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The Best Social Media Campaigns of 2018 (Part 2)


I received so many awesome inputs from marketing experts, I HAD to make a part 2 for The Best Social Media Campaigns of 2018!

This list only gets better! So many brands deserve to be showcased this year.

Let's check out the rest...

 

Natasha Giannopoulou - Burger King's Whopper Neutrality

In this campaign, Burger King didn’t focus on promotion of its products but did base itself on its brand to make a statement and support Net Neutrality (U.S.A.). Burger King made the bold move to explain to its customers the importance and realities of net neutrality and the effect from net neutrality repeal in an impactful and creative way.

Burger King made their customers believe the food chain had implemented changes to its ordering process policies in similar scale to those that would be implemented as a result of net neutrality repeal (ex. slow access orders vs. fast access orders at different prices, etc.) consequently causing similar effects and reactions.

Presented in a smart way, Burger King’s attempt to raise awareness on an important topic proved to be a successful marketing practice allowing for people to see, feel and understand the effects of the Net Neutrality repeal while at the same time showing its target audience the “human-side” of their brand.

Christina Garnett - New York Public Library's Insta Novels

As an English major and devotee of the canon, my favorite social media campaign for 2018 was the introduction of Insta Novels by the New York Public Library. With so many people on their phones, how can you leverage their social media attention for literacy and book appreciation?

The introduction of the Insta Novels program is the perfect way to deliver literature in a way that a modern audience can easily grasp. Starting with classics like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and The Yellow Wallpaper, the NYPL showcase their free book program as well as make literature accessible to those who don't want to jump into a podcast or audio book. The stories are saved in their highlight section, making the Instagram crowd one step closer to the literary canon. The campaign truly integrates the old with the new to create a new generation of classic literature lovers.

Zala Bricelj - Coca-Cola's This Coke is a Fanta “Essa Coca É Fanta” & Slovenian Tourist Board’s #ifeelsLOVEnia

When social media is used for good, for speaking out and about the causes, values and behaviors that help shape societal changes, Coca-Cola’s This Coke is a Fanta “Essa Coca É Fanta” comes to mind. Digital and social media campaign supporting changes in perception and attitude towards the LGBTQ community, opening minds and influencing the general representation of “difference”. Great combination of idea taking cans of Coke and filling them with Fanta took over social media channels and the streets, with people making their own DIY Coca /Fanta bottles, carnival costumes, clothes, cellphone covers, re-creating connection between the brand Coke and Brazilians fighting the existing prejudice. Various social media campaigns, media coverage and high percentage of user generated content proved that organic reach and engagement can help spread the word and help implement changes, challenging the existing bias in ways that resonated with younger generations. 1B media impressions for a local (Brazilian) market with 0$ media spent is a great example of brands taking a stand in reinterpreting the discriminatory, derogatory, offensive expressions into an empowering statement of pride and acceptance. When users searched “Essa Coca É Fanta” on Google before the campaign, the searches that popped up were offensive homophobic memes, related to homophobic words, it’s since changed the way users search for this expression online.

The Slovenian Tourist Board launched a campaign to leverage the power of social media and word of mouth marketing in helping promote the tourism of Slovenia, especially focusing on encouraging tourists and travelers to discover less visited areas of Slovenia, all year round. The campaign “#ifeelsLOVEnia – Make new memories in Slovenia and share them with us” included the combination of integrated marketing approach – combining targeted marketing and promotional campaigns across different channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and official website), inviting both – tourist providers and tourists to share their experience and unique memories from Slovenia. The impact of this campaign shows how social media can be used smartly to attract and communicate with a large number of users, offering different incentives to create, produce and share highly engaging and snack-able content. It helped spread the word about Slovenia’s beauty and hospitability, raise awareness of Slovenia as a travel destination in the heart of Europe and peak interest among different world travelers. This digital and social media campaign, driving conversation with a simple “#ifeelsLOVEnia” also rewarded users – Ambassadors of Slovenia with small prizes – weekly giveaways and helped to reinforce the trust in “I Feel sLOVEnia” brand and branding with local and foreign communities.

I really want to showcase the work LinkedIn did this year with their #inittogether campaign. You can search the tag and see all the posts and responses on this, but my personal reason why this is a favorite is because it’s intentionally breaking down the “polished” look we want to give LinkedIn as a platform through embracing of diversity, not just from a demographics perspective but from what we consider “professional experience”. We don’t usually tend to look to an urban dancer or martial artist as a “professional on LinkedIn” but this campaign is helping change that perception, and we can clearly see the results, since LinkedIn is gaining recognition as a platforms for brands, and I have personally made it my favorite platform this year because of the awesome engagement I’m getting there.

Fred Faulkner - Kraft Heinz's #Mayochup

If you are into condiments you know there are the basics, and then the exotic. For Kraft Heinz, they took to social media to go for something new, Mayochup. The premise was this, with teasers on Twitter, Kraft Heinz ask consumers, "Want #mayochup in stores? 500,000 votes for 'yes' and we'll release it to you saucy Americans."

48 hours later and nearly 1 million votes a new condiment on store shelves was born with 55% saying "yeah, pass they Mayochup."

So anyone can use social media like Twitter and a poll to say they will make a product. What I think makes this one a winner are the stats behind the campaign. According to PR Week, the campaign had over 832 media placements, including in main broadcast media like NBC's Today show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! That's on top of the social media frenzy that took place beyond the actual voting itself. To me, that's a winning combination, like Mayochup on my burger.

My favorite campaign in 2018 is LinkedIn’s social media campaign, “What are you in it for?” LinkedIn asked a simple question from their audience, “What are you in it for” and then created videos based on the answers from their community members.

I love brands that are making an effort to engage their audience and to invite them to share their stories. It is time to move away from traditional disruptive marketing to a more collaborative and conversational style of marketing where consumers and brands come together to co-create stories.

LinkedIn’s campaign effectively communicated their core message, “Whatever you’re in it for, we’re in it together.” It further amplified the brand’s efforts to build communities via user-generated content. More brands should embrace this mindset and invite their audience to be a part of their stories.

 

Another amazing list of social media campaigns! Some were so amazing, they were even mentioned TWICE (I am looking at you, LinkedIn - oh yeah!)

Very similar to the campaigns in Part 1, these examples all tie back to the customer-first mindset. Brands need to think of their audience, who they want to target, and successfully craft a story for them to engage with.

I love social media success stories! Brands are doing inspiring things out in the social world and I am thrilled I got to showcase some for you!

What will 2019 bring us?!

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