Emmy Awards Edition: Can you really PLAN a Social Media/TV Moment?

There are some live TV/ Social Media moments that are just pure gold.  Think of Ellen's famous selfie during the last Oscars that went viral, or the Oreo ad from the Superbowl power outage in 2013.  But last night's Emmy Awards makes me wonder if those moments just can't always be planned.  

This year's Emmys were advertised as being the "Most Social Media Friendly Event Ever", with brands from Twitter to Facebook to Pinterest getting in on the action.  Pinterest pages being updated in real time with fashion content.  Twitter debuted a zip-line camera feed.  Even video vignette mogul Vine joined the party with a "360-station" to record videos on the red carpet.

But.... looking back on the event.... what really STUCK?

You know the phrase, "If everything is a priority, nothing is a priority"?  I think of that about last night's Emmys social media presence.  There was just too many things all trying to happen.  No one event could capture enough attention to really make it monumental.

Sure there were many tweet-worthy moments.  The Robin Williams tribute was beautiful, Sofia Vergara's spotlight on the spinning pedestal, the audience "Q&A", but I'd be surprised if we were referencing any of these as social media "hits" a year from now.

What did you think of the Emmys?  Any awesome moments I'm just not seeing?

Couldn't Dr. King Have Gotten 140 Characters All To Himself??

It's kinda becoming cliche.  Every national holiday or big media event, brands tweet and try to supply relevant content about the day, mixed with a message about their brand.  Well MLK day was no different.  While there were less HUGE disasters, it seems like people are still struggling to get this right.  So, let's dig deeper into these struggles and cross our fingers that we can get it right next time!!

Struggle #1:  Squeezing yourself in, i.e. "The ME TOO!"

Example: PETA

Reason: Look, I am an animal LOVER.  Play me one of those Sara McLaughlins and I am bawling like a newborn baby.  But, newsflash, MLK day isn't about animals.  So why try to sneak your agenda in?  Can we not give Dr. King 140 characters to himself!?

Struggle #2: Making it about you, i.e. "The LOOK AT ME!"

Example: Canoe and Kayak Magazine

Reason: WHAT?! What does this even mean?  At least PETA was trying to tie themselves into the theme of hardship and struggle.  This is just lazy.  How does kayaking "honor" MLK? I don't understand.  If your content is not relevant to the day, try making it relevant to an experience.  This tweet would have made a lot more sense with "Celebrate the long weekend by checking out these dream sea kayaking trips."  Then, have a separate tweet to wish people Happy Martin Luther King Day.  Geez. 

Struggle #3: Trying too hard, i.e. "The NICE TRY"

Example: Chicken Of The Sea

Reason: This comes down to knowing your brand and having a consistent brand voice. Honestly, it's not a terrible effort by Chicken Of The Sea.  But, common.  I can't take this seriously!  The tweet seems like it is being spoken by your mascot, this blonde Barbie-like mermaid girl holding a magic wand.  So while a lovely quote, the tweet as a whole doesn't seem consistent with the lighthearted and quirky brand. 

Did you see any tweets you thought were worse than these?  Any that you particularly liked?

Death By Twitter: Beach Edition

We will now add to the adage I mentioned earlier this week: "Things Not To Joke About On Social Media".  Suicide and Shootings.

 

One would think that these are self-evident, yet another rule breaker comes to light this week, after the shootings at LAX.  Newport Beach's marketing director (or shall I say former marketing director), Jeff Soto tweeted this less-than-savvy tweet less than three hours after the shooting.

 

 

Yeah, that one is a firable offense.  The tweet was removed within the hour and Soto's job did not last much longer. 

 

Take this as a cautionary tale.  Followup tweets from Newport Beach explained that they hadn't seen the update of the fatal shooting yet and were focusing on reports of closures and people stuck at the airport.  In an attempt to make quick and relevant updates (think "Oreo Moment"), they ended up making a faux pas.

 

“It’s ultimately our fault to rush something out without finding all the facts. We wouldn’t intentionally do this I assure you,” the group Tweeted Friday.

 

In this case, I think three hours after the incident is enough time to get the whole story.  But it brings up an interesting point.  Our benchmark for this "real-time relevant marketing" is typically the aforementioned "Oreo Moment", when the brand tweeted a pic after the SuperBowl Blackout.  If that blackout had been fatal, or -God forbid- an attack, we might be shaming Oreo instead of praising it! 

 

How do you balance fact-finding with real-time tweeting? 

What Breaking Bad and Oreos Have In Common

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT.

If you haven't watched the final episode of Breaking Bad, stop reading now.

 

Great, I figured since it's been almost a week since the final episode, it was pretty much safe to write about this.  Remember during last year's Superbowl blackout when Oreo placed that awesome real-time ad on Twitter?  Well, people are referring to similar real-time marketing efforts "Oreo Moments" now (how's that for some residual branding!). 

And the series finale that had everyone talking had some pretty great attempts at "Oreo Moments". 

I've listed my favorite three below.

 

 

Clorox on Twitter: Maybe the most similar to the Oreo Moment, is Clorox's tightie whitie ad.  Granted, this seems less real-time than the Oreo ad because it is a nod to Walter's choice undies, which was part of the plot line for years now.  This could have easily been thought up months ago and just ready to tweet.  Still, I like the tie-in. 

Century 21 and Craigslist:

Using a little bit of a different avenue, Century 21 pulled a clever stunt just hours before the finale's start by posting a fake ad for the White's New Mexico home on Craigslist sales page.  The ad claimed it was selling the ranch style Albuquerque home and called it "fit for a king" as well as a host of other insider tidbits in the description. 

Truvia on Twitter: Here's the REAL spoiler alert, which goes along with my personal favorite ad for this blog.  Background: In the final episode, Walter kills someone by replacing her choice sweetener, stevia, with poison. This Truvia ad makes my #1 spot because it's clever AND was obviously thought up in real-time as the finale aired.  Granted, the ad didn't post for a few hours after the show.... but still, the edginess of the tweet probably had to clear some level of lawyers!

How about you?  See any other "Oreo Moments" in the Breaking Bad series finale??