Brands and marketers have come to recognize the impact Memory Lane can have on our moods, the affinities we develop for people and things, and – here’s the big one – the actions we take. If you’ve noticed the old school vibe creeping into branded content, you’re not alone. Tying new, promotional content to an audience’s memories by cleverly weaving in old content, ideas, or ideals can be a powerful way to spread a brand’s message. And we call that nostalgia marketing.

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Before I get into the whys and wherefores of nostalgia marketing, let me tell you a little story about a kid from Harlem that will drive home the impact nostalgia can have on buyers in the real world.

In 1993, a cocky, 24 year-old college dropout by the name of Sean left his cushy job at an urban record company to start his own record company. His thought behind the label was to create music for college students, young adults, and the club scene. But he was launching his business at a time when gangster rap had sort of ruined everything already. Politicians were literally steamrolling over piles and piles of rap albums indiscriminately. Like… literally… they were steamrolling over albums. But Sean came from a marketing background, so he developed a game plan. To protect his burgeoning brand from the backlash surrounding gangster rap, Sean decided to skip the edgy East Coast rap sound and instead decided to lay raps (some of them quite gangster) over old dance tracks from the 70s and 80s.

Sean got the content rights (we talk a lot about content rights on this blog) to use songs that were not just hits on the pop charts, but more importantly songs that were cultural and national staples, frequently heard at backyard parties, graduation parties, wedding receptions, and holidays all over the country. These were songs moms and dads partied to in their youth, songs that evoked all the feels. The songs he chose included those made famous by the likes of Diana Ross, David Bowie, The Jackson 5, James Brown, KC & the Sunshine Band, The Police, The Trammps, Lisa Stansfield, Miami Sound Machine, Kool & the Gang, Duran Duran, Miles Davis… major, right?

The record company Sean formed and built on the foundation of making music that would make HIS FANS’ PARENTS forget they were listening to rap sold something like 40 million records in its first five years of existence (and made Sean one of the richest men on the planet)… at a time when a video views didn’t count as a record sold. Decades later, you can still hear Sean’s music around the clock playing on throwback rap stations that play nothing but rap hits from the 80s and 90s… many of them originally released by Sean’s company.

Bad Boy Entertainment is still one of the most successful rap labels of all time, according to Statista (yes, they absolutely have a chart on rap labels, too) and 26 years later, the company is consistently voted among the top five hip hop labels IN HISTORY among fans of the music. And don’t be surprised if you see your kid’s math teach delivering a flawless, although slightly tipsy, performance of Notorious B.I.G.’s Hypnotize at the local karaoke bar. Because it’s probably on the song list.

Now, that’s one of the most striking instances of using nostalgia to sell.

ijs

Why Nostalgia Marketing Works So Well (Here Comes the Brain Stuff)

“My bologna has a first name. It’s O-S-C-A-R.

My bologna has a second name. It’s M-A-Y-E-R.

Oh! I love to eat it every day, And if you ask me why I’ll saaayyy,

‘ Cause Oscar Mayer has a way with ________!!!!”

Were you able to sing the missing portion of this jingle? Of course you were! Now think about the way you felt as you belted out “B-O-L-O-G-N-A!” Somehow that feels great, right? That’s because most of us have a mental catalog of commercials and jingles we remember loving as kids!

Ahhh, the good ol’ days. A time that was more certain, more secure, and more comfortable (probably because these good days happened back when someone else was doing all the adulting for us – haha). But those types of positive emotions tied to SIGNIFICANT memories form the core of why nostalgia marketing is so effective.

The caption below this Gucci spot reads: Presenting #ForeverGuilty. Academy award-winning actor and musician Jared Leto is joined by multi-platinum singer songwriter Lana Del Rey in the new campaign by Glen Luchford.

Collective Memory

Nostalgia works on a couple of different levels – individual, familial, community, nationally, culturally, generationally….

You and the friends from your old neighborhood will have a different set of nostalgic moments than the ones you and your college friends share.

Gen Xers will harp on things like breakdancing… or that time Michael Jackson debuted the Moonwalk and broke everybody’s mind… or the Friends gang hanging out at Central Perk.

Source: On Instagram here’s @paulspulse sporting the fly Central Perk shirt.

Millennials will be more excited about Nickelodeon showing up on the scene, and boy bands… and crushing on the curly-haired boy on Mickey Mouse Club before he became a member of the group N*Sync and a big pop star. And before he (Justin Timberlake) became Branch (the grumpy troll) for your kids.

Source: Today.com – In this photo are Ryan Gossling, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake.

Nationally, we have things we treasure as well. If you were too young (or too busy not being born yet) to appreciate The Golden Girls back when the original episodes were airing between 1985 and 1992, it’s no matter. The Golden Girls are a national treasure. Old episodes still run on TV. And surprisingly, the actresses actually still grace the covers of magazines together, despite the fact that Betty White is the only surviving member of the ensemble that made up America’s favorite over-50 single roommates.

Source: Walmart

#shrug

We like what we like.

We Visit Our RESPECTIVE PastS More Than Any of Us Probably Realize

You may not think much about it, but the average person experiences nostalgia about once a week. Once a week? Really?!! Sure. Facebook will often give users the chance to repost some of their popular posts from years past.

And anyone who uses Twitter and Instagram have probably dug through their own photo albums (physical and virtual) to find the perfect pic for #throwbackthursday. We get nostalgic on purpose. The next point talks about why that is.

Nostalgia Feels REALLY Good

We trigger nostalgic moments as a self-soothing mechanism – our regular dose of feel-good to get through the week. Nostalgia actually lights up the brain’s reward center, which may be why we like talking about the good ol’ days.

Every single one of us has moments, periods, and times in our lives that we can look back on and say “Ahh! The good ol’ days.” Times when having a flip phone was still a luxury and overalls were all the rage (those days seem to have returned for the overalls). Times of amazing childhood days spent watching Beyblade and Pokemon, running in your flashy sneakers and feeding your virtual pocket pet.

(I mean…I actually killed my Gigapet but it’s a good memory, nonetheless.)

These recollections almost certainly bring a smile to your face, and that overlap between memory and emotion is unique to nostalgia. You might even forget for a while that 15, 20, 30 years has passed since you created these warm, seemingly not-so-distant memories.

Nostalgia Makes People More Optimistic

A University of Southampton study found that nostalgia makes people more optimistic about the future and increases resilience. Whether reading older song lyrics, hearing throwback jams, or just remembering a significant event from the past, participants in the study naturally integrated more optimistic words into describing their experiences than those who were exposed to current music or lyrics, or who were asked to remember or talk about regular events.

When Nostalgia Kicks In, People Are More Likely to Spend (Money, Not Time)

Science Daily reported that nostalgia compels people to spend more money. In a study conducted by the Journal of Consumer Research, consumers who were asked to think about the past were willing to pay more for a set of products than a separate group who were asked to think about creating new memories.

Interestingly – and this will probably be of interest to nonprofits as well – people were willing to pay or give more money to others after reflecting on a past life event BUT NOT MORE TIME. So for nonprofits, triggering those memories of old will help you get more donations, but not necessarily more volunteers.

Good Feelings Are More Likely to Be Well-Received

Raise your hand if you’ve ever gone on a Facebook hiatus for a spell to get away from the negativity.

While our human instincts make us want to hear bad news so we can stay out of harm’s way, the truth is most of us don’t actually WANT to be be loaded down with a bunch of bad news all the time.

Think about it: If you’re at a party, are you going to spend all night hanging out in a corner with Debbie Downer or get in that growing circle of laughs around Fun Bobby?

(Friends fans will get the Fun Bobby reference.)

Content that evokes positive emotions also triggers engagement. But there’s only a certain remnant of the population that will happily engage with content that incites rage, fear, or shame.

Brands That Have Used Nostalgia to Make Memorable Branded Content (And Tips for How You Can Use it In Your Next Campaign)

Two things about nostalgia marketing: First, it works because it instantly disappears the days, months, years to make you feel like no time has passed at all since your significant moment. Second, it helps brands create an instant connection with their audiences by tapping into a shared memory. So, creating an opportunity to tie your brand’s message to a fond childhood memory can help make your brand and your message more memorable.

Doritos

For this year’s Super Bowl, Doritos aired a 60-second spot promoting its Flaming Hot Nacho flavor by teaming Chance the Rapper with 90s boy band The Backstreet Boys. The spot, which opened with Chance the Rapper alone followed by a dance number in an airplane hangar with the rapper and the pop stars was sort of epic in that it served to kick off The Backstreet Boys’ tour. The campaign included a the branded hashtag #NowItsHot.

Source: Youtube

A Plan to Consider… Entertain Them

Sometimes the immediate goal isn’t transactional. Not every ad is meant to sell your product. But rather, to stay top-of-mind and create a memorable, positive experience for your audience. A good way to do this is by capitalizing on a collective memory that many of them will appreciate.

So, for instance, tying your brand to an old school pop culture phenomenon like the boy band craze of the 90s to grab the attention of Millennials… Maybe you can do something cool with a Kung Fu movie vibe reminiscent of the 80s for Gen Xers. Or take it back to the 60s (like that Gucci ad we included in the first part of this post) to appeal to Boomers.

These types of light-hearted entertainment breaks can make for highly memorable, highly shareable content AND create good buzz for your brand.

KIA

For Super Bowl LII, Kia ran a spot to promote the Stinger using Aerosmith frontman-turned-American Idol judge Steven Tyler. The spot featured 2018 Tyler hopping in a Stinger on a racetrack and speeding around the track in reverse to the band’s iconic song, Dream On. He drove so fast that he turned back the hands of time. A few seconds later, Tyler hops out of the car 40 years younger. Super-cool idea. And this ad will have cross-generational appeal.

Now, couple of things to note here:

First, Dream On was on the band’s first LP, released in 1973. The song was re-released and charted in 1976 after the band’s second album. It’s epic. It’s the soundtrack of a generation. It’s the template for every power rock ballad that came after it.

Next, the turning back the hands of time thing isn’t without precedent. If you saw the movie Superman (1978), you may remember a pretty emotional point in the film when Superman’s love interest, Lois Lane, died unexpectedly when her car is swallowed up in an earthquake. So distraught was the man of steel that his beloved was dead, that he flew off from the scene, off the planet a blind rage, and circled the earth so fast that he turned back the hands of time and essentially unkilled Lois (comic book reality, here… bear with me).

Same type of situation. Tyler drives so fast around the track that he actually turns back the hands of time. When he stops and gets out of the car as Young Steven, 70s-era fans come rushing toward him before the message, “Feel something again” is captured on the screen.

Source: YouTube

A Plan to Consider… Wow Them

This ad dreams up a concept that anyone over a certain age has considered before – turning back the hands of time. “If I knew then what I know now…”

Visually, it couples old school cool (Steven Tyler is all that) with new school innovation and keeps the audience’s attention because it’s always cool to see a Benjamin Button-styled age-down… This ad works because it gives the audience something they probably didn’t expect – a cool, imaginative car commercial that skips over all the regular car commercial stuff like the car, its features the safety rating, price, down payments, well-qualified buyers, lease options…

I don’t even exactly remember what the car even looked like, only that Kia did a really cool spot for the Stinger. Give the viewer something unexpected… even if the unexpected isn’t necessarily unprecedented.

Prime Wardrobe

Prime Wardrobe’s Try Before You Buy campaign is airing multiple commercials right now with the same general idea: aspiration

One spot features a studious, bespectacled man sitting hunched over at a bar, scrolling through his phone. He comes across a picture of a black leather jacket. The jacket triggers a kind of theme song in this guy’s imagination (K-Ci and Jo Jo’s All My Life) where he imagines himself sitting at that same bar, only this time he’s wearing the jacket and he’s not hunched over the bar with his back to the room. He has his back to the bar, nothing in his hands, and is glasses-free. He’s a cool, confident dude in that jacket.

In two other Prime Wardrobe spots, similar situations are presented and set to 80s rock hits, Eternal Flame by The Bangles and Is This Love? from Whitesnake.

A Plan to Consider… Inspire Them

Nostalgia goes hand-in-hand with optimism and inspiration. Appreciating the good times makes people feel like more good times are on the way. Find a natural way to make your product more aspirational by triggering inspiration (but not envy). FYI: Music is a fast and easy way to both set the tone of your content and inject much-needed nostalgia. #nostalgiamarketing

BP

If you ever get tired of watching this commercial, you’re crazy. The three truckers singing Backstreet Boys’ I Want it That Way together is an epic feel-good moment in ad history.

Now, BP has had a rough go of it since the big oil spill of 2010. The company released a rather sobering, “Our bad, we’ll do better” type of ad in response to the incident. BP ended up the butt of tons of late night monologue jokes and became the poster child for corporations’ need for more oversight and accountability. I doubt anyone will ever forget the images of all the dead fish and oil-slicked birds that flooded the web in the days and weeks following the incident. The entire ordeal was both an ecological and a publicity nightmare. A hard thing for any company to recover from.

So, this particular instance of nostalgia marketing was an emotional play both for Millennials who love The Backstreet Boys as well as anyone who’s ever been wholly committed to their red light vocal performance from the front seat of their car.

Source: YouTube

A Plan to Consider… Humanize Your Brand

Make your brand more relatable by putting a face on your brand and by connecting a positive vibe or mission to your brand. We talked about this pretty extensively in the social proof post. This strategy worked really well for Blendtec blenders when the company launched its Will It Blend? campaign. Blendtec boosted sales and created an enormous amount of buzz about the brand by using its industrial blender (with the super unsexy name) to grind up things like cell phones, baseballs, marbles, super glue (that one was cool), silly putty… the list goes on.

But you don’t have to blend a bag of marbles, man. This can really be as simple as showing your audience an unguarded, vulnerable moment (like singing in a car) that anyone can relate to… or it can be as complex as investing in a large-scale community development project.

iHeartRadio

Congratulations to the Class of late 1990-something or 2000-whateverrrrr!

iHeartRadio has a feature called Graduation Playlist (GraduationPlaylist.com) where users can type in the year they graduated high school, college, or whatever and stream music that was popular the year they graduated.

Each channel streams a set playlist, but users have the option to click away to hear specific songs in the playlist in a separate tab. Clicking away lets you hear your song choice, but also provides you the option to register for a free account (and opt in to receive emails) and of course, create custom playlists. If you choose not to create an account, you can go back to your graduation-year playlist, but it’s basically a just commercial-free radio station – you don’t get to call any shots.

A Plan to Consider… Lead with Value

Front-load value and ask for nothing (or very little) in return. This could be a very useful strategy for apps and SaaS companies. Find creative ways – like a graduation-year playlist – to tie nostalgia (and its positive vibes) into your value offering.

Geico

Before the Geico gecko, there were the Geico cavemen. The company has used a string of mascots in its commercials over the last couple decades (Mayhem, for instance). For those who grew up during the 90s and early 2000s, you may think back fondly on the cavemen. This spot in particular originally aired in 2006 with a KILLER song called Remind Me by Röyksopp (there are tons of mixes of this song… and yeah that pixel art thing is the real video).

Source: YouTube

What’s superb about this commercial is in 2018, Geico pulled this one from the archives as part of a campaign to get people to vote for their favorite Geico commercials and started airing it again. People love it!

AND they get to remember / rediscover the Royksopp video. Just adds another layer of awesomesauce because when the video first aired back in 2006, you had to know a record store geek to find out who the heck the band is. Now… a two-second YouTube search of the term “song from geico caveman commercial”… and you’re suddenly remix-rich

I love the internets.

A Plan to Consider… Pull Out the Old Archives

Nostalgia marketing works when brands remind customers of something cool from the past, but it also works pretty well when brands are willing to share their own memories and corporate histories. Doing things like re-running popular old campaigns or doing a mashup that combines your old, grainy training videos attended by ladies in long, wool skirts with new irreverent commentary from people young enough to be their adult kids can be a fun way for brands to nurture old connections AND establish new connections with their audiences.

Forever 21 x Pepsi

A trip into Forever 21 is like visiting the past. The store is pretty well-stocked with throwback gear. If you didn’t get around to buying it when it was hot in 1981, now’s your chance.

Source: A pic from my local Forever 21

A lot of the clothes you see at Forever 21 are heavily branded, whether it’s a jacket tagged with a bunch of USPS logos or a worn Van Halen graphic tee, Forever 21 is the place to go if you want to get a really cool throwback… anything, I guess (as evidence by the Three’s Company-esque Mr. Roper visor above that was spotted at the local Forever 21).

So, Forever 21’s collaboration with Pepsi is totally on-brand for the store – 80s/90s-inspired jackets and outfits heavily branded with the old school Pepsi logo.

A Plan to Consider… Overbrand The Heck Out of This Thing

Reappropriating old logos and marketing collateral in fun, new ways can really boost the impact of your campaigns. Think about that for a moment. What would it say about your brand if you blanketed a members only jacket (you may have to look that one up) or other clothing items and outerwear with your logo? The idea is to skip the ho-hum, corporate-y polo shirts this time around. What about corporate earrings that break the dress code… and people can’t really wear them to work? Or a leather belt with a big, gaudy logo’d belt buckle would probably KILL… and surprise the heck out of both your team and your customers. #nostalgiamarketing

Walmart

Last one. Nothing says throwback quite like a retro arcade game. Last holiday season, Walmart stores displayed a small selection of 45-inch, full-cabinet arcade games. It was shocking to see in-store. To promote these, one of the marketing tactics Walmart used was game reviews by someone who specializes in collector’s items.

