Our round-up of some of the most thought-provoking marketing ideas from 2011 till today.
People scroll past millions of advertisements every day. Of these, only a few manage to make a lasting impression. According to the Gartner CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) Spend Survey, companies spend 1 in 6 marketing dollars on innovation alone.
Safe to say, it’s more important than ever to set yourself apart through innovative marketing. So, to inspire your campaigns, here’s our list of the top six creative marketing ideas from the past decade:
1. “Share A Coke” by Coca Cola (2011)
Employing the font of their iconic logo, Coca Cola used relatable and regional terms (think: Mate, Mom, Papa, and more) to fill in the blank of the phrase: “Share a coke with _.” They printed it on the bottles to encourage people to share the soda with others.
Later, they invited customers to share the names of their loved ones to be displayed on the bottle. In doing so, the brand used personalization to strengthen its bond with customers.
The present Vice President of Marketing (ASEAN and South Pacific) of Coca Cola Lucie Austin felt that the campaign’s success was all thanks to the public. According to her, the brand made the most of the global trend of self-expression and sharing.
2. “Back to the Start” by Chipotle (2012)
As the name suggests, Chipotle’s “Back to the Start” campaign was about leading people back to the origins of food and sustainable farming practices. The brand created an animated film that played in theatres, on social media and on TV. Rest assured – the marketing campaign did more than apprise customers. In true farm-to-fork fashion, it urged them to re-imagine their food practices, establishing Chipotle as a thought leader.
Fun fact: They executed this campaign without an advertising agency!
3. Oreo’s “Dunk in the Dark” (2013)
Think an opportunist? Think Oreo during the Super Bowl power outage. Oreo’s campaign showed how the right tweet at the right time can make you the marketing forerunner. Combining social media with real-time marketing, the brand tweeted during the outage saying “Power Out? No Problem” with the picture of an Oreo.
The campaign read: “You can still dunk in the dark.” People appreciated the humor. In an interview with Wired, the president of digital marketing agency 360i, which handled the game-day tweeting for Oreo, Sarah Hofstetter, shared that the ad was propelled to the forefront due to the combination of speed and cultural relevance.
4. “LifePaint” by Volvo (2015)
That Volvo prioritizes safety is well-known. Through their ‘LifePaint’ campaign, Volvo showed that their concern went beyond their drivers. It included others on the road too.
Their campaign was about promoting the safety of cyclists, especially during the night. Given the low visibility, the chances of accidents are high. Volvo thus urged cyclists to invest in the LifePaint spray, which would make their cycles glow in the dark and prevent accidents.
The campaign went on to win the Grand Prix award for design and promotion and activation.
5. Airbnb User-Generated Content
While Airbnb’s campaign isn’t a one-off, it is a notable case study of marketing success. That’s because Airbnb’s Instagram feed is curated by their own customers.
Their customers click photos, write how-to articles and create travel guides. Then Airbnb reposts their content on their company account which has nearly 5 million followers. It is a remarkable example of a marketing campaign that involves the existing customers, while attracting new ones.
In 2019, people across the world spent nearly 40 billion US$ collectively staying at Airbnbs. Potential customers trust the user recommendations on their page, and users get a chance to promote their Instagram pages.
6. Burger King’s Moldy Whopper (2020)
While making us cringe our faces in disgust with the Moldy Whopper, Burger King drove home an essential point — their products are free from artificial preservatives. The brand created an ad in which we could see the time-lapse of their Whopper rotting. It may seem as if they were killing appetites. But, instead, they capitalized on the customer demand for more natural and healthier products.
In the end, when it comes to designing marketing campaigns, a company must learn to bridge the gap between following trends and setting them.
Image Courtesy: Unsplash
