The phenomenon of brands reacting in real time in social media is fascinating to watch as it changes in real time.
At the moment, it seems there is growing expectation that if a product is involved in a moment in the public eye, it ought to react immediately in social media like Facebook or Twitter. But not just any reaction: it seems that the response needs to be self-deprecating and not too self-absorbed, striking a balance between silly and pompous and, above all, deemed to be timely.
When Senator Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican, reached for a bottle of Poland Spring water on Tuesday night during the Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union address, social media exploded with mentions of the brand.
Many of those exclamations were humorous, but they soon took an incredulous tone when it became apparent that Poland Spring was not commenting in social media on its surprise role in the Rubio response.
In fact, an examination of the Poland Spring Twitter feed indicates that there has not been a post since July 2010.
Poland Spring — which is sold by the Nestle Waters North America division of Nestle — finally offered a comment in social media on Wednesday morning, with a post on its Facebook page. The post was accompanied by a photograph of a bottle of Poland Spring in front of the kind of mirror a star would use in his or her dressing room.
“Reflecting on our cameo,” the post read. “What a night!”
By early Wednesday afternoon, the post had drawn more than 300 “likes” and 120 “shares.” There were also comments, which ranged from lighthearted (“Congratulations on your prime-time photobomb! Stay thirsty my friends …”) to critical (“The reflection is wrong. Who put this image together?”).
Poland Spring also provided a statement to CNBC, which CNBC shared on its Twitter feed: “We’re glad Poland Spring was close at hand for Sen. Rubio last night at his moment of need for refreshment.”
Article source: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/after-cameo-poland-spring-uncaps-a-response/?partner=rss&emc=rss