Carell Makes General Stores Trendy (that's what she said)

Steve Carell – just the name makes me laugh. I immediately picture his character from LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE running as fast as he can to hop into that van-on-the-go. Aside from making millions laugh both on the small and the big screens, Carell has a list of unique accomplishments; Carell has made Marshfield MA locals thankful for refurbishing their historical downtown hot stop and he's made the words 'GENERAL STORE' trendy!

My social media metrics post is on the Marshfield Hills General Store and the significance Carell had on the incline of GENERAL STORE mentions since his purchase. I chose this store - located in the heart of Marshfield Hills Village on Boston’s South Shore – because I figured there is nothing more exciting than watching the trending metrics of a historic epicenter in my homestate. No, just kidding! I chose this topic in particular to trace the social metric on the terms GENERAL STORE and MARSHFIELD HILLS GENERAL STORE - I thought there would be interesting buzz on these terms since Carell's recent purchase of the Marshfield Hills General Store in 2009. With a popular funnyman supporting this rock candy and Swedish fish megastore, I knew it would be a sweet project to dig my teeth into!



Marshfield Hills General Store

To my surprise, the term GENERAL STORE was already a quite trendy one (I know, I know, I said I was surprised, too!). With President Obama dropping into a Vineyard General Store and a historical Vermont General Store having issues with arson, general stores do get some chatter on the Web. I was expecting radio silence and admittedly, I was floored to know the term GENERAL STORE is still used today. 

My hunch was right though, Carell's purchase of Marshfield Hills General Store did get people talking; according to Google Trends the term GENERAL STORE has significantly gone up in volume since ownership slipped into Carell's hands.

As one can imagine, the peak for the terms GENERAL STORE and MARSHFIELD HILLS GENERAL STORE sank once the buzz of the celebrity purchase was made. There are mentions now and then when Carell pops his head in to grab a snack but the charts show more valleys than mountains. What I learned from researching these terms through social media is the power of celebrity. It is interesting to watch a brand get hype when the right celebrity name is slapped on it. I know the peaks in metrics wouldn't have reached so high if a local no-namer bought the Marshfield Hills General Store. Carell made it cool.

The coolest part of this research was to find out that Carell bought the Marshfield Hills General Store for sentimental reasons. He grew up in that neighborhood, most likely remembers buying Gobstoppers and Pop Rocks, and felt good making it his. Often times a brand/term can peak in social media conversations because it is tied to a celebrity, and unfortuantely the celebrity doesn't believe in the brand like Carell did.

In this case, Carell wasn't out to get buzz in the social media world - it just happened. Now, if you don't mind, I am going to head over to the Hoboken General Store before going to class... maybe Eli Manning owns it.