Tweets are valuable online currency. Just one single 140-character message has the potential to reach thousands – if not millions – of individuals, making or breaking brands, businesses and causes in the process.
For example, last year IRN-BRU rolled out a humorous advertising campaign starting with one single Twitter user. @larachie had just 329 followers, but in less than a month the campaign video had clocked up nearly one million views. Or, back in September, one disgruntled British Airways customer shelled out $1,000 to make sure the world knew he was unhappy with the airline’s customer service. This single tweet netted 76,800 impressions and an engagement rate of 18.7%. Good news for IRN-BRU, definitely bad for British Airways.
Now, one ad agency from The Netherlands is attempting to leverage Twitter’s viral nature in a new campaign which could see a single tweet auctioned off for the princely sum of one million dollars – with all proceeds going to charity.
The Million Dollar Tweet (@1tweet4charity) experiment sees a four-day auction (19-23 December) take place where anyone – businesses or individuals – may place a bid for the tweet which organizers say will subsequently be seen by millions, presumably thanks to the buzz the campaign hopes to achieve. The winner will have full control over the tweet’s content, and the money raised will go to a charity chosen by the internet public.
However, the small print says that the auction will end on December 22, “or as soon as someone has offered the million dollar peak”. The campaign launched on Thursday 12, and as yet the Twitter account boasts only 330 followers. It’s not too late for this to change, of course, but a quick skim through the experiment’s timeline reveals that there’s not a very strong reason for anyone to follow it; it’s full of pleas for RTs and eye-watering hashtags. With less than a week to go, reaching the million dollar limit will be a challenge.
Nonetheless, the campaign demonstrates how there really is potential for charities and good causes to tangibly benefit from Twitter, and how businesses and organizations can do so at the same time. This sort of experiment has cult appeal, and should be persevered with. Turned into an annual thing, it could really develop legs in the future. After all, think of ‘No Shave November’ (or ‘Movember’); that was a niche off-radar activity that took some years to grow to prominence but is now a household phrase.
It’s not clear what will happen to the funds raised if the experiment doesn’t hit one million. Hopefully charities and those that bid still stand to benefit. One million dollars is hugely ambitious, but could one day be a feasible target if the organizers and supporters of such an experiment are willing to play the long game.
