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Twitter boss: control freak brands are missing best creative opportunities in social media

James Kondo

James Kondo

Brands in Asia are so bogged down by process and the need to be in control that they are missing out on the best creative opportunities in social media, the head of Twitter East Asia has said.

Marketing departments in client companies are not structured in a way that can adapt to the speed of change that social media presents, James Kondo, MD, East Asia, Twitter told delegates at the Social Media Matters event in Hong Kong.

“For most brands in Asia, control is very important,” he said.

“They have not given people on the ground enough flexibility to deal with change quickly, and campaigns usually need 20 people to sign them off before they can go live.”

“Because of the structural limitations of marketing departments, brands are not capturing the best creative opportunities in social media,” he said.

Oreo Twitter stuntThe moment where a brand has best used Twitter in its seven-year history was biscuit brand Oreo during a black out at last year’s Super Bowl, Kondo said.

“Usually brands spend months planning a creative campaign, but the most exciting thing about being creative in social media is being on top of what’s happening right now.”

“The lightness of Twitter – you need just 140 characters to tweet – makes content easy to share on the spur of the moment,” he said.

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