Customization

In a highly individualistic culture, brands that allow consumers to infuse a bit of themselves into the brand will get consumers talking, Mr. Keller said.

Personalization is the main reason Oreo, a brand of Mondelez International, Inc., leapt to the No. 3 spot on the TotalSocial list, hopping 17 spots in the past six months. Engagement Lab credits this upward trajectory to the brand’s #MyOreoCreation contest, which asked consumers to submit their own Oreo flavor to the company for the chance to have their inventions released at retail. The campaign boosted Oreo’s social media conversations dramatically. Oreo’s on-line volume score increased by 25%.

“In the case of Oreo, their on-line volume score catapulted, and we think it has a lot to do with the #MyOreoCreation campaign,” Mr. Keller said. “That’s something that takes place on-line in social media, but we like to say consumers move fluidly between their offline and on-line lives. A lot of what people talk about offline are things they’re seeing on social media. The whole idea of #MyOreoCreation is, how do you take a brand and allow people to customize it and make it theirs? That fits into individuality. That’s very much a theme for today. They have creative campaigns, allowing people to express themselves and tapping into individuality, which is really paying off for them.”