Trumblog

Sometimes online social media campaigns are just too complicated for their own good.  Case in point, Wrigley’s 5 React gum experience.  Let me quickly run through the 12 steps of this campaign for you.

1. Go to 5React.com
   
2. Select “Are You Ready?” to begin their “personalized sensory experience”
3. Connect with Facebook
4. Watch a Flash-based movie with pictures of you from Facebook and a determination of whether you are “chosen” or not.
   
5. If chosen (I assume everyone is chosen, because I was, but who knows maybe I have the demographics of a gum chewer and others don’t) enter your home address to receive something for the next step of the campaign.At this point a status update is added to your Facebook profile that you were chosen
   
6. Receive a package in the mail, fancy black box, 3D glasses, code, and gum.
   
7. Go back to 5React.com
   
8. Select “Continue Your Sensory Experience”
9. Enter your code
10. Connect with Facebook AGAIN
11. Put on your 3D glasses for a trippy 3D fractal animation of your photos
    
12. You can also share your experience of chewing 5 Reach gum with other people or watch their experiences, though honestly they all look pretty much the same.
    

So if we assume that we loose 10% of the audience for every step (a pretty low estimate i think)

• only 65% of the audience who started will end up letting their friends know about the experience via a Facebook status update and then receive their gum sample,
• only 53% will return to the website after they get their glasses and code,
• less than 35% see the fractal animation, and
• only about 30% will share their experience with anyone else.

Now, I haven’t even factored in whether people like the gum or not (though it’s safe to assume that if you don’t like the gum you are not likely to go play with those 3D glasses), nor have I mentioned that the fractal animation is pretty boring and not that customizable (which is likely to suppress sharing as well), but we can reassure ourselves that the 30% who share are probably the most dedicated fans of the gum (that and the ones who have nothing better to do or need a topic for a blog post).

I just have to wonder if it is all worth it?  Wasn’t there a way to whittle this from 12 steps to a less formidable 6?  Isn’t this just too clever for it’s own good? Did anyone ask themselves what consumer is actually going to do it, and for those that do have we ensured that the payoff is worth it?  Too many steps and too little value tick off the consumer and at that point your ROI is negative.  Keep that in mind for your next complex campaign.

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