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1. 5/16/12 Why Milk Processors Want to Spy on Your Breakfast Twitter Chatter
1/2mashable.com/2012/05/15/got‑milk/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Fee…
Why Milk Processors Want to Spy on Your Breakfast Twitter
Chatter
1 day ago by Sam Laird 5
You might think breakfast is an odd time to be spied on. But
that’s actually just when representatives of milk processors around
the nation are tuning into your social media chatter.
From behind a row of computer monitors in a Chicago office, social
media detectives track milk-related breakfast posts from 8 a.m. to
noon every weekday. They keep tabs on sentiment, engage milk
drinkers, broadcast testimonials from celebrities like Maggie
Gyllenhaal (see photo), and offer recipes and health tips. Their
purpose? To humanize and promote the national “Got Milk?”
campaign.
The installation is called a social media “listening and engagement center,” and it’s the creation of the public
relations firm Weber Shandwick.
“It has three main components — it’s a listening center, a content hub and way to build our social media
community,” says Weber Shandwick senior vice president Melanie Strah. “We realized there were millions and
millions of conversations happening about breakfast every morning. It’s a bonding time for families.”
The breakfast-time focus is part of a milk processors’ campaign to re-emphasize milk’s ties to day’s first meal.
Strah says the social team finds tweets mentioning milk about once every 5 seconds during peak breakfast time.
They respond to tweets through the @MilkMustache Twitter handle, and also monitor conversations on Facebook,
Pinterest and other networks. They’ve arranged milk deliveries for influential tweeters who run out or can’t find a
fresh carton, and frequently banter about the beverage’s many virtues with followers.
It’s a cool idea, but also part of a growing trend as social media permeates more and more aspects of life. A “social
media command center” at this year’s Super Bowl drew considerable attention. And Weber Shandwick has similar
operations functioning or in the works for additional clients including American Airlines and RadioShack as well.
Weber Shandwick powers the listening and engagement center using Salesforce’s Radian6 social intelligence
products. David Alston, Radian6′s chief marketing officer, says he wouldn’t be surprised to see such operations
continue to become increasingly mainstream.
“It’s a great example of learning with a community and engaging with a community, coupled with content
marketing,” Alston told Mashable.
Most of the content marketing side of the Got Milk? campaign lives on the website MilkMustache.com. But articles,
recipes and tips there also take a different approach than the typical content marketing campaign. While the classic
branded microsite might hope to take 20 minutes or so of someone’s time and make a positive impression, Weber
Shandwick’s chief creative officer Josh Rose says this campaign takes a different approach.
“Everything here is designed to be shared,” Rose told Mashable. “The concept that behind what we put on there is
to engage people and get them to share. It’s sparking conversation and getting a lot of people excited.”
Do you think the Got Milk? listening and engagement center is a smart brand campaign or not? Let us know in the

2. 5/16/12 Why Milk Processors Want to Spy on Your Breakfast Twitter Chatter
2/2mashable.com/2012/05/15/got‑milk/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Fee…
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5 Comments
1. Hugh Macken Follow
I’d be curious to know how they are monitoring sentiment. Are they using automated sentiment
analysis in conjunction with human-powered analysis or just automated? What are they doing with the
sentiment analysis? How does that connect to their objectives?
23 hours ago Reply 0 Flag this comment
Ricky Albert Follow
Most likely automated: sentiment calculation by keyword ==> *some sort of “magic”
happens* ==> the way by which they engage their audience is influenced.
22 hours ago Reply 0 Flag this comment
2. vlb Follow
If you want to “humanize” the “Got Milk” campaign, for goodness sakes, Wipe Your #&*( Mouth!
21 hours ago Reply 0 Flag this comment
3. Melissa Riedy Follow
Wait, they’re humanizing this with artificial intelligence? Isn’t that a little like asking people to
describe sex to a robot? Honestly, though. Computers and robots can approach sentiment, but they can’t
pick up on sarcasm. Seems like the stats could be a bit off, imo.
1 hour ago Reply 0 Flag this comment
4. jaybaer Follow
On behalf of a corporation, an agency uses Radian6 to listen for opportunities to engage on Twitter
and beyond, and then does so? How is this news or even remotely unusual or interesting?
14 minutes ago Reply 0 Flag this comment