Source: YouTube

Walmart is no stranger to retro video games. There’s a section of Walmart.com called Classic Arcade Gaming that hosts a virtual catalog of 6-inch games, tabletop arcade games, the four-foot game cabinets, and risers for the game cabinets. You can also grab the throwback Atari or Sega game consoles suped-up to work with even the smartest flat screen TV.

I came across a game review video from YouTuber Boogie2988 who published a review of an entire selection of arcade games just ahead of the Christmas 2018 holiday season. Arcade 1UP supplied the arcade games for him to review, and in the video description he also mentioned going to Walmart to pick up the games… that, and there was a guy in a Walmart t-shirt actually assembling the games… which leads me to believe the view review was a Walmart x Arcade 1UP collaboration for the holiday season.

A Plan to Consider… Partner with a Niche Blogger

Creating a high-impact nostalgia marketing campaign will niche-down your audience reasonably well but you can go narrower to really zero in on what your target buyer wants and what they actually need to hear from you to convert the sale.

What was super smart about this particular review was that this guy wasn’t just your typical Gen Z or Millennial gamer. There are plenty of young gamers who are interested in retro arcade games. Don’t get me wrong.

But…

Boogie2988 is older and played the original arcade games back in the day when they were out. So, he talked A LOT about one of the things older gamers will find MOST important – the similarities between the “feel” of the new games compared to the old arcade games. That’s going to be a BIG DEAL for people who spent their childhood and teen years in the arcade.

Nostalgia is all about being taken back to that time. Well, for gamers, going back means not having major differences (like a video game where the console is too small for two-player mode, or the joystick is too loose, or the buttons aren’t firm enough) that distract from the experience of going back. So, it was smart to go with a niche-gamer… someone who can give validity to the new games by comparing them to the many experiences he had with the old games.

That’s All, Folks!

Here’s the big takeaway… A personalized, compelling, relatable, and nostalgia-inducing message is an effective way to tie your brand to a positive memory or experience for your target customer.

More than just helping you makes sales, nostalgia marketing can help you make positive impact and help solidify the value of your brand in the minds of your target audience.

We want to help you link up with amazing creators who can help make your message beautiful, relevant, and effective. Click the button below to schedule a 30-minute demo with us and we’ll help you reach your brands expansion and development goals. Reach out to us!

It’s gonna be totally gnarly!

You know what time it is! If you don’t, let me tell you: It’s time for Easter Marketing Ideas!

Springtime is here! Woot! Woot! So, it’s time for The Shelf’s Annual Easter Marketing Contest. Now, no one actually ever enters this contest per se… but we have taken it upon ourselves to pit one firm against the other to see which Easter Marketing ideas tickle our fancies (insert Pillsbury Doughboy giggle here).

We scoured the internet for the best, most eye-catching, effective and memorable Easter marketing campaigns. I’m gonna tell you why we love these campaigns, as well as why consumers love them. I’m also gonna share how your brand can take advantage of some of these same principles in order to get more eyes on your brand, and more hands on your products and services.

Easter Spending is in Full Swing This Year

Easter spending always sort of fascinates me, in part because I, like 80 percent of Americans, will be celebrating Easter, and probably contributing my fair share to the more than $18 billion we spend annually celebrating the holiday.

Interestingly, those who celebrate Easter will spend, on average, $151 on candies, food, DIY projects, decorations and clothing. But even for those who don’t celebrate Easter, about one in three of them will chip in about 20 bucks into the Easter pot by takingadvantage of the holiday sales.

But for the most part, Easter is an American tradition in which the majority of us seem to take part, regardless of age.

What We Like to Actually DO for Easter

For most Americans, celebrating Easter is more about tradition than anything else, and it doesn’t really matter who you ask – from Boomers on down to Gen Zers, Easter traditions (think egg hunts and family dinners) are everybody’s favorite part of the holiday.

That’s not to say there aren’t other important drivers for the people wanting to get out there and celebrate one of our favorite candy holidays.

Across age groups, tradition is THE most popular reason for celebrating Easter, while retailer or brand events are the least inspiring part of the holidays (we can help you dream better ideas for your experiences… ijs).. Here’s where the generational divide becomes apparent:

Fans of Easter between the ages of 18 and 34 enjoy celebrating Easter because it’s a social activity that they share with friends and family. But the 35 to 64 year-old crowd is more impressed by the sales and promotions at their favorite stores.

Millennials and older Gen Zers get a kick out of Easter-themed products and decorations. But you aren’t going to impress the 65 and over grandmas with your marshmallow wreaths. You just aren’t.

If you look at the chart above, you’ll see that four out of six of these “Easter inspiration” categories are shopping-related – looking at store displays, attending branded experiences, seasonal products, sales and promotions…

It begs the question, where are shoppers going to do all this retail-y stuff they’re saying they like to do?

What We Like to Buy for Easter

Discount stores lead the pack with 58.9 percent of celebrants shopping there, followed by department stores (45.8 percent), online stores (28 percent), and local small businesses (24.9 percent) (Yay!!).

Okay, so this is throwback knowledge from the first post we did about the resale industry (which you can read here) and how discount stores and off-price stores (think Marshall’s, Ross Stores, TJ Maxx) are gaining favor over department stores and more expensive retailers.

This makes sense.

Nearly half of Easter shoppers (48 percent) will buy clothes for the holiday and spend more than $3 billion doing it. Surprisingly, 61 percent of Easter shoppers will buy gifts, to the tune of $2.9 billion (that’s A LOT of baskets and Easter lilies. And the most popular Easter purchase? Candy, of course. Regardless of age…

Location…

Gender…

Or even whether they’re celebrating Easter!

Eighty-nine percent of Easter shoppers buy candy.

What We Like to Actually DO for Easter

What do you think of when you think of Easter Sunday? By this time, you probably won’t be clutching your pearls if I say most people plan to spend Easter with friends and family. Fifty-seven percent of Easter celebrants plan to cook a holiday meal, while half intend to go to the Easter service at the local church.

Three more popular plans for Easter Sunday that don’t seem to be filled with holiday spirit are watching TV, which nearly 45 percent of celebrants intend to do; plan an Easter egg hunt (35 percent); and – get this – browsing the web! A quarter of the people celebrating Easter are going to do so just hanging out on the internet.

#shrug

‘Kay.

Easter Marketing Ideas That Are Eggs-actly What the Brand Manager Ordered

After searching through thousands of posts, tweets, videos, to find the dopest of them all, we’ve determined that the clear winner is… YOU. And your brand.

We did a little double duty by including both the strategies leverage and the tactics being used in the campaigns to make them work. Honestly, some of these aren’t campaigns, but definitely could have been.

Favorite Easter Giveaway

Easter giveaways are popular. There are more than 12k Instagram posts that include the #eastergiveaway hashtag, and another 1100 or so tagged #eastercontest.

Contests are a great way to promote new products and get eyes on your brand, especially if your brand isn’t immediately Easter-related. I mean, no one’s going to forget Peeps because those little marshmallow bunnies are just about everywhere right now.

But, a contest is a great way to spread the word about your cookbook. Let’s state the obvious here: People love getting stuff for free, and because most social media contests require people to share the contest with others in order to enter the actual contest, giveaways are a great way to spread the news about your product without having to spend loads of money on social media ads.

Cake Angel UK x My Kitchen Drawer

Cake decorating powerhouse, Cake Angels UK (on Instagram @cakeangelsuk) is on a simple mission: to help consumers make amazingly fabulous creations with their super-tasty, brilliant products. Alix Carey of My Kitchen Drawer (on Instagram @mykitchendrawer) wants nothing more than to offer a special little slice (pun intended) of the internet to other bakers and creative go-getters. Together this pair is responsible for the creation of our all-time favorite Easter holiday giveaway.

Carey is a self-proclaimed summer and weekend morning person who says that if you love color, sugar, cake, and baked goods that soothe your soul, then you’ll feel right at home with her, and leave feeling inspired to whip up some deliciousness of your own.

After offering a box of Cake Angels products including frosting, mirror glaze, and lots of sprinkles along with an autographed copy of Carey’s The Unicorn Cookbook, it didn’t take long to get the attention of fans, fellow influencers, and passionate bakers all over the world. Source: On Instagram

Journalist, author, and social influencer in the specialty baking niche, Carey brilliantly paired her latest cookbook with hot seasonal items that Cake Angels had ready to roll out for the spring baking season.

Carey told her followers that Cake Angels is synonymous with fun, while promoting her own beautifully-designed cookbook. This all comes together creating the perfect influencer marketing storm of engagement and demand.

Winner, Ashleigh Parish was the envy of all of the entrants when Cake Angels announced that she’d won the signed copy of The Unicorn Cookbook AND a box of delicious Cake Angel UK products that she could use to make her own DIY creations at home. Source: On Instagram

To enter the contest, contestants had to like the pic, follow both brands on Instagram, and tag a few friends to share the products and contest.

As they announced the winner, Cake Angels kept the ‘losers’ wanting more by letting them know that more giveaways were on the way and to keep an eye out for them.

Source: On Instagram

Favorite Easter Sponsored Instagram Post

Brookies Cookies Co x Bob’s Red Mill

While Brooke Haven may, in fact, use the occasional cookie cutter to achieve the desired design of her sweet creations, we affectionately call her the anti-cookie cutter baker because there’s nothing common about what she does. Growing up with the nickname Brookie Cookie (on Instagram @brookiescookiesco), she had no idea that as an adult she’d take that name and use it to build a sugary, buttery empire of frosted goodness.

The stay-at-home mom of two wants to make her blog the sweetest place on earth for desserts,and she intends to do just that by sharing recipes and tutorials, and embarking on journeys with the goal of finding the tastiest desserts, and having the most fulfilling adventures.

As a social influencer, she’s collaborated with Fortune 500 food and beverage companies, and other big brands such as Disney, Bob’s Red Mill, MARS, Sam’s Club, Kroger, LEGO, SeaWorld, Chef Master, Fat Daddio’s and The Original Scrapbox to create, beautiful, fun, informative campaigns.

Source: On Instagram

For this particular campaign, Brook worked with Bob’s Red Mill, a wholesome foods company. Not exactly a match made in heaven, right – a legacy, low-profile wholesome foods company and an Insta-savvy, fresh and funky cookie company. But it works!

Bob’s Red Mill has been a household name for 90 years! Today’s consumers watched their grandmothers, mothers, and fathers use this product. As a result they probably believe it’s old school… but a solid product.

An influencer campaign like this gives Bob’s Red Mill visibility (and utility) with younger audiences who may be tapping into all the good feels associated with a product Grammy kept in her kitchen.

With older products, you have to promote the good and ditch the bad. I mean, this is from the same generation that had doctors telling petite women to take up smoking during pregnancy in order to decrease the birth weight of their babies, and keep them healthier.

Uh… Yikes…(??)

But, with almost 8500 instances of engagement on this one post (a really solid engagement ratio of about 1.5 percent), the partnership made for a really great brand awareness campaign.

I think this is a pretty good campaign to look at for brands that need to reintroduce themselves to the market to connect with younger buyers. The fastest path to relevancy is social proof, and influencer campaigns provide just that.

Brook is lovable, trustworthy, and has thousands of people who thrive on what she says. She could be the solution to the credibility issue Bob’s Red Mill may experience courting Millennials.

Best Private #EasterOutfit Post That Should Have Been a Sunglasses Campaign

Kyro Abel

Source: On Instagram

I know that’s probably the most random contest category in the history of random contest categories, but… this pic would have KILLED as a sunglasses campaign.

Never mind the fact that little Kyro Abel is boy-slaying in this best holiday bib and tucker (big ups to his mom, Summer Stultz’s (on Instagram @vibewithredd_), there’s science to support why this would have worked as a campaign.

First, this Easter look is classic. Moms and dads search relentlessly for outfit ideas for their kids in the weeks leading up to Easter. There are literally thousands of searches around this time of year for stuff like…

• Easter outfits

• Easter dresses

• Easter dresses for juniors

• Easter outfits for siblings

• Easter outfits for toddler girls

• Baby Easter outfit boy (thousands of people search this)

• Baby boy Easter outfits 0-3 months (that’s literally a top-searched Easter apparel term… LITERALLY)

• Boutique Easter dresses

• Mommy and me Easter outfits

With little Kyro Abel rocking the straw fedora ?, the plaid button-up, the royal blue bow-tie and pocket square… this post would work for mom and pop hat shops, big box retailers, and even holiday photographers trying to fill up their schedules ahead of the holiday.

We’re programmed to pay attention to, protect, and love babies. It’s a part of us, it’s irresistible, it’s written in our DNA. Check the science, kid…

Konrad Lorenz, a zoologist and Nobel Prize winner says that the specific structure of a baby’s face- its large head and forehead, its bulging cheeks, and its low-lying eyes are what trigger our parental, nurturing, and protective instinct. Although, we don’t have a similar reaction to unfamiliar adults, we have the desire to preserve an unfamiliar baby in only one-seventh of a second!

Babies have been known to boost sales. Smart marketers have known this, and have been capitalizing on this since the beginning of the ad age…

The Evian skater babies, the E-Trade baby, the unforgettable CGI dancing baby of the 90s (my mom LOVED that kid from Ally McBeal and would laugh every single time she saw him), and the many other baby-based ads will forever be ingrained in the minds, hearts (and thusly the wallets) of consumers.

It’s almost as hard to say no to an ad baby as it is to say no to an actual baby. According to neurosciencemarketing. com, “The neuromarketing takeaway is simple: a face in your ad will attract attention, but be sure the face is looking at what you want the viewer to see! And a baby will act as an amplifier for that very action.”

That’s true if this heat map is any indication of where consumers direct their attention when looking at baby ads.

Best Click-Thru Easter Ad

Starburst

This one’s pretty cool. Look at the purple image on the right there. It showed up in the Pinterest results for the search “Easter decoration”.

And THIS purple pictured showed up in the Pinterest results for “easter decor”.

Both are promoted posts from Starbust Candy that go to the company’s YouTube channel.

Okay. pretty uneventful, right? A little over 27k subscribers… typical-looking videos… Nothing to scream and shout about.

Except for one thing – the quiet screams in the header that the Limited Edition, All Pink pack of Starburst is out.

Bruhhhh…

PINK STARBURST! MY FAVORITES! Where can I find these?

I clicked because I was curious what Starbust was going to tell me about Easter decor. Not that the basket looked all that appetizing, but… it’s Starbust.

Click-baity? Sure. But it worked. I’m not offended. And now I know about the annual (I hope it’s annual) tradition of an all pink pack of Starburst.

The Most Peculiar and Exciting Everybody-In Easter DIY Snacks for Kid Cooks

Easter DIY topics are also very popular this time of year, with “Easter basket” and “Easter wreaths” among the top-searched Easter-related terms come springtime.

Troom Troom

Troom Troom is a popular YouTube channel with more than 1.7 million subscribers and in excess of 3.8 billion video views.

What’s cool about Troom Troom is that it specifically targets younger YouTubers with DIY crafts, recipes, hacks, pranks, and home decorating ideas for industrious kids and teens who are into being different, not the same.

The channel’s catalog of brightly-colored videos includes Easter-themed content. Interestingly enough, the video embedded below has more than 119k views, 3800 likes, and 290 comments only a day after being posted.

So, we referred to this particular strategy as Everybody-In because the video presents lots of opportunities for brands across different verticals to partner with a Creator like Troom Troom.

This Easter video would easily accommodate food companies that can easily and logically sponsor this post (because of the recipes) But it also has room for brands like Dollar Tree, craft stores, companies that make the crinkled paper grass, paint companies that are pushing seasonal colors like mustard or robin’s egg blue, food supply companies that supply pastry bags and cookie sheets, lumber retailers (the display surfaces are painted wood) who can supply splinter-free table tops that don’t need to be sanded or treated…

But Troom Troom (or Creators like Troom Troom) is a great option for brands that don’t easily fit into the Easter category (or any holiday for that matter) because this particular channel specializes in presenting creative ideas, activities, and DIY projects for kids. So, the videos are quirky, colorful, and unusual. It’s an expect-the-unexpected sort of channel.

We Conclude with This…

This concludes the annual The Shelf Favies awards! We hoped you enjoyed our list and enjoyed our favorites as much as we did. Feeling motivated to make next year’s list? Great! Let’s bang out an influencer marketing strategy for your brand. We can’t wait to work with you, and we can’t wait to see you on next year’s ballot!

One of the major trends we see in marketing today is that of using branded experiences to sell goods and services. If you happen to be in the business of selling actual experiences – specifically, travel experiences – you need a strategy that dives head first into building remarkable experiences for your current and future customers.

We’re not talking about making sure product packaging looks cool… though that’s important. We’re talking about using your marketing smarts and a little inspired creativity to craft the types of experiences that today’s consumers are looking to have.

They’re memorable.

They’re enjoyable.

They’re grammable.

They also help brand forge potentially lifelong relationships with prospective customers.

The Experience Economy: How Brands (and Especially Travel Brands) Are Getting the Attention of that All-Important Young Adult Market by Creating Remarkable, Branded Experiences

Fun fact: Millennials outnumber all other (living) generations with a population of 76 million in the US alone. Why does this matter? Because Millennials will have $1.4 trillion (yes, with a T) in annual spending power by this time next year.

