1. Ferguson Retired
Sam Reid,
Invention
Worldwide
10/5/2013
Background
At 9:17am on Wednesday 8th
May, Manchester United’s Press Office (@ManUtd_PO) sent out a short
tweet explaining that Sir Alex Ferguson had retired as Manchester United manager after 26 and a
half years, accompanied with #ThankYouSirAlex.
Within the hour the tweet had been repeated 18,000 times and there were 1.4m mentions of the
story on Twitter, taking eight of the 10 UK trending topic spots, and four of the 10 worldwide
trends. In an era where brands want, and need, to be part of the consumer conversation, this was
the perfect opportunity to capture the moment.
Details
Brands that have an official affiliation with Manchester United would have a legitimate reason to join
the Twitter conversation, demonstrating their partnership with the club and providing an
authoritative opinion. Some sponsors decided against activating in the social space, which is no
criticism. Given the huge interest on Twitter, perhaps some brands felt they that would refrain
from commenting as they wouldn’t be adding value to the conversation. However, those that did
activate lacked the imagination required to cut through the clutter – SHARP mentioned an unofficial
Manchester United twitter account in their message, whilst Thomas Cook’s #SirFergieHoliday didn’t
capture the public’s imagination (4 RTs).
Brands not officially associated with Manchester United were free to provide the type of reactive
marketing that this story allowed. Nando’s kept their Manchester restaurants open for an extra five
minutes yesterday evening, calling it #NandosFergieTime. The announcement garnered in excess
of 16,000 RTs (about half the number @ManUtd_PO received), whilst mentions praised and
endorsed the restaurant chain; there has since been subsequent national PR from the activity
Paddy Power was at its best on Twitter, releasing light-hearted messages as the day unfolded,
intertwined of course with its Next Manager specials. The activation drove over 1,000 new
followers on the day, along with sizeable traffic to site.
Implications
Ever since Oreo released details of its ‘Dunk in the Dark’ activation, explaining that the brand had a
whole host of creatives and clients in a room watching the Super Bowl, the emphasis for brands has
been how to maximise the ‘in the moment’ activity.
Brands that simply prepare and activate content calendars planned weeks in advance will quickly
start to fall behind in social, and the emphasis will be on immediate response. Sport is a live show,
so brands must be prepared to activate at a moment’s notice.
Summary
Activation by the likes of Nando’s and Paddy Power just go to show that, given the right messaging
and adding value to the conversation, timing is everything. Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement cannot
be compared to Oreo’s Super Bowl activity (a planned event), but it is just another example that
social media, and especially Twitter, is the perfect environment in which brands should play if they
wish to join the consumer conversation – however it is key that they activate in a way that cuts
through the clutter and captures the moment.