If you are like most Americans, Sunday night was spent in front of the television watching Seth McFarland sing songs that ran much too long and make awkward jokes. I was actually one of the few that did not watch the Oscars (I don’t have the attention span) but I did follow the buzz online.
As an online marketer, it’s always interesting to see how companies take advantage of events such as the Super Bowl, Oscars, Grammy’s, etc. Many viewers are just as interested in seeing the glamorous outfits and train wrecks which can all be found on the red carpet. Similarly, there were a select number of companies that successfully carried off an integrated Oscars marketing campaign, as well as some that just didn’t hit the mark. Below you’ll find what I consider to be the best and worst “dressed” social media marketing moments from the Oscars.
Mobile Vs. Mobile
Best Dressed: @SamsungMobileUS
At first glance I was annoyed that my Twitter feed was jammed with what I considered Samsung’s attempt to hijack the #Oscars2013 hashtag. However, upon further investigation I found that Samsung’s involvement was relevant, and even interesting.
Samsung shared a series of sketches of red carpet gowns that were created using their Galaxy tablet. They also incorporated their own hashtag (#galaxyatwork) to keep the conversation going long after the Oscar’s closing ceremonies.
Marketing Tip: If you’re going to participate in a nationwide or worldwide event, make sure that you find a way to connect with your audience even after the curtain closes.
Worst Dressed: @USCellular
Another mobile company that has been getting some heat was U.S. Cellular, and for good reason. Every single tweet that I saw included their #HelloBetter hashtag (does anyone even know what that means?) and the quality of the content was subpar.
While I think that U.S. Cellular was working to find a way to participate in the conversation without being overly promotional, there appeared to be no direct correlation between the Oscars, and their company.
Marketing Tip: If you don’t have a unique angle, then find another time to participate.
Mustard Makes A Comeback
Best Dressed: Can You Please Pass @TheGreyPoupon
Staying true to form, Grey Poupon relied on their tried and true catch phrases. Fortunately for the mustard, they worked! While utilizing hashtags such as #pardonme and #butofcourse may not have gotten the company trending, they were to say the least, entertaining. I would have to say that my favorite tweet from Grey Poupon’s Oscars campaign was “If only the Society’s original score, “Dijon-na-na” was nominated.#pardonme”
Interestingly enough, Grey Poupon didn’t even use the #Oscars2013 hashtag but was still able to participate in the conversation!
Marketing Tip: Clever and creative pays off.
Greek Yogurt Gets In the Mix
Best Dressed: @chobani
Chobani’s Greek yogurt created a very clever series of ads shared on their Twitter account that while unassuming, took some smarts to create. One of their best tweets of the night read: “We spent days planning tweets for the #O_ _ _ _ s. But we couldn’t get them through legal.” Additionally, Chobani was able to able to play off the red carpet frenzy by creating visual content which housed such tagline’s as: “About as glitzy as we get.” Featuring a a golden spoon.
Marketing Tip: Play to your audience. Chobani has proven that catering to your audience and finding a way to connect through laughter can have an impact.
What I would have liked to have seen more of is consumer brands taking advantage of social networks like Facebook and Pinterest to create Oscar Night posts and boards to help their customers find ways to get the red carpet looks for less. Many companies are not prepared to take advantage of real time social media marketing opportunities, like Poland Spring, but others like Oreo have fully capitalized. With planned events like the Oscars, there’s more time to prepare and prepare creative in advance. Hopefully more brands will take advantage of future opportunities.
Do you think that B2C or even B2B companies took full advantage of the Oscars social media buzz? What do you think they could have done differently?
Image via Shutterstock.
