For the
second year in a row, the NFL Playoffs have provided a hotbed of real-time marketing opportunities.
The first win of the day came from the unlikeliest of places, which is to say it was
actually a place -- Omaha, Nebraska. The purported “official tourism" Twitter page for the city, @VisitOmaha, took advantage of the fact that NFL quarterbacks -- in this case, Peyton Manning --
frequently yell “Omaha!” before snapping the ball.
Thanks to the way today’s sound technology picks up pre-snap calls, people spend the better part of three hours
hearing quarterbacks yell “Omaha!” every Sunday. Today was no different, so Omaha took to the tweets:
The tweet has already generated thousands of retweets. Critics will rightfully point out that retweets don’t equal cash, but that
doesn’t mean the publicity hurts. It will be interesting to see how much, if any, extra attention Omaha, Nebraska gets in the coming weeks.
At the end of the game, the Denver
quarterback provided another brand with some real-time marketing fodder.
Bud Light hasn’t done much to capitalize on this (yet), but the
majority of the work was done for them.
The beer company also retweeted the tweet from @BobGlauber.
Peyton
Manning has had a lengthy and successful career as a quarterback, and his acting game hasn’t disappointed either. So the question is: do travel agencies and Omaha, Nebraska have a new
spokesperson? Does Omaha Steaks? Does Bud Light?
If Manning signs as a spokesperson for either as a direct result of what transpired today, it would legitimize “real-time
marketing” via Twitter -- something many in the ad industry have scoffed at as overrated, or even meaningless, when it comes to monetary value.
"Peyton Manning" image from Shutterstock.