Did you hear that McVitie’s is releasing a 12-sided Jaffa Cake to tie in with the launch of our new dodecagon-shaped pound coin? The product was, of course, a work of fiction, Tweeted in response to The Royal Mint’s recent announcement.

It included a mocked-up picture and jokingly claimed that, like the new coin, it would reduce counterfeiting.

This Tweet didn’t just come about, however, it is an example of agile marketing in action. This relatively new concept, which sees brands reacting to breaking stories in real-time, can be put into practice by following these five steps:

1. Research and plan
Putting in the necessary groundwork is key to the campaign’s success. It is important to take the time to discover key market trends and influencers in the field.

Brands and agencies must work side-by-side to put together a plan outlining which trends and influencers to target.

2. Create
Assets need to be put together in advance. The key messages can be prepared, with videos, graphics and other appropriate content put together as much as possible. The marketing agency can then tweak in real-time to ensure the output is bang on topic.

3. Listen and alert
With collateral already prepared, the marketing agency needs to listen for key trends and potential moments of association. Are there any opportunities for the brand to tap into conversations?

Once these have been identified, the unfolding situation needs to be outlined to the brand, with a suitable response put together by the marketing agency.

4. Sign off
The response should then be considered by the brand, with sign-off given, or if not, an alternative put forward. A lot of marketers have been through the frustrating process of having a punchy response watered down; it is important that brands understand the need to be as brave as possible.

5. Respond and measure
Once a response is signed off by the brand, it is then pushed out by the marketing agency, with a message and accompanying assets.

Once the response has been issued, the job is not over. Agencies need to measure performance, report findings to the brand and feed intelligence back into the campaign.

 

By Matt Brown, Head of earned media, Unique Digital

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