CASE STUDY: How Nescafé optimised its Facebook presence in the Philippines

Too many brands set up a presence on social media without properly considering how to optimise or maintain it. A Facebook page, while never a social media strategy in itself, can be an effective component of a broader marketing strategy if it is appropriate and operated in a capable manner. Nescafé in the Philippines, working with MRM Worldwide, is one example of a company that understands the value of effective community management.

Aim
Nescafé is a well established brand in the Philippines but faces increasing competition from less expensive rivals and separate beverage categories such as juices and teas. Nescafé needs to retain coffee drinkers aged 18 to 24, based on the understanding that coffee drinking frequency increases as consumers mature. Initially, their relationship with the brand was largely functional. Last year, Nescafé set out to deepen consumer loyalty.

Strategy
Nescafe drinkers’ functional relationship with the brand was evident on Facebook, where more than 350,000 fans had ‘liked’ the page but were not engaging. Content was not being updated regularly and there were hardly any page-wide activities for fans to participate in. As a result, the Facebook page was amplifying the distant relationship that consumers had with the brand, making them vulnerable to competitor-switching. MRM’s goal was to convert the inactive fanbase to a group of brand loyalists.

Execution
A Community Management Innovation was created to drive engagement that would turn into loyalty. MRM identified three key properties that were instrumental in cementing relationships and driving engagement: firstly, because Facebook engagement starts on a fan’s feed and not on the brand page, Nescafé  had to create compelling status messages that would gain traction and end up more visible to fans. To drive daily dialogue, a content plan with compelling status messages was developed.

Secondly, to create peaks of excitement within the page, shared activities through applications helped deepen involvement. These were launched in conjunction with monthly contests and promotions hinged on brand variant communications. Thirdly, a reward engine enabled fans to earn points whenever they engaged with the applications.

A virtual café was initiated. The Facebook page was turned into a place where fans could hang out, talk and earn rewards. The wall was used to start and maintain conversations. Compelling content was uploaded daily about cultural topics, brand news and coffee product launches. Fans were encouraged to comment, with community managers deployed to keep the discussions going.
At the same time, the applications entertained while delivering the brand message and helping fans find out more about the products. Community members earned points for participating in conversations and activities, which they were able to exchange for exclusive merchandise. To encourage users to use the points regularly, bonus points were awarded for daily visits.

Results
The initiative helped retain fans and increased consideration for the brand. As a result of digital engagement, 97 per cent of fans surveyed said they were more willing to drink Nescafé after engaging with the brand on Facebook. The page has attracted a following of 1.6 million—more than the global Nescafé fanpage—and is the top branded Facebook page in the Philippines, according to Socialbakers. Most importantly, sales in 2011 rose more than 9 per cent.