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It's So Good When Bad Things Go So Great
November 4, 2014
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The San Francisco Giants may have won the World Series last week, but it was Chevy Regional Zone Manager, Rikk Wilde, from Kansas City who won the Internet that night.
Wilde, who was clearly nervous presenting the keys of a new Chevy Colorado to World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner, unknowingly became a Twitter sensation when he uttered this line, "The Colorado offers class-winning and -leading, um, you know, technology and stuff."
Here's the moment:
No one is perfect and could choke anytime under this pressure. That's what being "flawsome" is all about -- flawed and awesome -- simultaneously.
But if you spend time on Twitter -- especially during live events -- you know the dark but often funny underbelly of great snark on this real-time platform will elevate moments like this one in a heartbeat.
And it did. Instantly, "#TechnologyAndStuff," became a trending topic on Twitter. Even the late Chris Farley had a starring role in the memes:
And that's just what Chevy did.
Soon after "#TechnologyAndStuff" was trending, Chevy rallied behind their employee and got in on the joke, too:
Chevy quickly had "#TechnologyAndStuff" plastered on their website, and even took out full page ads in publications like USA Today the next day:
The fact that Chevy didn't take the blunder so seriously, and instead embraced Rikk Wilde's awkwardness, is a great reminder for any brand to keep those big egos in check.
Chevy was also nimble enough to seize this moment - a great lesson for how brands should behave today.
The reason why Chevy was able to take advantage of #Technologyandstuff was because well before this event happened, they had a solid system of online listening in place. This protocol has trained the social team to hear people and speak less. And because of that, they owned this opportunity -- rather than watching it slip by.
There's another piece to this, too.
Once a system of listening is created, the next critical part for brands is having the right people "man the post."
Not everything is an opportunity.
You need smart, perceptive people in place that have the ability to create instantly along with an equal amount of discipline and honesty over their creativity. If the tone of your "comeback" does not make immediate sense, is not relevant to the topic, and dulls excitement for a brand trying to be in the moment-- walk away from the "send" button.
Smart brands know when to say something and when to stay quiet.
- They are in tune with their current image, its voice and consumer expectations, and work from that origin.
- They speak as though they are people - without losing the trust and capital built up along the way.
- They believe every person counts and work continuously to earn a positive exchange with fans.
Being in the moment can have a bottom-line effect.
When you have a real handle on social interaction, you'll find an increase in your brand's positive image, a boost in fans sampling the brand, and more recommendations to their friends because you were so good, they couldn't stop tweeting about you.
I hope you'll make plans to join us for Worldwide Radio Summit 2015 in Los Angeles. I'm in the process of building a must-see session on, um, you know, #SocialMediaAndStuff.
Special thanks to NRG's Director. of Programming, Jeff Winfield, for sharing this moment with me.
Reach out to me anytime on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.
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