Arby’s won the battle of the hat and the twitter feed.

In today’s digital world there is a constant battle of not only being the most creative, but also being able to think quick on your feet and take advantage of any opportunities thrown your way. This last Sunday at the Grammys, Arby’s did just that. Arby’s became an excellent example for communications professionals about how to jump into a digital conversation and stand out among the rest.

In case you weren’t one of the 28.5 million viewers who watched the Grammys

on Sunday, here is the necessary background information. Pharrell Williams wore a large hat that started a joking spree on Twitter. 

In this sea of tweets, Arbys (whose logo is the Arbys hat) took over the conversation with their tweet “Hey @Pharrell, can we have our hat back? #GRAMMYs.” This simple tweet spurred a reaction from their digital audience. Arbys’ tweet had 75,000 retweets and more than 40,000 favorites by Monday morning. Arbys also got recognition past the sole click of a button by companies such as Hyundai, tweeting “Well played, @Arbys. Well played. #GRAMMYs #HyundaiTweetAwards.” It’s safe to say that Arbys truly won the Grammys Twitter battle when they got a response from Pharrell himself, tweeting “Y’all tryna start a roast beef? ‘@Arbys: Hey @Pharrell, can we have our hat back? #GRAMMYs.'”

It’s a common trend for companies to attempt to assert their brand onto a major event like the Grammys, and this common trend is not always done well. For example, Secret Deodorant continually attempted to tie the Grammys in with armpits in order to try and make a connection with their brand: “Time for the #GRAMMYs red carpet! Can’t wait to see the fabulous dresses, jewelry, and armpits.” In my opinion, the reason Arbys tweet won for the night was due to their creativity. They found a legitimate “in” with the Arbys hat and found a unique way to indirectly market themselves.

There is a lesson to be learned here for all professionals in the communications industry: We must always be able to think and act quickly in an innovative way in order to be noticed. In the social media world, we only have a short few seconds to win over the attention of our audience and “hat’s off” to Arbys for showing us how it’s done.