The Power Of People

It’s always nice when brands can use social media from the consumer to power or inspire their campaigns. Paddy Power have made an artform of it over the last couple of years – and there was a nice twist in May, when they used their time as a sponsor with Arsenal’s players to respond to negative tweets.

Turning a negative into a positive is always a nice trick, whether that’s a social media campaign – there are some good ones here – or a response in a stadium; the New Jersey Nets bag swap back in 2010 is one that always sticks in the mind, and Tim Sherwood raised smiles when he pulled a critical fan from the stand and offered him the opportunity to do his job on the last day of the Premier League season.

The trick that some brands have mastered is doing that with 20,000 moaners, rather than just one. It’s worth the effort.