Ben & Jerry’s have sent out their last mass e-mail. This past week, the famous ice cream company announced they were forgoing e-mail marketing to focus on social media efforts with their 1.3 million Facebook and Twitter fans.
This is one of the first major brands to abandon e-mail altogether in favor of social media. And time will tell whether or not they’re pioneers in this or simply lost out on a great brand builder. But industry analysts claim that this move made sense for a few reasons, including:
- B & J Loyalists had indicated that the e-mail content was annoying
- This e-mail abandonment will save money on infrastructure and internal resources
- This minimizes digital fragmentation and simplifies communication
- Younger generations in particular are losing interest in e-mail altogether
- B & J is finding great success with Facebook and Twitter
- Social Media will allow fans to tell the story, rather than simply be listeners
It will be fascinating to see if any other market players follow their lead. And yes, I’m hungry now, too.