rosiefurlongadvertising.files.wordpress.com€¦ · Web viewWhen creating a social media campaign, the use of different platforms has to be carefully assessed, as each brings a

Rosie Furlong & Ellie Creasor ADV231 Social Media & Digital Tools

“Discuss the methods, strategies and techniques that make social media campaigns effective, using specific examples”

Social media is an ever changing channel, on which campaigns are more and more

frequently played out on. When creating a social media campaign, the use of different

platforms has to be carefully assessed, as each brings a different benefit, while having

very varied uses; ‘devising media strategy requires the planner to have an in-depth

knowledge of media characteristics – how they work, how they are consumed, and how

they can be used to generate a desired effect.’ (Surmanek, 1996). As Rob Smigielski, ECD

of VML explained; Facebook is as different to Twitter, as a TV ad is to a radio ad. An

execution that may work perfectly on Instagram, may not necessarily make use of any of

the benefits Facebook offers, therefore rendering Facebook as a platform, irrelevant.

‘Digital technology offers an infinite - and intimidating – range of ways for brands to

engage with consumers’ (Doctoroff, 2014), and advertising is constantly exploring each

and every possibility. In today’s world, social media campaigns have to have an edge

which allows their target audience to immerse, and respond, themselves to the campaign;

if the campaign doesn’t provoke a response, then it has failed to connect with it’s

audience.

Gaging the effectiveness, and the success of a social media campaign can be difficult in

it’s own right. Social media campaigns leave themselves open to public opinion; their

executions are created around the idea that they should have an I.M.P.A.C.T; Inspire;

Make useful; Provoke change; Amuse; Confer status; or Tell a story; ‘The goal is to do

more than just break through the clutter – marketers must convert passive exposure to

active participation, and trigger consumer reactions that people want to spend time with.’

(Doctoroff, 2014), therefore it’s audience will always have an opinion, and using social

media, they can openly discuss their opinions on a much wider scale. This door to

negative backlash is created through social media platforms, and if the tone of the

campaign isn’t exactly spot on, it could create an online damaging response, which would

have a serious impact on the brand; ‘As a result, consumers can, and will, hijack brands.

They are prepared to co-create messages and push them to evolve over time, so

advertising becomes of the people, for the people.’ (Doctoroff, 2014). Any marketing

campaign is only as good as its effectiveness in reaching the client on social media so it is

important to acknowledge who the target audience is and what platforms they use to take


advantage of them. If the campaign was intended to target mothers for a washing up

brand, then it’s no good trying to talk to them through Snapchat, or even Instagram, where

little or no discussion are held. Using Facebook or Twitter would be more appropriate, as

this is where discussions are more likely to be made, and create the much needed

interaction between brand and consumer.

Oreo is a remarkable example of how a brand can use social media to its strengths,

across different platforms, and through campaigns. ‘Oreo Daily Twist Initiative’ was a

campaign which saw photos of Oreos shaped into objects, which corresponded with major

worldwide events. Each day, for 100 days, Oreo released a photo of an Oreo, re-imagined

as an object that represented daily new events. The brand’s “Daily Twist” campaign first

started on the 25th of June, to celebrate Gay Pride Month; a topic already at the top of

social media trends, and frequently provoking debates and discussions within the news. It

consisted of layers of rainbow filling; a physical metaphor for the gay pride flag,

immediately aligning Oreo as a brand with strong values. By using current topics within the

news for inspiration, Oreo created a connection to it’s consumers using social media. The

campaign was so successful, because quite simply, it was relevant. It sparked

conversation and shares amongst it’s audience, and the buzz that surrounded the

campaign allowed the audience to expand on a huge scale.

Data showed that since the campaign's launch, Oreo saw a 110% growth in fan interaction

per social-media post; whether it be shares, likes or comments. Prior to the launch of the

‘Daily Twist’ campaign, Oreo’s social media presence only averaged 7,000 interactions per

Figure 1 - Oreo 'Daily Twist' (adforum, 2012)


post. After the release, Oreo was hitting an average of 14,700. While interactions alone do

not prove a successful campaign, Oreo had clearly created a campaign which was both

effective, and simple, as it resulted in them winning two Cyber Grand Prix awards at

2013’s Cannes International Festival of Creativity, and going on to earn a 280% increase

in shares. Marketing Director Cindy Chen explained that “Consumption of media has

shifted quite a bit to digital, social and mobile. To be on pace with that is really important

for the brand to continue to grow” (Diaz, 2012). By making an integrated media campaign

on social media, it allowed discussions to be made and to continue. And it didn’t stop

there; using Instagram, Oreo came up with the hashtag #PlayWithOreo to encourage

followers to make their own versions and immerse themselves within the campaign. This

gave the brand a chance to interact with their online consumers and create both consumer

and brand engagement; an enjoyment both the audience and the brand got out of the

campaign.

