Girl Scouts’ mention in the Oscars was worth $5.5 million in free advertising
And the award for best random brand exposure goes to … the Girl Scouts.
During last night’s Oscars ceremony, the three-and-a-half-hour program was filled to the brim with commercials from Samsung, Android and Cadillac, but it was a non-profit organization that didn’t spend a penny advertising that raked in millions in free exposure.
“I want you to reach into your millionaire pockets and buy some of my daughter’s Girl Scout cookies,” host Chris Rock said during the second hour of the Academy Awards, bringing his girls on stage. He explained that his daughters constantly complaining about not being their troop’s top-seller.
Not anymore. Rock’s stunt raked in $65,000 from celebrities like Mindy Kaling, Kate Winslet, Sam Smith and Olivia Wilde who all happen to carry cash on them. Even Vice President Joe Biden gave Rock an extra $20, according to this covert video he posted on Twitter.
Biden gave me $20 for cookies… #Oscars pic.twitter.com/rCLbrNXIZI
— Chris Rock (@chrisrock) February 29, 2016
But it was the Girl Scouts that earned so much more. The mention was worth $5.5 million free advertising, according to Joyce Julius Associates, an independent firm that analyzes sponsorships and brand mentions. Eric Wright, the company’s president, told Digiday that estimate comes from the in-broadcast exposure itself, as well as the dozens of articles about it online and print as well as highlights from the awards show.
He said that the number will “possibly grow” as entertainment programs keep recapping it. The Girl Scouts capitalized on the moment on its Twitter account sending out more than a dozen tweets related to the bit, like this one:
Sweetest. Oscars. Ever. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/WTn44Jc20b
— Girl Scouts (@girlscouts) February 29, 2016
The bit helped the Girl Scouts become the most-talked brand during the Oscars, garnering 49,000 tweets according to Amobee Brand Intelligence. That’s likely welcome news for Total Beauty’s social media manager who embarrassed the brand before the show even started by confusing Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg.
More in Marketing
Here is how Lego’s partnership with Fortnite stacks up as an example of video game brand marketing
The game worlds of “Lego Fortnite” are 20 times the size of the digital environment of “Fortnite: Battle Royale” — and they’re built completely out of virtual Lego bricks, making the entire experience a showcase of the Lego brand.
Research Briefing: Programmatic hits road bumps heading into 2024
In this week’s Digiday+ Research Briefing, we examine the challenges facing programmatic advertising, how publishers, brands and retailers are giving up on X, and how publishers and brands are rapidly increasing their use of AI, as seen in recent data from Digiday+ Research.
How Whalar’s Gaz Alushi is putting the creator economy into programmatic terms
The creator economy is on its way to becoming more like the programmatic market than many advertisers realize.