And guess what else…Millennials love to travel. And they’re using Instagram to find travel destinations. Not only that, but they’re sourcing travel ideas then reposting themselves traveling to destinations they found on social media! And often post pics of them doing the same activities featured in the picture they saw that inspired the trip.

Whether the inspiration post was the work of a sponsored post or just another grammer sharing a cool experience, this is an example of experiential marketing… and for Millennials, it’s all about experiences you rack up. But let this be a lesson to brands and marketers: Experiential marketing is a powerful strategy that you can leverage to inform, inspire, and attract your customers to your business.

What is Experiential Marketing (and What Does it Have to Do with My Brand)?

Experiential marketing is a form of advertising (duh), but what makes it different is that it focuses on creating a branded experience that strengthens the brand-to-customer bond.

So rather than plastering your logos and taglines all over the place, hoping it’ll stick to people’s minds long enough for them to someday purchase from you…

You have another option — create an experience consumers can’t get anywhere else so they come to you in droves (we see you, Disneyland!).

You’ve likely heard the term experiential marketing before… but maybe you glazed over it without much thought. But take a look at this…

Source: Weforum.org

In the 20-year period between 2005 and 2025, the rate at which people spend on experiences ( or “enrichment” – I love that) will be nearly 3x what they spend on material things.

Now, let’s look at a campaign.

Orangina is Better When the Pulp is Shaken

Orangina is a soda company that decided to do the exact opposite of most brands — tick off their customers (but all in good fun, of course). And it paid off. They decided to create an experience that many of us find irritating — having our can of soda held hostage by a vending machine.

So Orangina decided to do something different to create a unique experience. They created a vending machine that holds your drink hostage (on purpose) and then requires you to shake it out. The vending machine is light and easy to move (as you’ll see tiny women shaking the heck out of it like it’s nothing) so that you can get your drink out. As it turns out, people loved it and it made their brand stand apart from the Coca Colas and Pepsis of the world (really, it’s just those two).

Experiential Marketing ≠ Publicity Stunt

Experiential Marketing ≠ Publicity Stunt

You’re thinking it, right? Experiential marketing sounds synonymous with publicity stunt. But the two are definitely not the same. To put it simply, a publicity stunt is something companies use to gain mass amounts of attention from any and everyone. It creates a wow moment, maybe even boosts sales for a time, but then fizzles and dies out.

Here’s an example:

Jeff Goldblum’s weird, awesome fire aside… it was a statue of Jeff Goldblum.

With experiential marketing on the other hand, you’re paving the way for engagement by creating moments and long-lasting memories. These experiences aren’t one-night-stands that leave you confused or uncaring about your interaction. Instead, they make you want to tell all of your friends and family about what happened, and whenever you get the chance, you return to get the experience again.

Stunt → Attention

Experience → Attention + Engagement

Why is Creating Experiences So Important for My Marketing Strategy?

I get it, you think experiential marketing seems like just another advertising fad. And you may be wondering why you would spend your marketing budget on it. So, we’re going to take a deeper dive.

But first, let’s take a swim back to the shore — with the Millennials discussion.

Why Millennials Are the Most Important Consumer for Travel and Tourism

Best-selling author and Millennial personal finance influencer Ramit Sethi once told a quick story about a guy he knew who earned a sizable raise at work. Know what he did with it? Downsized his apartment so he could allocate more resources to traveling the world.

…

That story above is why marketers talk so much about the fact that Millennials spend money differently than their Boomer and Gen X parents did. Millennials are drawn to experiences because they are unique, culturally-rich, and offer the opportunity for a transformational moment. Even if it’s just for a short while. That’s why you find many of them traveling the world whenever they get the opportunity.

Millennials Make Use of Their Time Off

Millennials look forward to their vacation time. We all do, but they use more of their vacation time (and I would imagine negotiate more vacation time as part of their benefits package) than did previous generation — most taking an average of 35 days of vacation each year when the average American worker took 17.2 days of vacation in 2017, according to CNBC.

Already, there are 40 percent of Millennials planning to take a trip with friends within the next year. And they don’t cheap out either. Around 35 percent of Millennials stay in upscale and luxury resorts and hotels (places that are grammable, no doubt…)

In 2017, Millennials (ages 18-34) vacationing during the summer spent an average of $1,373. On week-long trips, 56 percent of them spend an additional $500 to $1,500 on top of airfare.

Yeah, Saphia… but we’re talking about single people with no kids, right?

Nope — 62 percent of Millennial parents travel with children under 5 years old.

So it’s pretty clear that Millennials are serious about (and willing to spend on) their travels. But what about that “experience” we keep talking about?

Connecting with Millennials Through Experiential Marketing

When you speak to most marketers today, they’ll tell you that reaching Millennials is tough work. But it’s not because they’re ineffective at creating outstanding advertising campaigns. It’s because their advertising campaigns aren’t connecting with Millennials.

In the past, all you had to do was splash your ads all over television, radio, billboards, and newspapers to catch the eye of customers.

But let’s be real — Can you really picture workers in their 20s and 30s rushing to the office with a Yeti cup in one hand, and a folded copy of the daily times in the other?

No. We need that other hand for our phones!

Newspapers come to your phone now as Google News, and you subscribe to follow TOPICS, not entire papers. (eye roll)

And any commercials that made it through your ad blocker can often be skipped on YouTube. Besides, most Millennials eye that five-second countdown and “Skip” button like a hawk watching its prey… though YouTube is the platform most likely to have ads that get watched all the way through (algorithms are spot-on these days with predictions…)

And you see billboards… but you don’t SEE them because you’re mid-laugh listening to the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

Some may even LEAVE a video that forces them to watch an entire 15 seconds of an ad (or if it’s really worth it, they’ll just switch devices and check Instagram as they wait).

Or maybe that’s just me… (it’s not though)

The point is, traditional and even modern methods of advertising aren’t attracting Millennials. This is where experiential marketing becomes really useful.

Seventy-eight percent of Millennials would rather spend money on travel, music festivals, and unique events than stuff. What does that sound like to you?

Experiences…exactly!

A lot of young adults aren’t looking to buy “things.” So if you’re able to tie in an experience with your product or service, then you can capture their attention and possibly even earn their lifelong loyalty.

Oh, one more thing… Millennials can smell b.s. from a mile away so if your brand isn’t authentic, you’ll lose their trust at the gate. BUT if you can create an engaging experience that feels genuine with your brand, then you can take advantage of Millennials social media-fueled FOMO (fear of missing out).

Here’s What Makes Instagram So Important for Experiential Marketing

Instagram has grown from a photo-sharing platform to being the go-to resource for sharing experiences. THAT’S what makes it so captivating. Not only that, but most brands don’t get that people use Instagram to establish and share their social brand… and often their professional brand. Instagram isn’t just about pretty pictures, it’s about understanding the person in the pictures, the person who captured the picture, and even the person engaging with the picture.

Keep that in mind as you look at the next few stats…

Nearly 60 percent of American Millennials are active Instagrammers. Instagram is the most popular platform among Millennials and Gen Z. Instagram is one of the only social networks out there that’s seeing growth (Tik Tok is another one, just for a younger audience).

Not only is Instagram the best place to connect with today’s consumers, it also connects you with the next generation of shoppers. Instagram is influencing not just our choices in what we wear and the type of lipstick we buy, but also our travel decisions. Adweek called it a modern day travel agent.

Sixty-seven percent of travel enthusiasts use Instagram for inspiration in finding new travel destinations. Another 40 percent say they actually value the Instagrammability (yes, this is a word) of a vacation destination. A whopping 97 percent of Millennials say they share posts of their vacations on social media.

So not only are people sourcing vacation spots on IG, and actually booking these experiences, they’re also documenting their experiences Instagram-style! Just look at the sheer volume of use of these popular travel hashtags:

• #travel – 384.7 million posts

• #travelgram – 93.8 million posts

• #travelphotography – 69.5 million posts

• #travelblogger – 38.8 million posts

And counting…

Imagine having thousands of Instagrammers sharing their great experience with your brand during their travels. What do you think will happen next? A flock of new travelers will likely come to check you out.

But while sharing and tagging experiences on Instagram come with its benefits, it also comes with some drawbacks for certain destinations.

Let’s take a look at the power of Instagram and why it should be used responsibly.

A Cautionary Tale About the Power of Instagram

(Why the “Tag Responsibly” Movement is So Serious)

Who’d a thunk that a social media platform could lead to the potential demise of some of the world’s most beautiful destinations? Well, it’s gotten so bad that people (and the authorities) are coming out to ask tourists to tag their experiences responsibly.

And it’s starting a movement. If you haven’t heard of it, then let me paint you a picture.

You’re an avid traveler who loves visiting the most obscure destinations on earth. So you scour Instagram looking for your next destination. You see an Instagrammer taking selfies in front of a gorgeous waterfall in a little-known-place in the Amazon. She geo-tags it, and then you look up the exact location. Next, you book your tickets, plan your itinerary, and pack your bags.

When you arrive, you see the place is jam-packed with hundreds of tourists taking selfies in front of the waterfall, nearby rocks, and other settlements. You also notice the scene looks a bit different than the photo you “liked” on Instagram. Instead of the pristine and tranquil setting you expected, you see food wrappers, water bottles, and other trash littering the ground.

There are even some floating in the river…

And cut.

See the problem here? Because popular Instagrammers are sharing and geo-tagging their travels, it’s leading to the vandalization of natural wonders. Unfortunately, this is happening all over the world. Just to give you an idea of the impact Instagram has:

In 2017, 1.5 million people visited Horseshoe Bend. And it was expected that another 500,000 would visit by the end of 2018. That’s a stunning 5,500 tourists each day and lots of potential for vandalism.

In some national parks, it’s against the law to take Instagram shots.

So to protect these destinations, places like Jackson Hole are asking traveling Instagrammers (specifically) not to share exact locations.

And while this is a serious situation and has my full-backing, I can’t help but notice how he put the spotlight on Instagrammers. Is it because of the far-reaching influence the platform’s content has on Millennials, Gen Z, and the travel industry?

You betcha.

It’s gotten to the point where folks are contacting Airbnb hosts to request hourly rates just for photo opp sessions. I have to admit, you can find a fair share of beautiful Airbnb homes in scenic places around the world — so I completely get it.

But again, this just goes to show how big of a deal Instagram is and how it’s affecting travel and tourism.

Take for example @icelandic_explorer, who’s tracked the hashtag #iceland since 2014. In just the last five years, #iceland as a travel location and destination has gone from being featured in 300,000 posts to now over 10 million.

Source: On Instagram

Instagram is like an endless resource of untapped exotic destinations ripe for the picking.

Source: On Instagram

4 Strategies Experience Brands Are Using to Grab the Attention of Millennials on Instagram

Now that we have the digital marketing equivalent of a surgeon general’s warning out of the way, we’re going to help you get eyes on your travel brand because the first Gen Zers will be embarking on summer break in just over a month. Don’t worry… that’s long enough to put together a smashing campaign (I just wrote that in a British accent).

The best way to learn is through the examples of others in the travel and tourism industry. There are five Instagram marketing strategies you’ll see that work really and that are relatively simple to roll out as part of your campaign.

1. Inspire

2. Collaborate

3. Be unique

4. Promote community

5. Engage

So we’re going to show examples of what these brands did and how you can do the same.

#1 Inspire Your Audience

When travel enthusiasts jump on Instagram to find their next vacation spot, they want to discover photos that will immerse them in the destination. I like something that Scott Barry Kaufman wrote in Harvard Business Review said about the importance of inspiration:

“Inspiration propels a person from apathy to possibility, and transforms the way we perceive our own capabilities. Inspiration may sometimes be overlooked because of its elusive nature. Its history of being treated as supernatural or divine hasn’t helped the situation. But as recent research shows, inspiration can be activated, captured, and manipulated, and it has a major effect on important life outcomes.”

You can inspire your audience with the right images and multimedia content, like the one. Maybe you have a restaurant or hotel that sits right along a beach. Instead of capturing shots of your lobby, rooms, cafe, or (dare I say) even your plates, if your goal is to inspire people, show off the sunset and waves.

Source: On Instagram

Another excellent example of this is Airbnb (on Instagram @airbnb). The image below captures a phenomenal, who-does-that moment. She’s in the JUNGLE, bro! This little pic garnered nearly 70k instances of engagement.

70,000.

Source: On Instagram

Airbnb not only takes and shares beautiful photos of homes and natural attractions around the world, it also share experiences and inspiring stories that entice their audience to plan for the next dream getaway.

One such tempting offer was posted March 22nd. Take 71 seconds and watch this video on Instagram. It’s worth it. And yes… that says this one-minute video has garnered 343,282 views… including mine. This video effectively turns inspiration into aspiration.

I want to scream my guts out as I’m going down into the crevasse.

Source: Click to watch this video on Instagram.

#2 Collaboration with Influencers

Sometimes, it’s not enough to be in the sight of Millennials. You also need a pathway to their heart. This is what makes influencer collaborations ingenious. They help you gain visibility and trust.

You have to remember influencers can charge brands money because they already have relationships with their audience. When you partner with an influencer, it softens their audience to hear and accept you as well.

In case you didn’t know, ninety-two percent of consumers trust influencers over digital advertisements and traditional celebrities. This is why the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas decided to team up with not one, but 20 rising star Instagrammers. The hotel invited these influencer to stay at the hotel. That campaign received over 50,000 positive mentions (and it took less than two months!).

Source: On Instagram

Now, it’s ideal to create a campaign around your collaborations vs. opting for a one-off promotion of your destination.

This is what makes events so promising, especially in the travel industry. Plan something for your restaurant, hotel, or retail shop to get the community and influencers involved.

The idea is to make your collaborations authentic, or it’ll just look like another paid promotion. If you can’t do an all-out big event, then consider just inviting your selected influencers.

This is what the fashion brand, Revolve, did. Revolve teamed up with luxury fashion and travel influencers like @ofleatherandlace and did an AMAZING job at aligning the edgy, cool girl vibe the influencers portray to their audiences.

Source: On Instagram

One influencer had such a great time that she created Stories on Instagram. The only thing better than Instagram photos are Instagram videos.

#3 Create a Sense of Community

If there’s anything Instagram teaches us, it’s that people are highly social. They like being seen and doing fun things together. So why not capture this in your experiential marketing campaign?

Lululemon, an athletic apparel brand, is known for hosting free in-store yoga classes. The company created an event for the opening of a new store in Westfield Sydney. And it was massive. There were 400 yogis and a large crowd of participants wearing their Lululemon gear.

Source: On Instagram

Consider doing something like this for the grand opening (or re-opening) of your business. Or make it a yearly thing! Allowing your audience to interact with your brand offline, in the real world, while creating a memorable moment is what experiential marketing does best!

#4 Do Something Unique and Engaging

Thinking outside of the box is often hard work, but it does work. Of course, doing something outlandish isn’t guaranteed to get you the results you want. But if you know your audience and know your brand, you can craft a campaign that can not only forge stronger (read, lifelong and loyal) ties with you target customer, you can also get your campaign in front of millions of other buyers.

We go to a JetBlue campaign for this example…

The company knows their customers love to travel to warm and sunny destinations during the winter. So JetBlue found a unique and engaging way to promote flights from NY to Palm Springs.

In the middle of winter, they placed a 6 x 6 block of ice amid a busy avenue. Inside, there were a variety of summertime accessories.

Source: Event Marketer

JetBlue told New Yorkers they could take whatever was inside, but they’d have to work at it. So passersby began chipping away at the ice to claim items like golf clubs, beachwear, and even free plane tickets.

See what I mean? Unique and engaging.

Now, Get Out There and Create Some Instagrammable Experiences!

I could go on and on about how your business can combine Instagram and experiential marketing to build impressive and high-converting campaigns. But for now, you can take the above and start applying it to your upcoming marketing strategies.

Maybe you can plan an event, collaborate with an influencer you’ve been eyeing, or make a whacky, new prop to engage your audience.

Or maybe you have better ideas (or a campaign you’d like to share) — if so, let’s chop it up in the comments below! Or call to schedule a demo of The Shelf platform.

30-second pitch…

If you want to work with influencers in 2019, you’re going to need a strategy

The Shelf is an influencer marketing company that designs and implements the highest performing campaigns in the lifestyle space (fashion, beauty, mommy, food, travel, home, DIY, health, and fitness). If you’re reading this post and wondering how to use Snapchat, Instagram, IGTV, Facebook and YouTube to breathe new life into your social media marketing, we’ve got you covered. Sign up for a demo to get your custom proposal.

GET STARTED TODAY!

Or give us a quick call : (212) 655-9879

The landscape of luxury brand marketing is changing. Noticeably, luxury brands are moving away from thriving on exclusivity to include products that appeal to a wider range of customers from varying socio-economic backgrounds. Still, they haven’t lost their allure. In fact, some of the world’s most sought-after manufacturers and retailers of luxury goods are capitalizing on digital marketing trends that have essentially reshaped how these high-end brands show up in the market.

I’m not saying these iconic brands are failing in this new climate, it’s actually quite the contrary. Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Chanel and Hermes all experienced over 30 percent sales growth last year; fan favorite Gucci grew by a whopping 62 percent.

How Millennials and Gen Z Are Contributing to the Reshaping of Some of the World’s Most Iconic Luxury Brands…

Everyone is chasing Millennials. Seems to be the thing for retailers to do. Lately, we’ve been sort of looking at the numbers and analyzing what makes Millennials spend money vs what makes Boomers spend vs Gen Xers vs Gen Zers.

