Creating impactful social media marketing campaigns, along with efficient Label Management and the aid of a Creative Automation Platform, is more critical than ever. Recent stats from The Harris Poll show that 43% of consumers use social media to discover new brands, and this number will only increase in the coming years, given the increased technology usage.

So, you’ll have to create campaigns that move your audience and encourage them to purchase your product. That’s why we’ve broken down some of the most successful marketing campaign examples to ease your anxiety and refresh your creativity. Let’s get started!

1. McDonald’s I’m Lovin’ It Campaign

McDonald’s branding was on the decline in 2002. It suffered from low staff morale; customers and franchisees lost faith in it, and its stock prices dropped from the $40s to less than $15.

How did McDonald’s turn around this bleak scenario?

Apart from investing in financial discipline and operational excellence, the brand also invested in great marketing. 

Larry Light, the then global CMO of McDonald’s, decided to scrap mass media marketing and shifted the focus to creating relevant messages for the target audience (moms and kids) to build transparency and trust.  

That’s how the “I’m Lovin’ it” campaign was born. Even today, it remains a winning example of sonic branding— a type of branding with a distinctive sound for marketing its brand. 

2. Red Bull’s Stratos Campaign

You know how they say, “Some of the best ads aren’t ads”? Red Bull’s Stratos campaign is one of the best examples of this saying. 

As a part of the campaign, Felix Baumgartner dived off the edge of a helium balloon from an altitude of 39 kilometers and became the first person to break the sound barrier.

In the 3-hour live stream, RedBull’s branding appeared every 3 seconds, yet it insists that it wasn’t an advertising campaign. 

“The Red Bull Stratos project was, first and foremost, a scientific mission documented by our broadcast and editorial teams for seven years. Red Bull Stratos was not an advertising campaign,” a Red Bull spokesperson said back then.

But this isn’t entirely true, as the energy drink is known to sponsor sporting events and use satirical marketing to build its awareness. So, it’s most likely that RedBull pulled this stunt to ensure that their target audience associates the brand with adventure and thrill and buys from the brand.

3. Nike’s Just Do It

This campaign is yet another brilliant marketing campaign where Nike uses emotion to reach the audience.

In their “Just Do It” marketing campaign, Nike featured 80-year-old Walt Stack, who used to run 17 miles every morning to inspire viewers to face their challenges and move forward. 

They didn’t focus on shoes or how shoes helped the person to be a better athlete. Instead, they made sure the ad elicited an emotional response and encouraged people to go after their challenges and desires. 

In the end, they condensed all the emotions their audience felt into an impactful tagline and unforgettable tagline. 

And that’s how “Just do it” was born. By itself, the tagline doesn’t have much significance. But with a story that instills passion and incites people to become better, the tagline became a stepping stone in building one of the most memorable brands in the world. 

4. The Pepsi Challenge

Can you go one-to-one against your competition and win? Pepsi did. 

Coca-Cola was Pepsi’s biggest rival and the market leader in the soft drinks segment. The latter wanted to overtake Coke, so they devised a brilliant marketing strategy. 

The brand created a campaign called the Pepsi challenge. It was a blind taste test in which people were asked to taste both drinks present in the white cup and indicate their preference. 

It took place in shopping places, malls, parks, and other public locations. The test results later revealed that Pepsi emerged as the clear winner. 

With this strategy, Pepsi garnered a lot of publicity and curiosity by leveraging their competitor’s name which translated into a win for them

5. Corona’s Pay With Plastic

This was a purpose-driven marketing campaign by Corona to support World Ocean Day on June 8. It was meant to connect with environmentally-friendly consumers who were open to supporting brands with the same outlook.

But what does a company that sells beers have to do with eco-friendliness?

Here’s the thing - people like investing in a bigger cause because the knowledge that they’re playing their part in creating change makes them feel better. 

Corona leveraged this and created a marketing campaign that gave two options to consumers. 

The first was to trade plastic waste from the beach for beer at retailers and bars in Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Spain, and Columbia.

The other option was to buy a limited edition six-pack of Corona beer made from upcycled materials. For every six-pack sold, Corona, with its partner Parley for the Oceans, would clean up one square meter at a local beach. 

Thus, by being socially responsible, Corona improved its brand image, reputation, and sales. 

6. UNICEF’s Facebook Likes

This is undoubtedly one of the best examples of a marketing campaign done right in the digital world as it combines seriousness and humor to make it a success.  

UNICEF Sweden noticed that their followers would like the post but not donate. So, they created a marketing campaign to remind their supporters that Facebook “likes” wouldn’t equal monetary support, which is needed for UNICEF to continue its social work.

And they created three videos to make their case successfully. The most intense among them was “Facebook likes don’t save lives,” which shows a young boy worried about his brother. 

He wonders who will take care of his brother when he gets sick but the other replies that everything will be fine because “Today UNICEF Sweden has 177,000 likes on Facebook. Maybe they will reach 200,000 by summer. Then we would be alright.”

The more humorous videos showed a man paying his bills with Facebook likes. So, UNICEF played with contrasting emotions to drive impact and get people to donate to their cause. 

Wrapping Up

Creating a successful marketing campaign can be challenging, but once you get it right, your efforts will pay off. The breakdown of some promotional campaign examples should help you strategize what you need to create different types of winning advertising campaigns.

And even if you’ve got a low budget, authenticity, creativity, and a great understanding of your audience are a few critical components in creating an effective marketing campaign even with a low budget.