Now and then, we see a marketing campaign that makes us stop in our tracks, do a double-take, and “Wows” us with its sheer brilliance.
What makes creative marketing so powerful is that it’s earned media. Media is not a God-given right to businesses. To receive the attention you crave, your team has to earn the attention.
In the spirit of marketing ingenuity, we’re exploring great examples of creative marketing, how to turn heads with your campaigns, and proven success stories.
Dust off your creativity and breathe new life into your business’s digital presence. It was the great Albert Einstein that said it best, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
Let’s take a closer look at a few brands that took the “Think Outside the Box” mentality to heart and created a campaign that was so good we all got a little green with envy.
The most recent marketing campaign that got everyone’s attention is, without a doubt, IHOP, or shall I say IHOb.
It began with a simple announcement. The pancake mecca made waves by announcing that they would be changing their iconic name from IHOP to IHOb.
Needless to say, the internet kind of lost their minds. Shortly after the story broke, the Twitter-sphere exploded with “How could they?!” and “What does the ‘B’ stand for???”
Curious spectators and other restaurant chains like Wendy’s and Burger King took to Twitter to voice their concerns, and hilarity quickly ensued. It wasn’t long until the hashtag #IHOb was trending.
By now, we all know that IHOP isn’t really becoming IHOb and the “b” stands for burgers. IHOP is simply adding burgers to the menu for the first time since 1958 but, instead of making a simple announcement, they left themselves wide open for the memes. And it worked.
While many were quick to point out any flaw (oh, the Internet), it’s safe to say the entirety of Twitter had one thing in common: IHOP.
I mean, you can’t be surprised that Google’s made the list. Year after year, Google continues to surprise us with its visionary tactics, new technology, and, oh yes, the promotions.
What makes Google’s campaigns so powerful is the benefit to the user. Google usually gives us something through their campaigns. They honed in on what people really want: free stuff. Be it a game on their homepage or a sneak peeks into a new product – their campaigns have a beneficial trade-off.
The campaign that made us go green with its brilliance was Google’s pop-up doughnut shop! Pop-up stores are gaining popularity around the world. For a limited time, shops or bars quite literally pop up in big cities like Los Angeles and New York and offer special food, drinks, an experience, or all three.
Google jumped on the pop-up bandwagon to promote its voice-activated mini speakers. The campaigns were brilliant in their simplicity. Their powerful mini-speakers were about the size of a doughnut, so the search engine giant decided to open up, you guessed it, a doughnut shop.
The delicious stunt has made some pretty sweet headlines, and it seems to be working since their mini-speakers are one of their most popular items.
Verizon took interactive ads to the next level with a treasure hunt fit for a pir-eight!
To promote the iPhone 8, Verizon decided to make online scavenger hunts a success by limiting devices (only Snapchat users were able to play along) and offering a prize at the end, 256 iPhone 8’s to be precise.
“It’s powered by this real-time data with geolocation, also taking into account weather conditions and different real-time events happening,” said John Nitti, chief media officer at Verizon about the hunt.
Verizon successfully merged technology with a popular social media platform, and the results spoke for themselves, with thousands of users playing along.
Remember when we mentioned “earned media” above? Let’s look to a local business that made headlines and earned its place in the limelight.
Founder and owner of Grumpy Goat, Brian Abernathy, was tired of subpar cups of coffee. Used to the local roasts he could get in his hometown of Minneapolis, Brian took it upon himself to provide locally roasted, single-source coffee for southwest Florida.
It was more than a great cup of coffee – you can catch Grumpy Goat at Purple Spoon every Wednesday, supporting locally sourced food and drink. Grumpy Goat quickly became a staple in the Bonita Springs community, and The News-Press took notice.
They wrote an article highlighting Grumpy Goat and the Purple Spoon, and local residents – as well as seasonal guests – are taking notice. Grumpy Goat took their newfound attention and capitalized on it with a great offer for their products.
By making the most of new traffic, Grumpy Goat made waves in reach and also created some sales while they were at it!
It reminds us that sometimes the best marketing campaign isn’t a campaign at all, but a service or product that’s provided with the utmost care.
So, what’s the secret sauce to a creative, successful campaign that will have everyone talking? While there’s no definitive answer, every successful marketing campaign has a few things in common.
What is the goal of your campaign? Increase in sales? Drive traffic to your website? Outline clear objectives and goals for your team to shoot for.
Think outside the box! We can’t stress how important creativity is in marketing. With an oversaturated newsfeed, you want to stand out from the rest with bright imagery and a click-worthy headline.
This sounds obvious but, too many brands guess who they’re trying to reach instead of fleshing out who they really want to target. Take the time to go through your analytics and determine the most successful audience for your campaign.
Promote more than a service or product – promote your brand! In the most successful campaigns, the brand often overshadows the product or service in a good way!
Nothing speaks to an audience more than being genuine. When you care for the consumer, it shows. Don’t be afraid to get a little personal with campaigns and show your brand’s fun, honest side.
Two heads are better than one! Pair up with Vectra Digital to get your creative juices flowing. We have been providing marketing strategies and implementing successful and creating marketing campaigns for Southwest Florida businesses and beyond.
