Brands like to talk a big game about acting in real time. But the truth of the matter is, they struggle mightily with the fast-moving digital world.
Mondelez brand Oreo, however, proved it gets the speed of digital culture. When the lights at the Superdome went out for nearly a half hour during the third quarter of the game, Oreo and its agencies 360i and MediaVest thought fast and quickly tweeted out “Power out? No problem.” with a photo of an Oreo with “You can still dunk in the dark” copy. The tweet was retweeted over 12,600 times. It was favorited nearly 4,000 times. On Facebook, where Oreo has 31 million likes, the photo has garnered over 19,000 likes and 6,500 shares.
The timing of the post couldn’t be better, coming when there wasn’t anything happening on TV, even commercials, and many people’s attention was tuned to social media.
“We set up mission control comprised of 360i-ers, the brand team and MediaVest, so everyone was ready to create content and optimize in real time,” said 360i president Sarah Hoffstetter. “Once the power went out, the team immediately recognized an opportunity and created the image and caption.”
Ad position: web_incontent_pos1
The key to having it done: the agency creative and strategy teams were all together at the 360i offices in New York. The presence of the client meant being able to get quick approval.
“It was amazing to have the clients in the room,” said Hoffstetter. “They are both brave and attuned to the need of real-time response to be successful in today’s media environment.”
The added bonus of the move was the cost. Other than pizza to keep the team fueled, the creative effort cost approximately $4 million less than the price of airing a TV spot.
Ad position: web_incontent_pos2
360i is still collecting data on what kind of longer-term bump the tweet gave the brand. The risk is these things fizzle quickly. But there’s little doubt other brands could stand to take a lesson of how to move quickly.
Oreo ran a commercial during the first quarter featuring a “whisper fight” over whether the cookie or the creme is the best part. The spot included a call to action for viewers to go to Instagram. The move increased Oreo’s following there from about 2,200 prior to the game to over 35,000.
More in Marketing
In the marketing world, anime is following in the footsteps of gaming
As marketers look to take advantage of anime’s entry into the zeitgeist, they might be wise to observe the parallels between the evolution of anime as a marketing channel and the ways brands have learned to better leverage gaming in recent years.
With the introduction of video ads and e-commerce, Roblox looks to attain platform status
Roblox is expanding into more areas than just ads in 2024. Much like platforms such as Amazon and Facebook have transcended their origins to evolve from their origins as online marketplaces and social media channels, Roblox is in the midst of a transformation into a platform for all elements of users’ virtual lives.
PepsiCo wants to remain a ‘driver of culture’ as it turns to influencers and activations amid rebrand
The soda-maker says it can translate cultural relevance into sales volume.
Ad position: web_bfu