Remember what happened two years ago, when Kate Middleton gave birth to her son George, nicknamed the Royal Baby? The media was completely swarmed with ads and content concerning the newest member of the British Royal Family. Some were fun, some were mean, but the most important thing was timing. Whoever was first to post or tweet something with their product and the Royal Baby were the marketing winners. We’re witnessing the same situation now, as the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to her second child on Saturday and real-time marketing specialists are doing their best to improve the social media presence of their brands. Sotrender analysed tweets from the biggest brands and, based on them, we’re sharing some advice for effective real-time marketing.
Why do brands engage in real-time marketing in social media?
They do it primarily to show their human side and increase an emotional connection with their customers. They’re trying to make people think more deeply about a brand rather than just using the products and services. When you’re thinking about real-time marketing content, don’t forget about the values your brand wants to embrace and is known for. However, don’t step out too far from them either. Show that you can be funny and reliable at the same time. Also remember that not every one will like your message. You can’t please everyone and that’s normal; people are not the same and don’t like the same things.
Kensington Palace’s announcement of the birth of the Royal Babt Girl
Is there any good strategy?
Well, there is, and it’s called preparation. Most events widely covered in social media are anticipated. Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, April’s Fool Day take place every year, and the World Cup and Olympics – every four years. You know the exact date for each of them and as such, you can prepare your real-time marketing communication well in advance. It’s the same with the Royal Baby. Media coverage of Duchess Kate’s second pregnancy was not as big as that of Prince George, but it was widely known that she would deliver her child in April. Yes, the baby’s gender was hidden from the public, but it is always possible to prepare content for both occasions, boy or girl. We now know that the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a baby girl, and as you can see below, brands were very prepared for the occasion.
Lego tweet about royal baby girl
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Should my brand do it?
There is no general answer to that question. This decision must be taken carefully. If you want to brand your company as easy-going, friendly and not-to-serious – go ahead. If your strategy doesn’t focus on fun, either because your brand is more conservative than funny or it has nothing to do with the topic – just don’t take part in it. Losing credibility or letting down your target audience is definitely not what you want to achieve. We know it’s tempting to leverage your brand using social media, but there are cases where it’s not worth your time and effort.
How to prepare and conduct real-time marketing content?
- Think about how the Royal Baby fits into your brand strategy
- Prepare well in advance
- Act on time
- Respond to posts by other brands
- Engaging in brand-to-brand interaction is a good way to raise the awareness of your brand. Especially, when you do it in a witty and funny way. Don’t just add your content, but, well, respond and have fun.
We have written about real-time marketing before, several times even. After Prince George was born, we researched the brands’ reaction to see how they acted and who was prepared for real-time marketing. We also gave some pieces of advice. Now that his sister is born, we can check if the brands listened to us. We have also chosen the best examples of this kind of action. Behold, the best brand reactions to the birth of the Royal Baby Girl as chosen by Sotrender Team.
Clarks’s reaction to the Royal Baby Girl
Barbour’s reaction to the birth of the Royal Baby Girl
Royal Navy’s reaction to the birth of the Royal Baby Girl
British Airway’s reaction to the birth of the Royal Baby Girl
The Sun’s reaction to the birth of the Royal Baby Girl
Taher Batterywala
Paul Staten
Andrew Ginsberg
