• by Tobi Elkin , Staff Writer @tobielkin, December 14, 2015

Adam Padilla is co-founder of Brandfire, a boutique creative, design and brand agency. His clients include Budweiser, Tom Brady, Spanx, ZICO and NYC 311. Previously, he was creative director of the New Jersey Nets. RTBlog checked in with Padilla to see what’s on his mind for 2016.

What do brand marketers need to think about when executing real-time marketing campaigns? 

Padilla: Real-time marketing is all about upstream messaging.  While the entire world is flowing in one direction, you have to stand out among the din with your own unique message.  Think about how you consume your social media feeds. You scroll, you scan, you aren’t taking in individual messages as much as you are taking in patterns.  

Your campaign has to create a blip in the pattern in order to be noticed. Be topical, but offer a different perspective from everyone else. Never blend in. Keep your message compelling --  but never at the expense of your brand’s equity.    

What systems need to be aligned in order to execute and implement on real-time campaigns?

Padilla: In order to properly execute a real-time campaign, your creative team has to be at the ready to create content -- but most importantly, your brand-management and social media teams have to be in lockstep.  

It’s tempting to let creative fly before checking against brand parameters, but if you do, you wind up with a short-term hit and a negative long-term effect on your brand equity.  

If your brand voice is playful but always respectful and intelligent, a reactive tweet using potty humor may do damage to that brand perception.  

The temptation is to be opportunistic and quick on the trigger, which is why your brand standards team should always approve -- and if necessary, modify your messaging to make sure that it serves the moment, but also the bigger picture. 

How will marketers use first- and third-party data to inform their creative?

Padilla: Marketers will use first-party data to target specific conversation topics and nomenclature to seamlessly integrate into social media and targeted advertising.  

Third-party data can use buying patterns and browsing history to further customize the message.  

For example, if Snickers were to run a real-time campaign during a GOP debate, it could customize a message to a 45-year-old Republican that says “Hungry for a new President? Eat a Snickers” and a message for a 23-year-old Democrat that says “Trump, you say dumb stuff when you’re hungry. Eat a Snickers.” It’s all about the flexibility of the messaging.