Could Your Company Benefit from Fastvertising?

"Okay, so the Ravens beat the 49ers 34 to 31, Beyonce performed at halftime, but now that I'm jogging your memory, you might also recall that there was a power outage in the stadium that night, and it delayed the game for a full half hour. So you can imagine that the NFL and the TV network and all the advertisers that had bought expensive Super Bowl ads were panicking, but amidst all that, the marketing team at Oreo saw an opportunity."

"They tweeted out a picture of one of their cookies against a dark background with the line, "Power out, no problem. You can still dunk in the dark." It was this pivotal moment in social media advertising. It got around 525 million impressions and it was one of the first examples of a strategy that's become increasingly common ever since: fastvertising."

"I love the term fastvertising, and I assume it is the ability to produce ads really quickly around a cultural moment. Yes, and it's obviously been aided by the rise of social media where so many people see ads today, but there are risks and a lot goes into getting it right. The actor, Ryan Reynolds' marketing firm, Maximum Effort, has made a name for itself doing this, and he partnered with our guest today, Ayelet Israeli, who's an associate professor at Harvard Business School,"

Oreo capitalized on a 2013 Super Bowl power outage by tweeting an image with the line, "Power out, no problem. You can still dunk in the dark," generating roughly 525 million impressions. The tactic exemplifies fastvertising: rapid, culturally timed social-media marketing supported by dedicated teams or 'war rooms.' Fastvertising supplements traditional ads by producing immediate, relevant content tied to unfolding events. Social platforms amplify reach but introduce reputational and execution risks that require planning, speed, and sensitivity. Companies like Ryan Reynolds' Maximum Effort and academic practitioners study and codify best practices for balancing creativity, timing, and risk in real-time marketing.

Read at Harvard Business Review