Social is increasingly becoming the space where young consumers are paying attention to brands—which means it’s a crowded one. Plenty of efforts to build buzz on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook fall flat, so today we’re looking at three examples of social marketing that are working, and the brands making big impressions with small (sometimes literally) efforts:
To reintroduce their chicken fries, Burger King has skipped the traditional media buy and is instead relying on social media to spread the word. The announcement that chicken fries have been revived was made on BK’s Twitter last week with the hashtag #chickenfriesareback. The approach is the brand’s “most social ever,” and a direct response to the fact that demand for chicken fries’ return was coming straight out of platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Vine, getting 600-1000 social mentions on Facebook and Twitter in the month of January. Facebook groups in support of getting the chicken fries revived were started by fans, and consumers even created a Change.org petition dedicated to bringing back the product. Since bringing back chicken fries, Burger King has been getting 380 tweets a minute.
Why It Works: The decision to reintroduce a product that fans were clearly clamoring for, and listening to the organic chatter happening about their brand, is of course a smart move—but keeping the conversation on social media where it began shows that the brand is dedicated to continuously engaging fans where they are, and it’s paying off.
In a follow-up to their Mel’s Mini Mart campaign, Oreo is giving consumers a chance to share some sweet (mini) deliveries with friends. For a limited time, fans who visit the Oreo Mini Delivery site can send a single wrapped mini Oreo, for free, to a friend they want to show their appreciation to. Only 500 deliveries are available each day until August 22nd, and so far the digital mini mart has been “selling out” by the early morning. Those who arrive too late to send the real thing can send a “Mini GIFt” to friends instead. Though there is (of course) a dedicated hashtag for the campaign, and fans are encouraged to use it to share the “little thing that makes their friend special,” the real social element here is giving consumers a chance to reward and connect with one another.
Why It Works: Not only is Oreo’s Mini Delivery a good reminder that social campaigns don’t necessarily have to depend on existing platforms, it also emphasizes the appeal of scarcity and unique limited supplies and young consumers’ desire to celebrate their friends in real life in addition to online.
Credit card companies aren’t necessarily thought of as creative hubs, but American Express has partnered with artists and designers for a social campaign that reimagines their iconic card as artwork. Illustrators like Jimi Crayon are lending their own personalities and creativity to the credit card’s image, and building social kudos for the brand in the process. According to Adweek, “The Card Art series is tripling the number of “favorites” compared to all other tweets this year.” The series has increased engagement on Instagram as well, where likes for the brand’s image shares have doubled. The increased love online is likely thanks in part to the fact that AmEx is able to include the artists in their tweets, capturing the attention of their individual followings in addition to those consumers who might be following the brand.
Why It Works: Young consumers are looking for stimulating visual content, and no matter what a brand does as a business, in marketing these days producing sharable content is a way to get noticed. Tapping into artists also lends their creative reputations to the brand.
