Panera Extends Social Media Listening

Panera responded to complaints about its Bistro French Onion soup with a clever approach: hiring the character Phyllis from “The Office” TV show.

The restaurant chain had promised that the soup would return, but it didn’t, and fans protested on social media. In addition to actively responding to customer complaints on social sites, Panera created a video showing a fake social media manager and Phyllis, as a social media coordinator.

The approach shows that Panera is listening and responding to customers, and it helps customers see the company’s point of view.

Discussion:

• What’s your view of the video? How would you describe the potential impact in a few words?

• More specifically, what are the communication objectives for this video message? Consider the audience and what the company hopes customers will do, think, and feel differently after watching the video.