Pepperidge Farm surprises a blogger, wins a fan for life

A blogger’s love of Pepperidge Farm

On an obscure autobiographical blog written for his future children and perhaps for his own entertainment, “Rob G.” wrote, “The Milano: an ode to Pepperidge Farm” in which he details his encounter with his new love of Milano cookies.

The self-described waiter writes, “I can safely say that I’ve never bought store bought cookies in my entire life. And by the time I was done with my Milano induced daydream, I realized that I had eaten the entire box. I couldn’t believe it. The ultimate Pepperidge Farm binge. And I had only gotten through one side of the box. I needed more. More Milano.”

Rob G. continues, “These cookies have changed my life. I don’t need anything else. I don’t want anything else. Or anybody. I don’t care what I look like or what anybody thinks of me. As long as I have my Milanos. I’ll never run out of ideas for things to write about ever again. It’s going to be all about Milanos, every day. Thank you Pepperidge Farm.”

The blogger explained on Reddit.com that a representative Pepperidge Farm emailed him directly, complimenting his blog and asked for his address so they could send him something “to say thanks.”

The next morning the following arrived:

Rob G. followed up on his blog, saying, “Seriously Pepperidge Farm, you’ve made me even more of a lifetime fan. Thank you so much!”

What Pepperidge Farm did right

Pepperidge Farm obviously had a listening station their team was monitoring, likely getting Google Alerts for their brand name and products. When they got a glowing review, they reacted quickly and rewarded the blogger who has vowed to be a lifelong fan, all for a few dollars. They didn’t tweet “we just sent Rob G. a present, aren’t we awesome?” rather, they let the gesture speak for itself.

How you can react similarly

If you have your listening station set up and are reacting quickly, you too can garner lifelong fans without having to give away the farm. Will people be blogging about “I love Pepperidge Farms” now in hopes of free products? Sure, but this blogger was rewarded for writing an entire post about the product rather than a list of products they like. Bloggers write about products all the time, but how often does the brand respond, and how often is the blog written with no expectations of a response.

Depending on the frequency of unsolicited compliments your company receives, there are ways to respond like Pepperidge Farms without breaking the bank. You’d be surprised how far your gratitude can go. If you’re the business owner or CEO or have access to the leader, ask him or her to write a brief hand written note of thanks and either mail it, or take a picture of him/her holding it up for the camera.

Check out all of the gifts you can send through Facebook that allows the recipient to give their address to a company like Starbucks instead of directly to you, and it zips it right over to them. Gifts can be sent from Starbucks, Sephora, Olive Garden, and you can send artisan cupcakes or chocolates, candles, tools, you name it.

At a minimum, tweeting a thank you note with a link to the blog is a good start. Find ways to give back, and you too can earn lifelong friends.