Heinz has cooked up this new ketchup recipe using balsamic vinegar that it would like a few people to try. Maybe the 800,000 or so people who say they "like" the company on its U.S. Facebook page would like a taste?
Tammy Cavaness Shelton seems game. "Oh that sounds delicious! I can't wait to try it!" she posted on the Heinz Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon.
But Sandy Thompson Nevels had her doubts, posting in online shorthand: "U should give out samples of the new stuff."
Product launches just aren't what they used to be, and the H.J. Heinz Co. is among those testing social media tools to see if they can be effective in both gauging consumer reaction and generating chatter.
In this case, the global company's American division also is indulging in a little free trade of ideas from its United Kingdom operation.
Heinz UK began selling ketchup with balsamic vinegar earlier this year through its Facebook page, giving it a claim as the first food brand in the UK to sell products on the social media site. The Brits bought enough to justify the company's decision to start selling it in grocery stores, alongside traditional Heinz ketchup.
That success also convinced the Pittsburgh company to try both the recipe and the social media marketing in its home country.
Starting in mid-November, consumers here can be the first on their block to own the balsamic vinegar version. They'll need to order it through the Heinz Facebook page for a mere $2.49 per 14-ounce bottle -- minus a 25-cent discount -- and $2 in shipping fees per bottle.
"This is the first time we've offered a product for sale via Facebook in the U.S.," said Jessica Jackson, group leader, public relations and communications for Heinz North America.
Later, toward the end of December, the new ketchup flavor should start appearing in grocery stores. The product will go away in the spring, at which time Heinz officials can check their numbers and see if it's a keeper.
To take orders through Facebook and ship out merchandise, the North American team is using an online shopping system put in place to sell personalized labels on its traditional ketchup through myHeinz.com.
Meanwhile, the team back in the United Kingdom is wrapping up another interesting promotion that allowed Facebook users to order cans of cream of tomato soup or cream of chicken soup complete with labels encouraging a friend to "get well soon."
The company sold nearly 2,000 cans of soup that way, according to Jackson.
As social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have wiggled their way into millions of users' digital lives, marketers have been focusing more time and money on figuring out how best to use the site's direct connections with consumers and their friend networks.
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