No gangs on Sunsilkgangofgirls.com

Sunsilk has toned down its social media features on Sunsilkgangofgirls.com. Does it indicate that standalone branded social media sites are losing their relevance in today's scenario?

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has recreated Sunsilkgangofgirls.com, the website of its Sunsilk brand.

Surprisingly, the revamped version of the site does not have prominent social networking features, which were once the fulcrum of the portal's content strategy. Instead, the revamped Sunsilkgangofgirls.com seems more product-centric and lays more emphasis on various global hair care experts, with whom the brand has tied up to co-create its shampoos.

For the uninitiated, the site was first unveiled in 2006 with social networking and user generated content features such as blogs and communities (gangs). The site has 7.5 lakh registered members till date. It was regarded as a case study and a benchmark for digital advertising in India.

While the earlier avatars of the website allowed members to create their own profiles, write blogs and join 'gangs' or communities to share and discuss various issues apart from hair care, on the new site, users will no longer be allowed to have their own blogs; instead, a few hair care blogs will exist, which will be authored by experts. New 'gang' or community creation feature will be disabled.

"Existing gang or community members will see old gangs or communities, while the creation of new 'gangs' feature is deactivated for the time being," Chaya Brian Carvalho, founder and managing director, BC Web Wise confirms to afaqs!. Digital agency BC Web Wise has created the Sunsilkgangofgirls.com website.

However, the re-launched site will have 'forums' where members can discuss hair and fashion related issues with each other. Carvalho says, "Girls interacting one on one is more popular than them forming groups or gangs. Given that there are many new features we need to promote on the site, forming gangs is not a feature we are promoting right now. Ganging per se will be reintroduced with the right kind of online activation in the future."

Carvalho declined to comment on the core reasons behind the withdrawal or change in social media features. She explains, "The change in social networking features is strategic and in line with what is happening in the social media space." Though Carvalho is not explicit in her statement on the deactivation of some social media features on the Sunsilk website, it is possible that these features may have lost relevance on the site, which could have led the brand to take the step.

Surprisingly, the brand has integrated
Sunsilk's Facebook brand page
and
Twitter account
on the homepage of Sunsilkgangofgirls. Does this also indicate a shift in the online content strategy of Sunsilk?

afaqs! spoke with a few digital industry experts to find out their opinions on this matter and ask whether standalone branded social media sites are relevant for consumers in today's time of Facebook and Orkut.

Lakshmipathy Bhat, vice-president, Draft FCB Ulka believes that a branded social media site is totally irrelevant. He says, "As soon as brands get involved, the whole idea of social networking gets hampered. It's then only about the interest of the brands. If I want to know about brands and the tips they have to offer - I will visit the website, but definitely not for social networking."

Shubho Sengupta, creative head, digital, Rediffusion Y&R, says, "It depends on the brand or activity. The rule of thumb is that short term tactical engagements are good on Facebook and other social media sites, while a long term property needs a website - but very much integrated with Facebook (and other such sites) through Facebook Connect and other tools."

Gaurav Mishra, chief executive officer, 2020 Social, claims, "Sunsilkgangofgirls.com has been on the decline for a long time now and HUL's latest brand-centric redesign will not arrest the downward trend."

He adds, "In spite of HUL's missteps, branded communities are more relevant today than ever before. In fact, I am seeing a big trend in consumer brand marketing and the centre of gravity in 360 degree marketing is shifting from TV commercials to online communities."