Five years from now brands could spend $10 million on promoted tweets during the Super Bowl, according to an industry observer.
But first, brands need to learn how to use Twitter and avoid Sunday night’s Toyota disaster, in which the car maker ended up spamming people who used game-related hash tags.
“It makes complete sense that the most watched television event will also turn into the most talked about subject on social media,” said Dave Kerpen, CEO and co-founder of Likeable Media. “If I’m a brand, I definitely want to be part of that conversation.”
The $10 million figure is about 10% of the total spent on television advertising during this year’s game, Kerpen said.
We reached out to Toyota and several people at Twitter on Monday asking what guidance, if any, the company gives to advertisers and brands using the service as part of a marketing campaign. So far, we haven’t heard back but will update if we do.
Toyota is just the latest in a long-line of Twitter miscues by brands, many of which were covered by Robyn Tippins last week. Several verified Twitter accounts, including @CamryEffect, used LocalResponse to invite people discussing the game on Super Bowl-related hashtags like #SB46 to enter a contest to win a Camry.
LocalResponse is a program that lets users respond to tweets in real-time, but in this case, the response was overdone and many users who had expressed no interest in Toyota or the campaign. Because the Toyota accounts were verified by Twitter, the implication was that the aggressive marketing was condoned by the microblogging site.
“While such programs are certainly helpful, it’s always better to respond to mentions personally,” Kerpen said. “A personalized, spam free message makes a big difference in engaging with consumers.”
