Accidental Fame via Social Media

Social media is arguably the quickest way to spread news today.  Using it, anyone with a significant following can make their whereabouts known–even if these whereabouts are inaccurate.  Misinformation can spread as quickly as accurate information, which is particularly concerning.  However, misinformation can yield more lighthearted results as well.

While in Bogota, Colombia this week, rapper Snoop Dogg mistakenly tagged his location on Instagram as the small village of Bogata, Mures, Romania (“Snoop Dogg,” 2016).  This check-in typo initially drew some confusion and excitement from residents of the town, but folks then realized that his post was the result of a faux pas (Wagner, 2016).  Snoop Dogg’s original Instagram post can be seen below (Snoop Dogg, 2016a).  Upon visiting the native Instagram page for the post, the mistaken tag may be seen under Snoop Dogg’s username (Snoop Dogg, 2016a).

https://www.instagram.com/p/BC6yvmPv9P1/

However, this mistake was not met with a negative response.  Instead, Romanian Snoop Dogg followers quickly jumped at the opportunity and created a tourism website for the village of Bogata (“Snoop Dogg,” 2016; Visit Bogata, 2016).  Below is a screenshot from the tourism site.

Snoop Dogg’s geographical mistake thus resulted in a lighthearted tourism marketing campaign, bridging the audience of Snoop Dogg’s social media avenues, news stories covering the famous typo, and the tourism site itself at VisitBogata.com (Wagner, 2016).  According to the BBC, “Local mayor Laszlo Barta realised Snoop’s tag confusion was a handy way to promote his town. ‘It was a mistake but it’s a good advert for us'” (“Snoop Dogg,” 2016).  In addition to boasting the name and location of the town, the tourism website showcases the relaxing central Romanian countryside, food, and other local attractions (Visit Bogata, 2016).  And in good humor, the site ends with a collection of recently posted Instagram photos tagged in the village (Visit Bogata, 2016).  Snoop Dogg has since publicly recognized his typo in a newer Instagram post, referencing a possible future visit to the village (Snoop Dogg, 2016b).  This potential visit and future coverage will likely bolster tourism awareness even further.

This case just goes to show that in an era of constant connectivity, errors don’t go unnoticed.  But when they do, they can result in some pleasant surprises, offering delightful marketing campaign opportunities.

References

Snoop Dogg. [snoopdogg]. (2016a, March 13). Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BC6yvmPv9P1/

Snoop Dogg. [snoopdogg]. (2016b, March 18). Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BDHRz0uv9PS/

Snoop Dogg tags himself in Bogata, Romania. he’s in Bogota, Colombia. (2016, March 18). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/35845502/snoop-dogg-tags-himself-in-bogata-romania-hes-in-bogota-colombia

Wagner, L. (2016, March 17). Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/17/470898230/snoop-dogg-makes-romanian-village-famous-with-instagram-mistake

Visit Bogata. (2016). Retrieved from http://visitbogata.com/