Today’s edition of “What’s Buzzing” highlights brands that are staying relevant through inter-brand conversations and amplifying the impact of traditional campaigns through social media. As Vine and Instagram duke it out for consumer attention, brands are leveraging the platforms by building them into other forms of media and tapping into their most influential users. Read on for our summary of this week’s biggest headlines in digital.
iPhone 5 Announcement Sparks Nokia Real-Time Content
Apple’s much-anticipated press event earlier this week culminated with the announcement of the iPhone 5C, a “budget” model that will be sold for less than $100, as well as the iPhone 5S. As expected, chatter around the announcement spread across social media channels, where brands were eager to enter the conversation. Nokia UK was one brand that jumped on the news with a timely tweet that poked fun at the similarity of the new iPhone’s color options to that its own company currently offers. The tweet was shared 7,000 times in 20 minutes – but Nokia didn’t stop there. The brand continued to quip as more details were revealed. As brands strive to rise above the noise in social, authenticity (which can take the form of ‘brand banter’) and timeliness will only grow in importance. While taking jabs at the competition isn’t the right move for all brands, Nokia’s response clearly resonated with its audience in social.
Thanks, #Apple 😉 pic.twitter.com/x4w3r8Ghcy
— Nokia UK (@nokia_uk) September 10, 2013
Instagram Tops 150MM Users, Says it Plans to Introduce Ads in 2014
Instagram recently reached the milestone of 150 million monthly active users – up 20 million people from last June. Following the addition of video in June 2013, analysts began to suspect that the addition of a paid media offering would be coming soon. This week, Instagram confirmed these expectations and promised marketers that ads would make their way into the platform as early as next year. While users have become accustomed to an uninterrupted Instagram experience – devoid of blatant advertising – brands have been creating content there with success for quite some time. As is the case with other forms of paid social media, marketers will want to ensure their content adds value and follows the best practices of the platform.
Trident Taps Vine Influencers for First-Ever 6-Second Spot
Though Vine’s user-base isn’t as large as that of Instagram, the platform is shaping the way brands approach video marketing thanks to its bevy of prolific breakout stars that churn out viral content on a daily basis. Trident recently partnered with two such power-users to create four Vine videos to help promote the brand’s “Paid in Layers” campaign. Though social at its core, the effort integrated with the brand’s traditional media plan as the video with the strongest engagement aired on the TV network FUSE. As the battle for consumer attention wages on, brands are finding success in emerging environments like Vine by borrowing relevance from influencers that have already developed sizable followings in those spaces.
Dunkin Donuts airs Vine Spot on Monday Night Football
Not long after news of Trident’s Vine efforts broke, Dunkin Donuts announced that it would be running its own Vine spot during ESPN’s Monday Night Football pre-game show. The video, which was edited to five seconds in order to fit into the billboard ad unit, appeared full-screen between segments during ESPN programming. Dunkin Donuts extended the conversation by incorporating other social platforms and directing viewers to follow along on Twitter as more Vines were released during the game.
Burberry Supports New Fragrance Launch through Social-First Campaign
Another integrated campaign this week came from one of the most iconic brands in fashion. Burberry will premiere a 30-second spot on YouTube (which will later come to TV) to support the recent launch of the men’s fragrance, Brit Rhythm. Social at its core, the campaign will include an Instagram activation in which influential photographers will use the hashtag “ThisIsBrit” while generating images that will later be presented on OOH units. The campaign will conclude with three music events in London, New York and Singapore next month.
Cover photo via Brand Channel
