When Judge Richard Berman handed down his 40 page argument overturning Tom Brady's suspension on Thursday, social media was quick to react. Fans and media outlets alike, particularly those in Boston, tweeted out memes and reaction, posting #FreeBrady and #Deflategate posts.
The Patriots social media, which has been very vocal on the innocence of their quarterback, chose to go with a very simple, very expressive image.
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 3, 2015
Following their simple Tweet and Facebook post of victory, the Patriots then capitalized on the nearly 24K retweets and near 100,000 Facebook likes, using the opportunity to capture data through a simple contest.
Posted by New England Patriots on Thursday, September 3, 2015
The message is simple - the Patriots took an instance where all eyes were on their brand, and turned it into a great social media opportunity. Instead of fans just reacting to a post, the Patriots took the joy and interest fans had in the deflategate verdict and created a data capture device that fans loved. The message is simple - if your social media brand is given an opportunity to shine, take advantage and make the most of it.