Social media platforms are changing rapidly and it seems that it is almost impossible to keep up. It is easy to get lost in all the hype if you lose sight of the fact that social media is all about relationships- it is another channel enabling you to connect to people. This allows a two-way dialogue where each party provides value to the other. By listening to their audiences, brands can create and participate in meaningful relationships.

This is great news for brands and for people who interact with brands. Brands can build stronger relationships with their audiences which result in ‘advocacy and loyalty’, while audiences no longer have to tolerate the generic, patronising messages that are often shouted at them. Instead, they can now participate in the relationship and shape its form.

The Social Brands 100 rated Innocent the most social brand 2012 (with one of our favourites, Starbucks, coming 2nd). The brands that perform well on social media engage in one to one relationships with their audiences. ‘By creating this personal engagement, these brands benefit from a ripple effect into the rest of the community’.

Innocent (they sell smoothies and veg pots) are known for their quirky, understated and honest personality. They started their communication campaign with entertaining and innovative packaging design that included an invitation to call the ‘bananaphone’ (their helpline). “We like conversations because they’re two-way and if they’re good, you learn stuff”.

What makes the brand so appealing is, well, its innocence! Innocent has stuck by its brand values which centre around providing healthy food and drink from natural, ethically sourced ingredients while striving to be environmentally friendly.

Innocent’s success revolves around their tone of voice – one that’s natural, honest, and engaging. Their tone of voice represents the fact that innocent is a company that was started by friends. “We talk to each other and our consumers in the way we talk to our friends honestly, openly, warmly, naturally”.

The brand is very creative and is not afraid to try out new things and, as a result, has managed to create a fun, easygoing communication style which has resulted in them being perceived as a down-to-earth and honest brand. The logo comes from a simple 3-second sketch that just happened to represent the brand and its focus on nature and simplicity (no unnecessary shouting).

Its activity on social platforms is recognised as a natural extension of the company’s personality, values and ethos. Innocent understands that social media is not something to be feared, really it’s nothing new, it’s merely another avenue to relate to its audience.

Innocent has also focused on building a positive, creative and innovative internal culture realising that it is the people that represent the brand from the inside that is crucial to its success. The informal culture of the brand encourages communication, sharing and the natural progression of ideas from everyone within the company which encourages and motivates its staff to take part in contributing to its success.

The elastic creative studio has had great fun playing around with the cute little woolly hats that formed the packaging design last winter – the fun is infectious!