So, what is real time marketing exactly? There are many definitions and points professionals have pointed out about this current niche within strategic communications in new media.
However, real time marketing is all about being in the right place, right time, and using the right platform to connect the right connections to the newsworthy situation to the right personality brand characteristics. David Scott Meeman has written a book related to real time marketing for PR and Marketing professionals (great book – highly recommend and it is also one of the recommended books I have for my social media class at UofL).
We have seen brands jump on board with the real time marketing band wagon not only during the Super Bowl (which Oreo won this with their power outage tweet and visual) to the Oscars. This appears to be one of many trends we are seeing so far in 2013.
Oreo’s tribute to James Bond series at the Oscars
What Oreo did during the Super Bowl was pretty cool, but it was also strategic and relevant to showcasing the brand’s personality and wit in a current situation that captured a large audience. While there were some brands that were successful, most of the brands were trying too hard to get attention during the Academy Awards.
With this being said, there are five best practices we can take away for not only understanding real time marketing, but also implement these principles strategically:
- Providing training sessions specifically for real time marketing: One of the things you have to think about when it comes to this particular area for brands is to have fast reaction time to respond and connect with audiences in real time. Practicing improv exercises with your communication team may be something to explore. However, you want to make sure the content and connection to the brand is still relevant and memorable.
- Power of visual storytelling: Most of the memorable real time marketing initiatives have a visual component, which Oreo did not only on Instagram during the Super Bowl, but primarily on Twitter and Facebook. Determine whether or not a photo or video would be better for your brand to connect them back to the current newsworthy trend or event in question. We also have to make sure to note that this is not just something you see in positive situations, but also in crisis situations for brands (ex. United Guitars and Dave Carroll for example).
- Real time communications needs real time team work: Having the agreement and understanding of the importance of what this means for the brand needs collaboration and understanding from all members of the team for the brand, including senior management. This is what worked for Oreo during the Super Bowl.
- Real time marketing procedures is not created equal: What this means is the fact that there are some references and initiatives that are created at the spur of the moment (similar to what we saw with Oreo) while there are others that are created basically in a longer period of time due to the viral meme cycle. This is what happened to the popular parodies that were connected with Harlem Shake and Gangnum Style.
- Real time marketing comes from understanding audience from data: Having a social media command center where you are able to monitor and listen to not only the ongoing conversations, but what trends are emerging online is key to be aware of. Brands know a lot about their audiences based on their conversations, characteristics, and interactions online – it is all about connecting the dots between their expectations and motivations and relevant attributes from the brand in a strategic, personable, and memorable manner. Ultimately, you want to create and share content that is shareable and relevant for your audience.
In summary, while it is important to understand the main characteristics and attributes associated with real time marketing practices, we have to make sure to connect these practices when appropriate for our clients and brands. There are going to be some times where this will not be the best way to go for brands – but it is good to know these practices and cases exist in case there is a window of opportunity to showcase brand personality and generate word-of-mouth online and offline.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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