A social media analytics report summarizing analysis of mentions of Blue Bell over 1 year, both prior to and following the listeria outbreak. It covers trending of mentions, major sources, sentiment, and top topics. The report explores brand trust, brand loyalty, and the future of Blue Bell.

1. The Scoop on Blue Bell Ice Cream Mentions:
What’s the churn? Has trust melted away?
A social media analysis from 2014 July 18 – 2015 July 18
© 2015 by Tonya M Green, PhD

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2015 has been a historic year for Blue Bell. The company has a great challenge, in regaining trust plus market share with its loyal
customers during its comeback from its plant issues and the listeria outbreak, which resulted in numerous illnesses and even
deaths of its consumers. An analysis of Blue Bell mentions in social media and traditional news sources was performed over one
year, from 2014 July 18 – 2015 July 18, to evaluate the volume of mentions, the trends, the major sources, sentiment, and top
topics. Based on the analytics performed, the following insights are observed:
• Mentions of Blue Bell surge in social media and traditional
media sources during the spring of 2015, peaking at various
milestones, from the initial reporting of illness, product
recalls, plant shutdowns, FDA reports, layoffs, the Bass
investment, and terms of its comeback.
• In the 7 months prior to the listeria outbreak, there are
~77K mentions of Blue Bell, peaking at <1K a day. In less
than 5 months afterwards, there are almost 400K mentions,
peaking at 40K per day.
• Twitter is a primary source of mentions.
• Overall sentiment before the listeria outbreak is very high,
but there is a significant drop in the overall favorable rating
afterwards.
• Regaining public trust in Blue Bell is a challenge. Mentions
of Blue Bell occur with mentions of the fear of unrecorded
listeria cases, the history of violations, and the risks of
eating its ice cream again.
• Some Blue Bell consumers are recommending other brands
or ranking Blue Bell products lower than its competitors.
• Blue Bell’s most loyal consumers are awaiting the products
with great anticipation. Many tweet about their loyalty to
Blue Bell.
• Additional analytics and longer term monitoring can
identify influencers in the media and assess overall
sentiment, brand reputation, consumer trust, and customer
loyalty during Blue Bell’s comeback.
2Bluebell Mentions | © 2015 Tonya M Green PhD | Reporting Period: 18 July 2014 – 18 July 2015

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5000
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2015-01-01
2015-01-04
2015-01-07
2015-01-10
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2015-01-16
2015-01-19
2015-01-22
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2015-01-28
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2015-04-19
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2015-04-28
2015-05-01
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2015-05-13
2015-05-16
2015-05-19
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2015-05-25
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2015-05-31
2015-06-03
2015-06-06
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2015-06-27
2015-06-30
2015-07-03
2015-07-06
2015-07-09
2015-07-12
2015-07-15
2015-07-18
ANALYSIS OF 2015 TRENDS
3
Mar 24: Another product
added to Blue Bell recall
Apr 8: Three
Texans sick
Apr 20-22: Voluntary recall of all Blue Bell products; 10
listeria illnesses linked to Blue Bell; disposal of 8M gal.
of Blue Bell ice cream
July 8-9:
Announcement
of test
production runs
May 31-June 1 –
Blue Bell trucks on
the road; Voluntary
agreement in AL
March 13-14: Kansas deaths
linked to listeria and Blue Bell
During 2015, milestones related to the Blue Bell plant issues are easily tracked across social media and major news sources, from the initial story of
deaths in Kansas due to listeria, product recalls, plant shutdowns, the FDA release of inspection findings, and layoffs. Discussions peak on April 21 with
40K mentions. Discussions of Blue Bell’s progress, including the agreements and terms to resume selling, the announcement of trial runs, the Bass
investment, and even Blue Bell trucks spotted on the road, are detected.
Apr 4: Blue Bell plant shutdown
May 14-15 – Voluntary
agreements in TX & OK; First
Blue Bell layoffs in 108 years
May 7 – FDA
release of
findings
from recent
inspections
July 17 – Sid Bass
investment of
$125M in Blue
Bell
Bluebell Mentions | © 2015 Tonya M Green PhD | Reporting Period: 18 July 2014 – 18 July 2015

