Real-Time Marketing's meaning has changed quite a bit over the past couple years with the help of social media. Big brands are beginning to join in on the conversation whether it is relative to their brand or not (just to be part of the discussion). Is it good/bad for the brand? Well, to answer that, first we need to take a look at the numbers.
9. “Because in bestowing this award on this
piece of work, we’re actually exposing a
really sad truth. That the advertising industry
has become so top-heavy with cost and
process and approvals and meetings and
waste, that the idea of just making a simple
image, and deploying it to a simple platform
at an opportune moment, is considered at
this point to be ground-breaking.
We’re so screwed, that we’re giving out
awards based less on the work itself, and
based mainly on the fact that someone (by
all appearances) was able to dodge the
bullshit and actually do something.”
37. How can you help?
As an employee/representative of a brand, how can
you help the “social team”?
- Ask the company to setup a “Real-Time Marketing”
email and send thoughts to help plan
- Look at calendars and take note of events the brand
should participate in on social
- Are you seeing great real-time marketing as a
consumer? Take screenshots and discuss the
positives and negatives for future ideas
Editor's Notes
- Josh Martin, Arby’s Social Media. Josh and his team were prepared, but it was the data spiking on conversations of “Arby’s” “Hat” and “Pharrell” that led him to call the audible on his social strategy, and go with a tweet that would make the Arby’s social team famous amongst social media strategists…
Ended at over 80,000 retweets
Pharrell had a response of his own
While the original tweet spread like wildfire, Pharrell would fire back a tweet of his own – capping off the end of the perfect Real-Time Marketing effort for Arby’s
BLACKOUT: everyone to your station! The Super Bowl in Feb. 2013 experienced a blackout for 35 minutes and practically every brand jumped to what they hoped was a witty one-liner (all seemingly the same), until Oreo came through through and put real-time marketing on the map.
With their 13-person “social” staff ready, this went live in 10 minutes. Instant gold. It has a shareable image (with minimal text). It has real-time meaning (blackout). It makes their protagonist inanimate object the hero for the moment. Copywriting, Design and Social in one room.
Hill Holliday VP of Social Media/Digital Strategy Andrew Teman makes a bold statement about the tweet heard around the Bowl. And then…
Oreo deservedly wins in a big way. Andrew Teman issues a response shortly before actually resigning his position…
Did he “walk away”? Yes. But just to start his own agency at “We Make Heart”
DiGiorno zings the Broncos. And the crowd goes wild.
Nike has the Twitter-world fooled into thinking this is a real-time photo as they post it right after the actual coin toss of the NCAA Playoff Championship… some social sleuths notice the numbers on the uniforms don’t match the numbers of the captain who actually participated in the coin toss…
Nissan probably had this in their social holster for awhile.
It’s Beyonce’s birthday, so naturally it’s #BaeDay. Best Buy capitalizes. Most of their current followers probably had no idea what was going on – but this tweet was meant for the Beyonce fantics – you be the judge on if this was a good move or not. How did this tweet “perform” compared to their normal post? 2,400% more retweets 1,500% more favorites than their average.
Real-Time Marketing does not create the conversation like conventional marketing – it tries to blend in and join the conversation. Becoming a part of a conversation that you weren’t invited to is a risky move, but done correctly could potentially make you more lifetime friends (customers).
This graph (via Chris Kerns) shows the 4 areas where real-time marketing takes place.
Which area of real-time marketing was this Nike post?
(Answer = Planned)
This graph (via Chris Kerns) shows the 4 areas where real-time marketing takes place.
Which area of real-time marketing was this Nike post?
(Answer = Watchlist)
This graph (via Chris Kerns) shows the 4 areas where real-time marketing takes place.
Which area of real-time marketing was this Nike post?
(Answer = Opportunistic)
This graph (via Chris Kerns) shows the 4 areas where real-time marketing takes place.
Which area of real-time marketing was this Nike post?
(Answer = Every Day)
Opportunistic RTM: Performance by Brand
1,200%+ retweets, 1,100%+ favorites
Average retweets? 0.01% of followers.
Opportunistic RTM? 0.22% of followers. A 2,200% increase
RTM Performance vs. Other Tent Pole Social Content
Seattle Seahawks tries to compare the Civil Rights movement to a football game for Martin Luther King Day
Yikes.
#WhyIStayed was a hashtag about Domestic Violence – DiGiorno chimes in without taking the extra step in finding out what the hashtag was.
The obvious apology
Disrespectful take on a horrible situation affecting millions
Kenneth Cole has to apologize – coming straight from the owner himself “KC”
All of these brands joined the hashtag “#FiveWordsToRuinADate” yet all these brands associated their brand/industry with a negative outlook/opinion from the datee.
Arby’s decides to join the conversation, but they go about it in a “our product is great” mindset – assuming nobody has a negative opinion like the previous brands.
A few examples of VI Marketing and Branding participating in real-time marketing through the years. These were posted based on the conversation going on in our social following at the moment.
Kevin Durant back from injury
FSU getting dominated in the NCAA playoff
OSU intercepting the ball in the final minutes of their bowl game.
As an employee/representative of a brand, how can you help the “social team”?
Ask the company to setup a “Real-Time Marketing” email and send thoughts to help plan
Look at calendars and take note of events the brand should participate in on social
Are you seeing great real-time marketing as a consumer? Take screenshots and discuss the positives and negatives for future ideas