Marketing Campaign Case Studies
Aug 01, 2022
Marketing campaigns are not just for the top of the funnel. You can design a campaign to meet any marketing objective and for any stage of the customer journey.
To show you this in action, I will share campaign case studies that showcase different types of marketing campaigns.
I have been creating marketing campaigns for 21 years for some of the biggest brands in the world. Marketing campaigns have a proven track record for transforming unknown entities into beloved brands.
Whether your goal is to grow your audience, build a database of quality leads, deepen relationships, generate referrals or make sales, campaigns convert. That's why they will always be my go-to approach for marketing a brand.
Ready to unpack some bold, beautiful campaigns with me? Let's go!
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Capture attention like ZeroCo
How ZeroCo’s brand awareness campaign kickstarted a movement.
Back in 2019, ZeroCo had a mission and an idea, but not much more. They were also a brand new player in the personal care market dominated by brands like Unilever, L’Oreal, and Proctor & Gamble.
Launching as the underdog, they created a brand awareness campaign that resulted in the Aussie brand being the most funded startup through Kickstarter that year.
A brand awareness campaign is intended to capture attention and gain visibility, and ZeroCo did this with a scrappy but hilarious campaign video featuring founder Mike Smith speaking from the heart.
In 18 months, the brand has raised $11 million in funding, gained 60,000 customers, and removed over 1 million water bottles from the ocean. But it was a campaign that put them on the map and kickstarted their success, and ZeroCo continues to take a campaign marketing approach.
If you want to grow your audience and ensure your brand is visible and recognisable, you probably need a brand awareness campaign.
Educate like Birkenstock
How Birkenstock uses the power of marketing campaigns to change people's minds.
Birkenstock has a brand perception problem; many people consider their footwear “ugly”.
Clever marketing campaigns can change perceptions. Think about how much we’re enjoying kale now that we know it's so good for us.
“Ugly for a reason” is Birkenstock’s first global campaign focusing on the importance of foot health.
The campaign takes the shape of a 3-part video documentary educating people on the marvels of the foot.
If you want to change minds and educate audiences, you probably need a repositioning campaign.
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Nurture like Notion
How Notion created a human-centred lead generation campaign to attract the right prospects.
Notion is a SaaS brand, but don’t put them in a box with the others. Focusing on forging bonds with individual consumers has helped Notion exponentially grow its users to become a cult brand.
Commonly, you sign up for a free trial and then receive an email a day for the rest of your life (this is a “lead magnet” in marketing speak).
As a minimalist organisation tool, Notion also takes a minimalist approach to its marketing, sending emails based on user's behaviour rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. For example, only after I set up a content calendar in the tool did I receive an email with the subject line “Campaign launches? Branding? Do it all in Notion.”
One of the questions I’m asked the most is ‘how many emails to send? My response is, “send only as many as you absolutely need to.” No more, no less.
Notion’s emails buck the trend; they’re short, simple, uncluttered, and without aggressive sales techniques in sight.
Great marketing is sending the right messages to the right people at the right time, and Notion lives by that philosophy.
Notion’s lead generation campaign includes nurturing communities of users on Reddit and Youtube, and it’s the best Youtube channel I’ve ever seen.
If you want to build your database of quality leads and nurture those leads through to a sale, you probably need a lead generation campaign.
Connect like Spotify
How Spotify deepened its bond with users by connecting through humour and meme culture.
If there was a campaign I wished I created, it’s Spotify’s “music for every mood” produced by their in-house marketing team.
To build a relationship with customers, you need to show empathy and speak their language. Millennials speak memes.
Memes are insanely relatable; they are the kind of pop culture that makes you feel as though the world understands you, and you understand the world. Plus, they’re funny, especially when they’re ironic, as was the case with Spotify’s branded memes.
Music for every mood is an integrated marketing campaign that ran predominantly across out-of-home media. When a tech brand uses traditional media to get its message out, it’s a pretty good indication that traditional media is not dead.
If you want to deepen your relationships with your audience and earn their trust, you probably need a relationship marketing campaign.
Image via Muse by Clio
Image via Muse by Clio
Launch like e.l.f
How e.l.f launched the most viral campaign in TikTok’s history.
A sing-worthy, dance-worthy, share-worthy campaign that would become a playbook for every other brand to follow.
Instead of following conventional wisdom and licensing a hit song, e.l.f created an original track in just a few hours. 7 billion views and 5 million user-generated videos later, including unsolicited celebrity participation from Ellen, Lizzo, Reese Witherspoon, Kevin Hart and more, the #eyeslipsface campaign is now the poster child for launching a challenger brand.
If you want to launch with a splash and set your brand for success from the start, you probably need a launch campaign.
Convert like MasterClass
How MasterClass doubled its subscribers with an emotionally-charged referral marketing campaign.
It’s the oldest trick in the book, with an original spin. No one said you needed to reinvent the wheel.
MasterClass’ ‘Buy One, Share One’ free campaign should be taught as a case study in masterful marketing. Just as the pandemic unfolded and purse strings tightened, MasterClass mobilised and launched a referral campaign with swiss-clock timing.
Do you know what humans love more than receiving gifts? Giving them. MasterClass tapped into this human truth with emotionally charged campaign messaging like “give the gift of knowledge” and “show them you believe in them.”
The campaign ensured MasterClass was an easy sell (two for the price of one is a no-brainer), but it also doubled their subscribers, giving them a ready-made database of hot prospects to market to in the future.
With this campaign, there was a need for speed, so MasterClass used existing footage and imagery to knit together a heart-pumping campaign creative.
If you want to make sales without the sleaze, you probably need a sales campaign that compels people to take action.
Image via MasterClass
Do you love all of them? So, do we! Not sure which type of marketing campaign you should create for your brand? Take our campaign quiz to find your perfect campaign match.
Written By
Mia Fileman
Global Marketing Strategist
Author
Mia Fileman
Global Marketing Strategist