For years, luxury has been about exclusivity, sometimes to the detriment of the everyday shopper. Luxe brands have historically charged premium prices for premium products. But, the economic landscape is always changing, and right now, retail as a whole is suffering.

Millennials wield a significant amount of spending power at $65 billion and influencing upward of $1.3 trillion. Gen Zers influence upward of $143 billion in spending power (though some reports put that influence as high as $600 billion).  Certainly, luxury brands are starting to pay attention to this significant chunk of the consumer market.

Combined, Millennials and Gen Z teens and young adults will represent around 40 percent of the luxury goods market by 2025 – up from 30 percent in 2016. Makes sense. That demographic will age-up: the oldest Millennials will be in their mid-40s and at their peak earning potential while the oldest Gen Zers will be knocking on 30.

…. Like Gucci

Gucci has topped the list of best-performing luxury brands, and they did it thanks to the star power of those pesky Millennials. We may be “killing” everything from Christmas to KFC, but in reality, we’ve got money, style, and a long list of demands from the businesses we buy from. Gucci knows that and has spent a lot of time and effort keying into what makes Millennials tick. Millennials aren’t into buying “stuff” in the way that other generations have been. They prefer experiences, and even better if they are “Gram-worthy” experiences.

Since Millennials spend most of their time engaging with brands in the digital space, they’ve put a lot of their focus on this area in the last few years. It paid for them as well, as they received L2’s Digital IQ Index top spot in both 2016 and 2017.

So, how have they cracked this corner of the market? Well, it’s been quite a multi-layered approach built up of shadow committees, social media, and design risks. Every level of their marketing has complimented another, and they have really honed in on their target market, niching-down to get the best customer base they can.

Social media marketing

Gucci knows how effective social media marketing can be for a luxury brand to enable them to get closer to their customers. And, they know how to do it well. They’ve got their fingers in all the social media pies, and people are happily lapping up what they’re sharing.

Building up such high follower counts across all those platforms is no easy feat, but Gucci has accomplished this by being very platform specific with their content while keeping a similar theme running across them all. By doing this, they manage to keep their brand identity strong enough that whatever content they post, it is instantly recognizable as Gucci content.

Where they really shine though, is on Millennial’s favorite site – Instagram. Their expert use of branded hashtags allowed them to coordinate some fantastic UGC campaigns. The first of these campaigns was their #GucciGram run. With this hashtag, the luxury fashion brand asked creative individuals (with a solid following on social media, of course) to share their own interpretations of the iconic patterns and motifs that Gucci uses in their designs.

This project was inspired by the label’s newest designer Alessandro Michele who wanted to combine the old and the new to create something exciting. With this campaign, Gucci was able to tap into something that Millennials really love – novel ideas smartly done.

Their other wildly successful social media effort was their #TFWGucci hashtag (That Feeling When Gucci). With this one, they encouraged their followers to create their own memes using Gucci products and witty text. This seemed like a very bold move for such a high-end brand to make. Memes are very much the domain of the everyday internet user, not those who would normally spend their money on luxury items.

But, that’s exactly why it worked for them. They made it easier for the social media masses to relate to their brand by communicating in a way that they are used to and understand. They gave themselves a more relatable brand persona that was able to tap into the growing spending power of a new generation.

In fact, this campaign was so successful it generated a whopping 1.9 million likes and nearly 22k comments. That’s some serious engagement for the brand from their newest target market.

Clearly, targeting younger consumers is a great strategy for luxury brands as Gucci has been topping the leaderboards in most events including sales growth, fashion week engagement, and social media followers.

How you can use Gucci’s strategy

Having a clear image in your mind of who your target market is is essential to every marketing campaign. But, being the first in your niche to target a new market can be a daunting thought. Don’t be afraid to go against the traditional when picking your target market, risks can pay off. You still need to be smart about it though. Gucci switched things up by going after a market they know has spending power, and has the ability to keep their brand sales healthy in these difficult times.

Know where your target market is spending time, both online and offline and center your efforts around that data. Gucci poured a lot of their social media efforts into Millennial favorite Instagram, as well as spending more time on Snapchat, and posting live content on Instagram Stories. It may be that your audience will respond better to email marketing, or even direct mail. Wherever they are, that’s where you should be.

Be aware that times are constantly changing, especially when it comes to marketing. Even Baby Boomers are spending time online and on social media now (on average, they actually spend more time on social media than Millennials), so putting your heart and soul into digital is a no-brainer whatever your goals.

…. And Farfetch

While social media may be a powerhouse when it comes to marketing to Millennials, when it comes to luxury goods, the in-store experience is still paramount to selling success. That feeling when you walk into a high-end store, you’re treated like the valued customer you are (or could be), and it becomes about more than just buying a product, it’s an experience. And there’s nothing that Millenials love more than an experience.

Often luxury stores like these can be quite intimidating to just stroll into off the street. Farfetch found a way to work around this, and start bringing in more customers, not just from outside the store itself, but from online to in-store – a very difficult feat to achieve.

First, let’s take a look at what Farfetch does. This UK-based online shopping destination is a monobrand retail model which houses multiple luxury brands on a single site, making it much easier for consumers to find the perfect piece. It does this so well in fact, that it is now the world’s most successful luxury e-commerce destination in terms of web traffic, beating out big names like Net-a-porter and Neiman Marcus.

In a dismal retail landscape, Farfetch has become something of a “unicorn” when it comes to continued success. And, to build on this success, they have begun trialling a new innovative in-store experience – their “store of the future”.

In-store experience

The technology that Farfetch are developing is not intended to be used as a physical store for their own brand, but rather to act as a kind of operating system for other luxury brands to create their own advanced in-store experiences on top of. Until now, a lot of in-store technology has been based around gimmicky add-ons like fitting room photo booths that are nothing more than PR stunts that tend to fizzle out in no time.

(Image source)

What Farfetch have been working on though, is much more exciting. From clothes racks that automatically track what your viewing and add items to your wishlist, to a login system that recognises you as you walk into the store, they’ve made a concept that makes the in-store experience more personalised than ever, while tying it seamlessly into the digital space.

So, why is this set to be so popular? Let’s think about why people like shopping online and offline.

Online shopping

When you shop online, everything is right at your fingertips. There are no issues with items not being in stock at that store, lines to pay, or unhelpful staff. With a few clicks of your mouse, your basket is full, you’ve paid for your products, and they’re on their way to you – and you don’t even need to get out of bed.

In terms of behind the scenes, you’re able to track a customers journey from start to end on your site – where they came from, what they looked at, and how much money they spent. Having all of this information at your fingertips helps you to tailor your website to better serve your customers and your bottom line.

Offline shopping

The in-store experience is your chance to have a social experience, enjoy personalised attention, and try on any items you’re thinking of buying to find the perfect purchase. You can better see the quality, style, and sizing of the items, ask for advice from the staff and pay with either cash, vouchers, or card.

For business owners, you’re able to display your products in such a way that influences your customers towards certain purchases. Allowing you to push sale items, and encourage impulse buys near the register. You’re also able to offer a more personalised experience.

The best of both worlds

With Farfetch’s store of the future, they’re combining the best of both the in-store and online shopping experiences. They’re keeping the personalisation aspect of visiting a store, mixed with the ease of online shopping. While online is growing year on year, the majority of us are still making most of our purchases in-store. So, social media and digital are important, but if you neglect the in-store experience itself, you’re going to be alienating your customers more than you can afford.

How you can use the same strategies

There’s no question that putting money and time into your social media and general digital marketing strategies is incredibly important now. But, if you also own brick and mortar stores, then tying in your digital and in-store experiences is essential to keeping your customers happy.

But, that doesn’t mean you need to invest millions in your own futuristic store, yet. Simply by running the same ads on social and on in-store displays, having your own app that allows you to order in-store collections, or having screens in a store that allow customers to search for the perfect item are simpler ways to merge online and offline into one place.

…. And Mercedes-Benz

Taking user generated content to the next level, Mercedes-Benz launched an entirely digital campaign to celebrate the launch of their new car. Their #GLApacked campaign saw five Instagram influencers battling it out to win a free car. Mercedes lent each of the influencers with their own model of the new car, and asked them to take a road trip and document the experience for their followers. The account that attracted the highest number of likes won the car.

A simple enough formula, many brands use a similar structure to run less extreme competitions on their own social media platforms. But, what Mercedes managed to do, was engage with the millennial age group specifically by appealing to their love of the “gram” and social validation. This wasn’t the first time either. Back in 2013 Mercedes ran an almost identical campaign for the launch of their then new car, the CLA.

Mercedes had a problem – their average consumer was older than their biggest competitors, and that was alienating them from potential earnings. So, they needed to tweak their marketing strategy to target a younger demographic. By tapping into social media, UGC, and focusing on experiences over products, they managed to do just that with this campaign.

The influencers

Mercedes cleverly decided to work with five influencers who operated across a variety of niches. All of their chosen influencers have solid followings with each of them attracting over 500k followers as well as good levels of engagement on their posts. The first post they all uploaded was an organized shot of what they would be taking on their road trip, all laid out beautifully on a Mercedes brand mat.

@mercedesbenzusa

@rickiefowler

These expertly arranged shots worked perfectly with the Instagram aesthetic, and really helped Mercedes to target a younger market. Each influencer posted the image on their own account first, before it was reposted on the official Mercedes Benz page. But, the really creative posts came after this, as the influencers attempted to attract the most engagement by crafting individual and striking images of their road trip.

@brenton_clarke

@cubbygraham

@thiswildidea

Why it worked

Now that millennials are taking an interest in the luxury market, brands are having to seriously rethink their marketing strategies if they want to reach the right people. By not only using Instagram to market themselves, but turning it into an adventure in top-quality UGC, they were able to tap into this generation’s love of the platform and quality content.

When they first rolled out this method for the launch of their CLA model, they experienced some great success. Thanks to their Instagram infiltration, the CLA soon became the darling of the younger generations, with CLA owners becoming the youngest generation of Mercedes owners in the history of the brand.

This time around, they had access to Instagram ads as well – something that wasn’t available to them with their CLA campaign. So, not only were they reaching Millennials with Instagram posts and influencer team-ups, they could pour some of their marketing budget into placing those posts more strategically than ever before.

How you can follow suit

Luxury brands aren’t always the first to think of Millennials as their target market, but once you do, you’ll need to change your tactics to reflect this. Direct mail print ads are not the way to reach this digitally connected group. If they find these leaflets in their mailboxes, they’re likely to move them straight to the recycling without so much as a second glance, sighing at the unnecessary use of paper that the whole process entailed.

But, it’s not just about being online anymore. You need to find a way to cut through the noise. Working with your potential customers to create content allows you to connect with them on a much more personal level. UGC helps to give your brand a more trustworthy image online that people find it easier to connect to.

Millennials + Luxury = Winning

Millennials may be killing plenty of things out there according to journalists, but they are working hard to keep the luxury market well and truly alive. As a brand in this niche, ignoring this corner of the market is a huge mistake. By taking advantage of online tools, social media, and user-focused marketing, brands can expand their target market to include this demographic.

Millennials value real people and experiences over the products themselves, so investing in UGC and influencer marketing help to ingratiate yourself to this hard to win market. Luxury brands should look to the campaign examples above and use them as a guiding post to build their own marketing genius.

Marketing campaigns for sports and outdoor brands have matured a lot over the last 10 years. More than just the pretty landscapes or the aerial shots, the marketing for outdoor brands is turning traditional calls-to-action on their heads and making us actually want to check out the products placed in live action shots…whether or not we love the great outdoors.

In 2019, outdoor brands are uniquely positioned to deliver a creative and visually-amazing collection of marketing campaigns right to our screens So, in this post, we’re analyzing some of the more interesting campaigns we’ve seen from outdoor brands, telling you what worked and how you can use their success as a model for your own campaigns.

Quick & Dirty Overview of the Outdoor Market’s Surprising Growth

The retail category known Sports & Outdoors is booming. Sales of outerwear, shoes, fitness equipment, water sports, hunting and fishing gear, sporting weapons, swimming accessories, winter sports gear, and hiking poles (not an exhaustive list) amount to about $67.75 billion in global annual sales (about one-third of that comes from US consumers), with year-over-year growth of 8.1 percent pushing that number to $92.36 billion by 2023.

Around the world, Statista estimates 675 million will take part in outdoor activities in 2019. In 2016, more than two million people (that’s around 48 percent of the US population) took up a new outdoor activity which required them to purchase new equipment. That’s some serious shopping. And I would suspect it’s no coincidence the growth of outdoorsy types directly coincides with the growth of photo sharing networks like Instagram.

Outdoor activities carry with them a wide range of spending opportunities with everything from clothing to equipment to supplies, and the amount consumers spend depends almost entirely on their chosen activity and the difficulty level of what’s involved.

The much-talked-about decline in retail sales hasn’t touched the outdoor market. Fashion apparel sales are down four percent, while sports apparel sales are up two percent.

Thanks to a mixture of “athleisure” making a fashion come back in a big way, and an increase in people looking to connect with nature and unplug from the digital world, outdoor brands are definitely having a moment. That said, let’s see how they’re capitalizing on it with social.

Outdoor Brands That Are Leveraging Digital Marketing to Boost Brand Awareness

The Instagram Savvy of Outdoor Voices

Core Strategy: Crowdsource

Sportswear retailer Outdoor Voices sells all-weather technical apparel for active lifestyles. Most of us don’t give much thought to the textiles industry… unless you’re in it. But it takes a special kind of magic from a special kind of clothing wizard to come up with the technology to make athletic apparel that rebuffs sweat.

With locations in L.A., SoHo, DC, Boston, Chicago, and other trendy spots in major cities across the U.S., Outdoor Voices has amassed a sizable Instagram following of more than 320k users, many of whom wear being called a “recreationalist” as a badge of honor. It’s something of a movement.

Social media strategies that are working for this outdoor apparel retailer

They speaking the language of their core audience. Outdoor Voices has mastered the art of low-key, friend-to-friend conversation online. None of the company’s 2700+ Instagram posts sound like “branded content”. You could say the same thing of Nike, but Nike’s vibe is anything but low-key. And that’s another nuance of Outdoor Voices successfully speaking the language. While Nike targets those who want apparel for optimal performance (you’re familiar with Nikes popular “Just Do It” motto, right?), Outdoor Voices promotes athletic and athleisure apparel for buyers who are “human, not superhuman”. OV sells apparel that helps people move seamlessly from “gym life to life-life” under the hashtag #DoingThings.

Source: Instagram at @outdoorvoices.

Outdoor Voices leverages user-generated content. Outdoor Voices is successfully parlaying everyday posts into branded content by taking advantage of user-generated content – posts  generated by their audience that the brand hasn’t paid the audience members to create.

What’s cool is the first strategy and the second strategy work in tandem. Since the goal is to target everyday people DOING everyday things, it reduces the “regram criteria” for content posted from their followers to be curated as part of OV’s feed. Followers don’t have to be feeling the burn at the local CrossFit box to be regrammed as UGC. They just have to be DOING SOMETHING.

Source: on Instgram @outdoorvoices

Moosejaw’s Email Marketing

Core Strategy: Make every brand-customer interaction memorable

If ever there was a company with a strong brand voice, Moosejaw (on Instagram @moosejawmadness) would be it. Moosejaw isn’t the only company that sells outdoor clothing and gear, so the company’s marketing strategy is to make each experience customers have with the brand a memorable one. They do that by creating messages and content that is fun, quirky, and a bit irreverent. The company tagline is simple: “The most fun outdoor retailer on the planet”.

So… Moosejaw’s near-legendary email marketing strategy springs from a keen understanding that they are not the only game in town. And the marketing needs to provide consumers with a compelling reason to buy from Moosejaw.

(Source)

Historically, Moosejaw’s award-winning email marketing campaigns have been a series of smart attention-getting programmed messages… some of which have toed the line between being quirky and funny to being offensive.

Moosejaw’s emails are wordy, contain very few pictures, and are loaded with big chunks of text – exactly what they tell you not to do on day one of email marketing school. So, why do their emails work so well?

Email marketing strategies that are working for Moosejaw

Using a consistent (and unrelenting) brand voice. Moosejaw’s brand voice typically drips from every single character of the marketing content. With opening lines like “We’re excited to show you some weird stuff, but not that weird” you know you’re in for a wild ride right from the start.

The company also pays attention to the details that so often get overlooked by marketing teams…  things like making sure your small print is on-brand.

“Our mean lawyer is making us add this info. Blame him, not us.”

Every single word this brand puts out there is carefully thought out and planned.

Experiential marketing and total brand immersion. Moosejaw doesn’t just limit its shenanigans to email marketing, though. The company has been known to treat holding callers to a recording of Winston Churchill. Head into one of their stores, and you might just be surprised with a game of hide and seek by the store staff.

Thanks to its mixture of youthful brand personality and digital marketing prowess, Moosejaw now conducts a large chunk of their sales online, which is pretty consistent with its target market being active Millennial and Gen Z consumers who, by this time, are fully expecting brands to do something cool to win their loyalty and dollars.

Not being “market-y” all the time. It’s not unusual for a Moosejaw campaigns to attract media attention – not because of their intricacies or marketing prowess, but because of their silliness and uniqueness.

