4 Notable Social Media Campaigns in 2010

It has been a great year for social media. Facebook has paved the way to more social engagement for both companies and consumers. Twitter made crucial changes and deals with other platforms to enhance its services. LinkedIn redefined how companies and HR personnel execute conventional recruitment procedures. Location-based platform Foursquare and group-buying site Groupon are bound to follow the success of Social Media’s Big 3. But how can companies leverage from these social media tools?

Here’s a rundown of the best social media campaigns that went viral and bolstered the ROI of the companies:

The epitome of a great social vid, the Old Spice campaign was an international viral hit. This is the first time that an ad directly replies to customer feedbacks. Interactive agency Wieden + Kennedy made a smart move by making Old Spice Man Isaiah Mustafa reply on Twitter through funny and witty YouTube vids. Mustafa even asked a Twitter follower to marry her fiancé!

Pundits say that this is the future of marketing and considered the most successful campaign using viral marketing tactics. Old Spice successfully integrated YouTube and Twitter to make a brilliant interactive marketing campaign. The result: sales catapulted to over 100%, an Emmy for Outstanding Commercial, and movie projects for Isaiah Mustafa!

Here are some of the videos:

Why conquer the air if you can invade the Web as well? Cebu Pacific’s Dancing Flight Attendants went viral on the Web, and received tons of hits by the time it was uploaded. While the idea of dancing flight attendants wasn’t new, it was the beauty of the Filipina that enthralled an international audience.

According to Candice Iyog, Vice President of Marketing at Cebu Pacific Airlines, “This was an experiment that we hope to repeat and also a chance to showcase the talent of some of our cabin crew staff.” Cebu Pacific’s stocks rose as high as 133.5. Considered as one of the best social media campaigns in the country, Cebu Pacific didn’t even commissioned an ad agency to come up with a social campaign. A passenger simply shared it on YouTube, which proves that if your brand is great, people will recommend it to others.

Social media is all about sharing and collaboration. So what better way for companies to enhance brand development than to directly ask customers? Social media campaigns are not all about utilizing social platforms, you need to make the most out of it, or better yet go create a social-friendly website where people can throw their suggestions.

With vast customer loyalty, Starbucks made drinking coffee a religion more than a habit. And with any other religion, community management should take place. This is what Starbucks did with their My Starbucks Idea campaign were netizens and coffeenatics were allowed to pitch their ideas to improve the quality of their products.

Aside from Twitter and Foursquare deals (with free pastries!), My Starbucks Idea allowed the consumers control the platform while it develops brand innovations by collaborating with each other. The approach is as personal as a barista will make a fresh brew for an eager customer. Starbucks did the right thing – give the consumers control and they’ll nurture the brand for you.

GAP is the Coke of casual wear. One of the most recognized brands in the planet. But what happens if you change the face of the brand? Flash mobs emerge online as people went from fans to irate critics. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” was the outcry of many, as GAP realized that now all changes are for the good of a brand.

However, the logo redux seemed more of attention grabber for people. After the logo ruckus, GAP launched a crowdsourcing campaign on their social pages in order to accept and showcase new designs from fans; the result? another win-win situation for both the company and consumers. Aside from crowdsourcing, GAP has another ace under its sleeves: location-based deals. Its love affair with location-based platform Foursquare is not only the future of GAP’s marketing, but for all companies who’d like to improve their social business. Watch out for location-based social platforms like Foursquare to be on the spotlight this year.

About the author:
Mac Ocampo has 5 years of copywriting, social media CRM, and digital marketing experience. His clients range from KPO firms to e-Commerce start-ups abroad. He started as a freelance copywriter for a handful of clients during college. Today, he handles accounts for a Boston-based social media agency called Pandemic Labs. His latest account, an e-Commerce firm called Shopster, is a cross between Facebook and eBay which allows budding entrepreneurs to build and customize their online stores.