Real Time Marketing & The Herd Mentality of Marketers

by Keith Browning

The Luis Suarez biting incident at the World Cup this week has shown (in case anyone was still unsure) that the new era of Real Time Marketing is well and truly upon us. In truth, that era probably began with the famous Oreo Super Bowl tweet that received so much attention from the public. That tweet became the envy of marketing professionals the world over, clocking up over 15,880 retweets and 6,200 favorites. 

Of course, most brands’ attempt at Real Time Marketing doesn’t tend to work out as well as the Oreo tweet. In fact, many tend to be poorly executed, not on brand and simply not particularly clever. The Oreo tweet was timed perfectly and was a very quick response that made light of an unexpected event. The stars aligned and it became a hit. The herd mentality that has followed from some brands attempts at real-time marketing has only served to make them look a bit awkward and try hard. Most get little to no traction. 

Some marketers explain that they “plan” for real time events but is this really something you can do? Scott Monty, Ford’s global head of social media doesn’t think so. “Brands declaring they are planning real-time marketing initiatives during high-profile events is the modern-day equivalent of saying ‘we’re going to make a viral video’– it’s poor form and 99 percent of the time it falls flat.” I couldn’t agree more. I’ve always found the humour that comes naturally from normal conversion with friends is much funnier than someone telling a pre-planned joke. 

So should you bother with real time marketing? 

Yes! In this socially connected world we live in, you must engage with your community. You must stay relevant. And real time marketing presents us with a real opportunity. That said, creating a tweet that isn't on-brand, for the sake of it is pointless - even if it is “in the moment”. However, creating something that is natural, communicated in an “authentic” voice and on brand is a different story. 

Of course this is what you should be doing anyway, whether it's real time or not! 

But getting the first part right is the essential part. The real time element will then multiply the relevancy of this infinitely and you just might be the next Oreo! 

Paddy Power is the best example of this I’ve seen, certainly in Ireland. Their tweets are always on brand but when they add in the real time element, they usually get excellent traction. When Pope Benedict XVI handed in his resignation and the world’s eyes were on the Vatican, Paddy Power came in with a funny tweet about Peter Odemwingie (who had fallen out of favour at West Brom and then got turned down by QPR) throwing his name in to the hat. 

Here Paddy Power jumped in to a trending event with a clever tweet that was on brand and perfectly timed. They owned the moment. Interestingly, most of Paddy’s Power viral success with real time marketing has come on Twitter and this tends to be the case with most real time marketing successes. 

One of the biggest successes around the Luis Suarez incident was Snickers, with their real time marketing attempt. With Snickers' core market being young males and their product being a food, this tweet was on brand. It sounded like Snickers and it added to their brand. Notably, despite having 11 million fans on Facebook and only 50,000 Twitter followers, they managed to clock up a whopping 34,994 retweets and 14,754 favourites, compared to just 3,250 likes and 800 shares on Facebook!

This would seem to add to the argument that Facebook organic reach is dead - and that Twitter is the place for real time marketing.

Have you tried Real Time Marketing? How has it worked out for you?

***Update*** Click here to see the Tops & Flops of Real Time Marketing during the 2014 World Cup!