Oscars 2025: Social Listening with Brandwatch Platform

The 97th Academy Awards ceremony took place on 2 March 2025 and it was full of surprises and very emotional. The Academy Awards ceremony (commonly referred to as Oscars) continues to attract millions of spectators worldwide. Based on Nielsen data, some 19.7 million spectators viewed the ceremony in the US alone.

With its wins and plot twists, strong speeches, politically colored references and moments that went viral on social media, the event proved once again that it is an important institution that affects culture and public discussions on a global level – in spite of the technical issues and the funny moments that often accompany a live event.

Publicity data available on the Brandwatch platform recorded last week’s social media discussions about the 97th Academy Awards ceremony.

Buzz Increase & Time Evolution

Between 27 February and 5 March, Brandwatch platform collected 6,217 Oscar references on social media, increased by 495% compared to the previously measured time period. Discussions peaked on 3 March, one day after the ceremony, dominated by the analyses and reactions of social media users.

The below benchmarking diagram depicts the volume of relevant references per social media channel, compared to the previously measured time period. X, Facebook and Instagram discussions recorded a significant increase. Discussions in other social media channels remained limited.  

The Highlights of the Ceremony

As depicted on the following Word Cloud, most commented-upon topics on social media were: 25-year-old Mikey Madison winning Best Actress on a leading role for Anora, instead of front-runner Demi Moore, the moving speech of Zoe Saldaña after winning Best Supporting Actress for Emilia Pérez and the long speech of Adrien Brody after winning Best Actor on a Leading Role.

In Greece, the 97th Academy Awards ceremony was naturally connected to news topics and ironic references to politicians, especially in connection to the tragic Tempi train wreck and the recent mass protests in the memory of the Tempi victims.

Social Listening & Insights

Oscars is not just an event. It is also an interesting case study about the power of branding and publicity. From carefully planned speeches to spontaneous (or not so spontaneous) moments that go viral on social media, every aspect of the ceremony highlights the importance of the image management of people and brands.

Of course, real-time social listening is a necessary tool in the hands of Marketing, PR and Communication professionals, not only in the case of live events, but on a daily basis. That way, professionals stay informed on the comments that social media users make about the brands they represent.  

Analysis Identity

Digital Listening Tool: Brandwatch
Date Range: 27/02/25 – 05/03/25
Sources: Forums, Social Media (subject to the limitations of each channel)
Keywording/Analysis: Clip News

Search Restrictions

The Brandwatch platform collects data from websites, blogs, forums, social media (X, Facebook, Reddit, Tumblr, etc.) with the restrictions defined by each channel. For example, discussions in closed forums or Facebook private groups are not collected.

The above analysis provides an indicative approach, taking into account that varying the publicity data sample and time range may produce different insights.