The big focus of the Super Bowl in the world of marketing is set squarely on the commercials, but this year’s match-up featured a 35-minute blackout in which the stadium lights turned off. The game was on hold, but some marketers took advantage and put real-time marketing into motion.
Oreo, Audi, Walgreens and others used their Twitter accounts to join the conversation and provide their perspective on what was happening.
Power out? No problem. twitter.com/Oreo/status/29…
— Oreo Cookie (@Oreo) February 4, 2013
We do carry candles. #SuperBowl
— Walgreens (@Walgreens) February 4, 2013
Sending some LEDs to the @mbusa Superdome right now...
— Audi (@Audi) February 4, 2013
It Takes Courage
These brands had all the necessary ingredients in place. They were monitoring the zeitgeist in real-time. They had teams of creatives, strategists and media buyers ready to act at a moment’s notice based on data to identify the opportunity, develop the message, distribute where relevant, promote and then measure.
They had the infrastructure in place, but most importantly, these brands had the courage to give their teams permission to move quickly.
Marketers value their plans and for good reasons, and marketers move very quickly when a crisis comes up. Once again, they do so for good reason, but too many marketers aren’t quick to move on opportunities that arise. They aren’t part of the plan. There’s no budget available. An agile approval process isn’t in place.
Things are moving to real-time, and now, is the time to remove barriers and have the courage to give permission to act on opportunities. It’s a low-risk, high-benefit approach.
