It’s quite spooky when you read something and then witness
it on social media not 10 minutes after you read it. I was just reading the
first chapter of “Real-Time Marketing & PR” by David Meerman Scott.
The first chapter is about a case study of Dave Carroll from
the band Sons of Maxwell. He was on a United flight and out the window, he saw
his and his band mates guitars being thrown around. United did not compensate
Carroll for the damage and Carroll voiced his anger in the best way he knew
how—in a song.
Carroll’s song “United Breaks Guitars” became a viral video,
a new product idea and a teaching moment, all within a matter of 20 days. “United
Breaks Guitars” had 2 million YouTube views six days after posting and now has
over 14 million views. Calton Cases, a guitar case company, took this incident
and turned it into a new product- the Dave Carroll Traveler’s Edition Guitar
Case. Taylor Guitars, the brand of Carroll’s guitar, shot a YouTube video about
how musicians can safely pack their instruments for travel.
United Airlines didn’t respond so quickly. In fact, they
didn't respond at all. United “chose not to connect with the customers” (6). Reading
on, I realized how important it is to react in real-time and the benefits it
can have on the company.
After finishing the chapter, I rewarded myself with a
Twitter break. I usually scroll by the promotional tweets fairly quickly, but
this one caught my eye.
This is a tweet by Tide. I thought it was so clever because I
knew the season premiere of American Horror Story: Freak Show was tonight. Tide
reacted in real-time. They tweeted at the very beginning of the show.
Tide
chose to connect with a large demographic at the prime time of a TV show
premiere. They didn't come right out and say "Buy Tide and watch American Horror Story." The subtle hint at their great-smelling products is what makes this tweet so successful. This tweet was a great reinforcement of what I just read about
real-time engagement and real-time marketing.
Kudos to you, Tide.
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteBecause I am a huge fan of American Horror Story, this tweet just made my day. It’s nice to see Tide come out with something of relevance and creativity. I personally would never follow a laundry detergent company on Twitter, but this ad may have changed my mind. Just another reason to love marketing!