One of their catalogs included an augmented reality component that allowed users to see through the clothes of catalog models by downloading Moosejaw’s X-Ray Body Scanner app. Not kidding.

Did it provide extra product detail? Nope. Just showed good-looking models in their underwear. Nothing useful to it at all, simply just there to make people laugh.

Long before being acquired by Walmart, Moosejaw killed at leveraging every opportunity as another chance to create a lasting impression with customers. It’s these types of little details, these tiny bits of fun that Moosejaw mixes into the marketing funnel that enables them to push past competitors. It’s what makes people read their emails, even when they aren’t looking for anything in particular. And, it’s these random reads that not only help keep the brand at the forefront of customers minds but can also encourage them to check out what’s on offer and make an unplanned purchase.

Patagonia’s Anti-Consumerism Print Ads

Core Strategy: Values-centered marketing

Patagonia is one of the most well-known and successful outdoor brands. As of 2018, this powerhouse brand is now worth $1 billion, which is pretty impressive in this tumultuous retail landscape. What’s most surprising about Patagonia’s monetary success is their consistent fight against consumerism and over-spending.

Their brand image is built on a platform of being friendly to the nature that their products are used in. So, a lot of their marketing campaigns have been centered around sustainability. The most well-known of these campaigns has to be the “Don’t Buy This Jacket” ad. Sent out into the world on the biggest shopping day of the year – Black Friday, and taking the form of a full page spread in the New York Times, their anti-buying message set the retail world ablaze.

(Source)

The ad detailed exactly how much of an environmental impact each of their jacket’s had to give some serious weight to their anti-consumerist message. Encouraging their customers to only buy their products if they actually need them runs strongly through all their marketing and branding.

Print ad strategies that worked for Patagonia

Aligning your message with your mission. Patagonia’s target customers are people who respect the outdoors as much as they love them, and Patagonia’s products specifically appeal to this demographic. This approach to ethical consumer behavior also falls in line with recent buyer trends. Millennials have long been focused on buying ethically-sourced products, and are more inclined to spend their money on products that come from a sustainable brand. In fact, 66 percent of all consumers are willing to spend more on a product if it comes from a sustainable brand.

Doing the opposite of what you’re supposed to do. In lieu of pushing products that customers will need to replace every few months, Patagonia publishes tips on how to repair products if something happens to them out in the wild. It also runs “Worn Wear” events across the country helping customers to repair clothing. Alternatively, you can take your Patagonia products straight to the company, and Patagonia can repair it for you.

The outdoor mega-brand has built its reputation creating long-lasting high-quality products for the outdoor market, and more than once the company’s used disruptive marketing to spread its message to the masses. Patagonia is dedicated to keeping the environment healthy while running a successful business. This can be seen in their own mission statement: “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis”. Lofty goals indeed.

Patagonia not only focuses on being ethically sound but also on storytelling. Company values run deep, but no one would know a thing about them if they didn’t invest in their marketing. Patagonia has successfully married the brand message, ethos, and beliefs into its marketing strategy. Not only did it draw the eye in with its title, but it also gained a lot of media attention for its bold message. So, a double whammy. Making headlines with your headline? Very cool.

Don’t be afraid to try something new, as long as it doesn’t take away from what’s really important to your brand. Take a risk, dare to be different, and see the sales start rolling in. Don’t worry about making it too busy either. Sometimes, the most dramatic and effective ads are the simplest ones.

LL Bean’s Interactive, Event-Based Marketing

Not all of us manage to embrace the outdoors as much as we’d like. Tied to our desks at 9 to 5 jobs, we sit and longingly gaze out our windows, or at the stunning landscapes on our computer desktop backgrounds. LL Bean found a way around this with an interactive marketing campaign it launched last year.

The “Be an Outsider” campaign encouraged New Yorkers to step outside the office and spend some time working in the company’s pop-up co-working space in Madison Square Park. Workers could book their space ahead of time, or simply turn up on the day and be able to work away under the June sun (or rain). Yep, whatever the weather, they were determined to go ahead with the plan.

(Source: Event Marketer)

LL Bean ran their innovative campaign was also run in other cities around the US including Boston and Philadelphia. LL Bean ran a survey to tie in with this campaign, discovering that workers between 22-65-years-old were spending a whopping 95 percent of their time indoors – with half of that time dedicated to working.

86 percent of those they surveyed also said they wished they could spend more time outdoors during the work day, so giving them the chance to do this was an excellent way to market its products. The campaign was a great success. Multiple teams used the space for real, important work – not just an excuse to goof off for a few hours.

How LL Bean made an office cubicle (of all things) on-brand for them

Going for the least likely consumer. LL Bean’s “Be an Outsider” campaign ran for more than a year – quite different from the “here today, gone today” world of marketing. One of the cool things about the pop-up office was that LL Bean filled it with tips on how users could get outside more. There was also a downloadable PDF guidebook.

Unlike most other outdoor brands that focus on the wild, adventure-filled side of the great outdoors, LL Bean shifted to a more everyday outdoor style. While they still sell all the outdoor gear a budding adventurer would need, by zeroing in on the everyday enthusiast (especially one who may not have tons of time), the company can expand its target market to include those of us who love the idea of the outdoors but lack the adrenaline junkie gene that spurs us to explore it.

(@coworkingchron)

(@steveramosmedia)

The company created a branded hashtag #BeAnOutsider, allowing for a curated feed of user-generated content to go along with the campaign. Experiences like these get people talking and organically spreading both your brand name and your marketing.

By expanding their target audience, LL Bean was able to appeal to a wider section of the public than most outdoor brands have so far been able to do. And, thanks to their wide collection of content types in this campaign, they were further able to appeal to a broader audience. We all prefer to consume content in different ways – some of us prefer to watch a short video, some to read through web content, and some through social media hype.

Cashing in on a trend (even one that’s anti-your thing). LL Bean was able to cash in on two popular trends: remotely working from co-working spaces AND improving mental health in the workplace. Essential for younger generations.

We’ve written before about marketing to Gen Z consumers and the Millennial market (we published posts on both Millennial men and Millennial women). By honing in on how being outdoors benefit busy professionals, LL Bean creates an opportunity to widen their market.

Cross-channel messaging. Outdoor brands are often marketing to those of us who like to unplug. While they may be pushing hard on digital platforms, they’re not skimping elsewhere either. Build your marketing message throughout your channels, even if your focus is on digital.

In-store experiences, product launches, and special events are all ways in which you can tie your digital marketing into real, tangible campaigns. And, with many people starting to see the draws of a “digital detox”, pouring yourself into multiple channels can only be a good thing.

Finding new and interesting ways to expand your target audience can help bring in a nice boost in sales as well. Find a way to tie your product into an everyday event that the majority of the public take part in. This way, you’ll have a safe and simple route to a whole new market.

Conclusion

All four of these brands exist in the niche of outdoor products, but they all have very different voices and marketing styles. Despite their differences, they all share one thing in common – awesome marketing. So, what lessons can these three outdoor brands teach you?

One thing you’ll notice throughout all three brands mentioned above is that their brand styling and brand voice carries through everything they do. From product design to social media posts to campaign ideas – keeping your brand flowing smoothly through all this is the perfect way to ensure a successful campaign.

Whatever industry you’re working in, you’ll never be the only one there. So, you need to make sure you stand out from your competition. Brand voice is the easiest way to do this. Every time you “speak” be it in person or online, people should instantly know who is talking to them. This is the magic of strong branding, and it works wonders.

All of these brands worked hard to skirt around the rules of marketing in one way or another. They were disruptive, they were rebellious, and they were successful. Today, we are inundated with ads from every side – TV, social media, emails, banners. Trying to stand out in this huge crowd can be tricky. The best way to do it? Dare to be different.

Many marketing teams worry that by going too far out of the box, they may fall flat on their faces. But, with no risk, there’s no room to grow. Sure, it might not work, but the same could be said for any marketing campaign – different or not. So, it’s better to take the risk for a bigger payoff, than playing it safe once more.

It’s that time of year again, Valentine’s Day. Some people are more the flowers and candy type. Others feel they’re better off watching rom coms with their friends (or with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s). Heck, even non-celebrants find a reason to do something for Valentine’s Day three percent of the time! Regardless of which of these groups is your target audience, they are sure to have a tried and true strategy for celebrating Valentine’s Day. That’s where your Valentine’s Day marketing comes in. There will be lots of opportunities for retailers, brands, and marketers to get in front of consumers with, like, a million and one ideas for celebrating (or not celebrating) Valentine’s Day.

People LOVE Valentine’s Day (Sometimes Even When They Hate It)

Whether viewed as a commercial ploy by retailers to make people spend more, or a great way to celebrate love and relationships, Valentine’s Day is a day of spending and gift-giving, even among those who openly shun the traditional “Valentine’s Day for lovers” concept.

Last year, the National Retail Federation predicted 55 percent of Americans would celebrate Valentine’s Day… and that’s just in America. Valentine’s Day is also a make-or-break holiday for couples, as 53 percent of women said they would end a relationship with their significant other if they didn’t receive a gift on Valentine’s Day.

That said, finding a way your Valentine’s Day marketing strategy has to position your product as a marvel of a gift idea if it is to help you get a hold of a chunk of this steadily growing V-Day market.

In our business, there are two simple litmus tests we can use to gauge the popularity of a topic – searches and shares. From Valentine’s Day 2017 to Valentine’s Day 2018, searches for the term “Valentine’s Day gifts” doubled. And a quick snapshot of the year’s most popular Valentine’s Day content proves people are feeling pretty good and pretty optimistic about Valentine’s Day… whether or not they plan to celebrate it.

This screenshot of a BuzzSumo search we did for this post of the most popular Valentine’s Day content just proves that the overall sentiment about V-Day is pretty positive.

Valentine’s Day has evolved past being just a day for lovers. Singles have ramped up their Valentine’s Day spending over the last few years as well. Here are a few fun facts about people and their love for Valentine’s Day:

• Twenty-seven percent of non-celebrants have Valentine’s Day plans, whether it’s to treat themselves or spend time with friends and family.

• To date, there are more than 473k Instagram posts tagged #galentines  #galentinesday #palentines #palentinesday, the hashtags commonly used to celebrate mirror holidays Galentine’s Day (for female friends) and Palentine’s Day (for any friends).

Source: From Julian Daigre on Instagram @juliandaigre

• 4 in 10 V-Day celebrants would love to attend a concert, go to a sporting event or share some other experience on Valentine’s Day, and half of them will get just that.

• The average person spends about $140 on Valentine’s Day, of which $88.96 is earmarked for a significant other or spouse. The rest is lovingly divvied-up between kids, parents, school parties, pets and co-workers.

Marketers LOVE Valentine’s Day, Too

There’s enough love to go around for Valentine’s Day! Not only is the holiday a favorite with consumers, it also gives brands the perfect opportunity to launch new products or reimagine existing products. For instance, the white cheesecake M&M’s headlining the first article in the BuzzSumo screenshot above…

Of course, retailers of traditionally “romantic” products (jewelers, lingerie companies, chocolatiers, etc.) can expect their usual sales boost this year. Less lovey dovey brands are wise to invest in Valentine’s Day marketing, too. Marketers can spur sales by helping Valentine’s, Galentine’s and Palentine’s Day celebrants dream up ways to pass time on the 13th and 14th. Here’s how Valentine’s Day celebrants typically spend their money…

History is full of pretty cool Valentine’s Day marketing campaigns that have helped some pretty well-known brands better target the sweetheart market. These were campaigns that were creative, engaging, exciting, AND they increased sales.

In the next section, we’re gathering some of our favorites to share with you, and hopefully inspire your own LOVEly marketing ideas.

3 Examples of Sweet Valentine’s Day Marketing Campaigns

#1 Snickers – The Interactive Experience

When you think of Valentine’s Day chocolates, I’m guessing that the nut-filled Snickers bar by Mars isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But, their Valentine’s campaign in 2017 really put them in the forefront of people’s minds.

You may be familiar with their “You’re not you when you’re hungry” campaign, which has featured celebs like Whoopi Goldberg, Willem Dafoe, and even a cameo from Marilyn Monroe.

For the company’s 2017 Valentine’s campaign, Snickers built on the success of these ads with its “You’re forgetful when you’re hungry” campaign. A huge billboard like the one below was positioned in the middle of bustling London, UK, the letters of the billboard made up of removable V-Day greeting cards to help out anyone who might have forgotten to pick up their Valentine’s Day card.

Source: CreativePod

Source: Marketingweek

This campaign was entirely experiential, with a number of billboards in the surrounding area pointing people to the main event in Waterloo. It didn’t just end on February 14th though. On the 15th, 3000 apology cards were added for the benefit of those who forgot the to shop for their loves for Valentine’s Day.

By using this interactive billboard Snickers managed to effectively advertise its brand as a Valentine’s-appropriate product, despite its usual association with being a solid, stocky snack – not the most romantic candy around.

The big takeaways

Snickers is proof positive you don’t need to be a traditionally romantic brand to cash in on Valentine’s Day. A little creative thinking can go a very long way when it comes to building a marketing campaign. Snickers have long marketed themselves as a substantial candy bar that can really fill you up when you’re hungry. Usually, on Valentine’s Day, we prefer a box filled with a delightful selection of delicate chocolates instead.

So, Snickers had to think of a way to make their product work for the holiday. Instead of trying to pull off a branding 180 – especially for such a well-known brand – they instead went in another direction. They built a campaign that was loosely based around their product but was mostly aimed at customer interaction and creating a shareable experience.

• Find a way to tie your brand in with the holiday

• If your product doesn’t fit, don’t be afraid to take the focus off your product, and focus on your brand instead.

• Shift your focus to the customer experience of your campaign to get people talking

#2 Dunkin’ Donuts – UGC

A brand well known for embracing the holidays with its festive flavors and enticing smells, Dunkin Donuts didn’t hold back on Valentine’s Day either. The company put its power in the hands of followers this time, and rolled out a UGC campaign on social.

Dunkin’ launched a competition in 2018 through their Instagram account for users to share their “Dunkin’ love story” on their own Instagram accounts and use the branded hashtag #DDLoveContest. Those who participated were automatically entered for a chance to win a trip for two to any US city with a Dunkin’ Donuts.

Wisely, they were careful to make clear that this wasn’t just for romantic relationships and love stories. Best friends, self-love, and all manner of love stories were encouraged – nobody was held back from entering. And, of course, they had love-themed goodies in store to help inspire your pictures.

(cferraco10 | cferraco10 | jeffmindell)

This isn’t the first time the brand has relied on UGC to propel its Valentine’s Day marketing. In fact, it’s become something of a habit for the donut brand. In the past, Dunkin’ Donuts has released Snapchat filters, ran Facebook live streams from inside real stores, and always encouraged their followers to share the love around this romantic holiday.

Source: Dunkin’ Donuts Twitter

This time around, Dunkin’ Donuts spread its V-Day campaign across different platforms to really hit us with an effective multi-channel campaign. While the competition ticked along on Instagram, donut lovers were embracing the love-themed geo-filters over on Snapchat. In a very creative, DD also ran a number of Valentine’s Day polls and messages on the infamous dating app – Tinder.

User-generated content works at any time of the year, but especially so for Valentine’s Day. It helps to build a community around your brand, and allows followers to feel more connected with you and your product. A time of year when it’s all about relationships and loving each other, allowing users to dictate your marketing campaign is a great way to tie in the holiday with your product.

The big takeaways

Not only does UGC allow a brand to increase their brand awareness, it also helps them to create a pool of usable content with very little effort. This approach works especially well if your product looks the part for the chosen holiday.

Dunkin’ Donuts’ heart-shaped donuts and pink frosting make perfect Instagram models for a Valentine’s campaign. If your product doesn’t fit the holiday aesthetic, reimagine it. Although a heart-shaped pastry is nothing new, it’s typically novel enough to trigger seasonal buying (sort of like the mad dash to buy paczkis every year on Fat Tuesday).

On the other hand, if you want to widen your targeting, there’s nothing like creating a corresponding anti-Valentine’s Day campaign to rope-in followers who will use your products  in new and creative ways to shamelessly shun the annual celebration of love and relationships.

Dunkin’ Donuts used a branded hashtag in its campaigns. Using a dedicated hashtag for your UGC campaign helps you boost brand awareness, AND it serves as a pretty simple way to keep track of all the posts being submitted.

Of course, UGC doesn’t isn’t limited to Instagram marketing. If you want photo content, then Insta is definitely your best bet. But, if you want to hear in-depth stories you could turn to Facebook or Wattpad. If you want to see their movie making skills, turn to YouTube. Short and snappy quips or photo captions work great on Twitter.

• Pick the perfect platform for the kind of content you want your followers to create

• Use a dedicated hashtag to keep everything in one easily accessible place

• Tailor your UGC campaign to the appearance of your product

#3 Renault – The Emotional Approach

Of all the holidays throughout the year, Valentine’s Day is probably the most emotionally charged. There may be no better time to lock in to your customer’s emotions and really try and tug those heartstrings than February 14th.

And, our heartstrings were definitely yanked with Renault’s ad in 2018 to advertise the new ZE model. For many of us, a car is not something we instantly think of as being the vehicle for a great romantic tale (…vehicle…get it?), but somehow, Renault managed to do just that.

