Some of the newest and best social marketing of the month…
Brands are continually looking for new ways to reach young consumers on the social media platforms they spend so much time on, and the key to standing out from the pack is continually evolving—just like the platforms themselves. Just this month Instagram ripped a page straight from Snapchat’s playbook, and brands are more than cool with it. The platform’s new Stories feature strongly resembles Snapchat’s set-up: “users can create 10-second videos, post them to a Story, and contribute more videos all day. After 24 hours, they disappear.” Brands have wasted no time jumping on the new update, due to Instagram’s “brand friendly” features. Then there’s also the reach: Nike’s use of the Stories feature to promote a new football jersey generated 800,000 views in a day, 734,000 more than their best video got on Snapchat.
Testing new features, using existing tools in a new way, and bringing elements of social into traditional media are some of the ways that brands are catching young consumers’ eye on social platforms and beyond. Here’s our roundup of three social media strategies that set themselves apart by using platforms in new and interesting ways this month…
1. Gatorade’s Snapchat Video Game
Gatorade scored big with their Super Bowl Snapchat Lens in February, generating 160 million impressions, and their latest ploy on the app may be on track to be another hit. As a “fun way to celebrate one of the best athletes of our generation as she competes for a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title,” the brand has launched a U.S. Open inspired 8-bit video game featuring Serena Williams. “Serena Match Point,” which The Next Web calls a “marketing campaign disguised as a video game,” has its own website allowing for mobile and desktop play, and is being promoted on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram—but on Snapchat has taken on a different form. Gatorade has launched the game as an ad in ESPN’s Discover channel, allowing users to play in-app simply by swiping up and tapping on the tennis ball. The game features 22 levels of play with the promise that level 23 will be unlocked on the day of Women’s Finals if Williams wins.
2. Corona’s Style Influencer Effort
Ever wonder what outfit would be best compliment a low-cal Mexican pale lager? Well, Corona Light did, and they reached out to flash sale site Gilt Groupe to help them figure it out. Enlisting the help of fashion influencers, the website created “Light Looks” to be showcased on Instagram, featuring the perfect ensembles for any event with Corona Light. The influencers involved, with “followings of upwards of 50,000 Instagram followers,” were chosen to represent different styles like “Rooftop Happy Hour” to “Backyard Soiree,” and are sharing the looks on their own accounts as well. While tons of beauty and fashion brands have tapped stylish influencers for campaigns, Corona’s effort shows that it can work for other industries as well.
3. Nike’s Snapchat TV Commercial
Nike has set a new social standard for mainstream ads. Ad demand has been historically high during MTV’s VMAs—going up to $700,000 for 30-seconds—but for this year Nike nixed a slickly produced TV spot, instead handing their 30-seconds over to Snapchat star DJ Khaled. Khaled has found his calling on the app, where he has gained up to 7 million fans by imparting “major keys” or words of wisdom like, “the key to success is more water.” For the Nike ad, he did what he does best, haphazardly Snapchatting a video of his iconic black-and-red Air Jordan XXXI “Banned” sneakers while saying “Is this real? Is this magic?” The raw and candid Snapchat footage was first shared with his massive audience on the platform, and then used as-is for Nike’s TV spot during the VMAs, clearly a play for a younger audience looking for more authentic forms of advertising.
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