Oscar ads fizzle on Twitter
Digital marketers failed to make the best of this year's Academy Awards ceremony, with observers this morning deeming the majority of tweets to be failures. After many brands capitalized on the social media buzz surrounding the Super Bowl earlier this month, hopes were high that some marketing gems would arise from this year's Oscars ceremony last night. A few brands produced okay ads, with Oreo attempting to replicate the success of its blockbuster Blackout ad and Oscar Meyer jumping on the #OscarsRTM hashtag, while others produced tweets that were irrelevant and confusing.
Capitalizing on current events, known as newsjacking, is a great way for brands to get in front of the media spotlight but only if it's properly executed. Ads need to be timely, on-topic, and not too salesy in order to resonate with viewers. Marketers should be careful to maintain their brand voice, and ads will do best if they entertain or inform viewers. It's not enough to simply jump on a media bandwagon: As always, brands must be original and authentic to capture customers' attention.
Visit Adweek and Advertising Age to read some of this year's Oscars-related tweets.