In the last couple installments of the Blog Business Summit Report, I’ve given guests a hypothetical magic wand and asked them to point it at any company and give them a blog.
After reading today’s article in the Times, I decided to take up the wand and benevolently wield it in the general direction of Trader Joe’s. The article made it plain that TJ’s employees and customers (of which I am one) alike are truly passionate about the product. I became convinced that they’re the kind of company that would take to the blogosphere like a fish takes to water.
But then I did a little research and found out that there’s already a blog out there called Tracking Trader Joe’s. The blog is a brain child of Mike Kaltschnee, who is also responsible for a blog covering the Web-based DVD rental service Netflix. Despite Jeff Jarvis’ declaration that Tracking Trader Joe’s is keeping a “watchful eye” on TJ’s, the blog is clearly a love letter even as it purports to have no affiliation. In fact, in a quick search of the blog for any criticism of Trader Joe’s, the only thing I could come up with was this complaint about the discontinuation of their Hot Bell Pepper Relish.
Beyond the content, the look of Tracking TJ’s raised my eyebrows. Kaltschnee blatantly co-opts the TJ’s brand, using their font and the clever little woodcut characters that grace their newsletters. For a chain that is - as Byron puts it - “a case study in brand” to allow an unaffiliated blog to do that seems unlikely. It got me wondering whether TJ’s has a relationship with Kaltschnee - even if it isn’t an explicit one.
My suspicions were further supported when I found out about Kaltschnee’s relationship with the PR folks at Netflix. If that’s any indication of the way Kaltschnee does business, then it’s pretty clear that TJ’s has some tacit hand in this blog, even if it’s not on a day-to-day or monetary basis.
I know some pundits would get up on a high horse about a company being tacitly affiliated with a blog that purports to have no affiliation. As Scoble said recently in response to a Times article about Wal-Mart “using” bloggers, “Always attribute where you got something from. Even if it doesn’t make you look good.” But I’m not going to chastise TJ’s. If they are indeed involved with the Tracking TJ’s blog, then it’s likely they know the risk they’re taking in being called out. It’s not as though they’re doing evil on any serious order of magnitude - if they do in fact have a relationship with Kaltschnee. But nevertheless, it is truly inadvisable to be less than 100% transparent when you’re dealing with the blogosphere.
But what I really don’t understand is why TJ’s doesn’t just start an official blog. They clearly have the passionate people, the exiting products and the loyal following that would make a company blogging initiative a huge success. Why choose to go this route - if that is indeed what they’re doing?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Ed Kohler 03.08.06 at 12:16 pm
Trader Joe’s receives a lot of blog buzz on a local community blog called mnspeak.com in Minneapolis. There is plenty of speculation about when Minneapolis will finally be able to claim a Trader Joe’s of its own.
Minnesota’s liquor laws have probably slowed things down because you can’t sell liquor on Sundays in this state, so TJ’s has to break out their Charles Shaw distribution into a separate location.
Anil 03.08.06 at 7:32 pm
I think Mike’s clearly a fan, but who else would start a blog except someone who feels strongly about a brand, either positive or negative?
Despite the blowback against Wal-Mart’s (admittedly heavy-handed) tactics, I do think we should comment companies like Netflix and (presumably) Trader Joe’s for being open to engaging their community. Of course, the real test is when they get a harsh or negative blogger going after them, but I think we’ve seen Netflix come around from skepticism to embrace, and Mike is definitely a great preson to help companies do that.
As to why TJ’s doesn’t have a blog yet? Probably because most companies their size, even the ones that have a great corporate voice, don’t realize that blogs are a tool that can be used that way by a company.
Teresa Valdez Klein 03.09.06 at 1:43 pm
Anil: I tend to agree with you that having a fan start a blog is always good for a business. But it’s a little bit more complicated than all that - because regardless of the actual relationship between Trader Joe’s and Mike Kaltschnee, some people are going to take one look at the branding on that blog and the relationship between Kaltschnee and Netflix and conclude that something less than 100% transparent is afoot.
And considering how some of the pundits react when that happens, TJ’s could wind up with a potential problem.