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Content marketers have a tough job cutting through the noise and communicating directly and instantly with consumers on social media. Marketers know that aligning a brand with a newsworthy event or trending conversation about niche topics like fashion or sports can result in an increase in engagement and interaction, but when hijacking hot topics and current events, brands must also beware.
Last week there was royal chatter on social media, as the world sent birthday greetings to the Queen, and mourned the loss of a Prince.
It was no secret that Queen Elizabeth II would be celebrating her 90th birthday on April 21.
Content marketers around the world had time to plan ahead and create proactive content for the milestone occasion.
Here is a look at some examples of brands using proactive marketing to involve themselves in the conversation about the top trending hashtag #HappyBirthdayYourMajesty.
#HappyBirthdayYourMajesty: Celebrating 90 years in 90 photos https://t.co/DGolLO5jVd
— Press Association (@PA) April 21, 2016
We gave our restaurant a royal makeover in honour of Her Majesty. #HappyBirthdayYourMajesty #QueenAt90 pic.twitter.com/WcW3F3mybL
— Burger King UK (@BurgerKingUK) April 21, 2016
What do you get the woman who has everything? How about a @DairyQueen Blizzard! #HappyBirthdayYourMajestyhttps://t.co/cIy8cyThAI
— ET Canada (@ETCanada) April 21, 2016
From one Queen to another. #ThroughTheLookingGlass #HappyBirthdayYourMajestyhttps://t.co/YK0tmCpUBb
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) April 21, 2016
What no one could have predicted, however, is that another royal - musical icon Prince, would be pronounced dead on the same day as Her Majesty’s birthday. This shocking news had brands honouring the musical icon with reactive marketing, or what is also known as ‘moment marketing.’
Here is a look at some examples of brands using reactive marketing to involve themselves in the conversation about Prince’s death.
We join the world in mourning the loss of a genius, a legend, and an inspiration to generations of artists and fans. pic.twitter.com/nd5OgLcRdl
— Spotify (@Spotify) April 21, 2016
Fitting that it's raining in Minneapolis today. pic.twitter.com/s5KFurDhHi
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 21, 2016
Reactive marketing or moment marketing provides marketers with a brief opportunity to put the right message in front of the right consumer. When done tastefully, it can be very impactful.
Brands like Chevrolet caused a lot of buzz on social media when it paid tribute to Prince with a very well executed campaign, created in a few hours, that made reference to lyrics in Prince's 1982 hit Little Red Corvette.
— Chevrolet (@chevrolet) April 22, 2016
Cheerios, on the other hand, was not as successful in its reactive marketing efforts. The brand offended fans with this tweet, which the company later removed.
Cheerios deleted their tweet, but slack never forgets. pic.twitter.com/AhmDmcuVt0
— Arielle Calderon (@Arielle07) April 21, 2016
Other well executed moment marketing examples include:
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Google Doodle's purple rain tribute to Prince.
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Snapchat's purple rain filter on it's popular messaging app
The news of Prince's passing was also captured on Twitter's Moments.
Content is King & Queen
Ready to develop a content strategy and find ways to create, curate, and effectively manage consistent editorial content? Join us on Tuesday, May 3 for the 9th segment in our Social Media Madness Series. Attendees will learn how to keep content flowing and understand how the four “C’s” will help you create a powerful content creation machine.
If you would like to know more about proactive and reactive content marketing or need help creating moment marketing campaigns contact us today.
