How to make sure your real-time marketing hits the mark

Ask any content creator how they approach building out editorial calendars, most will say they start by checking for holidays and other events to write content around.

Can you blame them? We know timeliness is one of the key ingredients to building valuable content.

Real-time marketing is when an organization engages with consumers as newsworthy or when global events are happening in real time. Timeliness is essential for a successful real-time marketing campaign, and while launching real-time content around holidays may pose little risk, what happens when you get into the world of trademarked events like the Oscars, the World Series and the Super Bowl?

Know your legal limits.

Throwing around “Super Bowl” on one particular Sunday in February seems to terrify marketers, and it should to a certain extent.

“As a general rule, do not use hashtags, trademarks or taglines that can cause confusion as to the source of the product or service advertised,” says Ashley Brooks, a partner at Schroder Brooks Law firm, a firm that specializes in creative law. “Using #[Event] hashtags may cause a consumer to think that your brand is related to or sponsoring the event, or authorized to use it, when in fact you are not.”