5 Great Marketing Campaigns of 2022
“What type of marketing do you specialise in?”
“I’m a generalist marketeer,” I reply.
“What’s that?”
“It means I can see the bigger picture of your marketing strategy”.
This is a conversation I have regularly.
Which is slightly ironic (and a little contradictory) given I spend so much time advising both freelancers and clients alike to own a niche. But niching and I never really got on. I like variety. It keeps me on my toes. And I own that.
By not niching down, I’ve realised I like to learn as much as I can about every layer of marketing. As a result, I can look really holistically at a client’s market strategy to make sure they’re leaving no stone left unturned.
With that in mind, when I see a multi-layer marketing campaign come to life, I get all kinds of tingly feelings inside. Exploring how they’ve made each channel work for the concept of the campaign, whether or not they have a clear understanding of who their audience is, looking at the language they use to draw attention and how their offline and online campaign elements work together - it makes me tick.
A good all round marketing campaign should really follow this tick list:
Do they have a clear understanding of who their audience are?
Are they using the right channels to be able to speak to their audience?
What’s their brand messaging like?
Is the campaign imagery and creative assets catching the eye?
Does the campaign have a clear purpose to it? Do we know what they’re trying to achieve with it?
Are the call to actions clear enough?
Does it pack a punch? Is it emotive? Entertaining? Thought-provoking? Relatable?
Has it launched at the right time? Is there relevancy?
“A good marketing campaign doesn’t have to be on every channel. It has to be on the right channels.”
Here are some of my favourite all encompassing marketing campaigns of 2022 so far:
Sports Direct - Girl’s Don’t Like Football, We Love It
Ahead of the Euros 2022. retail giant Sports Direct, launched a creative campaign that championed equality within football. Through the campaign, they raised the visibility of female football players, coaches and women in football. Given the massive rise of interest in women’s football (FINALLY) and pre-emptive of the England’s team win, this campaign really hit the mark.
Sports Directed recruited some help from famous faces in the world of female football. As well as some punchy creative, commissioned in-depth reports by interviewing fans, grassroots teams, elite players and managers alike to evaluate the full spectrum of female football.
The campaign included video and print assets used across social media, advertising platforms, email marketing, in-store and PR as well as influencer marketing. It also worked with their wider Equal Play initiative, where they donate free footballs to grassroots clubs across the UK
ManyPets - Insure Your Happiness
Sure fire way to have a successful campaign? Smother it in pictures of cute pets. ManyPets nailed this OOH campaign by celebrating the health benefits that being a pet owner brings you. The thing I loved most about this campaign is the simplicity of it. Enlarged, zoomed in photos of adorable animals with a largely relatable tag line that had any pet owner nodding to. It’s the perfect example of how less is more. I hadn’t heart of ManyPets before this campaign, despite having dogs all my life. If their objective was to raise brand awareness, they’ve ticked that box.
The campaign also ran alongside a survey of pet owners. The survey revealed that 90% of people say their pet helps them feel calm. While a sprightly little dog accompanies the phrase, 'Personal Trainer', with 88% of people admitting pets make them more active.
Francis Bourgeois for The North Face x Gucci
If like me, 2021 was your year for becoming acclimated to TikTok, then Francis Bourgeois will be no stranger to you. This 21yr old rose to TikTok-fame by sharing lovably enthusiastic videos filmed on his GoPro whilst trainspotting. He’s since garnered over 2 million followers and brands took note. Including Gucci and The North Face who partnered with the train-loving star to launch the new phase of their latest collaboration.
What I loved most about this campaign is the stark contradiction between Bourgeois and Gucci’s more luxury, polished and refined brand pillars. And that’s sort of what makes this campaign great. It’s the perfect example of how social should occasionally make you throw out the rule book around your core principles.
Through eye-catching creative and a cool video, this campaign is fun, fresh and warming.
Specsavers - I don’t go to Specsavers
Earlier in this post, I mentioned that knowing your audience is a key pre-requisite for a successful marketing campaign. Round of applause to Specsavers for creating a campaign that does that exceptionally well. They recognised that their new in-home service would benefit an older demographic and ensured their ads to promote it would speak to them the most. The brand is synonymous with their tag line “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” so this campaign is a simple twist on something that is largely known by the UK population.
The ad campaign went out across TV, print, OOH and radio.
Elvie - Leaks Happen
Elvie’s Leaks Happen campaign is a perfect example of relevancy. Two weeks prior to it going live, TikTok banned a video shared on the Elvie account showing a female weightlifter leaking urine whilst lifting. The social media platform dubbed the content as being “graphic content”. Subsequently, the internet was outraged. The campaign tackled taboos around the impact incontinence can have on women. It was backed by a survey that highlighted 1 in 3 women globally suffer from it and 84% of British women encounter it in their lives. They worked with true influencers - a Mum of two who was told to use tampons when exercising to help with incontinence after she had a baby…errr someone worryingly needs to explain biology to that doctor…and a fitness trainer who was the first hijab-wearing athlete to compete in Muay Thai. The two women became the face of this campaign.
The campaign came to life with the placement of giant billboards of women peeing supported with a PR campaign.
Need help building out your marketing strategy? Got a campaign in mind you need to bring to life? Want us to build out a campaign for you?
