Real-Time is Always-On

February 16, 2016 by Taylor Wiegert in Real-Time Marketing

Super Bowl 50 came and went, and countless brands took aim to stand out during the big event with content shared across social networks. The magic of the ‘Dunk in the Dark’ tweet is one that will always be remembered fondly as one of social media marketing’s great moments, whether consumers were paying attention or not.

The time of war rooming during social events, however, should no longer be commonplace. That’s not how you succeed with social media in the modern age. Channels have changed. Consumer expectations have evolved. And the noise created by brands is louder than ever.

The Death of Real-Time Marketing?

October 08, 2013 by Taylor Wiegert in Real-Time Marketing

Real-time marketing has been on the tongue of every marketer since the 2013 Super Bowl when Oreo tweeted the right message at the right time and garnered a lot of attention. Digiday chronicles the failed attempts by marketers to make their brands part of the conversation. Real-time marketing as it's currently being executed faces a bleak future of being dominated by the worst kinds of social media marketing.

Getting Real About Real-Time Marketing #5: The End of the War Room

July 18, 2013 by Taylor Wiegert in Real-Time Marketing

The following is part of a series of blog posts related to 2013’s hottest point of social discussion—real-time marketing. This is the second post in the series. The first post is here. The second post is here. The third post is here. The fourth post is here.

The latest “Getting Real About Real-Time Marketing” post discussed three types of real-time marketing, one being opportunistic.

Oreo executed opportunistic real-time marketing exceptionally well during the Super Bowl. It woke the industry up to the possibilities, and the combination of a massive real-time event being watched by millions (the Super Bowl), the lights going out as a fluke and having a team ready to respond is one that will not come around again any time soon.

Getting Real About Real-Time Marketing #1: Defining Real-Time

May 21, 2013 by Taylor Wiegert in Real-Time Marketing

The following is part of a series of blog posts related to 2013’s hottest point of social discussion—real-time marketing. This is the first post in the series.

Real-time marketing has been perhaps the biggest topic of discussion in 2013. It’s been everywhere (including this blog) with trade publications and pundits discussing the brands rocking it, the brands failing and everything in between.

Despite all of this conversation, there’s been little definition. It’s basically been a “we know it when we see it” kind of approach, but real-time marketing doesn’t just exist in the execution. It goes deeper than that.

Forget Real-Time and Focus on Right-Time

April 18, 2013 by Taylor Wiegert in Real-Time Marketing

Real-time marketing… Every marketer wants to do what Oreo, Audi and others did during the Super Bowl and capitalize on a cultural conversation. With a moment’s notice those brands developed a POV, creative and launch plan with brand content and capitalized on the Super Bowl blackout. They did so successfully to the point that they became topics of conversation themselves. Any marketer would like to have their brand associated with that kind of activation.

True real-time marketing is a 24/7 commitment, but the number of brands with the process, people, tools, and, most importantly, need is small. The reality is that most brands cannot justify the investment to have a team ready to pounce on an opportunity at any given moment. Brands like Gatorade have been able to justify the investment of having a team and tools dedicated to all-the-time engagement. In an ideal world, every brand would be able to follow suit, but with tightened budgets and a need to show results, that’s not always possible.

Real-Time Reveals Business’ Weaknesses

March 19, 2013 by Taylor Wiegert in Real-Time Marketing

It’s been nearly two months since the #Blackout at the Super Bowl, and marketers have been scrambling to figure out how they can follow in the footsteps of Oreo, Audi and others by creating viral success stories as they join in consumer conversations.

The reality is the brands with #Blackout success stories have already explored that territory, and brands attempting to do the same thing are bound be criticized for being unoriginal and, worse, annoying users. Instead of trying to copy what brands like Oreo did, brands should be asking what real-time means for them (e.g., social customer service, proactively responding to brand mentions, newsjacking, etc.), which first means doing some digging to figure out if your organization can handle it. It will likely be a very revealing exercise.