Any Facebook user
knows social media needs more social graces, and Crane & Co. thinks it's got just the app for the job.
The stationery company, founded in 1801, has long positioned itself as an expert on
all kinds of etiquette, with its Blue Books answering wedding riddles ("I'm getting married for the second time. What initials do I use on my thank-you notes?") and dinner-party dilemmas ("Formal
dinner invitations are properly engraved on ecru or white letter sheets ... that fold like a book on the left-hand side.")
Now it has launched a Crane's Blue Book app for Facebook, allowing
users to comment when friends' posts are either rude or polite. Eliza Browning, director of Crane Digital -- and a seventh-generation family member of the Dalton, Mass.-based company -- tells
Marketing Daily why Facebook users need some coaching in courtesy:
advertisement
advertisement
Q: Why bring etiquette to Facebook? Many people would say its charm is that there are no rules, and that people
can say anything they want.
A: We think people want to see more courtesy online and have lots of questions. We've been known for our Blue Books for a long time, and people regard us
as an authority. We thought, how do we extend that into the way people correspond now? So we partnered with Rosetta, a digital agency, and came up with this app, which allows you to Blue Book your
friends on Facebook.
Q: Blue Book is a verb, too?
A: Yes. It allows you to give a certain type of Blue Book, like "Sunshine," for posting something that makes other people
happy, or "BeesWax," for something the poster really shouldn't be commenting on. We think people will like using the Blue Book as a way to be witty, but also offer helpful reminders.
Q:
Okay, but to quote Ann Landers, isn't it rude to tell people they are rude?
A: Facebook isn't about rules, and neither are these Blue Books. Facebook is sort of an open field
for people to comment, and I think we all need to remember that it is open for everyone to see ... we're not trying to chide or chastise other people's behaviors. But there are some manners that
should be respected, and some codes of conduct.
Q: There's a Blue Book for Knuckle Rap, for "tragic misspelling and grammar errors." Will people like having their knuckles rapped in front of
all their friends?
A: Well, we'll see. We launched it last week and have gotten a lot of positive feedback so far. Pretty soon, we'll have a leaderboard, so people can see how often
they've gotten, let's say, a "Chatterbox" or "Oversharing." I have come to love the positive ones -- I have used "Poet," genuinely and sarcastically. I also like "Golden Child." I think we've struck a
good balance between gentle and helpful reminders, and positive accolades.
Q: Is etiquette passé?
A: I wish there were a better word. Our brand stands for manners and
respect -- communicating in a way that makes people feel good. That still matters to people.
Q: How much credibility does Crane have with Gen Y, a group that prefers text messages and IMs to
paper stationery? Is stationery dying?
A: Actually, there's a little bit of resurgence underway. In this age, when everyone is communicating by texting and tweeting, it almost
devalues communication. So when people want to send a piece of correspondence that matters, they are going back to paper.
Can you ever replicate that emotional feeling when you get important
information from a piece of paper in the mail, versus something on the Internet? It's true in business, too. People tell us they've sent handwritten notes to clients and partners, and the reaction is
shock, disbelief and awe. And Gen Y places a lot of value on a personal brand -- people see personalized stationery as an excellent way to communicate their own brand.
Q: Will this app sell
paper products?
A: It will be a brand-builder. The majority of people using Facebook have never heard of Crane, or if they did, it's because their grandmother used to write letters on
it. This is a way to expose people to Crane -- we've been helping people connect since long before Facebook.