Coca Cola's 'Rent your blog" strategy: an opportunity or a risk?

Coca-Cola Brazil launched the new i9 - Hidrotonico through few chosen bloggers, who were asked to test and review the new product. In order to do so, the bloggers received a customized homepage and a USB mini-fridge, compliments of Coca-Cola.
This resulted in bringing plenty of attention to the new drink, but even more of a buzz surrounded coca cola's 'rent-a-blog' initiatives and involvement in social media. Not to mention blogger reactions to this marketing method.

TrendsSpotting has covered this issue by following the i9 buzz and discussing the social media "Rent a Blog" strategy.

What do you think of this media strategy?
Do you think "Rented Blogs" is a trend brands should follow?
What are the risks you see in doing so? Do brands have anything to lose?

Tags: advertising, blogs, coca, cola, socialmedia

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dave Bricker on July 11, 2008 at 12:25pm

Pretending that something trivial is actually news is nothing innovative.

People have turned to bloggers largely out of distrust for mainstream media where spin is always for sale. Bloggers are taken with a grain of salt, but it's assumed that they're writing largely out of personal, rather than commercial motivations. Bloggers who sell out to big promotions may profit in the short run but will likely find they have sold the very reasons people visit their sites in the first place - for an honest opinion.

Promoters who try to contaminate the blogosphere may find their campaigns backfiring. It's just not a very appropriate place for commercial hype and these messages will not build relationships with blog readers.

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Permalink Reply by Kneko Burney on August 29, 2008 at 11:04am

Hmmm - it's the "street credible" vs. "complete perpetrater" question. I am totally for brands leveraging social media more effectively in an innovative way. This is at least a step in this direction. But, it smells a lot like conventional "mass" marketing, where Coke picked a few bloggers with wattage and reach and bribed 'em lovely to speak highly of their new libation. I guess this could be classified as "complete perpetrater."

I would love to see big brands like coke include more local faces via video in the social media outreach they do. Set up 5 or 10 i9 refreshment stations in some interesting cities (don't have to NFL cities, just interesting places) and give me some video of locals trying it out and chatting with each. I like the realness of the first sip from ordinary people - not actors or super stars. I want to see more everyday people. And, bloggers will pick up on what you're doing on their own.

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Permalink Reply by Freshman Fund on August 29, 2008 at 11:28am

Renting bloggers is a great way to get targeted traffic. Sure there is some risk but you give them free stuff and most will be positive.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Bricker on August 29, 2008 at 1:40pm

Yes, but again, if the bloggers I read sold out for "free stuff," I would probably be less inclined to read them or take them seriously. The whole concept of blogging is predicated to some degree on the idea that individuals can publish without the "blessings" of corporate media. Semantically, it sounds fine to say that you're "renting a blog," but that's euphemistically just "renting a blogger." Who wants to read the opinions of a "rented individual?" It's entirely antithetical to what makes blogs interesting, credible and valuable.