Skittles Tastes the Rainbow and Finds Twitter

Skittles Experiments with Twitter

In what many have dubbed a giant social experiment, Skittles changed their website last week into a glorified Twitter feed. The branding scheme relinquished any control Skittles had over their brand, allowing users to post comments or tweets directly onto their homepage.

In the end the experiment “failed” and Skittles took changed their homepage first to their Facebook page, then to their Wikipedia page.  The Twitter feed is still available on the Skittles site but it is no longer the homepage.  It is difficult for me to call the branding decision a failure.  Why? It was a bold move for such a large brand to make and while the implimentation was not spectacular, the idea was so kudos to Skittles for the courage to try something new and for starting a new conversation.

It is clear that social media and online branding will be a big part of any company’s marketing and public relations in the future, and Skittles’ social experiment, whether hit or miss, may just have been a bit ahead of the curve.