The internet is a hot furnace, where a jury checks through every move you make with a fine-toothed comb. Your brand becomes visible to more than 2-billion users across the globe when you put yourself out there on social media. Considering that, social media is like a genie in the bottle that can gift you with visibility, but only when you rub it the right way. Today, the roaring cancel culture can abolish you after a hasty social media trial due to one unfortunate gaffe. Then again, we have heard how so many brands mined in millions and rose to fame via social media. So how do you please the online sentinels and stop your brand from becoming a meme?
In what follows, we will see 15 of the most iconic social media marketing campaigns that have done exceptionally well. Go through these examples for some guidance and inspiration.
1.Avoracle by Lidl UK
Less fruit and more of a cult, avocados are a Gen Z favourite. The UK franchise of the Lidl supermarket capitalized on the popularity of the ‘A-wow-cado’ fruit to come up with a quirky social media campaign during the 2016 European soccer championship. The visitors were asked to slice up the pit of an avocado to “predict” the winners of the soccer matches. It was easy and fun. Most importantly, it was ‘shareable’.
Lessons to learn: You do not need to dish out a lot of money. At times, the success quotient of a social media campaign lies in simple yet quirky ideas.
2. #MyInstagramLogo by Instagram
World-acclaimed photographer Paulo del Valle started the #myinstagramlogo project in 2013. For the campaign, the onus of creating a unique icon for Instagram was left on the users. This made users feel that they had a say in how the brand would be identified later. As a result, millions joined in, thus increasing the visibility of the brand by leaps and bounds. Even when Instagram updated its logo in May 2016, the campaign witnessed renewed popularity.
Lessons to learn: Your social media marketing idea does not have to be time-bound. Think something evergreen – that can be used time and again.
3. #KnowYourLemons by Worldwide Breast Cancer
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” is a common thing that you may have heard. Worldwide Breast Cancer took the phrase and played with the words (lemons for breasts) and created a hashtag that was catchy and light-hearted, especially for something so malign. The campaign was used as a platform where survivors shared personal anecdotes to raise awareness and encourage people to donate to the cause. This simple campaign helped the NGO exceed their fundraising target by 317%.
Lessons to learn: You don’t have to be serious all the time. Play around and dare to make a joke (only one that is not offensive to anyone).
4. Tweet Shop by Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs asked social media users to post something related to or inspired by the brand’s famous Daisy perfume back in 2014 during the New York Fashion Week. The campaign gave social media users the ‘once in a blue moon’ opportunity to pay for Marc Jacob products (of any amount) using the social media posts they write as their currency. That’s right, branded products in exchange for posts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Lessons to learn: This campaign used the untapped idea of offering social currency and creating a mutual channel, which is now a big hit.
5. Deadpool Home Promotion by Fox
To promote the Blu-ray and DVD release of Deadpool in 2016, Fox came up with a rather hilarious “honest review” that featured Ryan Reynolds. They also featured a fake commercial that went on to become the second most-viewed video on Facebook ever, with a whopping 8 million online views. The campaign used humour for which the dark character is known to release a parody VHS on Amazon. To this day, Deadpool is Fox’s best-selling DVD ever.
Lessons to learn: Make sure that the campaigns are in the same line as that of the product. In this case, Fox used humour and wit (something synonymous with Deadpool’s character) and infused it in the campaigns.
6. Get Electric by Urban Decay
Urban Decay is a closet favorite among makeup enthusiasts. In 2014, the brand came up with a social media campaign on Pinterest that hit all the right notes. The campaign asked people all over the world to submit the best recreations of makeup styles from some of the most famous music festivals. The campaign was a reward-based one, where winners with the best boards of fest looks were rewarded with free tickets to upcoming music festivals.
Lessons to learn: It isn’t always about promoting your products or services. As a brand, you often need to let your customers have the front seat. That will make them feel valued.
7. We Are Here by Airbnb
When Airbnb was about to release its new app, the brand took to Facebook with a campaign where it streamed six films shot on helmet cams as live testimonials of individuals and their “Airbnb experiences”. The reason why the campaign created live films instead of ads was so that viewers could comment in real-time. This gave them the feeling of being a part of the experience. The campaign ushered in over 6 million participants in the first 24 hours.
Lessons to learn: Long gone are the days when emotional ads would work. So, it is time that you step out of the obvious and try something new.
