Hashtags Don't Break For Halftime

Working at an agency like Weiden+Kennedy is a dream come true for many college students. Jocelyn Goldberg, a GVSU alum and Weiden+Kennedy brand strategist, recently came back to campus to share her experiences with us. This event was great for advertising and public relations students because while she is currently a brand strategist, she has background in social media.

Being a Brand Strategist, Goldberg works directly with clients and creative teams. After working with clients to determine the problem, she does a majority of the research to help establish a solution.

Goldberg has worked with clients ranging from local startups and non-profits, to the world’s biggest brands, including Coke-Cola and Oreo. During her presentation at Grand Valley, Goldberg revealed how to get brands off the bench, into the game, and through the end zone during the Super Bowl.

She explained that social media is a great way to have a lasting impression during the Super Bowl. Without staying social, a brands message only lasts the length of a commercial, which is roughly 30-60 seconds. With a social presence, brands are better able to come to life and allow more human-like interactions. When brands are on social media, consumers can have a feeling of comfort and loyalty, thus creating a deeper connection to the brand.

It is obvious why brands are on social media, especially being a public relations firm. The real question is HOW do they manage such a large fan base. The secret? Having a War room.

Large brands like Coke have a War room. This room is for everyone to gather in when working on a large and interactive project. Anyone who could possibly have any input is gathered in this room. Coke uses their War room during the Super Bowl when over 100 million people view their advertisements.

At the end of Coke-Cola's advertisement during the Super Bowl they put a website link and a hashtag. Of these 100 million people watching the Super Bowl ad, 12 million people went to their website at the same time when it was done airing.

War rooms are perfect for communicating with such large audiences. An example of a brand capitalizing on using a War room would be during the 2013 Super Bowl when there was a power outage and Oreo came up with their "You can still dunk in the dark" campaign. They may or may not have planned for this kind event to happen, but when everyone was in the room together dealing with the event, the creative team members and brand directors were all able to work together.

                                               Photo courtesy of @Oreo

In these War rooms, team members plan and enact different possible scenarios that could come up during the project, in this case the Super Bowl. These scenarios can range from "what will the brand do if team A wins instead of team B and vice versa" to "what will the brand do if there is a national tragedy?"

Working with GrandPR this semester, I am excited to apply the lessons that Goldberg taught me. As a team, we continue to better ourselves to best serve our clients.

Jaclyn Ermoyan, Administrative Assistant
@JaclynErmoyan