Well that didn't take long.
In the few short weeks between the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards, it seems dozens of brands (and/or their agencies) have decided to "get themselves some of that real-time marketing!"
Here's the deal. If you're going to try to capitalize on televised American water cooler moments you either need to be truly, inherently nimble and FAST like Audi and Oreo at the Super Bowl, or provide information that further the knowledge or entertainment of stream junkies.
Unfortunately, several brands missed that mark by a mile at this year's Oscars.
Missed Opportunities
From the Potters to the Skywalkers, who's your favorite movie family? #Oscars
— New York Life (@NewYorkLife) February 25, 2013
Really don't understand this one from New York Life. Not in-the-moment, nor even a link.
In the movie of your life, who's your co-star? #Oscars twitter.com/NewYorkLife/st…
— New York Life (@NewYorkLife) February 25, 2013
This one is perhaps somewhat better, but the photo doesn't play into the Oscars theme.
Special effects are an important part of our #GalaxyAtWork collaboration with Tim Burton – especially rainbow unicorn blood.
— Samsung Mobile US (@SamsungMobileUS) February 25, 2013
Samsung was pushing (via promoted Tweets) their long form commercial on YouTube, and tying back to their TV spots during the telecast. Very strange wording of tweets, as was more of a hashtag hijack than real-time marketing. This guy agreed:
@samsungmobileus ur tweets suck.
— Brett Michaels (@brett_bok) February 25, 2013
Planned in Advance, and Just Okay
Lots of companies went the pretend real-time route, creating images based on nominees and winners, and pushing them into the Twitter stream organically or via promoted Tweet. Meh.
We're trending! Must be a lot of sandwich makin' goin' on right now.
— Oscar Mayer (@oscarmayer) February 25, 2013
Had a lot of time to potentially come up with something amazing with the Oscar vs. Oscars tie-in.
Did you dream a dream about the Best Picture winner? RT if you think this film will triumph tonight! #RedCarpetReady twitter.com/SpecialKUS/sta…
— Special K (@SpecialKUS) February 25, 2013
Nice execution, but not sure why anyone would rush to retweet this (and it only received 6)
Congratulations to Christoph Waltz. #oscars twitter.com/StellaArtois/s…
— Stella Artois (@StellaArtois) February 25, 2013
Similar issue here. An image that simply announces the winner (which we already know) isn't taking your brand anywhere.
Guess this #sixwordfilmplot correctly for a chance to win a Chalice: "One woman. One hunt. One man." #Oscars2013 twitter.com/StellaArtois/s…
— Stella Artois (@StellaArtois) February 24, 2013
However, this six word film plots idea is solid.
Trying too Hard and Crossing the Streams
If you try to capture a real-time moment (or even an Oscar factoid) but then smash your promotional plug into the tweet what you end up with is a very short, very awkward advertisement.
#Oscar noms get $45,000 swag bags. People preferred Bing over Google for the web's top searches. #BelieveItbinged.it/Yq3ZU9
— Bing (@bing) February 25, 2013
Premise of "did you know?" Oscar info snacks was good. Didn't like the transition to Bing vs. Google here.
Lincoln may not know what a cell phone is but even he can appreciate Truly Unlimited data while on the Sprint network bit.ly/15IgP5g
— Sprint (@sprint) February 25, 2013
One of the few truly in-the-moment tweets. Close, very close.
Organic and Interesting
WOW: Jennifer Hudson just KILLED it at the #oscars
— Victoria's Secret (@VictoriasSecret) February 25, 2013
No call-to-action or link here, but it's so unvarnished it's commendable. Reads just like what one of your pals would tweet. Not sure that's on brand for Victoria's Secret, necessarily but I liked the unfiltered nature of this.
Short hair wins big tonight! #GreensGoneWild #LesMis vine.co/v/bgXlImvqgQL RT @theacademy: Anne Hathaway wins Supporting Actress #Oscars
— Lean Cuisine (@LeanCuisine) February 25, 2013
Several decent Vines put together by Lean Cuisine. Good production values at least, and hey it's lettuce.
And now, a special message from Bowser... #Oscars twitter.com/NintendoAmeric…
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 25, 2013
One of my favorites. I'm sure they had this worked out well in advance, but nicely executed. Funny, timely and good production. (1,000+ retweets, incidentally)
Backstage at the #oscars in the #ArchDigestGreenRoom with Dame Shirley Bassey twitter.com/TheAcademy/sta…
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) February 25, 2013
I very much enjoyed these candid shots from backstage, posted by the official account. The hashtag is waaaaaaaay too long though. 20 characters?
Educational Youtilities
Several brands – mostly media companies – used the Oscars to tweet tidbits of information that added to the knowledge or understanding of those paying attention.
Talk about high-low! Helen Hunt wore a gown from H&M to the #Oscars -- along with $700,00 worth of jewels: usm.ag/VH1CO0
— Us Weekly (@usweekly) February 25, 2013
Interesting on the H&M angle, and right on target with the US audience.
The median age for the #Oscars TV audience is 52.8, compared with 46.7 a decade ago and 39.9 in 1992. on.wsj.com/YpNTKh
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 25, 2013
WSJ sent out several of these throughout the night, but only when they had facts that added to the moment. Nice restraint.
I'm all for real-time marketing, but promoting some tweets during a big TV-watching night does not, by itself, equal success.
Did you see some tweets you like or disliked during the Oscars?
