A recent BuzzFeed article showcased a hilarious Twitter conversation that has garnered a lot of attention. The conversation won the internet for one simple reason: it took place between major UK-based companies Tesco Mobile, Yorkshire Tea, Jaffa Cakes, and others.
Image courtesy of BuzzFeed
The exchange began when a man named Riccardo Esposito tweeted a picture to @tescomobile of a Facebook status complaining about the company’s customer service. Tesco responded in a clever and familiar way, leading to a full on conversation between the company and the random individual who caught its social media manager’s attention. The situation became truly remarkable when the back-and-forth between Esposito and Tesco turned to the subject of a party, getting food and tea brands involved. Acting like old friends, the banter turned into a playful argument that allowed the brands to bring the attention to their products and public images.
The responses were pithy and dripping with a typically British dry humor, making the exchange all the more enjoyable for those who so happened to be following one of the companies or customers involved. The conversation is funny because the companies are conversing like a solitary person amongst themselves and consumers. Because of the unlikeliness of the situation, the Internet, including BuzzFeed, picked it up and ran with it. The BuzzFeed article garnered a lot of attention for Riccardo Esposito, as well as the companies he engaged.
The conversation demonstrates a clever and thoughtful way to engage playfully with consumers using social media. Companies engaging with each other through platforms like Twitter allows them to entertain customers while potentially informing them about products and promotions in a subtle way. This situation also shows that branding through Twitter and other social media outlets doesn’t always have to be through promotional and special deal tweets. Because of the uniqueness of the situation, the conversation and how it unfolded would be hard to replicate, but the idea is eye-catching nonetheless.
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Great article! I’ve covered a couple different companies and how Twitter backfired on them but this was hilarious. I completely agree that this was an excellent example of how companies can playfully engage with their consumers.