Best Viral Social Media Marketing Campaigns of 2017 to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing
Last updated on Apr, 06 2018
Jollibee
Jollibee is a Filipino fast-food giant and it is very likely that you have already seen their viral videos. The company managed to create not one, but two viral campaigns in 2017. The fast-food company chose to associate itself with the Filipino lifestyle by highlighting the victories, challenges, and unique love stories of the local people.
The company managed seamless brand integration in the video series it launched during the valentine in 2017. The videos were inspired by true love stories and invoked emotions in the viewers. Both the videos generated a lot of buzz on social media with over five million views. It also got coverage from mainstream media like the CNN.
The key takeaway from this campaign is that it pays to remain true to the media that is being created. The makers focussed on reliability and authenticity without focussing on the results. It played on the nostalgia and past experience of the viewers which resulted in a phenomenal success for the campaign.
We Are Here – Airbnb
Airbnb has been an innovator in hospitality domain, but its marketing campaigns every year are nothing short of brilliance. Airbnb gave a whole new meaning to the term ‘experiential marketing’ with its ‘We Are Here campaign.’ This campaign was to celebrate the launch of new Trips platform that allowed travellers to explore local experiences with local people.
As a part of this social media marketing campaign, six unique films from six different cities were created live on Facebook making the viewer feel that they were exploring along with the videographer. This brilliant marketing strategy saw six million people participate in the span of 24 hours alone. People from around the world engaged with this live video on Facebook.
The key takeaway from this campaign is that ‘inferred participation’ was introduced as a new method of engagement. Instead of asking for the video to be shared, Airbnb successfully got organic participation. The campaign was also the recipient of several notable awards in 2017. Airbnb also launched a successful Instagram campaign called #WeAccept in the same year.
Gucci
It is no secret that memes and animated GIFs are loved on social media, especially by the millennials. They easily receive far more shares and likes than other forms of media. Gucci used this trend on the internet to their advantage. Gucci launched the latest collection of its watches called Le Marche des Merveilles followed by the Instagram campaign.
Gucci started a campaign called ‘That Feeling When Gucci’ or #TFWGucci to depict how it felt to wear luxury fashion watches. Acclaimed internet artist such as William Ndatila, Alec Soth, and photography team of Mitra Saboury & Derek Paul Jack Boyle was commissioned to create memes. The memes were the reflection of the brand by being direct and blunt.
The key takeaway from this campaign is that it was created to make use of the latest trends of social media without losing the core value of the brand. The campaign made fun of the status of wearing Gucci while reinforcing the prestige of the same. It revealed that being true to your audience can pay off quite well.
DeleteUber
The Delete Uber campaign was as the name suggests, not a marketing campaign by the company but an organic campaign. We felt there was a need to include this in the list for a reason other than being an effective social media campaign. This organic Twitter campaign reveals the fact that companies need to watch their steps in the current sage of social media as one wrong move can highly damage its reputation. The DeleteUber trend started due to the taxi aggregator’s response to the strike by NY taxi workers. The NYC taxi strike was organised in response to the ‘Muslim ban’ announced by the US president Donald Trump. Following the tweet by NY taxi workers announcing a strike, Uber tweeted that the surge pricing in the strike region was turned off. The reaction to this was swift and #DeleteUber began trending on Twitter within no time. People began not just uninstalling the app, but cancelling their Uber accounts too. The key takeaway from this campaign is that at times perception can have a greater impact than the actual intent. In this case, it is possible that Uber had their heart in the right place, but ended up complicating the matter on social media.
Notably, not just Uber, but several companies have made this error resulting in such negative trends on social media. Uber has been a regular offender with #BoycottUber #F**KUber and #UberCrimes being some major negative trends against the company.
Heineken – Worlds Apart
Today, we live in a polarised world where people have a wide range of beliefs. Heineken used the trend of conducting ‘social experiments’ to show an alternative. In its campaign ‘Worlds Apart’, Heineken brought together people of opposing views to undertake a simple task together. Heineken wanted to prove that even people with most opposing views can find a common ground to discuss. Two strangers were asked to put together furniture and then views of both the participant on a particular subject were revealed. Each of them was then given an option to walk away or discuss their views over a beer. This was refreshing from the heated discussions we see on the TV or the internet. The campaign was widely successful with over 14 million views. The key takeaway from this campaign is that it pays to break the barriers and the set rules. While everyone thought raging debates were the only form of discussion, Heineken showed what it meant to engage and discuss with another human being.To create a viral social media marketing campaign, marketers should think about creating content that leaves a lasting impression and keeps people talking for a while. Social media is a dynamic and what works today may not work tomorrow. No one can predict what will turn viral, the only thing that remains constant is creating engaging and unique content.
HOW WAS THE ARTICLE?
Overall Rating 5 (1)
Further Readings
Social Media Marketing Companies
Stay Ahead Of The Curve!
Over digital enthusiasts are onboard, are you?
We are working hard to bring together the digital knowledge from the industry leaders and experts on trending topics, actionable tips and real-life experiences for our audience. Enter your email below so we notify you of new articles release every week.
By entering your email id you agree to our terms and conditions