4. 4
Before listeria outbreak
SAMPLE TWEETS
TOP KEYWORDS
SAMPLE TWEETS
77K mentions
2014 Jul 18 - 2015 Feb 28
397K mentions
2015 Mar 1 – 2015 Jul 18
After listeria outbreak
15 Jan 2015 by Sorry I’m Texan
A Texan’s Guide to Happiness: 1. Crack
open a Dr Pepper 2. Eat (Texas) BBQ 3. Top
it off with a bowl of Blue Bell 4. Repeat
steps 1-3
Peak: Aug 13
989
28 Jan 2015 by Houston Chronicle
Is Blue Bell working on a mystery ice
cream flavor? http://t.co/lamwRicK4p
20 Feb 2015 by Texas Humor
It’s never too cold to have some Blue Bell
ice cream
Peak: Apr 21
40,376
7 May 2015 by ABC News
FDA: Listeria found in Blue Bell ice
cream plant as far back as 2013…
15 May 2015 by The Associated Press
BREAKING: Blue Bell to lay off a third of
its workers after listeria concerns halt
ice cream production.
25 May 2015 by Josh Bradshaw
Dear Texas, Please return either the
sunshine or Blue Bell. Taking both at the
same time was very unfair. Cheers.
Bluebell Mentions | © 2015 Tonya M Green PhD | Reporting Period: 18 July 2014 – 18 July 2015
TOP KEYWORDS
SOURCES
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT
SOURCES
• In the 7 months prior to the
listeria outbreak, there are ~77K
mentions of Blue Bell, peaking
at ~1K per day in August 2014
• Twitter is the primary source
• Sentiment is high, with a
favorable rating of 90%
• Mentions include love of Blue
Bell ice cream and favorite
flavors
MENTIONS
MENTIONS
• In <5 months after the listeria
outbreak, there are ~397K mentions
of Blue Bell, peaking at 40K per day in
April 2015
• Twitter is the primary source
• Sentiment is markedly lower, with
favorable rating dropping to 78%
• Mentions of the listeria outbreak and
product recalls dominate discussions

5. BRAND TRUST
Has the trust in Blue Bell melted away? Mentions on social media discuss fear of unrecorded listeria cases, the history of violations, the risks of eating Blue
Bell again, and vows to never eating it again.
5Bluebell Mentions | © 2015 Tonya M Green PhD | Reporting Period: 18 July 2014 – 18 July 2015

6. BRAND LOYALTY
Will the Blue Bell customer base churn away? Or, can Blue Bell ice cream scoop its customers back up from its competitors? In social media, some former
Blue Bell customers are recommending other brands or ranking Blue Bell lower than its competitors.
6Bluebell Mentions | © 2015 Tonya M Green PhD | Reporting Period: 18 July 2014 – 18 July 2015

7. THE FUTURE OF BLUE BELL
Blue Bell is important to many within its consumer base. Many will remain loyal to its products. Many are waiting with great anticipation in the return of
Blue Bell. Many tweet about their loyalty to Blue Bell and ask that others voice their loyalty. Is it even possible that others will try Blue Bell to help the
company or because of the loyalty expressed?
7Bluebell Mentions | © 2015 Tonya M Green PhD | Reporting Period: 18 July 2014 – 18 July 2015

8. ANALYTICS PLATFORM
Analytics were performed using an online platform that collects data for mining and analysis from social media (e.g., blogs, Twitter, social
networks, message boards and online forums) and major news sources
APPENDIX
8
ANALYTICS TIMEFRAME
2014 July 18 - 2015 July 18
Tonya M Green, PhD
Twitter: @just_tonya
WHAT’S NEXT?
Suggestions
• Monitoring of Blue Bell mentions throughout all phases of Blue Bell’s comeback
• Detailed analysis of competitor mentions with Blue Bell
• Identification of influencers in social media and major news sources
• Detailed analysis of social campaigns (e.g., exclusive contests and sweepstakes, hashtag analytics, Blue Bell engagement with customers)
Bluebell Mentions | © 2015 Tonya M Green PhD | Reporting Period: 18 July 2014 – 18 July 2015