By Takara Alexis
Social media is still relatively new so marketers are still figuring out how to use it effectively. Here are a few campaigns who used social media properly and saw excellent results.
1. The Gap- Popular clothing retailer The Gap teamed up with online coupon dealer Groupon and offered $50 worth of clothes for just $25. 441,000 of these coupons were sold which generated $11 million in revenue for The Gap. Not bad for a promotion lasting one day. This campaign helped The Gap gain new customers that they may have never reached otherwise. The Gap hopes that these customers stay with them and don’t shop at The Gap only when there are deals.
2. Mountain Dew- Mountain Dew ran a successful social media campaign based around the concept of DEWmocracy. Mountain Dew released three new flavors to the public and customers were then able to vote on which flavor they liked the best. The winning flavor would then be sold full time and the others would be canned. This campaign worked because it got customers involved and made them feel like they had a voice in the future of the Mountain Dew brand. This social media campaign generated buzz, which is always a good thing. The only downside is people whose flavors lost may feel betrayed by the company.
3. Old Spice- If you say “the Old Spice guy” to someone they immediately know who you are talking about. This shows how well Old Spice executed their campaign based around ridiculous commercials bending the laws of reality and pushing male bravado to a new level. Old Spice took to social media and had the Old Spice guy answers questions sent in by fans in a series of YouTube videos that generated a lot of views and created a buzz for Old Spice. Their sales haven’t yet shown it, but Old Spice is growing as a brand name.
4. The Arcade Fire- Grammy-winning band the Arcade Fire used social media in an interesting way to generate hype for their album The Suburbs. They created an “interactive music video” that asked users for their address and then local landmarks were used as Arcade Fire’s song “We Used to Wait” played. The experience was surreal as you saw a music video, but you could recognize all of the places in it. This innovative experience spread across the internet and gained Arcade Fire fans who had previously never heard of them.
5. The Blair Witch Project- Although much older than the other campaigns on this list there is no doubt it was an effective one. Before the release of the movie fake police reports and newspaper clippings were posted online about the teens that were supposedly taken by the “Blair Witch”. This excited moviegoers as they felt they were experiencing a movie that was truly real. The success of this campaign can still be seen today as some people still mistakenly think the Blair Witch Project is actual footage of actual teens.
