Twitter and Oreos, a few of my favorite things

By Matt Gillis

It is no doubt that Twitter is taking the advertising world by storm. Essentially, the social media tool is an advertiser’s greatest gift, allowing companies to converse with their target publics, send out messages in real time, and monitor audience receptivity.

Most recently, Twitter became a more-than-successful advertising platform for one such brand, Samsung. On Sunday night during the broadcast of the 86th Annual Academy Awards, Ellen DeGeneres’s now infamous selfie with Oscar-nominated celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence, Brad Pitt, and Meryl Streep, was taken with a Samsung phone and posted via Twitter. The picture became the most retweeted picture in the social media site’s history, a record that was previously held by a picture posted by President Obama of him and Michelle celebrating after his reelection in 2012.

The selfie, which has 3,311,786 retweets and counting, shows the extent to which brands like Samsung can reach potential consumers. Companies now have the opportunity to capitalize on Twitter’s successful use of interactivity by combining the advertising medium with real-world promotional tactics to reach an optimal consumer audience.

Another brand hoping for advertising success via Twitter is Oreo. After garnering widespread attention from their successful Super Bowl XLVII advertisement released on Twitter in response to the game’s blackout, Oreo is hoping to receive comparable publicity for their latest Twitter promotion.

The cookie brand is employing vending machines that will use trending Twitter conversations to create 3D custom-printed Oreo cookies. The vending machines, which were created by technology design and innovation firm Maya Design, will be featured at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival in the Oreo Trending Vending Lounge.

Using each machine’s touch screen, users will be able to browse and choose from the trending Twitter flavors that include a variety of 12 cremes and colors. The user will then be able to watch as the edible cookie is built in front of their eyes in less than two minutes. Twitter users interested in the promotion can follow the Oreo conversation using #eatthetweet.

I need to know how these taste! If you'll be @SXSW, please let me know!! #eatthetweet #oreoisgenius http://t.co/bFRw4GbrbP

— Christine Engelhardt (@cbystrov) March 6, 2014

https://twitter.com/jmitchem/status/441702267679277056

Cool use of technology, marketing and 3D printing. This is the stuff I want to do: http://t.co/8ekPiCGKI6 #oreo #eatthetweet

— michael (@PAC1ONE) March 7, 2014

Oreo has managed to stay ahead of the advertising trends and create an innovative advertising experience that allows for ultimate consumer interactivity with the brand. Consumers are involved in creating the Twitter conversations that influence the Oreo flavors, they are able to choose the actual cookie to be created, and they can engage in conversation using the promoted hashtag.

This promotion definitely wins my personal award for best advertisement because it combines my two favorite things, Twitter and Oreos.

Reference list:

–       Lukovitz, K. (2014, March 6). Twitter-Powered Vending Machine Creates 3D Oreos. MediaPost. Retrieved March 6, 2014, from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/220949/twitter-powered-vending-machine-creates-3d-oreos.html

–       Sloane, G. (2014, March 6). Oreo Uses Twitter to Make 3-D Cookies at SXSW. AdWeek. Retrieved March 6, 2014, from http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/oreo-uses-twitter-make-3d-cookies-sxsw-156121

#EsuranceSave30 sweepstakes explodes Twitter

By Matt Gillis

In today’s marketplace, any company looking to create a successful brand presence must turn their advertising efforts to the realm of social media. Consumers are voicing their opinions via online blogs, engaging with companies on Twitter and “liking” the organization’s Facebook page to get the brand’s latest updates. But in order to bridge the gap between such online interactions and traditional print or broadcast advertisements as a fulfillment of a company’s integrated marketing communications, these brands must provide incentive for consumers to make that jump.

While many companies chose the traditional and expensive route of broadcast television advertisements during Super Bowl XLVIII this past Sunday, Esurance, an auto insurance company, combined the use of a television commercial with the integrated communication tactic of online engagement in promotion of a sweepstakes.

The company strategically purchased a television spot for directly after the big game. In the advertisement, The Office star John Krasinski explains that the company is randomly giving away $1.5 million, which is the amount of money the company saved by waiting to advertise until after the Super Bowl, to a United States Twitter user who tweets using the hashtag #EsuranceSave30. The sweepstakes was scheduled to last from 4 p.m. Eastern Sunday until 4 a.m. Eastern Tuesday.

While the sweepstakes was the largest sum of money given out via a Twitter contest, the promotional tactic also generated significant publicity for Esurance due to its successful reception by Twitter users. According to the company’s spokesman Danny Miller, 200,000 tweets featuring the promoted hashtag were submitted within a minute of the commercial’s airing and two million entries were recorded within less than 24 hours into the contest. Esurance increased their Twitter following by 101,100 followers within the sweepstake’s timeframe and was the top trending topic throughout the United States throughout that period.

“John,” a 29-year-old from California, was revealed as the winner of the sweepstakes Wednesday night on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Last year during Super Bowl XLVII, Oreo released a timely advertisement via Twitter during the game, which made reference to the blackout that occurred during the second half. Both Oreo and Esurance’s advertisements garnered more attention than any televised commercial during each Super Bowl, proving that Twitter is a powerful marketing platform in the world of advertising.

Due to the nature of Twitter, which allows users to easily retweet content generated by others, companies have the opportunity to create viral marketing messages with just a little bit of creativity. Consumers are willing and eager to engage with companies in order to establish a more intimate relationship with the brand. With just a small incentive, like $1.5 million, companies have the ability to reach outside of the bounds of traditional advertising and into the world of social media.

Reference list:

–       Luckerson, V. (2014, February 3). Esurances $1.5 Million Giveaway Is Making Twitter Go Crazy. Time: Business & Money. Retrieved February 5, 2014, from http://business.time.com/2014/02/03/esurance-save-30-twitter-contest/

 

–       Rive Holmes, R. (2014, February 6). Winner of $1.5M Esurance Giveaway Announced on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”. KMBZ. Retrieved February 6, 2014, from http://www.kmbz.com/Winner-of-1-5M-Esurance-Giveaway-Announced-on-Jimm/18333353