Ben & Jerry's Social Media Strategy Case Study

Along with Starbucks coffee and Trident gum, another staple in a young adult’s life such as mine is Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. We are young enough to still get away with having some Chunky Monkey for dessert, and old enough to pick flavors such as Rum Raisin and White Russian. A study found that marketers’ target audiences are becoming more interested in online content rather than traditional media. They are known as Gen C, and their main attribute is that they strive for engaging conversations within their digital lifestyles. In the case of Ben & Jerry’s, Gen C should be satisfied as they got it right throughout their social media platforms.

With over seven million likes on their Facebook page, Ben & Jerry’s is clearly the most “liked” among its fellow ice cream competitors. They use their page for new wacky flavors announcements, free ice cream giveaways, and events information. They talk directly to their followers, which allows two-ways interactions and constructive feedback. Also, as social responsibility is built into Ben & Jerry’s mission statement and is an important part of their brand, they incorporate it in their social media. For example, they actively celebrate the month of October, not just because it is my birthday month, but because it is fair trade month.  This lets the customers (especially the activists at heart) know that Ben & Jerry’s cares that the global economy is serving people, and not the other way around. They sometimes target specific demographics, such as college students during the Ben & Jerry’s Fairtrade photo contest (in which Rollins got fifth place!), and gays and lesbians with their Hubby Hubby and Apple-y Ever After flavors.

If we take a look at Ben & Jerry’s Twitter presence, it is again in the lead with an average of 18 retweets and over 100,000 followers. On this platform, the primary aim is to engage with the followers. The Tweets ask them questions, the statuses update them by the medium of humorous stories, and that results in followers’ feedbacks and ideas. Ben & Jerry’s also demonstrates flexibility and versatility, therefore it wouldn’t be unusual to see a tweet supporting the Read for the Record program, followed by one committing to buying fair trade, and one offering free ice cream (#OMGFreeBenJerrys). Throughout their tweets, their messages are consistent and genuine, which shows that they stay true to themselves and do not try to dupe their followers.

Lastly, Ben & Jerry’s recently launched their “City Churned Flavors” campaign, aiming for the residents of New York, Washington D.C., Portland, San Francisco and Seattle to come together and create a unique flavor representing their city. Thus, this appeals to people with a sense of community and humor. While I applaud Ben & Jerry’s for continuously coming up with new ways of involving its customers in the creation of innovative flavors, it has to make sure to keep its professionalism and not become too informal with its audience (Schweddy Balls flavor and Wanna Spoon? App).  

Via their social media, Ben & Jerry’s is able to appeal to many demographics. Whether you are a child (lucky you, you don’t need to justify yourself), a health-conscious mother, an environmentalist, a farmer, or even a cow (props to you for reading my post), Ben & Jerry’s has a flavor waiting for you. The question is what are you waiting for?