When was the last time a social media campaign made you really feel emotional?
Here are five of the most successful social media campaigns of 2014. Each of them was able to tap into genuine emotion to make a lasting impact on consumers. Let’s start our chart with:
1. Burger King’s “Motel King” Campaign
When Burger King launched its latest menu, the Chicken Tendercrisp burger, the fast food company had to convince people to “cheat” on the Whopper.
The solution? It created the official Burger King Motel, complete with Burger King-branded toiletries, robes and towels. Consumers could check into the hotel through social media, and were encouraged to share their experience using the hashtag #motelBK. The result was a massively viral campaign that included a flood of user-generated content across nearly all major social media platforms.
2. AT&T’s “@SummerBreak” Campaign
Three big things that teenagers love is reality TV show, social media and their cellphones. AT&T combined the three in its social media reality series @SummerBreak, which followed eight friends during their last summer together before college.
Fans were able to interact with the cast through their mobile devices over social channels like Instagram and YouTube. The campaign has garnered millions of YouTube views across the 51-episode series. The show was so successful that AT&T decided to launch a second season, which aired its final episode in September 2014.
3. Tombstone’s “Bites of Fright” Campaign
Halloween is one of the best moment in a year to launch a new promotion. In 2014, Tombstone began a campaign to associate itself with the holiday by creating a series of spooky (but funny) Vines named “Bites of Fright.”
The Vines, which were posted every day during the month of October, were also housed on Tombstone’s Twitter and Facebook profiles in order to increase their reach. It worked wonderfully, as the campaign went viral. It also helped consumers cement the association between Tombstone and Halloween.
4. Chevy and the American Cancer Society “Paint Social Media Purple” campaign by iProspect
Chevy’s emotional “Purple Your Profile” campaign paid homage to cancer survivors, kicking off with a moving 60-second spot during the 2014 Super Bowl entitled “Life.” The brand gave people the opportunity to “purple” their Facebook profile, and pledged to donate $1 to the American Cancer Society for each person that participated.
The program became popular with leading consumer brands like Energizer and Lowe’s joining the movement and the story being covered across major networks like Fox and ABC. More importantly, it raised $1 million for cancer charities and gave survivors the chance to come together to deliver a message of hope.
5. Nestle Coffee-mate’s “Stirring up Love ‘Outside the Cup’”
Sometimes expressing your feeling (especially on Valentine’s Day) can be a little daunting. Nestle’s Coffee-mate stepped in, tasking a team of professional artists to turn users’ declarations of love into shareable, one-of-a-kind valentines. Using the hashtag #CMValentine, users submitted love notes on Twitter and Facebook, which were turned into handcrafted Valentine message for their loved ones.
By thinking “outside the cup,” Nestle turned everyday expressions of love into miniature works of art, increasing the level of engagement in their channel and adding new consumers to its social media communities.