Branded Hashtags Scoring High

Twitter gave us a quantitative analysis of branded hashtags during #IndvPak using Twitter advertising index and gave us the top 5 brands; we did a qualitative take at it.

People do not simply watch cricket anymore, they express themselves and opine on multiple platforms. Analytics suggest, Twitter is a popular second screen choice for  #CWC2015.

Since brands follow their audience everywhere, the cricket season  brings along opportunities for advertising. The marketing teams not only make the most of insane television viewership, but also, the hashtag frenzy.

And, why not? Twitter was flooded with 1.7 million tweets and 118 million impressions for #INDvsPAK. Unquestionably, Twitter has becomes the fundamental choice for marketing.

This gave Twitter, an opportunity to analyse branded hashtags using “Twitter Advertising Index”. The Twitter advertising index calculates an aggregate of re-tweets, favourites and replies. Top 5 brands from over 50 brands that advertised with Twitter during #IndVsPak World Cup, made it to the list.

1. @NikeCricket

#BleedBlue started during the last world cup. Nike created a chant with this hashtag, which echoed throughout the country. Picture of Roger Federer, unpacking team India Nike jersey, received maximum retweets and impressions.

The hidden controversy being, Roger Federer choose India over Pakistan; the virality factor was high. It worked well for the brand, endless love-hate tweets poured in.

Guess who decided to #BleedBlue? pic.twitter.com/gDalqxDrBI

— Nike Cricket (@nikecricket) February 15, 2015

2. @StarSportsIndia

#WontGiveItBack emphasized an emotion; India’s reigning cup. The emotion united Indians and in no time, the hashtag became the top trend during the match. The hashtag also added value. A user got back the match schedule, post a tweet with the hashtag.

Emotion + Value always works.

3. @KitKatIndia

#SlowIsBetter brought along excitement, offering a parallel game experience to users. The brand successfully promoted its new Senses chocolate, with a simple thought. Sometimes, simplicity simply wins!

4. @ClubMahindra

The brand capitalized on a cricket celebrity. Innovative tweets were posted during, the toss, Virat Kohli’s shots and his century.

Their sweet gesture of baking a cake was a hit too. They joined their cricket loving audiences in celebration. What caught our attention is, they used another brand’s hashtag.

5. @AxisBank

#SuperFanRitual was a stream created by the bank, which collated fan enthusiasm. The hashtag also gave audiences reason to make a friend happy on a public platform.

Apeksha Harihar, Editor, Social Samosa says, "Real time feedback makes Twitter the most powerful marketing tool for brands. During events like #IndVsPak world cup clash, Twitter Index becomes an example of diligent marketing. Brands need cutting edge creativity, especially when most brands are capitalizing on a trend."