How to engage with millennials has become the most talked about topic among marketers in 2015. Brands know millennials are social natives, yet still have a difficult time finding the right medium, content, and strategy to engage with them. As brought up in previous editions of Social Millennial Today (you can read them here), millennials dislike push social campaigns where brands outright market to them. Millennials want to engage with authentic social campaigns that put them in the driver seat and allow them to become the storyteller.
This expectation requires brands to take a tactful, yet creative approach in delivering campaigns that are both interactive and integrative with how millennials use social media. This summer, three social campaigns stood out among the crowd for their successful efforts in engaging with millennials.
Topshop: Pinterest Palettes
Last month, the British fashion and retail brand Topshop collaborated with Pinterest for the launch of Pinterest Palettes. This launch came right in time for the SS16 Fashion Week, an event showcasing the collections of fashion designers and brands for the season. In its blog, Pinterest stated Pinterest Palettes would search its users' boards and "unearth [their] own personal color palette using colors right from [their] Pins." Pinterest made a compelling statement, saying that "[users] don't need a front row seat at Fashion Week to rock the latest runway looks" with Pinterest Palettes.
This collaboration with Pinterest made perfect sense for a lifestyle brand like Topshop as Pinterest has always enabled users to discover ideas for projects and interests through their visual interface involving Pins. The technology produced by the collaboration scanned all Pinterest boards to find emerging color trends used by fashion insiders. Consumers then have the ability to choose from a variety of color themes and pallets for their next clothing purchases on Topshop. This unique approach specifically targets individuals by recommending items based on pins, leading to a very personal brand to consumer relationship.
Source: Pinterest Blog
Nike: #InstaPoster
In July, Nike launched a highly interactive social media campaign that captured the attention of its consumers in Moscow, Russia. As part of it's #BetterForIt campaign, Nike posted "street art" cut outs of women in athletic Instagram moments. Since its launch, the #BetterForIt campaign generated over 25,000 published Instagram photos. In this campaign, Nike successfully captured the essence of social engagement and blended that with its lifestyle branding and street art. The end result: an authentic and immersive experience with customers beyond the confines of its brick and mortar stores and social media.
Source: Social Underground
Coca-Cola: #CokeMyName
In July, Coke launched its #CokeMyName social campaign where it rented an interactive billboard at Times Square in New York City. The campaign was an extension of the successful "Share a Coke" campaign in which fans could find personalized coke cans with their name on it.
The campaign featured users who tweeted to Coke using the #CokeMyName. Selected tweets were paired with an interesting fact about the tweeter's real life name and then featured on the Times Square billboard. Coke took this unique brand-to-consumer engagement to the next level by sending users the photo of their featured billboard display after an hour of being showcased. Most importantly, the campaign was not geographically confined to New York City. Any Coke fan across the world could engage with the brand through the hashtag for a chance of being featured. By the end of its lifecycle, the #CokeMyName campaign accumulated nearly 30,000 tweets.
Source: Coca-Cola Twitter
Parting Thoughts
This past summer, TopShop, Nike, and Coca-Cola took a creative and tactful approach at engaging millennials. Whether it was by aiding customers in their color pallet, empowering women through street art, or even allowing anyone in the world to have their own billboard, these brands found ways to get millennials in the driver seat and share their story.
Do you think these brands succeeded in their mission to attract engagement? What do you think about the approach that these brands took in captivating the millennial spirit? Do you have your own favorite campaigns that were successful in engaging with millennials this year?