Skittles 2.0? Close but no cigar...

This is fast becoming old news but I thought I'd add my 2c as it ties in with a lot of what we're saying to brands about what's going on on the Web right now.

So, Skittles have embraced Web 2.0 by putting a Twitter search for the term "Skittles" as their homepage? Brilliant, forward-thinking piece of brand-building or gimic? A serious attempt to engage with customers via the 'social web' or a headline-seeking stunt?

I applaud any brand willing to take a chance and throw themselves open to praise or ridicule in equal measure, whatever the social web wants to throw at it. That's exactly what we advocate - because of blogs, microblogs, social networks, etc, information moves instantly from one side of the globe to the other, from 1 blogger to an audience of millions in a matter of seconds. The truth will out in the end - no matter what your advertising budget. Therefore, you might as well be proactive and the rewards from doing so in terms of endorsement from your customer-base are potentially huge.

So, have Skittles taken up this battle-cry? I've noticed three main reactions from people to Skittles' new Twitter-based homepage:

(1) warm welcomes (and congratulations) for a well-known brand entering our world in an apparently open and transparent way - great

(2) attempts to game/understand the system by swearing and/or dissing Skittles to see whether they'd allow it - "Skittlefisting" was on Trending Topics for a while thanks to a coordinated effort by (apparently) some Australian bloggers - interesting and ultimately (I think) great because Skittles were tested for 'authenticity' and passed

(3) attempts by people to get their own messages/links viewed by thousands when they realised that the 'Skittlesphere' was abuzz - by including #skittles in their otherwise unconnected tweets - not great but inevitable

The question for me is whether Skittles' experiment is a success. Personally, I'd be surprised if it is - long-term. This is for 1 very fundamental reason: they're not actually engaging. All they're doing is trying to push their advertising message using a website, Twitter, that's getting a lot of attention at the moment from the mainstream media. Notice the big ol' banner ad sitting on top of everything. I didn't notice any actual responses from Skittles or attempts to discuss new flavours, health issues, etc.

So, in the end they made a nice-looking playground. People Twittered in for a while and then will Twitter away again. No doubt Skittles got a bit of market research from the things people were saying and some dates of birth (hands up who entered their real one??). No attempt was made to keep people interested though by having a discussion or reaching out on a human peer-to-peer level that characterises the social web. Hopefully Skittles will realise its missed opportunity and have another go...