The Best Social Media Campaigns of 2017

Ah! Can you believe 2018 is right around the corner? This year flew by and while it was busy flying, it was busy being exciting too ... on social media!

We welcomed many new social updates this year, such as Twitter's 280 characters and LinkedIn video. There was also a lot of fighting and copying ... I am looking at you Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat!

Many brands picked up on these updates and used each flawlessly - but which brands were successful all year long? Which campaigns were the best? 

Of course I have my opinions, but I reached out to my fellow marketers to find out their thoughts too. Let's find out their picks for best campaign(s), and mine!

Mordecai Holtz

• Huawei Mate 10 - Artificial Intelligence has buzzed around as a keyword for the past couple of years, so Huawei took full advantage when releasing their new phone. Ads, media and content showcased the AI capabilities of the phone and really hyped up their audience for the release.
  
  Mordecai is impressed with how well Huawei targeted the "Tomorrow Entrepreneur" audience but stayed in line with their brand purpose of 'create a better connected world for everyone.'
  
  "It celebrates the fact they work differently from previous generations. Their business projects are their lives and have a purpose beyond wealth creation. They are concerned with social issues as much as financial ones – and they carry that thinking through to their business ideas." ~Mordecai Holtz
   

• Heineken - Social Issues - I think we all remember the failed Pepsi ad with Kendall Jenner this year - yikes! Soon after, Heineken created the #OpenYourWorld campaign, one that created awareness but did not cross the line, or make zero sense.
  
  REAL issues were raised and discussed, over a beer. I think this is something we could all get behind - seriously, I was happy Mordecai chose this because it is one of my favorites too.
  
  Mordecai liked how a beer manufacturer was able to empower human belief, kindness and understanding. Me too, Mordecai, me too.

Bryan Blackburn

• Allstate - Here's to Firsts - We all go through firsts, which is why Allstate's #HeresToFirst campaign ROCKS.  Although this campaign started in 2016, Allstate seamlessly brought it into 2017 with even more success.
  
  As marketers, we constantly talk about personalization and how it needs to be in all of our efforts. Allstate did this by making an intimate connection with their audience and humanizing the brand.
  
  “We can often be so focused on promoting products and selling our services that we forget that our essential purpose as a business is to better the human experience.” ~Bryan Blackburn
  
  Bryan is absolutely right. He really liked how Allstate was able to do that and provide actual value to their customers.
   

• Nintendo Switch - Nintendo has been up to some pretty exciting things lately and when March came around this year, they were ready to market their latest product...successfully of course.
  
  They used social to blast #NintendoSwitch game play, console previews and an underlying purpose - this console brings people together.
  
  Bryan thinks Nintendo did an amazing job .. they definitely did! And not just with the above tactics, they also dove into "gaming on the go" to showcase innovation. These gaming consoles have to be innovative in today's digital world dominated by smart phones and Nintendo did just that.

Katelyn Brower (ME!)

Before I say my favorite campaign, there's two things I love that you need to know. Sparkling and football. Do you know which campaign is my favorite yet? Well ... here it is!

• LaCroix - Fantasy Football - Oh my GOODNESS is this an awesome campaign (can't say was, it is still going on!)
  
  Would you automatically put sparkling water and football together? No, but chances are, you are drinking a sparkling water during the big game, and if you're drinking a LaCroix, you have 15 flavors to choose from. This campaign puts flavor up against flavor in a Fantasy Football Twitter Poll Challenge.
  
  Over the past 2 years, this brand has skyrocketed with popularity, so they decided to use their popularity during a popular time of year (football season,) in a popular space (social media)...see what I did there.
  
  This campaign drives awareness to their brand with all of the flavors showcased, but also drives engagement by putting each match up to a vote on Twitter. And to even further awareness and engagement, LaCroix cross-promotes each match up on their Instagram and Facebook.
  
  Thanks, LaCroix, for bringing two of my favorite things together!

What a year it has been on social media! Bravo to all of these brands - you're killing it - keep it up in 2018!