Carpe Diem…And Stuff
Glenn’s most recent post at Twin Cities Business Magazine takes a look at how Chevrolet seized the day and took an embarrassing gaffe on national television and turned it to an advantage.
Rikk Wilde, Chevrolet regional zone manager, presented World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner with a brand new Chevy truck and, unnerved by the notion of being on a nationally televised stage, failed to deliver the features of the truck, instead uttering, “It combines class-winning and -leading, um, you know, technology and stuff.” It’s a little cringe-inducing to watch but that didn’t stop 1.7 million people from watching it on YouTube.
It would prove to be the line that launched thousands of tweets. Perhaps recognizing that this moment was going to blow up on social media, Chevrolet’s team owned it with their own tweet and framed the conversation with their own #ChevyGuy and #TechnologyAndStuff hashtags:
Truck yeah the 2015 #ChevyColorado has awesome #TechnologyAndStuff! You know you want a truck: http://t.co/0NcEoDRSUZ pic.twitter.com/RMiRic8ATF
— Chevy Trucks (@ChevyTrucks) October 30, 2014
It was a smart move. As Glenn wrote:
Without paid media, the video and social conversations generated approximately $5 million in free media exposure. The Chevy Colorado’s site traffic increased sevenfold in the days right after the presentation, and the Colorado dominated overall social conversations about trucks, garnering a 70% share. Not bad for a botch; it was an MVP-worthy instant campaign.
[Tweet “The #ChevyGuy video & social chatter generated approximately $5 million in free media.”]
#ChevyGuy & #TechnologyAndStuff Social Metrics
The social results? As you can see, as of this writing, Chevy’s original tweet earned 1,533 Favorites and 1,574 Retweets. According to Topsy data, the #ChevyGuy hashtag was used 14,489 times on Twitter while the #TechnologyAndStuff hashtag was used 18,746 times.
Chevy Guy & Technology And Stuff Search Volume
As is often the case, people turned to search engines to learn more about the moment. This chart from Google Trends shows the spike in search volume for “Chevy Guy” and for “Technology and Stuff.”
Notice how while the social media chatter had mostly tailed off by October 31, search volume remained high and remained fairly strong for several days thereafter as people heard about the incident via word of mouth and media coverage.
Chevy Truck Online Commercials
Chevy’s social media team used the occasion to promote three commercials they already had in the can, generating views by harnessing the #ChevyGuy social chatter. In addition to the 1.7 million views of Rikk Wilde’s awkward delivery, the three videos commanded an additional 1.2 million views:
Focus Group: You Know You Want A Truck
http://youtu.be/JJBRpylC9-Q
Truck Guy Deodorant
http://youtu.be/V-b3gn1Fuc8
Truck Up Your Dating Profile
http://youtu.be/-CJ3lW51L-8
No word yet on whether Rikk Wilde is getting a bonus this year.
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