • I like your stuff because you get me thinking creatively and it gets my creative juices flowing. That's good for my business.

    Here's an idea. I would get all the guys and gals at Oreo to read "The Open Brand" (http://theopenbrand.resource.com/)... Change their perspective on how business is run and get them help in making the transition from being a closed brand to an open brand. One idea for being more open might be to find a way to recruit internet celebrities like you to ask stuff like this and get people to contribute ideas. Or maybe the better idea would be to get different internet celebrities to create their own communities around finding a way to promote Oreo with social marketing. Which ever internet celebrity/community sold the most over a certain about of time would win some FANTABULOUS experience (instead of just product) that would WOW everybody beyond imagination. Think "Charley and the Chocolate Factory". Just some first thoughts. "The Open Brand" is a great book for getting one's mind around what's going on.

    Everybody loves Oreo. They could EASILY win more love if they were more open.
  • Mmmmm, Oreos; I'm having a Homer Simpson moment.

    Actually, I don't know that I could come up with something else to do with Oreos at this juncture. I mean, there's double stuff, mint, mint double stuff, peanut butter, Oreos with chocolate frosting, golden Oreos, golden chocolate Oreos, chocolate covered Oreos, mini Oreos, sugar free Oreos,... and I'm not close to done.

    Maybe a contest for a new Oreos slogan, with the winner getting a lifetime supply of every brand of Oreo possible; man, I'd win that one for sure.
  • paulLMF
    @carlweaver Oreo building..'imagine an oreo building'?
    Impossible - They don't have any arms or legs!
  • Rules??? What rules? Consider Nathans Hot Dog eating contest. Lets transform this a bit and have an online broadcast, multi-site contest called, "Oreo FACE"...
  • DIT
    Why not allow people to review the different kinds of Oreo cookies at an Oreo site? Yummy would be 5 Oreos, I'd Eat It would be 4 Oreos, Okay for Some Days would be 3 Oreos and so on... If they're yummier than Yummy, then + could be a glass of milk.

    This could also go hand-in-hand with all your user generated recipe ideas.

    People could also get to choose the next Oreo's special edition. Raspberry Oreo? Get enough votes and we'll do it. Black chocolate-covered white chocolate Oreo? Same thing.

    The Oreo building ideas are great, too. Get everyone to build Oreo houses and start giving x amount of money to a housing charity with every Oreo pack sold.

    The ideas are endless.
  • I'd love to see some sort of contest for what to do with the two cookie sides after you eat the stuffed part first!
  • Ask parents to record videos of their toddlers saying "oreo" I bet there would be variety
  • GREAT article.. LOL the answers from twitterers. Very creative thanks for the chuckle. Still imagining the Oreo house.
  • The problem with the Oreo build is not that they dont have arms and legs. It's the thumbs, they dont have any thumbs.
    And that's why they cant get to the creamy frosting in the middle.

    No humbs to twist of the crunchy outer cookie layer. But I cant comment on this because I have my own cookie to promote.

    Gary McElwain
  • truly great piece Chris...thought provoking for sure...love the example of the raw conversations that can transpire from a simple inquiry...great stuff...thanks for sharing...cheers
  • Crowdsourcing works. I love all the ideas that the twitterazzi generated in just 20 minutes!
  • I have had similar experiences...on my current not for profit project, I am getting tons of insights and thoughts.
  • Nan
    Chris,

    Sounds like you just started a crowdsourced Advertising agency. The general public is so good at thinking of novel ideas, seems like this is a natural business idea. Sort of like Innocentive.com, but for marketing ideas.
  • Hi Nan, that's what the TwitterAgency.com is - a crowdsourced agency for marketing on Twitter. Cheers, Laurel
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