With #Chiberia at a balmy 7 degrees, we can safely say that the worst of the Polar Vortex is now behind us. With a variety of dedicated hashtags making the rounds on social media, it made us wonder, what brands did a good job of responding to and making light of the situation? We did some searching and found three notable examples.
We’re tough! In the office and braving the weather in #ChiBeria today! pic.twitter.com/ykfxcJy0r8
— NEXT/NOW™ (@nextnowagency) January 6, 2014
NEXT/NOW showed how tough they were, incorporated a meme and told clients that they were open for business despite the Polar Vortex in just one tweet. Was it funny? Yes. More importantly, did it communicate their dependability and dedication to their clients? Absolutely.
Hey @WNYC @WBUR & @whyy – We’re changing our call letters from @WBEZ to #WBRRR today. Hope that’s alright. #ChiBeria
— WBEZ (@WBEZ) January 6, 2014
WBEZ took a humorous approach to the #Chiberia situation by getting their NPR sister stations in on the fun with a proposed call letter change. It even led to a humorous exchange between the stations and got some retweets and favorite from WBEZ fans.
Although some businesses braved the cold, others didn’t want to take the risk. Plato’s Closet decided to close during the inclement weather, but to keep shoppers from facing the brutal wind chills on their account, they sent their email subscribers a blast letting them know the situation first thing on Monday morning. It was well timed, well thought out, and although #Chiberia hit the city quickly, the email doesn’t look rushed.
Did you see other businesses use real-time marketing in a clever way during the Polar Vortex? Share your examples with us!
Photo adapted from an original photo courtesy of Luiz Eduardo (leduardo) via Flickr under the Creative Commons License. View the original here.
