A funny thing happened last night when ARC left Canada’s shores: Twitter clammed up.
Using our patented Enterprise software, MediaMiser was able to track all show-related tweets the day of airing, and found that the numbers were down by 32 per cent from Episode 2, and a whopping 60 per cent from Episode 1.
In Episode 3 contestants left Canada, flying from Calgary to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. And with no hometown pride fuelling the conversation, total tweets tumbled tremendously.
When we’ve employed our geo-locating tool in previous seasons to identify from where tweets originate, it’s been no surprise to learn that the city/cities featured in each episode contribute substantially to the overall conversation. Just take a look at Episode 2, when 42 per cent of geo-located tweets came from Calgary; Tourism Calgary alone accounted for five per cent of all tweets, geo-located or not.
In this case, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism was nowhere to be seen, registering not a single tweet. Considering this season’s premiere saw more than two million Canadians tune in, it can safely be assumed that the VNAT missed a pretty big opportunity to engage potential Canadian visitors.
Show sponsor Mountain Equipment Co-op, however, isn’t missing any opportunities. MEC picked up right where it left off in Episode 2, earning dozens of retweets and engaging viewers even when they weren’t being tweeted at directly.
And fellow sponsor Chevrolet Canada finally got in the act, earning some retweets of its own for this tidy little bit of cross-promotion:
The #ChevyColorado is always in the mood for adventure – are you? Don’t miss tonight’s all-new @AmazingRaceCDA! pic.twitter.com/jVk9xpStF3
— Chevrolet Canada (@ChevroletCanada) July 12, 2016
But despite a clear desire for engagement from Twitter users, both Hotels.com and Mentos stayed silent during the episode.
Someone please respond to Jon with “Thanks, Captain Obvious!”. ?#AmazingRaceCanada @AshCallingbull @joel_and_ashley #AmazingRaceCanada
— Craig Drebit (@CraigDrebit) July 13, 2016
Nice @MentosUS product placement #AmazingRaceCanada
— Pumkin man (@Skiller_Fox55) July 13, 2016
Why partner with a TV program like the Amazing Race Canada, a program that’s been proven to have very digitally savvy viewers, and not engage? In today’s social media world, sponsorship marketing without follow-up engagement is hardly marketing at all.
We’ll have to wait and see next week, when the show heads to Ho Chi Minh City, if they can turn it on and turn it around.
Most mentioned contestants:
- Joel & Ashley (Finished 1st) 34.8% UP 9.5%
Joel Ground (@JoelGround /@Joel_and_Ashley), Ashley Callingbull (@ashcallingbull / @Joel_and_Ashley) - Jillian & Emmett (Finished 4th) 25.9% DOWN 2.9%
Jillian MacLaughlin (@JillianMacLaugh), Emmett Blois (@EmmettBlois) - Stéphane & Antoine (Eliminated) 11.3% UP 5.2%
Stéphane Tétreault (@StephTetreault), Antoine Tétreault (@AntoineTET) - Steph & Kristen (Finished 2nd) 9.9% DOWN 3.8%
Steph LeClair (@sleclair09), Kristen McKenzie (@krlstenmckenzie) - Anne & Tanya (Finished 8th) 7.2% UP 1.8%
Anne Morrone (@AnneMorrone), Tanya Muzzatti (@tanyamuzzatti) - Kelly & Kate (Finished 3rd) 5.0% UP 1.2%
Kelly Xu (@kelly_kateTO), Kate Pan (@kelly_kateTO) - Julie & Lowell (Finished 7th) 3.8% DOWN 4.8%
Julie Taylor (@JulieLowellCAN), Lowell Taylor (@JulieLowellCAN) - Rita & Yvette (Finished 6th) 1.2% DOWN 5.0%
Rita Yakibonge (@ritayakis), Yvette Yakibonge (@yyakis) - Frankie & Amy (Finished 5th) 0.9% DOWN 1.2%
Frankie Gassler (@FrankieFenix74), Amy Gassler (@amygassler)
