As more and more brands pop into existence each day, with more digital channels at their disposal than ever before, the fight for consumer attention has never been more competitive.
In this day and age, creative, innovative, and impactful digital marketing campaigns are the key to cultivating awareness, positive customer perception, and all-round brand success.
In this article, we run through a few brands that have taken this philosophy and executed it with flawless precision. Here are our picks for 3 of the best digital marketing campaigns in recent years.
Having rocketed from a modest 50,000 TikTok followers in September 2021 to over 4.4 million as of June 2022, the language learning app Duo Lingo’s recent success is a prime example of a digital marketing campaign done right.
Rather than following suit, Duo Lingo swapped the usual product/service promotion for something that TikTok users actually respond to: funny, quirky entertainment.
Using the brand’s signature green owl mascot, Duo Lingo has posted numerous skits putting the owl (really a person in an oversized costume) in a variety of hilarious situations. A comical Dua Lipa infatuation is a recurring theme, as well as generally getting up to mischief (and dancing) in the Duo Lingo offices.
“We had a lot of success with Tik-Tok. With no expenses whatsoever, we grew our Tik-Tok account basically from zero users to about a million followers. We’re getting a lot of media coverage saying that ‘Duolingo is the only brand that understands Tik-Tok”, Luis von Ahn, CEO of Duolingo, said.
But the brand’s viral success hasn’t just been confined to a boost in awareness. The number of respondents in user acquisition surveys has also seen an upward trend, according to U.S. marketing lead, Michaela Kron.
Job applications, too, have been attributed to the brand’s social media presence with prospective hires referencing Duolingo’s TikTok page and the appealing work environment as reason for their interest.
The globally renowned online peer-to-peer homestay service is no stranger to success, owing in no small part to its savvy digital marketing campaigns that have swept the social media sphere. Fitting into this strategy is none other than the photo-sharing platform, Instagram.
But instead of relying solely on the original content or traditional ad placements, Airbnb has focused its efforts on user-generated content (UGC) – inviting users to share their best photos and videos of Airbnb stays using the hashtag #airbnb. The best of them being posted on the brand’s Insta feed. As it stands, there are currently over 7.8 million photos bearing the #airbnb hashtag.
The real beauty (and genius) of this campaign strategy is threefold:
1) It plays to peoples’ love for travel, escapism and exotic aesthetics, as one featured user puts it perfectly:
2) It promotes brand credibility by having real-life customers attest to the positive (if not, amazing) experience they’ve had with your service/product. A social proof, if you will.
3) It provides an on-going production of content for the brand, taking the strain off the business and allowing them to direct resources into other marketing avenues.
In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak where people were bound within their national and local borders, eager to get back to their pre-pandemic travel habits, Ikea and Pinterest sought to make the best out of a bad situation.
The Ikea Renocation campaign – a joint venture between the Swedish furniture brand and Pinterest – saw to it that customers would have ready access to inspiration for their next home makeover, as well as the necessary shopping links to turn the vision into a reality.
By introducing a handy A.I. quiz tool on pinterest where users answer questions about their favourite getaway places, activities and the like, Pinterest was able to tender a custom board of personalised content, laden with product recommendations and links to Ikea furniture.
A sharp-witted campaign to say the least, with Pinterest being the go-to for over 400 million monthly active users looking for decoration and interior design ideas. Not to mention the integration of home inspiration content and accompanying product links – a simple yet effective solution for bottom-end customers who are looking to see out their reno project.
Putting together a successful digital marketing campaign that increases brand awareness, conversions and all metrics in between is easier said than done. However, by working with an integrated digital marketing agency you can certainly boost your brand’s chances.
Being a full-service digital consultancy, we are able to tailor a digital campaign to your brand that integrates paid media, social, SEO and content into a well-rounded strategy. Our dedicated departments work closely alongside each other to quickly share learns so improvements can be realised fast. Having already helped numerous brands achieve their unique business goals, you can have peace of mind knowing that your digital marketing campaign is in expert hands.
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