Renault’s animated video tells the story of a lovelorn postman, who has been long holding a flame for one of the residents on his route. Unfortunately, the love of his life has a rather ferocious dog, who doesn’t take too kindly to him. Every time he drives back to her house to talk to her, her dog hears his car rumbling down the street long before he ever reaches her house. His advances are thwarted… that is, until he rolls up in a brand new ZE, which is an electric car that makes “zero noise” as the ad says. The postman rolls up incognito, walks past the sleeping dog, and sparks a romance with the girl.

Super cute.

Renault found a way to work upgrading an old car into a love story, and successfully aligned the brand with Valentine’s Day. The tagline “Everything starts with an electric moment” further ties their story line into the theme of the holiday.

The big takeaways

Renault was able to portray its product as the key that unlocked romance. No safety features. No live-action shots of the car speeding. The company didn’t even position the car as a status symbol. It’s just… a neat car. If you have a product – especially a high ticket item- that is not traditionally related to Valentine’s Day, telling a compelling, emotional story will help you win.

It’s a long established strategy in marketing to address pain points and take advantage of emotional pulls and connections to sell products. Even with all the changes in the marketing landscape, this still rings true. Whether you choose to appeal to the loved up masses with a romantic tale, encourage revenge fantasies for those recently single or harboring resentments around this holiday, or lift people’s spirits by enthusing about close knit friendships – Valentine’s Day gives you a wide range of emotional pulls to draw from.

• No matter what your product may be, appeal to people’s emotions to connect it with the holiday

• Romanticize or criticize Valentine’s – it’s up to you!

Conclusion

Entice your customers this Valentine’s Day. Whether you’re appealing to booed-up couples and starry-eyed singles hoping to win the hearts of their secret loves, or you encourage friends to celebrate the holiday together in lieu of partners, Valentine’s Day is the great opportunity to flex those creative marketing muscles.

And whatever approach you take with your Valentine’s Day marketing campaign, just remember that the focus of the holiday is on relationships. The most important relationship is the one your brand has with your customers. Make them feel engaged, loved, and excited to celebrate Valentine’s and you’ll be on the right track.

What have been your favorite Valentine’s campaigns over the years? What are you doing for your business this Valentine’s Day? Let us know in the comments. And, if you need help setting up an awesome influencer marketing campaign, get in touch – we can make it happen!

10 Ways to Improve Visibility and Engagement During Your Next Super Bowl Marketing Campaign

It’s time to plan your Super Bowl influencer marketing campaigns. We are weeks away from Super Bowl LIII, which means social media is about to become one big, loud conversation about food, style, and football (because that’s what the Super Bowl is about on social).

The Super Bowl is one of America’s biggest holidays. Money magazine puts per-person spending for the Super Bowl smack-dab between Halloween and the Fourth of July. It is the second biggest eating holiday of the year, generating $14.1 billion in consumer spending. Surprisingly, the number of women tuning in to the Super Bowl is increasing. Women now account for 43 percent of Super Bowl viewers.

The Super Bowl is About Expectations

In a previous post, I talked a bit about why the Super Bowl is such a big deal. It all boils down to expectation. The Super Bowl is one of the few times we gather as a nation to celebrate greatness. Some of the greatest athletes in the world compete in this annual championship match to see who gets to walk away with the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Of the 111 million viewers who tuned in to the Fox network to watch Super Bowl LI in 2017, fewer than half (43 percent) were actually there to watch the game. Twenty-four percent tuned for the legendary Super Bowl commercials, 15 percent showed up just to hang out with their friends who were watching the game, and 12 percent tuned in to watch Lady Gaga’s halftime show.

The idea that Americans watch the Super Bowl strictly for the football isn’t what’s reflected in the numbers. Heck, I watched Super Bowl LI and I only know three NFL players… and two of them weren’t even in the Super Bowl.  I and millions of other Americans (and about 40 million people who aren’t in the U.S.) watch the Super Bowl because it’s a fabulous, festive event that we hold every year on the first Sunday in February. It’s a winter holiday that celebrates excellence, tradition, and winning. What’s more American than that?

Game Day Marketing

For marketers, the opportunity to have the attention of more than 100 million viewers is golden. This may be the one time a year when people aren’t grabbing their phones and going to the bathroom when the commercials come on.

Big brands spent more than $385 million buying advertising time from Fox during Super Bowl LI, and $414 million on ads for Super Bowl LII. That number does not include production costs, which average more than $1 million per spot. Nor does it include pre-game promotion expenses.

Mary Scott, President of New York marketing agency, United Entertainment Group says she advises her clients to reserve 25 percent of the cost of their commercial slot on pre-game marketing.

Imagine that. In order for big brands to optimize the reach of their $5 million Super Bowl ads (which seems to be the unofficial cap for a 30-second spot), they need to create commercials on SOCIAL MEDIA (!!!) to make sure people actually pay attention to their television commercials.

They need news shows to give their viewers a sneak peek at the Super Bowl ad.

They need to release their ad to YouTube days before it airs on network television to prime the audience and get people interested in the darned thing.

They need to launch a parallel social media campaign that supports the TV spot and tracks audience response.

That’s because even with the Super Bowl ad, big brands often measure conversions the same way you do – with social engagement.

Likes, comments, branded hashtags, and custom links that let you know when someone has gone beyond liking your sponsored post and taken the next step to move further down into your sales funnel are important tools for measuring the ROI on the $5 million investment. And they will be important tools for you as well.

Marketers who rely on social media to reach their audience have a distinct advantage come Super Bowl time. More than 78 percent of Super Bowl watchers also engaged on social during Super Bowl 50. On Game Day, 60 million Facebook users generated 200 million posts, likes, and comments, while 38 million Instagram users generated 150 million posts, likes, and comments. User spent 350,000 combined hours watching Super Bowl LI ads on YouTube.

According to the Burston-Marstellar Super Bowl Survey, 60 percent of viewers and 87 percent of constant social media users (people who are either on social or checking their devices at least once an hour) say that in addition to the Super Bowl commercials, they are interested in finding all the extra Super Bowl content brands create and put on social.

They want to see commercials. Scratch that. They want to see awesome, light-hearted, inspiring, hilarious, clever commercials – content that makes them think, feel, and react.

Women make up the majority of online conversations about Super Bowl commercials. Among people 18 to 34 years old, women are doing 57 percent of the talking online about Super Bowl ads. Among users 35 to 54 years of age, women do 61 percent of the talking.

So our two big takeaways about Super Bowl marketing efforts is to create content specifically for social media that targets or includes women.

Ten Strategies That Will Give Your Super Bowl SMM Campaign Legs

Influence marketing is rarely about disrupting the status quo. Leave that to the startups. It’s more about bringing great ideas into existing conversations. But finding creative ways to join a conversation is where most brands (and people) need help. So, we want to provide you with a catalog of strategies you can use to make your influencer marketing campaign successful.

1. Use More Video

Most people prefer video to text. When done right, video is fast, engaging, and high in value. Current estimates say video accounts for more than 50 percent of all consumer Internet traffic right now. By 2020, video will account for 80 percent of all consumer Internet traffic.

Within the context of social media, video generates 1200 percent more shares than text and images combined. Across the board – from the baby crib to the C-suite – video is THE medium of choice for consuming content.

Take a look at the screenshot below of a post from Amazon of a snack stadium. The post, which is an Echo promotion, is actually a video. Not much happens in the video, but that’s not the point. The video got 1000 percent more views than the post got Likes – 28,810 views compared to 2,633 Likes.

Unfortunately, a lot of marketers waste great opportunities to impact their audience by going the humdrum product placement route. The problem is, short of getting an endorsement of your product from a pop star, reality TV star, or other super influencer, a picture of someone just holding your product – however fancy your packaging may be – rarely moves anyone to follow you or buy. Videos expedite the purchase process.

2. Skip the Product Picture

People don’t mind seeing posts about products. They prefer them, in fact. Product posts consistently outperform both lifestyle posts and posts from celebrities. Sixty-five percent of the top-performing posts on Instagram feature products. But an unstyled picture of your product showing up in someone’s Instagram feed isn’t what they want.

The best way to craft a powerful, high-impact Instagram marketing campaign is to think about the story you want to tell. Whose eye do you want to catch? And how can you talk about your product in a way that’s visually engaging? Compare the two Instagram stories below.

Method is a line of biodegradable, non-toxic cleaning and personal care products. I’ve seen Method products at Target (my favorite neighborhood spot for getting globally-inspired home goods). Below is a screenshot of a section of Method’s Instagram page.

Compare that to the snippet below from Clorox’s Instagram page. To be fair, it looks like Method beat most of its competitors to the punch with Instagram. And I think Clorox is still figuring it out (call us!), but even with the content Clorox has already posted, there is a striking difference between Clorox’s “this is real life” theme on its page and Method’s “life in a slightly more perfect world” page (my designation, not theirs).

Instagram is about visual storytelling. And your product is certainly part of that story, but it shouldn’t be the entire story. Create a story around your product.

3. Or Make the Product Placement Absolutely Beautiful

There are brands that feature nothing but their products on Instagram and their pages get fantastic engagement. It’s rare, but sometimes the products themselves make absolutely stunning images. Enter Compartés  Chocolates.

The screen shot above is from the company’s Instagram account. Every single image on the Compartés page is of their product. But their products are so strikingly beautiful and the photos so well-styled, the pictures legitimately look like art.

I cross-referenced this page with the images on Godiva’s page to ensure I’m not just having a chocolate geek-out. I am a card-carrying member of Godiva’s rewards program. So I can tell you for sure I love Godiva, and I’ve never even tasted Compartés chocolate. Godiva’s page is pretty, but it elicits a completely different emotional response in me.

Compartés has figured out how to inspire awe, or the very least a good, heartfelt, “Wow.” Within seconds of being on the company’s branded Instagram page, I had already pulled up the store’s California address and moved on to their e-comm site to check out the shipping situation.

Then I asked myself, “When was the last time I took a trip to L.A. anyway?”, as if finding an excuse to fly 2,173.9 miles for a chocolate bar is acceptable, regardless of the amount of time that has passed. The point is: I now follow Compartés. I’ve priced their product, browsed the catalog and will likely place an order soon. Because their product pictures were simply breathtaking.

4. Or Make Your Product the Story

Mattel’s Barbie is the perfect example for this tactic. You may know a bit of Barbie’s story. She hangs out at the beach with her boyfriend, Ken. She has a niece that comes over to the beach house (or to Barbie’s dream house) when she’s taking time off from her job as a veterinarian and/or school teacher. But Barbie’s Instagram story is far more interesting.

I found Barbie’s Instagram page because there was this picture of her holding a Compartés chocolate bar and a drink on Compartés Chocolates’ page. When I saw the copyright stamp on the image, I realized the picture must have come from Barbie’s camp.

At 59 years young, Barbie has been the top-selling doll for decades. In 2016, Barbie manufacturer, Mattel rebounded from four steady years of declining doll sales by adding a more ethnically and culturally diverse selection of Barbie dolls to their lineup. The result was a seven percent boost in sales in 2016 and a return to billion-dollar sales in 2017.

There are actually two Barbie pages. The page for Barbie (@barbie) features Barbie in toyland. She is specifically positioned as a toy in these pictures. Some of the pictures include children playing with Barbie. This is the place to go to learn of news from Mattel about new products, discounts, and contests. The posts in this account generate between .5 percent and 1 percent engagement. The screenshot below is of the @barbie Instagram page, and features Barbie as a doll.

Here is that same doll as the star of her own curated Instagram story (@Barbiestyle). The Barbie Style account puts Barbie, Ken, and their [doll] friends in seemingly realistic situations, like going out for coffee, taking Yoga, decorating the house, checking her tablet, and of course posting pictures of her outfits. The picture below features Barbie on the red carpet with dolls of U.S. Olympian @IbtihajMuhammad and model @theashleygraham.

Barbie’s followers engage with her lifestyle content at @BarbieStyle 3 to 5 times more than they engage with her product account.

And with good reason. Barbie slays. No question.

5. Or Make It Ultra-Targeted

I am a music snob. Classically trained violinist, jazz bassist and vocalist. I love music, but I sort of pride myself on listening to fantastic music. I don’t do terrestrial radio. So, when I am in the mood for music, looking for something to do, or looking to connect with other people like me,  I and my community of music snobs will immediately begin filtering out the riff raff by searching by tags like:

#livemusic

#livemusicrocks

#funknight

#staxrecords

#shostakovich

And other awesome, elitist tags.

Well, a great way for brands to get in front of the right audience is to deploy the use of elitist tags like those. Craft beer drinkers pride themselves on drinking craft beer. Vintage lovers and upcyclers have team spirit as well. Narrow your audience by using hashtags that only a knowing subset of your followers will actually use… and get more engagement. You can tailor your posts, and even refine your account (or create a second account) that specifically targets a smaller segment of your wider target audience.

6. Collaborate with Creative Influencers

Seek out the counsel of influencers who are already on Instagram doing something fantastic and unusual. More often, brands look for influencers who have the largest audience that includes their target demographic. But if the influencer’s authority doesn’t reach over into your niche, or their presentation is not powerful enough to prompt a view or double-tap, your influencer marketing campaign can disappear into a feed full of everyday posts.

That’s not what you want.

Partnering with an influencer like BaristArt© creator Michael Breach who has 102k followers may give your campaign a better chance at reaching more people than an influencer with 10 times more followers. You can check out some of Michael’s work @baristart, or check out the screenshot I took of his Instagram page below. Creativity gets eyes. The unusual gets shared. That’s what you want.

7. Gear Your Marketing Toward the Day After

It’s been 11 months since Super Bowl LII and the branded hashtags that promoted the event are still showing up in newly-created content. Heck, Lady Gaga showed up under newer Super Bowl branded tags for Super Bowl LI for more than a year.

The day after the Super Bowl may as well have been renamed Gaga Day because she absolutely dominated social media conversations about Super Bowl LI. What will people be talking about the day after Super Bowl LIII? And how can you craft a campaign that is a natural part of that conversation?

8. Create Sales and Use Discount Codes

Crafting promotions and using discount codes that are good the day before, the day of, and the day after the Super Bowl can help build goodwill with your target audience. Discount codes and tracking links are also good way to see your audience’s behavior, and assess the strengths and weaknesses of your funnel.

Ideally, you want your campaign to piggyback on the one thing on everyone’s mind – the Super Bowl.  Work with an infuencer who can help you brainstorm ideas that will strengthen your brand, increase brand awareness, and appeal to your target audience.

9. Create a Highlight Reel of Your YouTube Video

In one of our holiday posts, I talked about makeup artist and mega-influencer Patrick Starrr. Patrick has created a virtual library of makeup tutorials on YouTube.

Smartly, one of the ways Patrick generates tons of video views on Instagram (that leads to tons of traffic to his YouTube channel) is by creating full-length makeup tutorials on YouTube and publishing a sort of Cliff’s Notes version of the video to Instagram. He captions these types of posts with a link to where the full-length video lives on YouTube.

Super Bowl advertisers do the same sort of thing. Procter & Gamble crafted an amusing 30-second spot to promote Mr. Clean for Super Bowl LI. The company also released an extended cut of the commercial that was published to Mr. Clean’s YouTube channel. Adage.com describes the commercial this way: “The spot shows a woman turned on by a sexy animated version of Mr. Clean…”

A few days before the commercial aired during the Super Bowl LI, Ellen Degeneres aired a mash-up of the commercials with the movie trailer for the latest Fifty Shades movie and called her version starring Mr. Clean “Fifty Shades Cleaner.”

The picture of the snack stadium you saw earlier in the piece is actually a video clip from Amazon’s 60-second Super Bowl LI spot promoting the Echo.  In the screen shot, you see Alec Baldwin and rapper Missy Elliott looking on as former Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino enjoys Baldwin’s snack stadium.

Product highlight reels are an effective way to grab 10 to 30 seconds of your target audience’s attention on Instagram. A good video – one that is relevant, engaging, and entertaining – gives viewers a compelling reason to find you elsewhere on the web. And that’s what you want.

Here’s a tip about Instagram behavior… Great photos get more likes than great videos. But great videos get more comments than great photos. Great videos also get more views than likes. Determining which action is the most important depends solely on your marketing strategy. So, it’s important for you to clearly identify your goals, as well as the metrics you’re going to use to determine whether you met your goals.

Also, consider posting later in the evening. Videos posted to Instagram at 9PM get 34 percent more engagement, according to Sprout Social.

10. Geo-target your campaigns

There are two aspects to geo-targeting your campaigns – location tagging your own posts and zeroing in on the location of your target customers.

According to Sprout Social, posts with location get 79 percent more engagement than those without. For brands, there are a couple of real benefits to adding your location to your campaigns.

Brick-and-mortar establishments get the benefit of being able to tell potential customers where they are. When Instagrammers Explore by location, you want your product, brand, and company to show up in search results.  For e-commerce brands, adding a location tag can help establish the accessibility (read, humanness) of your product or company.

Understanding where your customers live will give you better insight into who they are and how to market to them.

Great example: I recently picked up a copy of David Ogilvy’s iconic book, Ogilvy on Advertising and was stunned to find there were quite a few pictures of topless women in the black-and-white ads Ogilvy printed in his book. The book is brilliant. Ogilvy was brilliant. But the ads of the topless women were intended for European audiences because brands market differently to Europeans than they do to Americans. I’m American, so as wonderful as the advice in the book is, I keep this book off the coffee table. And no, I would not appreciate any company that uses a topless woman to promote its product.

