Go humans go. This ad greeted me Monday morning as I exited the subway in DUMBO. It found me in Chinatown too. I was intrigued and a bit startled. I assumed it was part of a larger campaign, but this was the first I’d seen. Go humans go...to me, it had Martian undertones. And that Quaker man! He hasn’t changed much over the years.
I’m keen on oatmeal and was curious to understand what the slogan meant. So I found the site. The only mention of "Go Humans Go" is in the URL and page title. The focus is the Quaker Go Project, a hunger fighting initiative. The usual conversation starters – YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and Twitter – are there, though they sit at the bottom of the page, like neglected banana candies. Regardless, I wanted to see what Quaker had to say, so I went to Twitter to follow @QuakerTalk, whose bio reads:
Go Humans Go!
Responses monitored and updated by Quaker’s PR team & oatmeal fans!
Including “fans” seems a little hokey in an otherwise transparent bio. Don’t front. But anyway...here’s the conversation, word for word:
QuakerTalk – Monday, 12:07pm
@QuakerTalk: Kicking off the week with a hot bowl of Quaker Oats
My reply – Monday, 1:48pm
@jeccaberta: @QuakerTalk starting my week with oats too! mccann's or quaker...decision time.
QuakerTalk’s response – Monday, 2:03pm
@QuakerTalk: @jeccaberta Definitely Quaker! Have a great week :)
(I chose McCann’s but didn’t tell them)
Me, attempting to start a new conversation – Monday, 2:41pm
@jeccaberta: @QuakerTalk i miss the wilford brimley oatmeal commercials of yesteryear.
(No response from @QuakerTalk. Disappointment.)
Me, attempting to start convo #3 – Tuesday, 3:33pm
@jeccaberta: @QuakerTalk question...are steel cut oats more nutritious than instant?
QuakerTalk’s Reply – Tuesday, 4:49pm
@QuakerTalk: @jeccaberta: the nutritionals are the same, but they do offer a heartier texture and a rich nutty taste
I enjoyed this one-on-one dialogue, but that’s not what Twitter is good at or really designed for. So…what unique value can a brand offer on Twitter? I’ve been looking at @QuakerTalk’s tweets over the past couple weeks. Some are upbeat thoughts (“Gearing up for a great Friday – Go humans go!”), others promote their hunger fighting efforts (“Submit a Quaker Go Grant and get involved in your community today! Check out the details here http://bit.ly/S55MW”). I’d like to see more stuff like that, especially if they can use Twitter to galvanize support. It’ll also provide some context for their slogan.
But in terms of engagement, I think Quaker’s Twitter presence would be way more effective if they spoke in a unique voice, say...oh, that of a Quaker man from the 1800s? Think about it. His truth-dispensing tweets could be mighty entertaining. What other company has as its spokesman a hugely recognizable fellow in Quaker attire? That alone leaves plenty to talk about. Why hasn’t he changed with the times? I’d like to hear him answer.
Brands can put all the energy they want into having a friendly social media presence. But until there is a well-defined, entertaining personality behind the (puritan) mask, bonafide or outstanding conversations will be hard to find.