Having social media sites are essential for maintaining a competitive edge and enables

businesses to interact with its consumers. Failing to do so would be a strategic miss,

missing out of greater exposure in the digital market. “Socialising a marketing campaign

can be an effective way of reaching new audiences and generating conversation around

your brand on the back of larger-scale paid media activity” (Llewellyn, 2013). For example,

Figure 2 - Fan response to Oreo (Diaz, 2012)


Twitter allows an engagement with an audience not normally reached; mostly celebrities,

or in this case, important people in the advertising industry. It also allows the user to

retweet or directly tweet someone, forming a level of engagement with the audience and

making them take note of the user’s presence. Social media allows the ability to see the

competition as well, giving an effective insight into what is happening within social media;

some of the best social media campaigns have been between two brands having a

conversation with each other online. Oreo is once again a perfect example, as recently

they began a Twitter conversation with Xbox, in reference to their new game controllers,

executed through playful art direction and witty Tweets. This was effective simply because

it

showed their audiences that both Xbox and

Oreo as brands have a sense of humour,

and instantly they both become far more relatable.

Another social media campaign which also used a specific platform to their strengths was

the British Heart Foundation’s ‘Restart a Heart’ campaign, to mark restart a heart day on

the 18th of October. The British Heart Foundation’s simple execution saw them making use

Figure 3 - Twitter Conversation between Oreo & Xbox (Diaz, 2012)

Figure 4 - Twitter conversation between Oreo & Twitter (Diaz, 2012)


of Twitter’s heart shaped ‘like’ button. Upon clicking the heart icon below their tweet, they

sent out personalised automated replies to users. Most participants would be met with the

harsh fact that they didn’t make it, due to the lack of general knowledge about CPR. The

campaign is ‘based on the figure that less than one in ten people survive a cardiac arrest’

(Stewart, 2016), and so 90% of the campaign’s participants would receive the response

that they didn’t make it. The message then linked to a video, which explains The British

Heart Foundation’s actions. The campaign is so clever, and so effectively simple, which is

why it was such a huge success. It was executed on a social media platform that allowed it

audience to interact with the campaign, and to directly respond, and start conversations

centered around the campaign; ‘by combing the like button with the automatic reply, it

becomes both interactive and personalised, and therefore interesting and engaging for the

audience.’ (Fedden, 2016). This again emphasizes how key it is to select exactly the right

platform; for example, if this had been

played out on Instagram; another platform with a ‘like’ buttons, it wouldn’t have been

nearly as effective, as it had minimal visuals, and was designed in order to create

conversations.

Creative team Furlong & Creasor were tasked with creating a social media campaign to

promote themselves within the advertising industry. Furlong & Creasor decided that they

would create a ‘breakaway’ campaign; separate to their existing social media presence,

through which they would target the Mother London agency. Their objective was to take

over Mother London’s Instagram for a week; piggybacking Mother London’s reputation and

online presence, they would be able to target a much wider audience, and connect with

other high standing advertising Creatives. After analysing their audience, which was

Mother London employees; ranging from junior Creatives, to the Executive Creative

Directors, Furlong & Creasor were able to focus on which social media platforms they

Figure 5 - Twitter automated response BHF (Fedden, 2016)

Figure 6 - The BHF twitter campaign 'Restart a Heart' (Fedden, 2016)


would use to execute their campaign; ‘The first step in investigating which media might

best suit the objective is to analyze the audience’ (Surmanek, 1996).

As their campaign was based around the ‘takeover’ of Mother’s Instagram, Furlong &

Creasor decided that Instagram was going to be one of the platforms best suited to

engaging with their target audience. They also decided that as they wanted to provoke

Mother Creatives into responding to them, Twitter would also be a perfect platform on

which to execute part of their campaign. Their Instagram execution would be a fake spoof

account; detailing the plans of two mysterious ‘hackers’ planning on ‘taking over’ Mother

London, through humorous posts, and witty visuals. The idea behind it; that by drawing

their audience into the fake story, their attention would be caught, and the audience’s

curiosity and intrigue would drive them to Furlong & Creasor’s official accounts, where an

explanation to the tongue-in-cheek campaign would await them. Twitter would be used in a

similar way, spoof posts from ‘mysterious vigilantes’ would provoke a conversation with the

target audience, sparking conversations which again would lead to Furlong & Creasor’s

official account. The campaign was effectively a breadcrumb trail; using exaggerated spoof

accounts to lead the audience to Furlong & Creasor, because without the far fetched, over

Figure 7 - Mother London Instagram takeover post.


the top execution of their breakaway campaign, Furlong & Creasor did not have enough of

a social media presence to interest Mother London Creatives by themselves.