8. #GlobalSelfie by NASA
In 2014, NASA started a creative project called Global Selfie to get people excited about Earth Day. NASA asked people to click pictures of the environment they lived in and mention the geographical locations. They then gathered all the photos to create a mosaic of our planet earth. Needless to say, you can see how incredible the outcome was in the picture below.
Lessons to learn: Try to pick up a theme that gets unanimous support and brings everybody on the same page. You have a lot to learn about the power of a smart hashtag from this simple campaign.
9. #GetCovered by White House
The launch of Healthcare.gov met with a lot of controversies. On social media, one mistake can lead to an exponential downfall and victim to the cancel culture. That is when the White House came up with the hashtag #GetCovered and asked people to share their good experiences using the retweet posts. This helped Healthcare.org flip the negative narrative and start afresh.
Lessons to learn: Social media can be used beyond advertisement. Like in this instance, notice how the campaign helped the brand gain control of a lost narrative.
10. #SimpleStart by Weight Watchers (Twitter & Facebook)
Since 2011, right after Facebook came to prominence, people became self-conscious and started looking for weight loss resolutions. Thus, this campaign from Weight Watchers hit all the right places and that too at the right time. The hashtag was used to start the Simple Start app to help healthy hopefuls connect. People posted about their achievements, shared tips, tricks and healthy recipes.
Lessons to learn: Time is of the essence. So, you have to know when to post about what. Moreover, this campaign teaches you the art of giving back to the community.
11. Ice Bucket Challenge by ALS Association
The Ice Bucket Challenge is one of the most iconic social media campaigns of all-time. However unpleasant and hilarious, the campaign was started to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for a disease that most people had not heard of. Despite that, the virality factor made people challenge friends and family to participate in social media. What the brand did was turn this challenge into somewhat of a cult so that people feel the social pressure and get involved in it. That was a maverick idea.
Lessons to learn: Often, informing works less than creating a trend. You need to come up with a campaign that makes it a hit even if people do not know the background.
12. #MyDunkin by Dunkin’ Donuts
In this example, Dunkin’ Donuts shows you the importance of social action in building brand authority and engagement. The campaign encouraged customers to share their experiences with DD using the #MyDunkin hashtag on social media. The brand offered that one in a million chance to be famous by being a part of the commercial. This campaign acted as a two-way channel and spread the word while providing the brand with feedback.
Lessons to learn: When you are starting a campaign, you need to delve into the human psyche to see what moves them in a good way. Only then will you be able to build a stronger relationship.
13. My Nat Geo Cover Shot by National Geographic
National Geographic launched a Facebook contest in 2014 and gave the audience a chance to have their clicks featured on the magazine cover and win two tickets for a free vacation. The contest was simple: you would have to upload an original photo that you had clicked with a caption to enter the contest. Now, imagine the euphoria for passionate photographers all over the world. Plus, who would not want a free vacation?
Lessons to learn: Nat Geo hit home runs by staying true to the brand goal with its campaign. It involved the two tenets on which the brand stood – photography and the world.
14. #crashthesuperbowl by Doritos
Doritos did the ingenious with this campaign. They blended the buzz of a huge event like the Superbowl along with highlighting user-specific content. The brand started a social media contest to allow fans to submit a self-made commercial featuring Doritos, and the best video would be shown on TV during the Superbowl.
Lessons to learn: Money isn’t the primary factor in creating a successful social media campaign. What people tend to miss with this is the dastardly plan of the brand to cut down on commercial costs while promoting their brand name.
15. #LiveForNow by Pepsi
While this campaign is all about a generous budget and special effects, there is more to it. Pepsi created the #livefornow campaign the photo-booth style. The company remodelled a bus shelter in London to “delight” people who walked in and then shared their reactions on YouTube.
Lessons to learn: Asking people to share their experiences isn’t always the mantra. What most of the above campaigns lacked was the surprise element, which Pepsi does so effortlessly.
Endnote,
When it comes to social media campaigns, you have a lot to consider to ensure that you are treading right. Your campaign has to hit the right people in the right places and at the right time. That’s a lot of thinking. But when you see the examples set by these brands, you know that creating the perfect social media campaign isn’t something unachievable.
Here’s to the hope that social media showers its benedictions upon you for all the right reasons. May the force be with you!
