Consmr.com: Yelp for CPG Brands
The latest social network designed for making life -- and opinion sharing -- easier has just been launched with a philosophy dedicated to consumers and the products they love or hate, as the case may be.
Only available in beta at the moment, Consmr.com enables users to review and "check-in" to consumer packaged goods, according to the launch announcement. The plan is to enable ratings and interaction with products in twenty different categories. Comments can also be sent instantly to Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, spreading opinions fast and wide.
Simply put, consumers will be able to search for either product names or categories, and reach a single site with all the ratings they could possibly want. As Ad Age says, Consmr will be the "Yelp of packaged goods" for some 50,000 products.
Through a partnership with Rodale, visitors to Consmr will also have access to tips and reviews from Men's Health, Women's Health and Prevention magazines.
Contributions are rewarded through virtual badges known as "flair." These, plus shared activity, should offer brands new opportunities for capitalizing on social media, Consmr said in its statement. Badges show up whenever users check-in as well as when clicking Facebook and Twitter links. Check-in is encouraged for "sharing" and "putting context around an activity," according to thenextweb.com.
"When I shop, I never know what organic foods to buy or which face wash is the best," said Consmr co-founder and CEO Ryan Charles, in a statement. "Our goal is to answer those questions with a social resource for everyday products. We provide a forum to share opinions, assist with the trial and error shopping process, and promote product discovery through friends and community."
Mr. Charles previously served as head of mobile, interactive products and marketing at Zagat, the diner's guide.
Ad Age believes the timing is good as it coincides with large companies' experiments with Facebook sales and online stores. Mashable also quotes Mr. Charles' conviction that Consmr will overcome the currently fragmented information available.
Courtney Boyd Myers wrote on thenextweb.com, "by the time I get to work in the morning I've used over 20 different products that I could've rated on Consmr."