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3 Hot Takes: LEGO and JPMorgan Chase Sizzle, Doritos Fizzles

This week, Lego customer service avoids the dark side. JP Morgan Chase scarfs down restaurant content. And Doritos tweets surprisingly bland content during the MTV Video Music Awards. Read our take on these content examples, then add your verdict in the comments.

Lego finds its Obi-Wan

A customer reached out to Lego because he only had 13 of the 14 bags needed to construct the 3,187-piece cantina from Star Wars: A New Hope.

The response, which was discussed in Inc. and tweeted by CMI friend Carla Johnson, was amazing. The expected apology and promise to send the missing bag came with creative phrases like “This must be the work of Lord Vader” and “Fear not, for I have hired Han to get that bag right out to you.”

WHY WE THINK IT’S HOT: Lego is a brand that gets its customers. This creative reply to a transactional customer service email stands out for several reasons. The language of the email connects to the product. After all, Lord Vader and Han Solo would make no sense in an email to a customer missing part of a Diagon Alley kit (Harry Potter and Voldemort would, though.) The Lego customer service team’s familiarity with Star Wars fandom (note the 12 parsecs reference) instills confidence that they care enough to send the right parts.

This example illustrates why content marketing teams should think about post-sale communication, too. Great post-purchase content deepens potentially long-term relationships. After all, someone who buys a $350 Lego set will probably buy more Lego bricks and sets – as long as they’re satisfied with the product and related customer service.

Read the @CMIContent take on the @LEGO customer service #email that blames Lord Vader and promises to deliver missing parts in less than 12 parsecs. What's your take? H/T @CarlaJohnson Click To Tweet

JP Morgan Chase gobbles up restaurant content site

JPMorgan Chase is getting into the restaurant opinion business with its recent acquisition of The Infatuation, a restaurant review and guide site. The sale also includes the famed Zagat brand, which The Infatuation bought a few years ago.

According to a CNN report, “The Infatuation’s focus aligns with JPMorgan’s recent push to attract high-end customers who spend heavily on dining out.”

The site offers free content as well as an $89 a year membership program that gives subscribers access to exclusive content and priority to ticketed events, including its bi-coastal food festival, EEEEEATSCON. A JPMorgan spokesperson indicated to CNN that it would explore offering similar opportunities to Chase cardholders.

WHY WE THINK IT’S HOT: On the surface, buying The Infatuation might seem like an odd content play for a global bank. But it makes perfect sense in a crowded credit-card marketplace. Offering credit card points for special benefits is expected nowadays. Access to exclusive events and content from credit card issuers gives JPMorgan Chase a way to stand out.

What’s your verdict on @JPMorgan buying restaurant review and #content site @infatuation? Smart way to differentiate or odd #ContentMarketing move? @CMIContent Click To Tweet

Stale Doritos social posts disappoint during VMAs

Doritos tried to go cool for the MTV Video Music Awards this week. (And we don’t mean cool as in ranch.) Here’s the tweet: “How many triangles can you spot at the #VMAs tonight?”

Few replied with actual numbers. Snarky responses (like, “Who the hell watches the VMAs?” and “That’s for the Illuminati, not Doritos”) outnumbered serious answers.

The only other tweet from Doritos that night was a video of Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker performing “papercuts.” Doritos was an official sponsor of the VMAs, but the effort to connect the brand with the event didn’t work out well.

WHY WE THINK IT’S NOT SO HOT: The question about triangles (the shape of Doritos chips) seems odd. Who would sit there and count triangles without a meaningful reward? (And how many “verifiers” would have had to count them on the Doritos side if a reward had been offered?) Strategically, it feels like a throwaway move to fulfill an internal requirement related to the sponsorship.

In the past, Doritos has created award-winning integrated campaigns for its partnership with the VMAs. Its 2019 campaign included logo-free product integrations in a first-to-market Twitter product (VMAs “Stan Cam”) like the one below with A$AP to engage fans with behind-the-scenes content, sparking social conversations.

(And here’s a non-Doritos question: Isn’t it strange to have MTV VMAs when the cable channel really doesn’t air music videos anymore?)

What’s your hot take on the @doritos triangle tweet during the #VMAs? @CMIContent shares its take here. Agree? Click To Tweet
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute