Real Time Marketing (RTM) is a communication strategy that allows brands to leverage real-time events and trends to create timely and engaging content.
The main goal? Connecting with audiences at the right time, capitalizing on topical issues to stimulate interaction, increase brand awareness, and sometimes go viral.
Let’s delve deeper: the features and opportunities of Real Time Marketing
With the rapid growth of digital platforms and the speed at which information spreads, Real Time Marketing has become one of the most powerful tools for companies that want to stay relevant, responsive, and engage their audiences in real time.
Using this tool allows brands to immediately insert themselves into global conversations, increasing their visibility and interaction with consumers.
Key features include:
- Timeliness: the message must be created and published quickly
- Relevance: content must be relevant to the context and audience
- Creativity: an innovative and memorable approach captures attention and encourages sharing
- Authenticity: communication should reflect the tone and values of the brand without sounding forced
The main advantages of Real Time Marketing
But what are the benefits of integrating real time marketing within your communication efforts? Let’s look at the top 3 opportunities:
- Improves engagement: because content is created in response to current events or trends, it resonates more strongly with users, who feel the brand is attentive and responsive to their needs. More interactions mean more visibility, more shares on social media, and thus exponential growth in engagement.
- Humanize the brand: it is not just about promoting products or services, but about demonstrating that the brand shares common values, emotions, and concerns with its audience. This humanization makes the brand more accessible and understandable, increasing consumer loyalty.
- Opportunities to create viral content: when Real Time Marketing is done well, it has a high potential for virality. Due to the speed with which content spreads on social platforms, it is possible to generate a snowball effect of visibility that brings the message to a large audience, much larger than the one initially reached.
The best Real Time Marketing strategies: examples and successful approaches
Let’s look at some successful examples and how these techniques can be used. Of course, it is best to integrate this technique into an advanced social media marketing strategy, which can include Influencer Marketing, UGC and balanced with other marketing activities.
Marketing and Breaking News: how Ceres exploited current events.
A popular form of Real Time Marketing leverages newsworthy events to create content that fits into the news flow. One successful example is Ceres, which took the opportunity of Harry and Meghan’s announcement about their exit from the royal family.
The brand created an ironic communication, referencing the affair and its competitor Corona, demonstrating how irony and timeliness can turn a global event into a marketing opportunity.

Planning Real Time Marketing is possible: the Netflix case at the Sanremo Festival
An effective Real Time Marketing strategy takes advantage of predictable events, such as holidays or annual events, to plan targeted campaigns.
One example is Netflix, which created a memorable commercial for Sanremo 2024, where icons from its catalog prepare for a trip to the Ariston Theater, concluding with the message,“We know you’ll be watching more this week, see you next week.” A great example of how a brand can capitalize on annual events to create engaging content.

Listening to users: the case of Ikea
Another powerful approach in Real Time Marketing is actively listening to online conversations.
An excellent example? Ikea, which demonstrates how a brand can use social listening to intercept viral trends and react promptly. When Balenciaga launched a bag that was very reminiscent of Ikea’s famous bag, many users on social started comparing the two products, pointing out the similarities in design and color.
Ikea, promptly responded with a series of humorous content comparing the fashion maison’s bag with the Swedish brand’s famous, low-cost bag. The quick response and playful tone generated a huge amount of interaction online, with users enjoying seeing how Ikea had managed to insert itself into a viral discussion with its own unmistakable style.

Using RTM at its best: why to rely on a communications agency
Real Time Marketing (RTM) is a strategy that requires a perfect balance of creativity, timeliness and constant monitoring.
This is why it is important to rely on specialized communication agencies such as. Isola, which offer specific expertise in managing and optimizing this practice.
A crucial aspect of effectively integrating RTM is real-time monitoring of online conversations. Experienced agencies use advanced tools to identify emerging trends and significant events, allowing them to react immediately and seize every opportunity.
Readiness is also key: a qualified agency can ensure quick responses, keeping the brand visible at precisely the moments of maximum involvement. In addition, strategic risk management ensures that the events chosen for campaigns are always consistent with the brand’s values and image, avoiding mistakes or misplaced reactions.
Of course, the ideal approach is to integrate this tool within a comprehensive social media marketing strategy that is balanced with other complementary marketing activities.
Want to make the most of real time marketing in your social strategy?