After the Oreo team’s big social media win dominated the post-Super Bowl buzz, a whole lot of people who had never used the phrase “real-time marketing” before started throwing it around like a hot potato.

The point is that pretty much any business whose description includes the words “firm” or “agency” now needs to claim that it has “real-time marketing capabilities” in order to win the interest of big-name clients. McCann Erickson, for example, named its new social media-only division “McCann Always On”. The “RTM” phrase doesn’t just apply to agencies that label themselves “ad” or “marketing”, either — PR wants to “own” social media too, remember?

The problem is that the whole phenomenon just isn’t that simple — and it’s not too terribly revolutionary either. Explaining that to clients, however, may be a bit of a challenge.

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Today AdAge brings news that 360i, the digital agency responsible for all those creative Oreo tweets you’ve read so much about this year, will now handle social media marketing for HBO — and this right after we posted on how Game of Thrones always has the best promo swag!

The premium cable giant, which brought its social operations in-house in 2007, chose 360i to create campaigns designed to stir the buzz among fans online. The agency’s team will rep HBO at the same time as the folks at Campfire, the NYC firm responsible for creating several innovative fan engagement campaigns on the channel’s behalf. According to an internal release, Campfire’s latest work for HBO involved the second annual “pledge your allegiance” campaign promoting the release of season 2 on DVD this February.

Click through for a case study video of the release date event, complete with awesome ice sculpture:

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We missed this social media branding win last week, but when the words “Oreo” and “social media” showed up together on our Twitter feed this morning we knew we had to check it out. Seems like the team at 360i (see below)** won again in a friendly exchange between the cookie guys, sort-of rival Kit Kat and a fan who can’t get enough of either. It all started with this:

Can tell I like chocolate abit too much when I’m following @kitkat and @oreo hahahahahah

— LauraEllen (@Laura_ellenxx) March 11, 2013

Kit Kat saw an opportunity and grabbed it two days later:

The fight for @laura_ellenxx‘s affections is on. @oreo your move #haveabreak twitpic.com/cb1g84

— Kit Kat (@KITKAT) March 13, 2013

That evening, Oreo came back and killed it:

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The media has rendered its verdict: Despite receiving the message that it’s all about Oreo-style “real time marketing“, brands promoting themselves during last night’s Academy Awards (or “The Super Bowl for women” if you’re a sexist) did not measure up to their Game Day peers, despite paying premium prices for 30-second ad spots. They didn’t quite rock social media either.

The problem? On Twitter, at least, the content felt more than a little forced. We get it: spontaneous humor and topical commentary is hard; you really can’t fake it. Some examples:

We’re just saying: if we were nominated & had to remember a speech, we would probably write it on a #GalaxyNoteII. #GalaxyAtWork

— Samsung Mobile US (@SamsungMobileUS) February 24, 2013

Samsung tried hard to be on top of things but mostly came up empty-handed.

Congratulations to Christoph Waltz. #oscars twitter.com/StellaArtois/s… — Stella Artois (@StellaArtois) February 25, 2013

Not quite relevant to the brand, is it? Read more

You’ve heard the news: Super Bowl 47 was all about social. While the TV ratings for last night’s game were higher than the year before, the audience’s social activity/engagement numbers more than doubled. The “Brand Bowl” confirmed something we already knew: social now plays a bigger role in the marketing/advertising/PR equation than ever before–and its influence will surely continue to grow.

Need evidence? Here are our 10 favorite social media moments from last night’s big game.

1. Oreo’s on-the-fly branding spot: Is it obvious? Yes. But there’s a reason people are still flipping out over Oreo and 360i‘s incredible acts of branding.

Power out? No problem. twitter.com/Oreo/status/29…

— Oreo Cookie (@Oreo) February 4, 2013

2. Budweiser‘s “Name that Clydesdale” campaign: This one was a slow burn strategy win. Bud was very wise to start the hype early by leaking videos and encouraging fans to get involved.

