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? 

Superbowl XLVII Proves Need for Social Media Speed!!

 

We always say the world of social media is fast paced.  Long standing rules of marketing, public relations and consumer engagement have been flipped on their heads by the real-time quickness of today's digital world.  And this was seen on a national level during last night's Superbowl!  While Twitter quips and Facebook posts filled up the night, my top two performers for speed and agility are Oreo and @SuperbowlLights!

 

Twitter handle @SuperBowlLights is a classic look at timing in the social media space.  The handle was created as a joking nod toward- what else- the power outage!! Get this, within ONE HOUR of the moment the lights went out in New Orleans stadium, the handle was created, gained 25,000 followers and was being regulated and having tweets removed by the NFL.  ONE HOUR, people!  It has taken me long than that to get my hair done!

While the story of @SuperBowlLights is quick and impressive, I think @OREO outdoes them.  Mere minutes after the power outage, @Oreo tweeted this "You Can Still Dunk In The Dark" ad.  Wow.  The reason I find this more impressive is that Oreo is a large brand name.  It is owned by Nabisco, which is owned by Kraft--- you get the point? We are talking layers upon layers of approval in a typical decision making process.  But apparently, they are lean and mean enough to be quick and relevant when needed!  Kudos to Oreo!