Would you read a cornflakes blog?

As a time-limited internet user, would you spend a moment of your spare time reading a cornflakes blog? Really, what if the cornflakes blog was really, really, good and included lots of great recipes or the latest cornflakes news?

For your sake, I hope the answer is no. Except for the novelty of such a pointless blog existing, you wouldn’t read it. You wouldn’t read it because you don’t really love cornflakes, not like you love BMW, Microsoft or Hilton. However, the decision of which corporate blogs we read is less about love and more about involvement.

Cornflakes is about as boring as a breakfast cereal can get (Shredded Wheat not withstanding). It’s a low involvement, repeat, purchase (about time my Uni education started paying off). Even if they targeted their blog in the “breakfast space” and participated on breakfast blogs across the land (I’m not too sure how that’s possible without showing the obvious motive) – I still can’t see a cornflakes blog being much of a success. Would any consumers/readers really begin spreading the word that cornflakes are a great breakfast cereal?

So is this true for all low involvement purchases? Should low-involvement products not have blogs?

With the exception of short-term or promotional blogs, which I believe will become more popular, I haven’t seen anything that’s convinced me that low-involvement products should have a blog, at least not one for consumers. Which is where I think the biggest gap in the market is.

Cornflakes can certainly have a blog, but perhaps one targeted more at suppliers, partners, staff and other stakeholders to whom the cereal represents a significant concern. Wouldn’t a cornflakes blog consisting of shipping, manufacturing, staffing, marketing news be a better option?

But, we live in the land o’ Long Tail don’t we? If you blog it they will come. I daresay that there are some cornflake devotees out there, 6am in the morning, bowl of cornflakes in one hand, mouse in the other, trying to find the latest news about their favourite processed corn. Prevalent theory suggests that these are the people you need to reach, the ones that will spread the good word and fight your good fight.

Is someone telling you to change your breakfast cereal to a very familiar brand that you’ve already tried really going to change your ways – especially your sacred breakfast routine. It’s just plain unrealistic. Cornflakes is one of many examples. Your local newsagent shouldn’t have a blog, nor should the manufacturers of your water taps, but the plumber who fitted them probably should.

I was originally going to use the Starbucks debate as the example, but I think they dodge the pitfalls of this logic by selling the ‘Third Space’ more than they do coffee, and the ‘Third Space’ is something that consumers are likely to have more of an interest in.

A few concluding thoughts to this ramble then:

1. Most low-involvement products should focus on blogging for stakeholders other than their consumers, especially those with familiar brands with little new to say.
2. If companies selling low-involvement products really do want to blog, perhaps they should first consider a short-term promotional blog.
3. Is a readership really going to make a difference to your company?

Comments

[Eamon]

Unless, however, the low-involvement brand attaches itself to another brand / product / service / sponsorship / event / green initiative and so on, where a blog with a general audience could work.

[John Johansen]

Rich, good point about the customer-investment in the product being a factor in social media engagement. While I'm a big fan of eating cornflakes (I'm getting old...) I would be very unlikely to read too much about them.

However a more campaign-oriented social media outreach can revive people's interest in an established brand.

Of course, you do have to be careful not to douse your meatballs in whipped cream.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HndEKX_2UaE

[Richard Millington]

How much can you really change cornflakes though? Is their core audience a mass of social media enthusiasts?

I do broadly agree, a more campaign (short-term) blog would work best.