Crafting a campaign to target a specific demographic can help you get better reach and more valuable engagement beyond just likes with your marketing campaign.

The Wrap Up

During the Super Bowl, there was very little conscientious influencer marketing done by brands. Most of the content tagged with one of the Super Bowl tags (stuff like #ATLSB53 #sb52 #superbowl2017 #superbowlLII #superbowl53) are user-generated posts about audience experiences, the players, and the music. That means an opportunity exists for savvy brands to get in there and grab that audience.

5 Social Marketing Strategies Brands Like Ikea, Ace Hardware and Chalk Ink Are Using to Get Their Products in Front of Buyers

If there’s no place like home, then there aren’t many activities quite as satisfying as personalizing your living space to make it feel like home. For that, you’re going to embark on at least one of three activities – home improvement, decorating your home, or furnishing your home. And you need look no further than your own social media feed for design ideas and products to help you get the job done.

Ahead of the New Year / Spring Cleaning season, here are 5 effective social media strategies top home decor and home improvement brands are using to boost brand awareness, get products in front of buyers and get foot traffic in stores.

Home Improvement and Home Design Are a BIG Deal… Everywhere

Home Decor

Home decor and DIY / home improvement aren’t just big business, they’re a big deal. In the US, shoppers spent $122 billion on home decor in 2016. US home improvement retailers expect to generate more than $409 billion in sales by 2019, and the global home decor market could reach $664 billion by 2020.

As disposable income continues to grow in Middle Eastern and Asian countries, the demand for home goods grows as well. In fact, the Asian market is the fastest-growing home goods market in the world. Worldwide home decor sales are on track to grow by 4.2 percent year-over-year for the five-year period from 2015 to 2020.

In the months between the New Year and Spring Cleaning Season (which 38 percent of those surveyed start in March), Americans will spend an average of $165 on home decorating according to the Offers.com Home Decor Survey 2018.

The list of top brands shoppers name as their go-to for home decor is made up of retailers who are great at balancing trends and quality with affordability.

And yes… you may read articles about how American Millennials aren’t buying houses as quickly as their parents and grandparents did at their age, but they are buying homes, eventually.

Home Improvement

On the home improvement/design project side, Millennials are DIYing like nobody’s business. Nearly 7 in 10 Millennials are handling home improvement projects themselves and relying on home improvement retailers like Ace Hardware, The Home Depot and Lowe’s to tackle renovations.

Source: Zillow

According to The Zillow Group Report on Housing Trends, Millennials are taking on these home improvement projects… but 66 percent of the time it’s just to add their own personal touch to a space, not really to FIX fix anything. That’s true across the board – across demographics and all over the country.

The Empire Today Home Improvement Survey 2017 reflected the same outcome – most people are embarking on renovation projects to pretty-up their spaces.  Coincidentally, painting is the most common home improvement endeavor undertaken by homeowners.

Social Media’s Influencing How People Spend on Home Design

Social media is directly influencing how people spend on home decor and home improvement projects. Twenty-eight percent of homeowners have made at least one purchase for their home in the last 12 months based on what they saw in a friend’s social media feed.

While Boomers and older Gen Xers get the majority of their design information and inspiration from magazines and television shows like HGTV and This Old House, according to SoFi, 44 percent of homeowners between the ages of 18 and 44, and 29 percent of homeowners over the age of 45 rely on social networks like Pinterest and Instagram to get inspiration for these kinds of design projects. You would be hard-pressed to come up with a brand in the home improvement/home decor space that didn’t have a presence on Instagram, Pinterest or both.

Pinterest Totally Dominates the Social Media + Home Decor World

In summer 2017, Pinterest reported there were 11 billion home decor pins on the platform and 2.3 billion home decor searches and saves per year. Pinterest alone reaches 40 percent of the people who have made home furnishing purchases within the last six months, and users say Pinterest is THE MOST influential platform for home decor and home design inspiration.

User-wise, Pinterest doesn’t have as many monthly active users as Facebook or Instagram. At the end of September 2018, the platform had 250 million monthly active users. But unlike Faebook and Instagram, 93% of Pinners use the platform to plan for or make purchases. Sixty percent of Pinners have used Pinterest to actually MAKE purchasing decisions for home decor.

Home decor is one of the three most popular search categories on Pinterest as well as one of the top shopping categories that lead to purchases.

Part of the platform’s charm is that it’s always tugging on me with cool ideas. A few days ago, the December Trends email landed in my inbox with insights into what’s hot on Pinterest, much of it focused on home decor. Out of the six topics covered in The Top Trends for December 2018, three of them were specifically about home decor.

Dark green living rooms are making a comeback…

People are also into smoke and cardboard art…

Open closets are a thing…

The above is a screenshot of a portion of the trends report email I got. When I clicked on the hyperlink for “open closets”, the next page featured a collection of pins tagged open closet.

There’s a Promoted Pin from Interior Define. Other pins include images from brands like Pottery Barn, Ikea, Wayfair, eBay, and Etsy.

And E-Commerce is Driving Sales of Home Goods

In addition to sourcing ideas only, most people are actually buying both furniture and home decor items online, often in lieu of going into store locations. Furniture and home furnishings make up 12.9 percent of total retail e-commerce sales in the U.S. So, for every $10 spent at any store online, $1.29 of that amount was spent on something for the house.

Why would anybody want to shop online for a comfy chair they can’t test out in the store? Simple answer – shopping online provides consumers with access to more products and more product variations. Shoppers can visit online stores for web-based retailers like Wayfair that don’t have physical stores as well ass physical stores that may not have nearby locations. Shoppers can also see a wider variety of items that they can have shipped to local retailers and even see the individual store inventory for specific products.

For instance, in Walmart.com’s marketplace, you are as likely to see items shipped by Overstock.com and Wayfair as you are to see those shipped by Walmart.

Walmart is working to expand both the e-commerce side of its business and home decor, launching brands like Allswell Home (on Instagram @allswellhome), a luxe mattress and bedding line. On December 6th, Walmart announced it was acquiring online home decor retailer Art.com, adding to Walmart’s growing portfolio of digital brands like Moosejaw, Hayneedle, and Jet.com.

According to Walmart stakeholders, part of the reason for the acquisition is to help Walmart target the younger, tech-savvy  audience that doesn’t make it into Walmart’s store locations. The acquisition will also enable Walmart to leverage Art.com’s augmented reality technology.

Even for retailers like At Home which doesn’t have a shopping cart feature, an online presence simplifies the shopping process. I like to use At Home’s search feature to find stuff I like, then check to see if the product I see online is available in any of the locations near me.

5 Cool Social Media Strategies We’ve Seen DIY and Home Decor Brands Use

#1 Running print campaigns

This is an area we don’t talk about a whole lot, but many businesses can benefit from having both an online and an offline marketing strategy in place.

I talked a bit earlier in this post about magazines and television still being an important part of the inspiration process for consumers over the age of 45. So, running an offline campaign alongside your online efforts can help you reach your goals faster. I have two examples here…

CHALK INK

Chalk Ink first landed on my radar as I flipped through the July / August 2018 issue of House Beautiful. The company had a full-page ad in that issue…

When I saw it, I immediately snapped a picture of it as a mental note to check Chalk Ink’s marketing on other platforms – i.e., see what kind of fun content was showing up on Instagram. I originally assumed Chalk Ink would be targeting moms with school-aged kids. I couldn’t immediately think of another use for Chalkboard paint or chalk marketers. I totally forgot about Instagrammers in particular using chalkboards and letter boards to create and post textual messages. Chalkboard messages have been reappropriated from the coffeehouse culture of using script or calligraphy to write messages and menus on chalkboards.

So, yeah… Chalk Ink is active on Instagram (@chalk.ink).

As I scrolled through the company’s Instagram feed, I spotted a post announcing another print ad in Entrepreneur Magazine.

I didn’t notice an immediate connection between what they were posting on social and the ads that were running in national magazines. Which brings me to my next example…

#2 Running symbiotic online and offline campaigns together

TOMORROW HYBRID MATTRESSES

I also came across a print ad for Tomorrow Hybrid Mattresses, which looked a lot like Instagram fodder to me.

That immediately made me search the company’s Instagram feed for the same image, which I found. Variations of this image can also be found on the brand’s website.

Source: Instagram

Tomorrow (which is a Serta brand) consistently runs influencer campaigns like this one with influencer Tal Lee (on Instagram @tallee).

There are also tons of posts featuring professional athletes… like this Instagram post from NBA shooting guard Jacob Evans III (on Instagram @j.n.e.iii)

Or this Instagram post featuring professional NFL linebacker Alec Ogletree (on Instagram @misterogletree52)…

And this one with NBA point guard Elfrid Payton (New Orleans Pelicans; on Instagram @elfrid)

#3 Become a resource for #goals

WAYFAIR

Once upon a time, Wayfair was dozens and dozens of individual drop shipping ecomm sites until its founder got the brilliant idea to make Wayfair one awesome marketplace for the coolest-looking furniture on earth. The brand runs multiple branded accounts on Instagram and Pinterest. Smartly, Wayfair creates a lot of content designed to help shoppers source inspiration.

Becoming a source of inspiration offers a couple of cool benefits. First, becoming creating valuable content that includes looks, trends, and design ideas gives you more opportunities for your customers and prospects to engage with your brand.

Second, the analytics such as bookmarks, repins, Likes, comments and regrams will give you insights into which ideas and trends your customers are most interested in seeing more of, so you know which products (plural) they are more likely to save, “cart “, and buy.

Wayfair’s Wayfair Professional account on Instagram features both design ideas for home offices and commercial spaces, as well as actual designed spaces the company has created, like this Instagram post of the reception area of Brit + Co (@britandco).

The Wayfair US Pinterest account includes 15 boards one of which is the Style Inspiration board, comprised of more than 2200 pins. This board alone has more than 363K Pinterest followers. What’s cool about this board is it isn’t your run-of-the-mill chair-and-table pics. Wayfair’s inspiration section includes trendy ideas for cartography-inspired decor, as well as ideas for design ideas for vintage, cottage, southwestern and even speakeasy style decor.

#4 Being a regular person, so to speak

IKEA

Ikea is an absolute MASTER at understanding that there’s more going on in a buyer’s world than just shopping for furniture. Ikea does a great job at tapping into what’s going on in popular culture and reappropriating it to fit the brand.

Ikea’s now Ikonic (see what I did there?) back-to-college video series entitled “Oddly Ikea” featured a 25-minute ASMR video that tiptoed through a series of products (and gently-spoken product information) as part of a dorm room design inspiration piece. Coincidentally, the image below is from that ASMR video, paused on a screenshot of someone tapping their fingers against a 200-thread count sheet set… to “hear every thread”.

But beyond the curiously enjoyable ASMR video last year, Ikea is also great at drumming up design inspiration, both in-store and online. Ikea’s Pinterest account is 45 boards, most of them are design inspo boards.

Another smart move – Ikea has stepped outside the home to include inspiration boards for things like the office, food, holidays and even weddings.

#5 Creating DIY and How-To Content

Fun fact: For people who plan to do home renovations and improvement in the coming year, 52 percent expect there will be a 50/50 split between what they intend to do themselves and what they intend to hire a professional to do. So brands that are able to create content that walks DIYers through simple (and even more advanced) techniques for doing things like building a table or maintaining a garden can get a spike in their sales by teaching. .

ACE HARDWARE

If there’s one home improvement brand that has the How-To content thing down to a science, it’s Ace Hardware. Your local Ace Hardware isn’t a giant superstore. If you have one near you, it probably looks like the local hardware store – easy to navigate, no chance of getting lost, and accessible inventory that you can reach… or grab a step stool to get when absolutely necessary.

Ace Hardware has found a way to get eyes on its products and on its brand through a series of super-useful home dwellers videos. Sure, you can learn how to build a table, but you can also learn how to fix broken Christmas lights, how to keep mice out of your house when it gets cold, and the proper way to divide perennials.

Ace skipped the typical product reviews and went one step further to show the utility of its products. For instance, Ace has a series of videos of cool recipes for the Traeger Grill. Not just ribs, but corn casserole, S’mores cones, root beer pulled pork, jerkey, and smoked deviled eggs.

Ace’s YouTube channel has more than 17K subscribers. But get this – the channels has racked up 16.8 million video views.

Ace Hardware generates content ideas like every one of its retailer-owned stores is populated by real people who actually live in real houses. It makes sense that Ace Hardware is the top-ranking home improvement store chain in the United States for customer satisfaction.

Ace’s tagline forever has been “Ace is the place with the helpful hardware folks.” the company’s social media strategy supports that mission. So, it’s content isn’t really design inspiration so much as helping people solve real issues. Super smart.

Even on Pinterest, there is as much DIY content as there is inspiration or product info content.

Wrapping it -Up

We are making the transition from year-end to the New Year, and as home owners and apartment dwellers are collecting ideas for the next big home design purchase, brands can begin incorporating these super effective digital marketing strategies into their 2019 arsenal.

Of course, if you need help with your next big marketing push, our platform is all about the data and simplifies what could otherwise be an extremely onerous process of rolling out a highly-targeted, effective influencer marketing campaign. We can help. Just call.

Holiday Campaign Analysis: Fast Fashion Brands vs High-End Department Store Brands

A staple of the holiday season (and hands-down one of the best parts of the holiday season) are the holiday parties… and the chance to get dressed up for each one. Holiday parties present the perfect opportunity for fashion brands to do some savvy marketing to get their outfit ideas in front of party goers who are actively shopping for the best styles for their next big shindig.

For most shoppers the money is a driving force behind any apparel purchases. Fast fashion gives the masses easy access to a range of styles without blowing the budget. On the opposite end of the spectrum, high-end stores offer consumers a taste of luxury with high-quality garments that cost a lot more.

In this post, we’re going to dive into some of the best holiday marketing campaigns for getting eyes on your product. Take a look at these inventive, disruptive, and original campaigns from last holiday season.

Department Store Campaigns

John Lewis & Partners

37 department stores, 12 John Lewis at home and 2 shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal

High-end British department store John Lewis & Partners is famous for their Christmas TV commercials. Every year, the British public waits with bated breath for the premiere of their ad – usually during the commercial break of hit TV show The X Factor. Their ads are filled with heartwarming moments, covers of hit songs (which almost ALWAYS end up climbing the charts to the number one spot), and incredibly shareable content.

2018 marks the twelfth installment of John Lewis’ iconic Christmas advert, and people are already talking about it and taking guesses on what it could be. Plus, since John Lewis is a department store, it sells a wide range of products, including fashion brands.

Where fashion is related, the company’s marketing largely targets shoppers who buy mid-priced and high-end brands like L.K. Bennett, Kurt Geiger and Karen Millen. As well, the company’s own line of products is high-quality with a high price tag. This hasn’t stopped them from being a popular holiday shopping destination though – far from it. John Lewis’ sales figures have been steadily increasing year-on-year, and the rising popularity of its Christmas ads could well have something to do with this.

In fact, for Christmas 2017, its fashion sales rose by over 8% – a significant increase for this retail giant, especially in such difficult financial times over in the UK.

Angle: Heartfelt

So, let’s take a look at their TV commercials that have caused such success for the brand in the past. Here is their 2017 ad “Moz the Monster”:

This year’s 2018 concept, “Some gifts are more than just a gift” features none other than Elton John. And it’s touching, relatable and brilliant.

A lot of other British brands have done their best to follow in John Lewis’ footsteps, creating ads that are emotional, imaginative and festive. While some of their attempts have been well-received, there’s no question that John Lewis & Partners dominates Christmas advertising over the pond. But, why have these other brands fallen short? It’s all to do with the way our brains work.

Here’s why John Lewis ads work

The John Lewis adverts don’t usually contain much branding. In fact, the only time we see the brand at all is usually right at the end as the commercial comes to a close. The reason the ads are so effective is because they tap into our emotions. We’re used to seeing commercials of this kind every year from the same brand, so we can still tell who’s advertising to us, despite the lack of branded material.

This doesn’t mean that we can’t take inspiration from what these guys are doing though. We just have to make sure that it works for our brand in a different way. Pulling on the heartstrings is nothing new in marketing – especially around this time of year. You just need to find a way to make it work for you.

In-store marketing

One thing that John Lewis does really well with its Christmas marketing campaigns is extending the message beyond just the digital space. The ad premieres on live TV, which is teased in the weeks leading up to it. Despite so many of us leaving scheduled TV behind and choosing to watch at our own pace, by showcasing their commercial during a popular show, they have many people tuning in, even if just to catch the world premier of the new John Lewis holiday ad.

The company also takes its campaign in-store with show stopping window displays across the country. For example, with last year’s “Moz the Monster” campaign, John Lewis actually had a window display that would break wind and burp in the same way as the titular character does in the ad. Not super Christmas-y… but definitely something different to draw the crowds, that’s for sure!

Online shopping is convenient, and great for shopping the myriad retailers that don’t actually have physical locations nearby (or physical locations at all). Still, every Thanksgiving, people line up for the chance to have that in-store experience despite the fact that they can take advantage of most Black Friday deals online.

Key Takeaways

1. Develop your own style of Christmas marketing – don’t try and copy other brands.

2. Make your marketing well rounded, not just focusing on digital.

3. Don’t only focus your marketing online. A lot of gift buying at least still happens in actual stores.

Harvey Nichols

16 Locations across Europe, the Middle East and Asia

Another British department store next (any guesses where this writer lives?) is Harvey Nichols. This is another brand that is known for its ads around Christmas time, but instead of pulling on people’s heart strings, Harvey Nichols does its best to tickle our funny bones instead. Harvey Nichols commercials are usually full of sass and wit, and show us what Christmas is really like for many of us.