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For all the time, money and man power spent planning and perfecting Super Bowl ads, one of the most successful and brilliant acts of branding that occurred during last night’s game went from idea to execution in a matter of minutes–and cost a whole lots less than any prime time TV spot.

Oreo tweeted the below message at 8:48 pm last night, just after the power went out in half of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. As of this writing, Oreo’s comical, lightning-speed advert has been retweeted over 14,000 times.

Power out? No problem. twitter.com/Oreo/status/29…

— Oreo Cookie (@Oreo) February 4, 2013

So in a world of meticulously crafted, edited and reviewed Super Bowl advertising (like Oreo’s TV spot), how did the brand manage to get its incredibly topical message into the Twitterverse so quickly? Sarah Hofstetter, president of 360i–the agency behind the ad–explained, “We had a mission control set up at our office with the brand and 360i, and when the blackout happened, the team looked at it as an opportunity…Because the brand team was there, it was easy to get approvals and get it up in minutes.”

Other brands quickly followed suit with their own blackout-themed tweets, but none received the response that Oreo’s did.

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360i and Oscar Mayer have put America’s shameless love of bacon to the ultimate test by sending Josh Sankey on a cross-country adventure with only a truckload of bacon to trade for shelter, non-bacon-food, and other expenses. That’s right, no cash, no checks, no credit cards–Sankey will rely solely on the kindness bacon cravings of strangers. Skeptical? Clearly, you underestimate America’s love of salty pigfat and our blatant disregard for cardiovascular health; he’s already successfully bartered for Jets tickets, a bag of ice, and a wedding invitation. Seriously.

If you’re curious what Sankey might “buy” next, you can follow him on his journey at BaconBarter.com. And, if you’d like to know how much bacon your stuff is worth (or if you simply forgot to pick up breakfast meat on your last trip to the grocery store), you can get in on the bacon-bartering-action via Facebook, Twitter and email.

So heads-up America: if you’re selling something a weary traveler may need, or have a particularly comfy-looking couch, don’t be too surprised if next time there’s a knock on your door it’s Sankey offering you a brick or two of bacon for what you’ve got to offer him. Just make sure to keep the Lipitor handy.

Don’t we already live in an augmented reality? Kind of, but our reality will get even more augmented said John Havens, EVP of social media at Porter Novelli, during this morning’s panel discussion on mobile marketing at the PRSA Digital Impact Conference.

According to Havens, “AR is the GPS of your life” that could possibly turn every landscape into a screen of information, promotions, and advertising. While he told the audience not to be scared, it seems like we’re voluntarily signing up for a life lived in The Matrix, which kind of rattles the nerves.

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A screenshot of "Aziz is Bored," comedian Aziz Ansari's Tumblr. (azizisbored.tumblr.com)

Technology doesn’t stand still. As soon as we were all getting comfortable with Twitter and Facebook, along comes Tumblr and a mass of other digital platforms that offer the opportunity to reach important target audiences. Should you be scared? And how do you sell these new channels to clients?

In today’s guest post, Rob Wilson, a digital publicist with 360i, suggests that the PR industry stay on top of these platforms and introduce them to clients quickly so they’re also in the know.

Click through to read more.

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Aasif Mandvi, host of this year's Shorty Awards

What a difference a year makes. Last year the Shorty Awards — dedicated to honoring the best producers of short, real-time content — had CNN anchor Rick Sanchez as host. This year, Sanchez is long gone from CNN, and in his place was Aasif Mandvi of the Daily Show.

The significance wasn’t lost on Mandvi, as the Daily Show was right in the middle of things when Sanchez was dismissed from CNN last fall. “You all must really hate Rick Sanchez,” Mandvi joked, insinuating it was a slap in the face for Sanchez to have someone  from the Daily Show hosting.

Mandvi also poked a bit of fun at the awards themselves, as he joked that they are “the most relevant awards show ever,” and said, “Let me be honest. I’m only here to increase my Twitter followers.”

That being said, in their third year, the Shorty Awards have only gotten bigger (and longer).

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