Image by: By Mkhmarketing
By Richard K. Noots
As 2014 has finally ended, it’s time to look back at the most successful marketing campaigns that were launched. Everyday, it gets harder and harder to compete with today’s cutting edge business techniques. Yet, somehow, these guys stood above the rest. Whether they are a just a cut above the rest or just got lucky, there’s something to be learned. Today, we’ll examine what worked and exactly just why it worked. You ready? Get the notepad, it’s time to learn more about online advertising.
#1) Biltwell, Inc.
Image by: By Biltwell, Inc
Biltwell came up with a smart campaign involving user-generated feedback. What you’re seeing in that picture is artwork done by a random fan of theirs on Facebook. When people have a chance to interact with your business, usually they’ll respond in droves. These guys hold contests and sell merchandise to the people who designed it. Genius. Not to mention, people who like motorcycles generally like some sort of art. That’s called target marketing.
#2) Quoba’s Queso Showdown
Quoba decided to just hold a simple vote to promote their food. While the voting didn’t necessarily do anything, the constant, up-to-date voting count added a sense of importance and caused a bit of a stir on the online community. People love constant updates because it keeps them involved. Unfortunately, if people have a tendency to showcase ADD symptoms and lose interest in absolutely no time. So remember, keep your customers interacted and up-to-date!
#3) Copa90 and Hyundai
Hyundai teamed up with channel Copa90 to give away World Cup tickets and a host of other prizes. Hosting contests on YouTube and Twitter can be a great way to generate interest in whatever it is you want to promote. While everyone knew about the World Cup, this helped get Hyundai involved in something that we would probably never associate with Soccer. Or uh … Football. Hm.
#4) Samuel Adams
Not taking yourself too seriously isn’t only a great idea for living life, it’s a great business practice to live by. The folks of Samuel Adams promoted a (unfortunately) fake beer called HeliYUM that gave people an awesome voice when they drank beer. However, laughter is a great way to generate awareness for any brand, and as such they should definitely be given an applause. At the very least, give the video a watch. Maybe consider using funny YouTube videos as advertisements for yourself, eh?
#5) Oreo Snack Hacks
Unfortunately, there isn’t much left to link to for this campaign, but it was hugely popular on Vine. If you haven’t heard of Vine, get familiar with it. Oreo created a challenge to for How-to and DIY videos their Vine with the tag Oreosnackhacks. Vine allows short videos to spread quickly, and something insignificant can become monstrous overnight. Having people interact with your brand on an online medium of their own free will is essentially brainwashing without the guilt. Try it!
#6) The Final Results
Not every marketing campaign can be as successful as these guys had, but you have to be willing to try. Unfortunately, trying is a lot harder than just posting the same old crap over and over again. No, these guys got creative, and that’s what you have to do to change the game as well. The future of your business depends on you using your brain.
The most important factors are customer interaction, emotion and free things. You want your customers to do more than just buy your stuff, you want them to actually include your product in their life. If your advertisements resonate with a person’s emotions, they’ll be more inclined to associate a product they need with your brand. Finally, if you give away free stuff, of course people will respond!
Not everything you create will be great, but don’t let that get you down. Often time, success has more to do with luck and timing. Other than that, keep plugging on, and make sure to always pay attention to what works and what your competitors are doing! As always, good luck in the business world!
What advertisements last year were your favorites? Do you ever study ads and try and base your own off theirs? How do you model your advertisements?