It’s official! In a world of pervasive online media, relying on traditional marketing techniques is destined to fail.
Successful companies continue to innovate with unique Internet marketing campaigns that captivate viewers and translate into a broader market base. Looking to the top companies of 2013 provides a glimpse into the types of Internet marketing strategies that pay big dividends.
Oreo
Oreo doesn’t necessarily jump to the forefront of your mind when considering tech-savvy companies. But clever marketing execs at the company made headlines during the 2013 Super Bowl for a witty marketing campaign. When the lights went out for 30 minutes at the Superdome during the third quarter, Oreo turned to Twitter. The company released a tweet stating “Power Out? No Problem.”
With an image of a single Oreo with a dark background and the caption, “You can still dunk in the dark,” Oreo’s quick-thinking tweet was retweeted approximately 15,000 times.
According to Wired magazine, Oreo had a 15 person team in charge of social media during the game, allowing them to react quickly to changing circumstances. The take-home message? Always be ready to capitalize on the trends of the moment. Keeping track of trending topics on Twitter is a smart way to identify ways to connect with customers (for example, #SuperBowlBlackOut was the number one trending hashtag worldwide during the Super Bowl).
Keep in mind that Internet trends are brief, often lasting just a few days, so quick thinking is essential.
DirecTV
In 2013, DirecTV made great strides, with its stock rising 25.01% over the previous year. Online marketing is an important part of its overall strategy to grow its user base. For example, DirecTV has reached out to bars and restaurants to make itself the most desirable television content provider on the market.
The company’s exclusive DirecTV MVP Marketing Program offers free promotional tools to businesses with a sports package subscription.
One of the smartest perks of this program is DirecTV’s “Sports Bar Finder” mobile app. This popular app lists great sports bars in the user’s area, but only those that subscribe to DirecTV are listed. Companies seeking to emulate DirecTV’s success should think about perks that they can offer big clients. Providing exclusive access to important apps or promotional tools that allow a major client to grow his own business is a savvy marketing choice.
Plus, it’s a win-win for your company and your clients.
Kohls Cares
Kohls department store continues to struggle to stay competitive, with only 2.2% growth in sales in 2012, according to Forbes. However, the company upped its social media strategy in 2013, creating a successful Internet campaign based around its philanthropic efforts. Dubbed “Kohls Cares,” a Facebook campaign offered people 20 votes to cast for their favorite schools. The 20 winning schools received $500,000 each, for a total of a $10 million giveaway.
This successful campaign earned Kohls 1.5 million “Likes” on Facebook.
For companies seeking to emulate Kohls’ success, a public philanthropic effort isn’t enough. Kohls focused its campaign on an issue (education) important to its key demographic — busy moms.
A successful philanthropic Internet campaign should connect with your customer base on the issues that matter most. For example, if you run a local home improvement store, perhaps you could generate a campaign focused on donations to Habitat for Humanity.
Tying the success of the campaign to customer input is also important. Create a daily voting strategy or tie the amount donated to the number of “Likes” or retweets for maximum marketing impact.
photo credit: GloriaGarcía | cc