What is really happening with IT companies these days, or should I say these months? No, seriously, what’s happening? I admit I did not know they had such a witty sense of humour. It did not take me by surprise though as the media battles they are fighting are interestingly educational as well, and while the media wars will never stop, we can all learn something from their battles.
Battle #1 Nokia vs. BlackBerry
Rivalry is productive, some may say, and if you wish to win a battle, and see how Twitter is properly used for marketing, in this case, you should see how Nokia did it.
On November 15th BlackBerry twitted the following content:
On November 21st, Nokia responded by tweeting Awkward…
Is there something more I need to say? Although Twitter explained (once again) How to Use Twitter, Nokia surely explained how to use social media for marketing.
Battle #2 Nokia vs. Apple
On September 30th Apple launched a motivational video as a thank-you-we-think-about-our-employees sort of campaign, to show their appreciation to all of them for the hard work they did on the latest iPhones, using Casey Neistat video The Dark Side of the iPhone 5S Lines.
Neistat himself, an Apple fan, who waited for 10 hours for the first iPhone, showed in the video what may be hidden behind the mania of having the latest tech products, or simply the truth about it. In the video, you can see how some people even waited for two weeks to get the phone. What seems to be the scariest part in this video is a woman sleeping on the floor, wrapped in plastic bags, waiting for the store to open.
Whatever the reasons for waiting were, Apple used this video and adjusted it to its needs. In the Apple’s video, there seems to be a parallel universe we did not know about, and in this universe, Nokia saw an opportunity for the promotion of its products, so Nokia sent Lumia 1020 to Neistat, explaining:
Casey,
We know it sucks when you have your ideas ripped off…Stay original, Casey, and we hope you will consider capturing some new moments on this. If you’re into it…let’s do something together!
Truly,
Your friends at Nokia
So, Nokia won this one. Big time.
Battle #3 Microsoft vs. Google
Within the Don’t Get Scroogled Campaign, and in the light of recent lawsuits Google faced, Microsoft launched a new product to tarnish Google’s reputation: Keep Calm While We Still Your Data mugs. Although I will not get into details regarding the data security related to Google, I also find very interesting that the author of the campaign is Mark Penn, a democratic political operative (known for running campaigns for both Bill and Hilary Clinton).
And Google responded calmly:
“Microsoft’s latest venture comes as no surprise; competition in the wearables space really is heating up.”
And it was a clever one. Microsoft has been sellingT-shirts, mugs and hats, and concentrating on anti-Google campaign, while Google is working on its Google Glass. So, Microsoft is selling clothes, while Google is creating futuristic accessories (although some rumoured that Microsoft is trying to do the same).
This war has been going since forever, but you must admit that it hasn’t been this amusing since I am a Mac/I am a PC campaign. Moreover, it is a bit strange campaign considering that holidays are coming (OK, there is always Xbox).
Battle #4 West vs. Zappos/Hsieh
Seems like the famous rapper Kanye West did not know what he was getting himself into while arguing with Zapoos CEO Tony Hsieh, on Bret Easton Ellis’s Podcast:
“I got into this giant argument with the head of Zappos that he’s trying to tell me what I need to focus on. Meanwhile, he sells all this shit product to everybody, his whole thing is based off of selling shit product.”
And Zappos responded by launching a new item Sh-t Product:
“Interested in buying sh-t product? You’ve come to the right place! Here at Zappos.com, we happily sell sh-t products to everybody! This is the throne, everyone has been watching. Whether you’re #1 or #2, your clique will show no mercy, even in Paris.”
In an Ad Freak’s interview, Hsieh explained:
“We don’t have a formal process or team to respond quickly to media events … the Kanye thing was just a random fun idea that someone came up with yesterday morning and then a bunch of employees from different departments jumped in to help make it happen quickly. As for Kanye himself, I admire him for always being on brand.”
A random fun idea? It is fun, though.
Media wars and media battles are inevitable, obviously, however, it is great we can enjoy some seriously clever humour while learning something about social media marketing and promotion. You win some, you lose some, that’s life.
You win some, you lose some, that’s life.
