27 Nov Are these the Worst Promoted Tweets Ever?
“Is this actually real?!” That was my response when a friend of mine, Stephen Waddington, tweeted a screen grab of a promoted tweet that had appeared in his timeline on Sunday. And as promoted tweets go, it’s a gem.
At the time, I laughed and shrugged it off. Until Monday, when another friend, Michael Taggart, retweeted this:.
Instant relief for itchy bums. Guaranteed to soothe anal itching or your money back. http://t.co/rTm5mveIq7 https://t.co/oWTA4GfhTT
— Analcare Cream (@analcare) October 7, 2014
And now I can’t decide whether the Twitter profile for Analcare Cream, and the associated promoted tweets, are the biggest waste of money I’ve seen on Twitter in a very long time…or simple, utter genius!
On the one hand, my heart sinks when I think of the company spending money on promoting this product to all and sundry. Hardly targeted, is it? How many of the people who see this just so happen to be suffering from an itchy butt? My bet is very few. Well, none, to be precise.
Which makes the hundreds (thousands?) of pounds being spent on promoted tweets a total waste when it’s trying to flog a £7.99 (I checked) tube of bum cream.
On the other hand, well, this:
The perfect gift for someone who has everything….Including an itchy BUM! http://t.co/dnUXvmuPOD pic.twitter.com/bflKMXGJQk — Analcare Cream (@analcare) November 25, 2014
The perfect Christmas gift? Haha!
You could argue that this round of promoted tweets is generating awareness. But it’s awareness without context. Non-contextual awareness doesn’t sell a product that is, let’s face it, very much in the ‘need to know’ category. I don’t know about you, but I can’t say I’ll buy some on impulse next time I’m in the chemist because I saw it promoted on Twitter.
One thing it does remind me of is Susan Boyle’s botched record launch. Back in November 2012, SuBo infamously invited her followers to #susanalbumparty, notching one of the biggest Twitter fails ever. In fact, I was delighted on looking it up that it STILL gets regular mentions two years later. The gift that keeps on giving…
On balance, and having checked out the Twitter profile for Analcare in a bit more detail, I have to say I think it’s probably a missed opportunity, believe it or not.
Rather than naively following the likes of Michael Buble, Emma Bunton and Royal Mail (?!) and spending money on pointless promoted tweets, imagine the fun discussions that could be had if the brand devised a more engagement-led and conversational real-time campaign!
Now THAT would be something worth following. And it’s right up my, um, ‘alley’.
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Posted by Paul Sutton
