By Brittany Bevacqua, Senior Account Executive & Julia Gaynor, Account Supervisor, Affect Strategies
In PR, marketing and social media, nearly everyone can recall a time when a client needs project support in a very tight, if not nearly impossible, window of time. In Comedy Central's case, the clients were network talent Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, who each announced the 'Rally to Restore Insanity' and the 'March to Keep Fear Alive' events not via email or during an internal meeting, but instead during episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.
On day two of Social Media Week 2011, we had the opportunity to attend a panel sponsored by Comedy Central titled, 'Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear Case Study,' which discussed the social media driven tactics that would lead to the resounding success of the event on October 30, 2010 in Washington D.C. The panel consisted of:
- Steve Grimes, SVP Comedy Central, Digital
- Don Steele, VP Digital Marketing, MTVN Entertainment
- Moderator: Craig Minassain, Rally Producer and President, Minassain Media
The panel began with the realisation that Comedy Central had no previous knowledge that Stewart or Colbert had planned to announce the events. After the initial shock, the Comedy Central team had just six week to organise, promote and execute the rally event in Washington D.C.
Because of the tight timeline, the group turned to social media in lieu of traditional marketing activities to ensure a successful campaign. By tapping into The Daily Show and The Colbert Report's strong viewer following via Twitter and Facebook, they were instantly able to begin generating buzz and attendee interest in the weeks leading up to the event.
Through partnerships with outlets such as Foursquare and Meetup, Comedy Central was able to reach its audiences from all angles. As a result, more than 250,000 attended the rally; two million viewers watched it on Comedy Central; it emerged as the largest single event for Foursquare; and was one of the biggest live streaming events in history for MTV Networks.
One of the key learnings the panelists felt came out of this experience was actually to put the viewers or customers more in the driver's seat. Both shows have significant viewer advocates. By using social media to listen to what they needed and wanted out of the event, the team was able to formulate a successful event.
Another key takeaway that panelists found to be invaluable in their experience was to let the experts do their jobs. Often times, as marketers, we can dream up fantastic ideas, but when it comes down to execution, we may not have the skill set in order to make it happen.
The Comedy Central team learned this when developing an iPhone app for the event. They found experts in creating apps for music festivals and leveraged their talents to pull out the seemingly impossible feat of developing and deploying an iPhone app in less than six weeks.
The most significant learning for the Comedy Central team was that social media needed to be part of the everyday activities of the shows. They saw the true power of the medium and what could be achieved by engaging with fans in this venue. This is something that every marketer can learn from.
Not all clients have built-in followings like The Daily Show or The Colbert Report, but no matter if you're selling ceiling fans or coffee, social media engagement has been proven to have a real, tangible impact on a business.
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