With 92% of consumers today trusting the opinions of real people over any other form of advertising, the “social media generation” feeds off the opinions of their peers and regularly participate in online conversations using text, photos and videos. Marketers are responding to this evolution in consumer behavior by fostering these kinds of authentic conversations around their brands on social media.
From promoting blockbuster movies to blenders, high tech to health care; the biggest brands encourage fans to contribute content via social media contests and online destinations that showcase fan content, curated through the ubiquitous hashtag. And while the specifics of these campaigns differ, they all have one goal: to get fans talking about the brand and become ambassadors to their peers.
So, to help inspire you for your headlining digital campaign in 2014, we’ve gathered a few big brand campaigns that demonstrate the power of user-generated content.
Lionsgate: Hunger Games Catching Fire
Facebook, CatchingFireFanCamp.com
To generate excitement for the smash box-office hit Hunger Games Catching Fire and re-engage existing Hunger Games fans, Lionsgate created the Hunger Games Fan Camp campaign, distributed on their dot com and Facebook. The Fan Camp included a Google Hangout live stream of cast interviews, red carpet ceremonies, exclusive trailers, and pulls in user-generated content from Instagram and Twitter via the hashtags #CFWorldPremiere, #CFFanCamp, and #CatchingFirePremiere.
The result: highly engaged fans around the globe contributed to the social buzz around the movie, with some getting a chance to have real-time conversations with the cast.
Kenmore: #ArtsyEats
Facebook, Kenmore.com
With over 500 thousand fans, Kenmore leveraged their impressive Facebook following to help grow their Instagram footprint. The ‘All-Things-Kitchen’ brand promoted their #ArtsyEats Instagram contest on Facebook, encouraging fans to submit #ArtsyEats on Instagram for a chance to win the Grand Prize: a trip to Kenmore Kitchen Studios, gadgets for the kitchen and appearances in Kenmore’s cooking videos.
The result: the #ArtsyEats Facebook Tab was so successful, Kenmore launched a second phase on their brand site to create excitement around holiday cooking.
Microsoft: #GetitDone and Get Going
Facebook
Microsoft Office’s products have helped us all “get it done” at some point; be ir a Powerpoint presentation for a big meeting or making sure we are on top of our personal expenses in Excel. Microsoft wanted to cash in on long reach of their Office products by asking fans to share photos of themselves getting stuff done via Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #GetitDone. The prize packs include a full suite of Microsoft-powered laptops and mobile devices, as well as trips to NYC, Austin or Park City.
The result: a flood of submissions and high social conversation volume.
Levis: #MakeOurMark
Levi.com
#MakeOurMark is the digital expression of Levi’s Station to Station campaign – a cross-country train tour and art project connecting American “artists, musicians and creative pioneers… pushing art and culture outside of institutional constraints.” #MakeourMark encourages Levi’s fans to participate in this art project by submitting their content to Instagram, Twitter and SoundCloud.
The result: a living art project that helps Levi’s make its mark as a cultural innovator and icon.
Cadillac: #EscaladeReveal
YouTube
Cadillac didn’t want to just reveal the highly anticipated new Escalade, they wanted to stoke fans’ excitement for the new SUV through social media. The luxury carmaker broadcasted the launch of the Escalade via YouTube livestream and engaged their fans by encouraging them to use #EscaladeReveal on Twitter and Instagram.
The result: high social conversation volume during (and even after) the event.
The one thing all the above campaigns have in common is that they’re all powered by Thismoment’s #UGC tool, allowing brands to source, curate and automate the user-approval process for publishing UGC content.
For more information, watch our #UGC demo video.
