Speed seems to be everything in today’s fast-paced and ever-connected world. Feeling rushed and overwhelmed? Are you missing out on being part of the conversation because you’re too slow? Is real-time marketing all about responding quickly to the latest trends and events?
If you take a good look at social media conversations that are taking place on Twitter & Co. you quickly come to realize something very weird, and that is: some brands seem to be hard-wired to Twitter. If you look at their feeds, they respond to the latest trending hashtag within minutes. You literally end up asking yourself whether real time equals real results.
A couple of days ago, the Toronto ad agency john st. released a funny video about real-time marketing and how every “serious” brand feels the need to never miss an opportunity by reacting to mainstream events within minutes. If you’re too slow, you’re out of the game.
Enjoy the video below. It’s hilarious.
Real-Time Marketing Is Not About Quality…
…it’s about speed. It’s about reacting quickly, within seconds if possible.
Interesting message coming from john st. new marketing department called Reactvertising™. By ignoring traditional marketing approaches in favor of “reactivism”, this newly created unit does whatever it takes to ensure clients can react to breaking news within seconds.
Is this really so far from the truth? Why are marketing departments buying into this craziness and more importantly, why are brands propelling this insane behavior?
Marketers struggle to understand the meaning of real-time marketing
What does real-time marketing actually stand for? What does it mean?
To explore how marketers currently think of real-time marketing and the challenges those in charge face, Adobe teamed up with formerly Neolane (today it’s New Adobe Campaign) and the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) to conduct a study of 235 North American marketers across industries and company sizes.
Key insights from the study include:
- 43% of the participants think of real-time marketing as “dynamic, personalized content delivered across channels.”
- 64% of participants believe real-time marketing revolves around some kind of dynamic personalization.
- Only 23% believe real-time marketing is about making quick responses to mainstream events or injecting your business in social media conversations.
- 60% of marketers struggle to personalize content in real-time.
- Two-thirds of respondents are planning to implement real-time technologies in the future.
- More than half say the greatest benefits of real-time marketing are: marketing effectiveness (higher conversion), customer experience, and customer retention.
These findings are quite different from what is being heavily promoted in the media. Obviously, most marketers still think of real-time marketing as being web personalization.
Real-time marketing is a tactic used by brands to get noticed quickly, receive more coverage and ultimately, be recognized in the industry. If executed successfully, this tactic is a bliss. If your campaign is executed poorly, be prepared to experience an unforgettable roller coaster ride. Marketers love to rip other marketers.
Over To You
What do you think drives the popularity of real-time marketing?
Do you keep track of popular topics and create content based on breaking news and trends?
