Instead of sending a marketing photographer, they amplified student-captured moments. The campaign turned a community moment into a marketing asset without it feeling like marketing. Imperial College London positioned itself as the institution that “understands the future.” The campaign was not about rankings (they have those) but about forward-thinking identity. Social media paid ads reinforced the message across platforms while keeping the institution’s research-driven reputation front and center.
Or you might be launching a new product and want to run a social media campaign to raise awareness or sales. Use these goals to come up with social media content ideas that will help you reach your objectives. According to EY research, less than a third of Gen Z feel financially secure, Queen’s University Belfast put financial aid front and center in their marketing.
Short-form Video Marketing Strategies
- Some turned Oreos into art, others used them in recipes, while many simply added humorous exaggerations.
- Discover their secrets, and learn how to make your next ad one for the history books.
- Focusing on vanity metrics like generated traffic, click-through rate, and impressions is tempting.
- Guerilla advertising campaigns are very similar to anti-marketing campaigns.
- The social waters are getting deeper, wider, and more crowded with every passing year.
Once your campaign goes live, use brand tracking software to monitor and measure its impact so you can see how you’re making a difference. Young girls are impressionable and are constantly being swept in by beauty companies and social media’s impossible standards. To combat body issues before they begin, Dove launched the Face of 10 campaign, which featured girls as young as the age of 10. Meta (Facebook and Instagram) remains the primary platform for most universities. The best campaigns run on 2-3 platforms simultaneously with platform-native creative for each. UC San Diego leveraged a natural campus phenomenon called “Scrippshenge” (a sunset alignment with pier columns) by encouraging students to share their own photos.
The activation launched during holiday and sporting seasons, when snacking occasions peak. Ritz content highlighted groups of friends and families enjoying crackers in lighthearted, sharable formats. Pringles leaned into its unique stacking shape with the “Stack to the Max” campaign. Fans were challenged to film how tall they could stack chips or create funny constructions, sharing videos under the campaign hashtag. The line “Great Jeans,” paired with Sydney Sweeney, was meant to be cheeky; online, it was read as body-coded, exclusionary, and out of touch. The campaign’s tagline blurred “jeans” and “genes,” sparking online jokes that quickly turned into criticism.
I caution you to make sure you understand all the elements of whatever type of marketing campaign you’re launching. Influencers seeded the content, showing clever triangle finds and encouraging audiences to participate. Fans responded by uploading thousands of videos under the campaign hashtag, with Doritos amplifying the most creative entries on its own channels.
Google’s “Year in Search” campaign is an experiment in current events and relationships — what captured the globe’s attention in a single calendar year? By recognizing the brand’s most searched queries and connecting strangers or groups of people based on their search history, Google effectively communicated the message that nobody is truly alone. Using sources that range from local to global, the “Year in Search” campaign continues to unite Google’s users. A stronger long-term approach is to connect campaign ideas back to your wider content strategy template and editorial priorities (plus a repeatable content planning process). Language app Duolingo turned its beloved green owl mascot into a social media spectacle.
An alternative to offering discounts is increasing the value of a product. For example, you can add more products to make a bundle, offer some freebies, or provide free shipping. But besides the typical process of bringing a product to the market, there are also agile methods often used by startups, such as a minimum viable product (MVP). Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change. The audience does not need instructions, onboarding, or too much context.
The iconic “Uncle Sam” poster is one of the most recognizable ads in history. Featuring Uncle Sam pointing directly at the viewer with the words, “I Want You for U.S. Army,” it was an emotionally charged call to action during World War I.
In 2024, Courageous Conversation Global Foundation’s “Driving While Black” campaign used a bold conceptual car, the “DWB,” to spotlight the stark realities of racial profiling in U.S. traffic stops. In March 2024, Starlight Children’s Foundation launched the “Power of Play” campaign, blending gaming, community, and care to support hospitalized kids. Orlando Health, with MediaSource and Mastercard, redefined nonprofit healthcare PR by linking earned media to real business outcomes. With the Social Content AI add-on, you can generate text, hashtags, and visuals from scratch. Ryanair has a reputation for leaving funny, sarcastic comments on people’s TikTok posts—especially when they refer to the brand directly.
University Of Leeds: Reddit Community Engagement
In a series of video commercials, the brand used celebrities to portray unlikely behaviors caused by hunger. After receiving a Snickers candy bar, the celebrities transformed into everyday people acting normally, which solidified Snickers as a hunger-beating snack option rather than a simple candy bar. Some ad campaigns challenge society while others simply move with the current, and Dove’s Real Beauty campaign was designed to do the former. This ad campaign challenged the beauty industry’s incredibly high — often impossible — standards of female beauty. An innovative marketing campaign introduces a fresh way for people to engage with a brand.
After more than 75 years of unchanged design, the humble fry box has finally received an upgrade – thanks to Heinz and agency Rethink. Budgets are tight, inboxes are full of “let’s circle back in Feb’ and many brands play it safe or functional with discount offers. Snickers brought back its classic line — “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” — and gave it a TikTok spin in 2025. The challenge invited fans to dramatize mood swings or funny behaviors before and after eating a Snickers bar. Gatorade’s “Fuel Tomorrow” campaign highlighted the next generation of athletes by focusing on perseverance and ambition. Instead of spotlighting only professionals, the brand elevated youth athletes and local sports communities, showing how Gatorade fuels their journey.
You should know who handles copywriting, design, media buying, and reporting. Determine what kind of content you will be creating to fuel the campaign. It’s common for marketers to include multiple content formats in a singular campaign.
It can reveal threats that you may need to consider for long-term sustainability. By contrast, the marketing plan methodically outlines details of how you will implement your strategies and how you will track your marketing ROI. Learn how to build a smarter approach with an effective AI content strategy. Tuft & Needle, a bed products brand, shows how to do a cart abandonment campaign without being too salesy. It sends a three-part email campaign to shoppers who have put products into their cart but left without buying. As I’ve already mentioned, discounts can undermine the perceived value of the brand and, in this case, the cars.
The concept was so versatile that it continued for years with new scenarios and celebrities, making “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” one of the most successful taglines in modern advertising. Mayo brand Hellmann’s and Ogilvy UK launched a tactical integrated campaign coinciding with Charli xcx’s UK BRAT tour and referencing her infamous arena tour poster. Sky Sports celebrated the launch of a brand-new Sky Sports Tennis channel with giant outdoor special builds. The Sky creative celebrates the feel-good moment when you got one stuck in the fence. The campaign was launched with a “talking” billboard, featuring real-life easyJet Captain Sarah Acklerley who took time out from the cockpit to chat to potential young recruits.
Dove continued pushing its “Keep Beauty Real” / “The Code” campaign pillar, which pledges that it will not use AI to distort women’s images. Dove’s long-running Real Beauty platform remains a touchstone for brand purpose and authenticity. It’s a clever blend of storytelling and product cues that helps the brand stand out in a crowded bio.site/derribar_ventures Christmas ad season. Their charming meet-cute over a block of Sussex Charmer cheddar sets the tone for a playful, self-aware story that feels more like a movie trailer than a supermarket ad.
