• by Carol Krol , March 14, 2014

Samsung, dubbed an official sponsor of the 86^thAcademy Awards, spent close to $20 million on the Oscars deal it cut with ABC. That sizable investment included airtime for traditional commercial ads, as well as host Ellen DeGeneres’ much-discussed use of a Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

Some camps cheered the social media coup of Ellen DeGeneres’ star-studded selfie, a photo that has been retweeted more than 3 million times to date. Hard to argue with the impact of a tweet that broke Twitter temporarily and holds the record of most re-tweeted post by a long shot. But some media mavens still claimed the bit was heavy-handed.

And companies like BrandAds and Kontera have come up with stats on ad effectiveness and social mentions, but for every positive research nugget, there is a negative one. 

In fact, Samsung’s 30-second ads and show tie-ins, despite their visibility, didn’t move the needle much in terms of audience “intent to purchase,” according to BrandAds. Research aside, the Ellen celebrity selfie and other product tie-ins were a great start, but to me they lacked a real payoff.

Next time Samsung sponsors a tentpole event like the Oscars, I would advise a strong content marketing strategy that takes moments like the “celebrity selfie” and builds on them with the following ideas and must-dos:

1. Tentpole events require real-time brand marketing. Samsung should have someone -- or several someones -- posting on Facebook or tweeting live during the event and manning those social channels. Otherwise it is a missed opportunity for people who are positively influenced by the product integration or the TV spots.  As social networks become the new search engines, being ever-present in the places people gather digitally is paramount.

2. Promote the multiscreen experience. Samsung makes mobile devices.  People are using mobile devices -- second screens -- while watching TV. An event like the Academy Awards brings opportunity to drive a multiscreen experience, encouraging viewers to be more deeply engaged with the program. For example, Samsung could be tweeting Oscar trivia and fashion photos during the event. It would also be the perfect avenue for Samsung to highlight product information and features.

3. Video doesn't live just on television today. People flocked online before, during and after the event to view red carpet footage, watch highlights from the show and check out the winners. An easy win for Samsung in this type of situation would start with pre-roll. Developing the content and properly syndicating it to your audience is a powerful combo. Pre-roll and commercial spots, product demos, testimonials and more could have been pushed and surrounded the Oscar coverage on major entertainment sites.

4. Engagement and follow-up are other crucial components. After the event, you need to maintain the dialogue with your customers in order to extend the conversation further than a single volley back and forth. Retweeting the selfie from Ellen was great, but why not build on that level of audience involvement? One way for Samsung to extend the mileage for days or weeks afterward would be with a contest or incentive (product coupon or discount), perhaps encouraging people to take their own selfies (if those are actually “in” next time Samsung gets behind a splashy sponshorship) -- and send them in as an entry to win. That could have multiplied the social footprint. 

5. Finally, clear ground rules should be set to achieve better coordination with any official sponsor of such a high-profile event. In that way, you can avoid a situation such as Ellen being taken to task for tweeting with her iPhone backstage, or Big Mama’s and Papa’s Pizzeria delivery box sporting a Coca-Cola logo when rival Pepsi was the only software giant advertising during the broadcast. These gaffes are fixable if you’re on the lookout for potential trouble spots. Simple, direct and transparent communication rule the day, so that -- for example -- a host knows you strongly prefer she tucks away the iPhone for a show’s duration.

True content marketing needs careful planning and troubleshooting, not suggestions and kismet. As many scenarios as possible should be anticipated, discussed and agreed upon. In other words, be ready for the unexpected.

Make no mistake: Threading that needle is not easy, but it is worth doing, and your content marketing and bottom line will benefit from that attention to detail. For Samsung’s investment, more can and should be done to assure the company is getting its money’s worth.