Latest / The CMO Podcast with Fexingo: Marketing Leadership, Budgets, and Executive Strategy / How CMOs Use Social Listening to Shape the Brand Voice
Transcript
- Lucas: So, Luna, you remember the Grimace shake thing from 2024? When McDonald's launched that purple shake and suddenly the internet was filled with these weird, slightly unsettling videos of people pretending to be sad over a milkshake? Luna: Oh, absolutely. Those videos where someone would take a sip and then collapse like they'd been struck by lightning. It was hilarious, but also completely bizarre. I don't think anyone at McDonald's saw that coming. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the perfect example of what we're talking about today: social listening. Not just monitoring what people say, but actually using that chatter to inform and sometimes even reshape the brand's voice. The Grimace shake became a cultural moment because McDonald's didn't try to fight the meme. They leaned into it, even embraced it. But how do CMOs do that intentionally? That's the question. Luna: So it's not about just tracking mentions and sentiment scores. It's about really understanding what people are saying and using that to make decisions. Do you have a specific case where that actually worked? Lucas: Well, the Grimace shake is one example, but let's go back a bit. In 2017, Wendy's had that moment where they started roasting people on Twitter. Their social media team noticed that people were already making jokes about the brand, so instead of shutting it down, they amplified it. That became Wendy's entire voice — sassy, playful, a little bit savage. And it worked. Their engagement numbers went through the roof. Luna: Right, but that's more of a reactive thing. How do you take that and make it a systematic process? Because not every brand can just hire someone with a sharp tongue. Lucas: That's the key point. The thing is, social listening has evolved from being a reactive tool — you see a complaint, you respond — to something much more proactive. CMOs are now using it to shape brand voice, guide campaign development, and even feed into product innovation. But it requires a shift in mindset and process. Luna: Can you give me a concrete example of that? Like, a company that used social listening to change its voice in a deliberate way? Lucas: Let's talk about the fast-food industry again. Chipotle, for instance. They've been using social listening to pick up on trends like plant-based eating and concerns about ingredients. So they launched their 'Real Food' campaign, which really resonated. But it wasn't just about tracking mentions of 'plant-based' — they were looking at the conversations around food ethics, sustainability, and transparency. That informed not just their messaging but their entire brand positioning. Luna: So it's about understanding the broader context, not just the direct mentions. That makes sense. But there's a risk too, right? If you over-index on what people are saying online, you might end up chasing things that aren't actually representative of your core audience. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the cautionary tale. Look at what happened with the 'Diet Coke Guy' campaign that did well in the early 2010s, but it was designed around a very specific audience that was active on social media. It didn't necessarily translate to the broader market. So you need to balance social listening with other forms of research. Lucas: But here's the thing: the brands that get it right are the ones that use social listening as one piece of a larger puzzle, not the whole puzzle. They combine it with surveys, focus groups, sales data, and even their own intuition. The trick is to find the signal in the noise. Luna: And that's easier said than done. I mean, there's a lot of noise on social media. How do you even know where to start? Lucas: Well, a lot of it depends on the tools you use. There are platforms like Brandwatch, Sprout Social, and even newer ai driven tools that can analyze sentiment and identify trends in real time. But the technology is only half the battle. You need to have a clear question you're trying to answer. Are you trying to understand how people perceive your brand? Are you looking for emerging needs? Are you monitoring competitors? That shapes everything. Luna: So it's not just about collecting data. You need to be intentional about what you're listening for. Lucas: Exactly. And then you need to act on it. Because if you listen but don't do anything with the insights, it's pointless. That's where a lot of companies fail. Luna: Speaking of acting on it, let's go back to the Grimace shake. McDonald's didn't just let the meme happen; they engaged with it. Did they have to get their legal or corporate communications teams involved? Lucas: That's a great question. And honestly, if today's conversation has given you a new idea or a different way to think about your own brand's voice, that's exactly the kind of thing we want to hear. If it did, and you feel like buying me a coffee, the link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, but it does help us keep these conversations going, ad-free. Luna: Yeah, it's just a nice way to say thanks if you got value out of it. We really appreciate it. Lucas: So, back to the Grimace shake. Actually, the meme was so big that McDonald's had to get involved, but they did it smartly. They didn't put out a press release saying 'please stop.' Instead, they embraced it on their own social channels, even releasing a limited-time 'Grimace Birthday Meal' with the shake. That showed they were listening and willing to let the moment breathe. It was a masterclass in letting the audience shape the voice, within reason. Luna: So it's about having a certain level of flexibility in your brand guidelines. Not everything has to be scripted. Lucas: Right. And that's a tough balance for a lot of brands, especially big ones with strict legal and approval processes. But the CMOs who figure it out are the ones who can move fast and trust their teams to make judgment calls. That's a leadership challenge as much as a technical one. Luna: Absolutely. But can you scale that? Like, if you're a smaller brand, you might not have a huge social team. How do you make social listening work with limited resources? Lucas: Good point. For smaller brands, it's often about focusing on a few key channels where your audience actually is, rather than trying to be everywhere. There are also affordable tools like Mention or Awario that can do a decent job. But the biggest thing is to set up a simple routine: allocate a few hours each week to review what people are saying, and then share those insights with the team. It doesn't have to be complex. Luna: That makes sense. And what about the metrics? What should CMOs look at to know if social listening is actually paying off? Lucas: Well, you can look at things like share of voice, sentiment, and engagement rates. But the real proof comes when you tie it to business outcomes. For example, if you adjust your messaging based on social insights and then see a bump in conversion or customer satisfaction, that's a win. The challenge is attribution, but it's getting easier with better analytics tools. Luna: So it's not just a nice to have. It's something that can actually move the needle. Lucas: Absolutely. And I think we're going to see more CMOs make social listening a core part of their strategy, especially as AI makes it easier to analyze large volumes of data. The key is to stay human in the process — to remember that behind every tweet or comment is a person, and that authenticity still matters. Luna: That's a good note to end on. Social listening is about being in tune with your audience, not just tracking them. Lucas: Exactly. So if you're a CMO or a marketer thinking about this, start small. Pick one question you want to answer, and use social listening to find that answer. See what happens.