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It has not been a good week for Apple. First, the numerous problems with the release of IoS8 raised the ire of customers, and then came #Bendgate. The brand new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s have received a lot of press – largely for the wrong reasons. In what has become known as #Bendgate, reports have circulated of brand new phones bending after being kept in a back pocket, demonstrating a major flaw with the product. But social media marketers were quick to jump on this opportunity to create some of the fastest-spreading viral advertisements to date.
Marketers were quick to jump on the #Bendgate bandwagon, with some brilliantly witty responses. While phone company LG managed to promote its curved phone in a direct swipe at Apple, other companies took things one step further. Car manufacturer Ford pointed out that ‘not all bends are bad,’ suggesting their cars are enjoyable on curved roads.
Nestlé had one of the simplest, most effective examples of trend marketing. The company’s KitKat tweet – with the slogan ‘We don’t bend. We break.’ – demonstrated the phenomenal effect that real-time responsive social media marketing can have. In the first 48 hours, the tweet generated 20,000 retweets and over 9,000 favourites. Most interesting was the follow-up campaign, asking consumers what else would bend or break: a campaign-specific Tumblr page was created to boost customer interaction and continue to poke fun at the #Bendgate fiasco.
The fast response of these companies to #Bendgate is once again proof of the power of social media marketing. Getting the content of advertisements spot on is often just as important as ensuring your products don’t have major design flaws… To make sure your marketing content doesn’t bend (or break), contact Crowdbait to see how we can help.
