Four Great Social Media Campaigns

Public Relations campaigns that incorporate social media platforms are becoming more and more popular, in fact, it is difficult to find a campaign that does not include social in some way. I have compiled a list of some of my most memorable campaigns in recent history. So, in no particular order, here they are:

Volkswagen: Street Quest

I love this campaign by Oglivy & Mather PR South Africa. Volkswagen Street Quest challenged people via Facebook to find as many Volkswagen's as possible in South Africa using Google Street View in a custom-designed gaming interface. The game was played over a four week period and the contestant with the most finds each week qualified for a Grand Final where the winners competed for prizes worth R50,000.

The campaign is successful in reaffirming Volkswagen's reputation as a well-loved and trusted car manufacturer. Volkswagen integrated Facebook and Google Street View to create a memorable social experience.

Read more about the campaign on Oglivy's website

Refuge: How to look your best the morning after

This video went viral after it was uploaded by domestic violence charity Refuge, produced by ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, they enlisted the help of make up and fashion vlogger Lauren Luke. The charity successfully taps into the target demographic by using an already established video blogger with nearly half a million (mainly female) subscribers. Currently the video has had over a million views since it was uploaded less than a year ago. Using shock tactics is an increasingly common tactic among charities but Refuge have used them in a way that is creative and thought-provoking.

IKEA: Happy to bed

This PR Week award winning integrated campaign invited users to create their perfect bedroom using Facebook and YouTube, according to their personality and lifestyle. Using data from users Facebook profile and personal tastes - a 3D bedroom was created that even had users own photos on the walls. Through a Facebook fan group, some members were invited to a giant sleepover in an IKEA store where they could find their perfect bed, this generated tons of print, online, broadcast and social media interest and resulted in a very successful campaign.

BeatBullying: The Big March

This campaign by Frank PR aimed to create the world's first global march in order to create awareness surrounding bullying. The charity BeatBullying enlisted the help of Aston from boyband JLS. Musicians, actors, comedians and other high profile celebrities were invited to create their own avatars for the march and share them using Twitter. On March 1st, more than a million people joined in the online protest that could be viewed on the BeatBullying website.

This colourful and fun campaign successfully reached young people by using high profile celebrities and by utilising social websites such as Twitter and YouTube.

Your Reputation Lives Forever

This infographic shows the importance of reputation and what can happen if an organisation does not manage their reputation. It also demonstrates the power of customer reviews saying that 70% of customers consult reviews before a purchase, traffic to consumer review websites has increases significantly and 90% of consumers would trust a review from somebody that they know.

Coca-Cola's anti-obesity advert comes to the UK

Tonight on Channel 4 Coca-Cola is launching it's 'Coming Together' campaign advert in the UK. The advert aims to highlight Coke's lower calorie options and the importance of a healthy lifestyle. The TV advert will be accompanied by a marketing campaign in newspapers and magazines.

The advert is very similar to the anti-obesity video that Coke have already launched in the USA with the same soundtrack and imagery, except there is no dialogue in the UK version.

In the USA, the ad received mixed reactions, with some people claiming it was brilliant that Coke were finally admitting that they have played some part in the current obesity crisis and see it as the start of an apology. However, much of the responses have been negative:

"The ad is an astonishing act of chutzpah, explainable only as an act of desperation to do something about the company’s declining sales in the U.S.," says nutritionist and food industry expert Marion Nestle on her blog, Food Politics.

To whit, Coca-Cola says that the ad is part of their “ongoing commitment to deliver more beverage choices … clearly communicate the calorie content of its products.”
In other words -- an ad in the truest sense, meant to publicise certain products.


In the video Coca-Cola make the statement that  "All calories count, no matter where they come from, including Coca-Cola." This quote has caused controversy as studies have shown that the calories from drinking high calorie drinks like Coke actually have a greater effect on weight gain and obesity compared to other calories.

This controversy explains why Coco-Cola have decided to scrap the dialogue in the UK version of their advert. Through the use of imagery and music they are making a point about the issue of an unhealthy lifestyle and diet without actually making any claims - making it more difficult to criticise their message.

I think it's a step forward for all communications when a company begins to be honest about their products and bad health effects they may have. Coke's ad will hopefully pave the way for more transparent marketing and PR campaigns in the future. But unfortunately, this advert does not fill me up with a fuzzy warm feeling about the brand.

Read more about the new advert on Marketing Week.