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Sep 29

iThink we are all going mad

by Graham White
Category: Experience, Media, Social Media

There is a product here in Australia called Vegemite, which is popular eaten on toast. Like Marmite in the UK, you will either love it or hate it. It’s definitely an acquired taste. Apparently, there is nothing similar in the US.

iSnack 2.0

Owned by Kraft, a new recipe of Vegemite was launched a few months back, but without a name. Instead, the name was entrusted to the Australian public as a competition. This week, the winning entry was unveiled and it has been called – iSnack 2.0. Yep, can you believe it? How can you give food a name like that. What is going on?

As you would expect, the public is equally puzzled. As is the modern debate, the social media channels have been on fire with opinions on both sides. The mainstream media has also reported heavily, both here in Australia and overseas, given the iconic status of the Vegemite brand and probably because it’s such an unusual name.

Personally, I have to agree with the negative camp. It is one of the most unusual product names in living memory.

What do you think?

Or, is it going to be remembered as a smart PR stunt to simply get people talking about the product? Would we be at all surprised if the product is re-named in a few weeks, due to the weight of negative consumer feedback? We will find out soon enough.

In the meantime, like it’s famous UK counterpart Marmite, you will either love it or hate it (the iSnack 2.0 name I mean).

Update: Kraft has just announced it has dropped the iSnack 2.0 name and will get the Australian public to vote again.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 at 10:52 pm and is filed under Experience, Media, Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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TAGS: Tags: Media, PR, public relations, Social Media, web 2.0

2 Responses to “iThink we are all going mad”

Marisol Lince Says:
September 30th, 2009 at 1:52 am
What I can see is the real power that consumers have. Changing the name and voting for a new one WOW. Good that Kraft saw what was going on with their new name and cares about it. Good opportunity also for them to create engagement.
Graham White Says:
September 30th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Yes, there is deep engagement occuring. As you would expect, the mainstream news is digging deeper into the story. The Punch (www.thepunch.com.au) has revealed that iSnack 2.0 was registered in Hong Kong two weeks before the competition closed, along with two other names, Snackerific and Crackertime, on July 30. The competition closed on August 14. The question now is whether this was pre-meditated.