Taking a cue from real Twitter account hacks, MTV and BET partook in some viral marketing Tuesday — by “hacking” each others’ accounts. The Twitter accounts from the two Viacom-owned cable channels, MTV and BET appeared as if they were hacked Tuesday. The music brands essentially switched identities and unleashed a stream of friendly digs at each other. Flanked by the hashtag #MTVhack, the tweets mimic some other notable brand hijacks we’ve seen in the last few days — including Burger King and Jeep. The BET tweets include references to the VMAs, Jersey Shore and the legend that is Kurt Loder. On the MTV side, the account is largely re-tweeting “MTV got hacked” comments. Was this another brand hijacking? Nah, it was just a little bit of viral social media marketing fun.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.