Here we are, already months into 2017! New social media marketing campaigns are popping up all over the place, but we’d like to take a moment to look back on some of the most influential marketing campaigns for 2016.
1. Giant, Floating, Cadbury Eggs
It’s so simple, really: All Cadbury did was drop a few enlarged replicas of their famous Easter treat into Loch Ness. Okay, so that particular body of water is kind of a big deal because of the whole “Is there or isn’t there a monster in there?” thing and sure, the eggs were substantially larger than their normal size, but still … so simple!
This article from Carat.com includes a picture of the trademark, foil-covered eggs bobbing serenely in the water, their formation bearing an uncanny resemblance to a certain abovementioned monster. Cadbury appeared to have a lot of fun with this particular stunt and judging by the picture, so did passersby!
2. Hamburger Helper Dropping Beats
You read that correctly. Last year, as an April Fools prank, Hamburger Helper decided to release five brand-related songs on SoundCloud. What surprised many people was that the tracks were surprisingly … good.
Encouraged by the positive response from a joke on Twitter about a Hamburger Helper mix tape, the company decided to make the release a reality. The tracks were expertly crafted by Toki Wright, who is no stranger to the music industry, as well as some students from McNally Smith College of Music. This blog from Buffer includes a link to the songs, which feature titles like “Food For Your Soul” and “In Love with the Glove.”
3. Big Personality for Innocent Drinks
A smoothie company called Innocent Drinks made itself famous just by being its quirky self. Tweets involving humorously imagined company-to-customer interactions and a “Compliment Generator” on the company website are just a couple of ways in which Innocent Drinks has captured its vast audience.
The website Innocentdrinks.com is unique and funny enough to share by itself, especially when its link tags at the top of the page include things like “bored?” and the abovementioned compliment generator, which is definitely worth a visit. Compliments range from slightly impersonal, but still nice: “You’ve really nailed being a human. Good job.” to the other extreme, which is extremely personal: “When my life flashes before my eyes, I hope it’s mostly you.” You can also share compliments via Facebook and Twitter.
4. New Meaning to Doing Things #likeagirl
Most of us are familiar with the taunts: “You throw like a girl!” “You run like a girl!” “You cry like a girl!” As a feminine hygiene brand, Always already had the attention of a large female demographic, however, they decided to turn an insult into a celebration with their inspiring hashtag campaign in 2014. The company encouraged its followers to document their personal achievements and include the hashtag #likeagirl to essentially redesign its meaning.
This article from TalkWalker.com features one of the photos used in the campaign, which depicts a young girl kicking over a large box with the word ‘weak’ on its side. Always supplemented the image with further words of inspiration to help break down the female stereotype: “Do Anything. Be Amazing.” The feedback was so powerful that the company relaunched the idea in 2016 with a new video featuring the hashtag ‘unstoppable.’
5. Lowe’s Fixing Things Really Quickly
Lowe’s is all about helping those who want to fix things. They seem to have every tool and supply one would ever need and in 2016, it even launched a Twitter campaign through Vine with six-second tips. That’s right, six seconds. Lowe’s seems to have caught onto the fact that the length of a Vine video is about the length of the average person’s attention span these days. So they ran with it.
The #lowesfixinsix campaign can be found here on Twitter and features cute and colorful animation, along with simple and helpful tips for projects around the home or yard. Such tips include storing Christmas ornaments in empty egg cartons and using bubble wrap as insulation for your potted plants during winter. Not only are the tips quick and easy, but most of them involve re-purposing things you already have around the house that would probably be thrown in the garbage or recycling bin otherwise.