Other channels used throughout the campaign were outdoor guerilla advertising;

transferable stickers with Furlong & Creasor’s ‘takeover’ logo – Mother London’s logo and

‘F*C*E*R’; the initials of Furlong & Creasor, scrawled across – placed in and around

Shoreditch, Mother London’s location including; the glass front door of the agency, around

local coffee shops, and near public transport that they may be using to and from work. This

channel was chosen, as Furlong & Creasor wanted a social, word-of-mouth, ripple effect to

happen within Mother London’s agency. The target audience would notice the arrival of the

stickers, and would spark conversations which each other within the agency, therefore

spreading the campaign further. This word-of-mouth social channel led onto the execution

which saw the ‘Mother F*C*E*R’ logo, and a brief description of the campaign, printed onto

coffee holders, and left in independent coffee shops around Mother’s agency. The act of

going to buy coffee is so social that it presents a unique channel to use, as the Creatives

of the agency would grab a coffee, notice the coffee holder, and then talk about it back at

the agency. Therefor effectively provoking a reaction amongst the target audience. Word-

of-mouth is a very resourceful element when creating campaigns, as it is such an easy

way to spread the message between the campaign’s target audience.

Using Blippar technology the audience would be able to hover over the logo, whereupon

the logo would be animated – the letters ‘F*C*E*R’ would be sprayed one by one across

the logo – and links to the campaign’s Instagram, Twitter, and to the spoof ‘FC Takeover’

website would appear. The spoof website that Furlong & Creasor created; called ‘FC

Takeover’ would be a hub from which they executed the different parts of their campaign;

documenting their latest ‘plans’, ‘plots’ and ‘schemes’, as well as a short introduction into

who Furlong & Creasor are, and what they hope to achieve through their campaign. It

would be the last step of the breadcrumb trail, whereupon the target audience would be

Figure 10 - Coffee Holder campaign execution Figure 11 - FC Takeover Logo sticker


returned to the official Furlong & Creasor website, where they would find the creative

team’s portfolio and contact details.

The whole campaign is a social journey tailored to fit Furlong & Creasor’s target audience,

and created to be deployed across social media platforms, and other social channels, in

order to meet Furlong & Creasor’s objective, of earning a Mother London Instagram

takeover week. Part of what makes a social media campaign so effective, is how it

engages its audience, and the conversations and responses it provokes. Furlong &

Creasor’s whole campaign is carefully designed to engage its specific audience, and to

provoke responses, through the choice of platforms and channels it uses, as well as the

campaign content, so it could be said that the campaign is very effective. Social media

platforms are elementary to come together to create an integrated advertising campaign;

seen through both case studies of Oreo and The British Heart Foundation. Best explained;

‘Social media is still in its infancy, so change is constant and new tools are being

introduced at lightning speed. Using the latest and greatest technology may benefit the

company, especially when its target audience includes younger and more media-savvy

customers.’ (Moorman, 2014). Furlong & Creasor’s target audience was both young, and

media-savvy, therefore the use of social media as part of an integrated campaign was key

to the success. An integrated campaign is the strategic, coordinated use of

communications across multiple channels to create one coherent message. Social media

Figure 4 - FC Takeover breakaway campaign website


platforms; while each very different, and each presenting unique benefits, can be drawn

together in such a way, that the campaign message intact.

BibliographyDiaz, A.-C. (2012, September 10). Oreo's 100-Day 'Daily Twist' Campaign Puts Cookie in Conversation. Retrieved November 29, 2016, from Advertising Age: http://adage.com/article/digital/oreo-s-daily-twist-campaign-puts-cookie-conversation/237104/Doctoroff, T. (2014). Twitter is not a strategy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Trade.Fedden, N. (2016, October 20). ‘RESTART A HEART’/ BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION. Retrieved December 3, 2016, from Brad Insight: http://www.bradinsight.com/resources/campaign-spotlight/restart-heart-british-heart-foundation/Llewellyn, G. (2013, July 11). How to integrate social media into marketing campaigns. Retrieved from Smart Insights: http://www.smartinsights.com/traffic-building-strategy/campaign-planning/how-to-integrate-social-media-into-a-marketing-campaigns/Moorman, C. (2014, December 16). 12 Tips For Integrating Social Media Into Your Marketing Strategy. Retrieved December 3, 2016, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2014/12/16/12-tips-for-integrating-social-media-into-your-marketing-strategy/#1ae761343201Stewart, R. (2016, October 18). British Heart Foundation puts Twitter's like button at the centre of clever 'Restart A Heart Day' campaign. Retrieved December 3, 2016, from The Drum: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/10/18/british-heart-foundation-puts-twitters-button-the-centre-clever-restart-heart-daySurmanek, J. (1996). Media Planning; A practical guide. Chicago: NTC Business Books.

Figure 1 - Oreo 'Daily Twist' (adforum, 2012).....................................................................................2Figure 2 - Fan response to Oreo (Diaz, 2012)......................................................................................3Figure 3 - Twitter Conversation between Oreo & Xbox (Diaz, 2012).................................................4Figure 4 - FC Takeover breakaway campaign website........................................................................8

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rosiefurlongadvertising.files.wordpress.com€¦ · Web viewWhen creating a social media campaign, the use of different platforms has to be carefully assessed, as each brings a