Angle: Shamelessly Relevant

One ad that demonstrated this concept brilliantly was the company’s 2015 holiday ad battling the horrors of “Gift Face”. We’ve all been there, when someone has bought us a gift that really, is pretty awful, but we pretend to like it anyway. Harvey Nichols are showing us how to avoid this by shopping with them, of course.

Let’s take a look at the ad below:

The campaign ran mostly on digital, with social media posts sharing gift ideas to help people avoid inflicting the horrible “gift face” on other people, all accompanied by a grimacing face emoji. An incredibly shareable campaign that appeals perfectly to the store’s target market of younger consumers. While still a high-end retailer, Harvey Nichols is a slightly fresher brand than many others in this niche. Which can easily be seen through their choice of marketing style.

When Harvey Nichols talks about Christmas, it doesn’t follow the old trope of how it’s better to give than receive. No, these guys are much more honest about things, and fully believe that receiving a gift is way better – as long as that gift is good. Its tongue-in-cheek approach to festive marketing definitely helps them to stand out from all the emotional charged and mushy efforts made by its competitors.

And, as we may have mentioned before, standing out with your festive marketing is essential to success this time of year. This isn’t the first year Harvey Nichols has made waves with their marketing. A few years before in 2013, their ad campaign “Sorry, I spent it on myself” won a host of awards as well.

Harvey Nichols definitely built a reputation for themselves for fun Christmas marketing.

Expanding beyond digital

Harvey Nichols is another brand whose campaign worked perfectly outside of the digital space.This ad campaign ran on social media. The ad itself was uploaded to YouTube, and a number of social media posts were published to promote the in-store experience to go along with it.

The “Gift Face” campaign also translated perfectly to print ads. The amusing grimace of people opening badly thought out gifts works really well in their materials, and really helps to carry over the message to a different medium.

(Image from: AdWeek)

The brand also paired this with in-store product displays suggesting what to buy to avoid “Gift Face” as well as window displays – which are a huge part of the Christmas shopping experience for many consumers. Making this a well-rounded campaign, going beyond digital.

The Takeaway

1. Know your target market and tailor your approach to Christmas marketing to what they like

2. Humour can be a great vehicle for viral content, and to bring people into your store

3. Playing on the more realistic aspects of the festive season can help your campaign stand out from competitors

Fast Fashion and Off-Price Campaigns

H&M

4,553 locations across North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia

High-street clothes giant H&M has more than 4,000 locations around the globe and a great range of everyday fashion at affordable prices. H&M has made a name for itself as a go-to store for the trend-conscious.

Angle: ‘Tis the Season for Giving

In 2017, H&M went all out with their Christmas campaign, employing the help of celebrity names like Jesse Williams, Nicki Minaj and John Turturro to help promote the brand in the weeks leading up to the holidays. The brand released a three-minute film and shared it online a month before Christmas to remind us that caring about others and giving of yourself are the real meaning of Christmas.

Through storytelling, the ad manages to show off a wide range of the brand’s products, both their casual range and their party / formal fashion pieces (H&M really squeeze A LOT of famous faces in this spot). I think more than department store ads, we actually get to see the products H&M was promoting for the holidays.

And, by employing celebrity faces as part of their campaign – and pretty faces they were – H&M used the age-old tactic of influencer marketing on a pretty grand scale.

Unlike the department stores, H&M focuses its festive marketing on clothing alone. With more products available, the department stores focus on a mixture of clothing and gifting, so their appeal is a little broader.

Expanding beyond digital

While the full version of the ad was only online, a shortened version was shown on TV for H&M’s Christmas commercial, reaching that all-important TV audience. This campaign also paired with a season-appropriate message of giving. The end of the story sees the young girl giving all her own presents away to children who lost theirs, mirroring H&M’s own commitment to giving donations to UNICEF. So, charity is a big theme.

H&M has always been at the forefront of giving back through fashion with the in-store clothes donation stations. This campaign helped to continue that message throughout the festive season. A lot of us like to do our bit for charity this time of year, so by advertising that buying with H&M would be helping Unicef, they are able to tap into this market effectively.

The Takeaway

Using well-known influencers helps to give your brand credibility, and draw in their followers as well as your own

Pairing up with a charity and giving back is not only good for the charity, but good for business as well

TJ Maxx

1238 locations across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia

One of the world’s largest discount stores, TJ Maxx, had their own unique spin on holiday marketing last year. They wanted customers to remember what Christmas is really about, beyond the food, the presents, and the parties – it’s about being with your family and loved ones. Together with Marshalls and HomeGoods, TJ Maxx launched a marketing campaign centered all around “love” rather than sales.

While many stores geared up for the holiday shopping season back in 2016 by launching Black Friday sales, TJ Maxx decided to take a different approach. The company decided to showcase how low their prices are year round. People don’t need to rush around making sure to catch the sales window to buy value gifts from this store!

(https://twitter.com/tjmaxx/status/798163349091586048)

TJ Maxx launched an inventive Twitter campaign where followers had the chance to win some exceptional festive prizes. But, they weren’t offering up toys, clothes, or gadgets. Instead, the retailer helped people enjoy Christmas the way it was supposed to be – with their loved ones. For the month of November, TJ Maxx ran three separate competitions in which people could win money to help them to either get home for the holidays or decorate their homes to make it nice and festive.

Angle: Tradition

TJ Maxx stood out because it focused on the “warm and fuzzy” side of Christmas that we all love the most… seeing friends, family, and loved ones; decorating our homes; and all the little traditions we enjoy love to follow. While other retailers focused on holiday sales, and the products they wanted to sell – TJ Maxx shifted the conversation to a happier, more wholesome topic.

Expanding beyond digital

While their competitors plastered the word SALE across every window display through the festive season, TJ Maxx swapped it for LOVE. The company helped to raise money for local food banks across the country by donating 100% of the money it raised for the cause. The retailer actually raised and donated about $2 million dollars.

TJ Maxx was one of few stores that chose to close on Thanksgiving, in keeping with their holiday message, and allow the staff to spend the time with their families instead of working in the store. Nice.

The Takeaway

Sales are always important, but remember what the holidays are really about, and your customers will appreciate it

If you’re going to run a competition on social media, consider offering up different prizes to your competitors

Be sure that your companies actions around the holiday season reflect the message you’re putting out there

Conclusion

At this time of year, everyone wants to get ahead of the competition in terms of holiday sales. The fashion brands we looked at today are just a small section of examples of how traditional Christmas marketing can be turned on its head. So, whether you choose to hit the heartstrings or draw people in with laughter, the key to a successful marketing campaign is to stand out from the ever-increasing crowd.

If you only take away one piece of advice from this article though, let it be this: the customer is key. All of these brands knew exactly what their target market looks like, and tailored their strategies to that information. If you’re working with millennials, then play on the relatability and social media communication. If you’re targeting baby boomers, focus on the family aspect of the festive season across TV and print. Knowing your customer is the key to success.

What have been your favorite fashion campaigns this holiday season? Let us know in the comments below.

A Look at 3 Holiday Campaign Strategies from Sephora, eos and Benefit Cosmetics UK: What They Did, Why It Worked, and How You Can Model Their Success

Every year, when the festive holiday season rolls around, we see a boost in digital marketing campaigns across all industries. But, more than many others, there is usually a noticeable rise in content from beauty brands. And, it’s no surprise, either. The health and beauty industry tops $80 billion in annual revenue in the US alone, and is set to rise even higher in the next few years.

Thanks to the rise of social media – and the “selfie generation” – beauty stays top-of-mind for most people. Filters aside, most people are still very conscious of their appearance and, whether actively or inactively, constantly on the lookout for products we think can help us in that area.

During the holiday season, beauty manufacturers pull out all the stops – holiday packaging, limited edition products, holiday-themed colors (and flavors) line store shelves for the sole purpose of enticing buyers to make holiday purchases. That means holiday marketing campaigns, and some of them are pretty awesome.

So today, we’re cataloging some of our favorite campaigns and providing that all important play-by-play analysis of why each campaign worked and some tips for how you can roll out similar campaigns for your own products.

Benefit Cosmetics UK

In 2015, Benefit Cosmetics UK launched a Twitter marketing campaign called #12DaysOfTweetmas. Taking inspiration from the famous Christmas carol, “The 12 Days of Christmas”, this beauty brand partnered with other industry names to hold exclusive giveaways everyday throughout the lead-up to Christmas. Each new day of “Tweetmas” they would announce the latest giveaway, and tell followers to RT the prize tweet, as well as follow Benefit on Twitter, and whichever company they had partnered up with.

A common giveaway tactic, the retweet chain helps to boost your account’s following, as well as get your tweets seen by more people thanks to the re-tweets. And, by partnering with other big name brands in the beauty world, they managed to extend their reach even further.

They saw some pretty impressive results for this campaign as well. As we can see from the tweet above, any given prize tweet was received hundreds, if not thousands of retweets in the hopes of winning the prize. Sure, some of the entrants were probably already following Benefit on Twitter, the brand undoubtedly attracted a good number more followers over the course of the campaign.

The most successful tweet in this campaign was on their 5th day of Tweetmas when Benefit partnered with hair care brand GHD to give away some of GHD’s incredibly popular hair care appliances. This tweet gained 3k retweets, 600 comments and 800 likes. Even for a brand as big as Benefit, this is a pretty impressive haul on Twitter. Benefit revved-up engagement of around two percent, which is good for a brand with such a large following (220K at the time).

WHY DID IT WORK?

Everything about Benefit’s campaign was totally on-brand for the company. As a business, Benefit has such a distinct brand voice. Followers will immediately recognize a post from the brand as it moves through their social feeds. These guys have truly managed to capture the perfect synergy of carrying their branding through every single aspect of their marketing. Having such a clear brand voice like this, makes it much easier for them to stand out in the incredibly busy world of Christmas campaigns on social media.

Their target market is young, fashion-forward women with a cool sense of style. This information has clearly influenced the brands they choose as partners, as well as the wording they use in their posts. Referring to their partners as “BFFs” keeps the messaging young and fresh, without sounding like they’re trying too hard.

The graphics they use in this campaign also perfectly balance on the line between clear branding and festive cheer. They manage to keep the images true-to-brand and easy to recognize, while still gracing us all with that warm, Christmas-y feeling.

USING THE BENEFIT CAMPAIGN AS A MODEL

First thing: You have to know your audience. This goes for marketing in general, really. If you don’t know who you’re addressing, your message is only going to fall on deaf ears.

Next, when you start designing your festive campaign, do your best to stay on-brand while mixing in some holiday style. If you usually use a muted color palette, don’t suddenly switch to super bright reds and greens – stay true to your brand. You can still include festive elements – snowflakes, candy canes, reindeer, in a way that works with your brand, not against it.

Finally, don’t be afraid to partner with other brands. Of course, the business world is competitive, but working with other brands, instead of against them, can boost your reach, expand your audience, and help you bring in new customers. This is especially true when you work with other brands in the same niche as yours. A partnership between a company pushing its influencer-endorsed eye shadow palette may be a fantastic match for a brand with a eyebrow gel that’s currently trending. Work together to reach mutually-beneficial goals.

Sephora

Isn’t Sephora like some sort of beauty casino? You get in there under the perfect lighting and completely lose track of time! One reason the beauty mega store is so famous is because it has such as phenomenal selection of cosmetics and skin care products! Cosmetics to suit every style, skin color, and budget… the store is a hub of beauty magic. As with many beauty brands, Sephora’s marketing materials featured flawless-looking [predominantly] white women. For its 2017 holiday campaign, Sephora change all of that.

Instead of working with professional models, they asked their own store employees to apply for the chance to star in their next campaign instead. Over 1,000 Sephora staff applied for this chance and 10 were selected. The chosen few were invited to participate because of their own unique definitions of beauty. The model search alone gained A LOT of publicity.

(Image : Sephora)

The theme for their campaign was “Reach Out and Gift”. It focused on how beauty can be an amazing gift, but is incredibly personal to each and every individual. To highlight this, they have gathered a beautifully diverse and individualistic selection of people to represent their brand.

Each of the selected Sephora team members starred in a video posted to the official Sephora Instagram account along with a short bio describing who they are, where they’re from, and what items are always in their makeup bags.

This campaign stood out from other Christmas marketing because it wasn’t actually focused that much on Christmas. Instead, it celebrated gift-giving in general, catering to a much more diverse audience than the typical festive fare. Even though Christmas is still the most popular winter holiday here in the US, it is by no means the only one.

WHY DID IT WORK?

By a campaign that is more inclusive, Sephora was able to market to a wider audience, without losing that Christmas shopper base that everyone else is tapping into. And, in today’s tumultuous political and cultural climate, that campaign would definitely have struck a chord with Millennial and Gen X customers.

Sephora focused on video content for this campaign, and didn’t limit the campaign to one social media platform. The YouTube video for the campaign attracted over 1.5 million views. Over on Instagram, the individual videos reached around 250k views each.

It also worked for the most fundamental reason – it appealed to a wider audience than most beauty campaigns. The campaign featured people from a variety of ethnicities, religions, and genders – all representing their own version of beauty. In a world where we are inundated with perfect images of super-styled influencers, it was a breath of fresh air for many, who could finally see themselves represented by a big brand online.

USING THE SEPHORA CAMPAIGN AS A MODEL

Don’t be afraid to stand out with your holiday marketing. At this time of year, people see post after post covered in glitter and bright red. It’s okay to dress-up your post with blue and fur instead. Also, remember that Christmas isn’t the only event being celebrated at the end of the year. Celebrate the diversity of your audience by talking about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Yule as well.

Use “regular people” in your marketing. Whether you dip into your own pool of staff members or ask your customers to be the new face of your campaign, using someone plucked from among the other flowers (was that lame?) can help people better connect with your brand. The beauty industry is notoriously filtered to perfection. But times are changing, and people are sorta over the perfection thing. Make your brand one of the names people associate with real beauty and you’ll be winning.

eos Lip Balm

Millennial favorite eos has mastered social media marketing (no coincidence that eos is one of our clients, either). The company’s distinctive round packaging already helps them to stand out in a sea of similar products, and they use this to their full advantage, creating well-designed and aesthetic Instagram posts for their feed. And, the company’s use of influencer-generated content helps it to broaden its reach even further.

#eosholidaysaver on Instagram

As many beauty brands do around the holidays, eos released special edition packaging and gift sets to entice buyers to use their products as gifts for loved ones. What they did do differently was employ influencers to help showcase their products in a different light.

Even without the Christmas packaging, eos has a fairly individual style – although there have been the inevitable copycats. Ahead of the holiday, the brand encouraged people to use actual lip balms to create Christmas craft projects.

@eosproducts

WHY DID IT WORK?

eos brilliantly capitalized on both its unique product design, and its largely Millennial audience to create a holiday campaign that felt less like marketing, and more like a series of fun projects and challenges. Instead of telling you to buy their products this Christmas, they encouraged followers to use them as decorations, and fun holiday projects.

eos works because, at least for the sake of marketing, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Its marketing campaigns make use of influencers, yes. But more, the influencers turn out the kind of content that engages people – by doing things like creating holiday eos gnomes – without selling to them.

USING THE eos CAMPAIGN AS A MODEL

Again, we have to say it: The number one rule in influencer marketing is to know your audience. This is where eos really shines. By knowing what eos consumers like to do with their spare time, where they are hanging out online, and how to market products to the demographic without annoying them, eos puts itself in the unique position to shape memorable campaigns that boost awareness and drive sales.

Use the knowledge you have on your target audience to dictate where you conduct your marketing, and what kind of influencers would be best for partnerships. Eos worked with influencers in the same niche as their consumers – young, stylish, and crafty. This helped them to reach people who may not have known about their product previously.

Your Holiday Marketing

Whether your brand is in the beauty industry or not, the marketing campaigns we cited above are great examples of how to master your holiday marketing. Being in the business of making people look and feel good, one thing that beauty brands have to be good at is looking good themselves. You’ll notice that every campaign has a striking aesthetic, it needs to in order to showcase their product effectively. But, let’s think about your holiday marketing. Here are some tips to follow to make your campaign a hit.

• Stay on brand: Don’t go too Christmas crazy with your content. Sprinkle the festive spirit over your existing brand, sure, just don’t lose who you are in all that glitter. Whatever kind of campaign you decide to run, make sure your brand can still be heard through all the fairy lights.

• Dare to be different: If you want to stand out and get noticed, you’re going to have to do things a little differently to your competition. Don’t be afraid to take your holiday marketing in a whole new direction this year.

• Make the most of holiday packaging: If your brand is planning on using holiday centric packaging, make this a big part of your digital marketing too. Having packaging that already shows off that holiday spirit can be a big plus for your visual content online too.

• Start early: But not too early. Don’t be that person who decorates their whole house the first day of October. Just bear in mind that Christmas does seem to be starting earlier and earlier every year, so make sure your campaign is ready to go as soon as November rolls around.

• Use a dedicated hashtag: This one works with most marketing campaigns, but especially so around Christmas. By using a dedicated hashtag, you’re encouraging the creation of UGC and giving you more content to share on your own accounts.

Which beauty brand campaigns do you love? Let us know in the comments below!