How Walkers Crisps Could Have Avoided Their Personalised Social Campaign Being Pulled

19/06/2017

Walkers Crisps has had to pull its Champions League final social campaign within hours of its launch due to Twitter sabotage.

The campaign invited social media users to share a selfie with the hashtag #WalkersWave to appear in personalised videos on Twitter and a chance to win tickets to next weekend's UEFA Champion's League final.

To make it clear, we love this idea! As our work shows, we are passionate about working with brands to create engaging social campaigns featuring live audience content. Unfortunately, the lack of moderation meant pranksters could easily take advantage.

The campaign involved users' pictures being incorporated into a personalised video featuring Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker, which were then automatically Tweeted back to the user.

Who said there is no such thing as bad publicity?#WalkersWave pic.twitter.com/aGVUoSuhYC

- Peter Thompson (@TheRedRag) May 25, 2017 Online trolls quickly hijacked the campaign by sending photos of notorious public figures, paedophiles and murderers.

It appears the social content was also going to be shown live on a large digital billboard outside the National Stadium of Wales.

The #WalkersWave disaster could be about to get even worse, apparently theres some massive screens in Cardiff showing tweets in real time! pic.twitter.com/d9SYTrz2nR

- Alex Rhodes (@AlRhodes92) May 25, 2017

This campaign highlights the importance of moderation when running social campaigns to ensure compliance regulations are met.

Our social engagement platform STORY helps ensure only legitimate content is used as moderators have full control of what is published to digital or TV campaigns. Filters make it possible to only accept content from a Twitter account that was set up prior to the campaign's launch, or for users to have a certain number of followers. Additionally, moderators have the opportunity to view and approve social content before it's published. The auto-reply function can then be used confidently for responding to legitimate users with their personalised video.

We're currently helping HISTORY Channel UK create personalised promos for the latest season of Vikings. Viewers share their #VikingsUK impressions and the incoming videos can be viewed, filtered, moderated, clipped and approved. The user's social media account can also be accessed from the system and double checked. As this project is for national TV, moderation of the social content is key.

All publicity is good publicity, but with the right tools put in place this innovative campaign could have been even better.

Just because it can be done. Doesnt mean you should #Protip Automated tweets via user generated content needs moderation #walkerswave pic.twitter.com/GKrhf4pWdR

- Karina Brisby (@karinab) May 26, 2017 Walkers Crisps issued an apology last night saying they've shut the campaign down. People on social media aren't letting them live it down just yet though.

Walkers Social Media team right now #WalkersWave pic.twitter.com/LPm1JFN8KL

- Cat Hartland (@CatHartland) May 25, 2017

Hi @walkers_crisps I suspect one or two of you over there could be doing with a pint (or eight) right now?

Come and see us! #WalkersWave

- WETHERSP00N_UK (@Wetherspoon_UK) May 25, 2017

So the #WalkersWave campaign has gone pretty well. pic.twitter.com/m9Tfolrmyy

- Elliot Hackney (@ElliotHackney) May 25, 2017

Thanks @walkers we needed a laugh #walkerswave pic.twitter.com/yGeE5hit4z

- krull1981 (@krull1981) May 25, 2017

Over the last 20 yrs, Scott has specialised in online and mobile technology solutions focusing on consumer & social interaction. With a history of working in and growing successful start-up businesses, Scott thought he had seen it and done it all until he came across never.no! As CEO he can't stop evangelising the benefits of social TV or Dynamic Content Advertising. If you'd like to chat, he's happy to do it over a beer!

See how were helping transform video advertising campaigns for leading agencies and brands.

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