Twitter continues to be the platform of choice for both marketers and consumers to use during popular television events. By including a simply hashtag, Covergirl was able to enter the conversation natively while simultaneously promoting its own products.

?Mobile enables responses to be real time and where customers are, and it?s called ?couch conversations? versus desktop, office conversations,? said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis, Atlanta. ?If a trending topic of discussion is in play, like the night of the Grammy?s with #TheGRAMMYs2015 or #GRAMMYs2015, all marketers need to do is post content using that hashtag and the contents will show up in that feed, whereas if marketers were to use @Covergirl, they would just be addressing the native conversations only, such as their 437,000 followers specifically.? 

Covergirl?s Promoted Tweet read, ?Meow! There are some serious cat eyes on the #ERedCarpet right now. #GetThatGlam with CG Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner.?

The ad appeared on Twitter?s News Feed during E! Network?s coverage of the Red Carpet before the show started. Along with the ad, Covergirl attached a photo of an eye marked with eyeliner to show a cat eye design.

As viewers of the Red Carpet tend to idolize the glam associated with the show, Covergirl looked to Twitter to join the conversation to offer solutions and promote its own products.

OpenTable took a different approach to Twitter ads by bringing up Valentine?s Day. Its Promoted Tweet read, ?No Valentine?s Day plans? No problem. The perfect table awaits.?

The content of the ad was not in conjunction with the Grammy Awards but instead started its own conversation. However, with Valentine?s Day around the corner, OpenTable most likely gained some traffic due to its efforts. 

The ad included a direct link to download the OpenTable app and user ratings of the app.

Experts deem this practice of interrupting the conversation to be risky, but as long as brands tread carefully, mobile ads are highly effective.

?Understanding the context of the hashtag the marketer is about to interrupt to gauge the relevance of the topic is critical to not seem like the marketer is out of line and causing a negative impact on their business, or to promote a positive reaction from the readers on the hashtag,? Ms. Troutman said. ?For example, Digiorno interrupted a serious conversation about domestic violence to try and sell pizza using hashtag #WhyIStayed. 

?Covergirl could be talking about the eye makeup for Madonna for a positive example.?

Covergirl has leveraged award shows in the past.

Covergirl and Unilever's Tresemmé took advantage of the focus on glamour during the 2014v MTV Video Music Awards by promoting tweets of celebrities? looks and use of the brands? products. 

As viewers of the awards show are known to follow along in their Twitter feeds while watching and tend to admire the fashion and beauty aspects of the famous attendees, beauty brands put themselves in the center of the action to promote business and awareness. By using the edge of certain entertainers, images, embedded links and the hashtag #VMAs, beauty brands were able to stay present in the conversation and hopefully attract attention (see story).

Earlier in 2014, CoverGirl leveraged augmented reality to shorten the gap between its print ads and transactions.

The skin care company used Blippar's technology in its print ad in Cosmopolitan?s March 2014 issue. The ad invited readers to blipp the page to find their ?perfect blend? (see story).

Most importantly, marketers should consider context to successfully execute mobile efforts.

?Covergirl?s and OpenTable?s efforts both engage audiences, either largely or individually,? Ms. Troutman said. ?The ?@? sign combined with the username as a Twitter handle notifies the brand that the marketer is talking about them, whereas the ?#? (a trending topic) will be an interruption in the conversation.

?Marketers should be conscious, again, of the content of the topic and the audience they are looking to engage,? she said.