Lockdown 2020 – whilst the world’s population were confined at home, many of the brands we know and love were busy getting their creative juices flowing. Whether offering support, customer incentives or boredom busting ideas there has been no shortage of clever, fun and quirky campaigns keeping us entertained when we needed it the most.
At ADPR, we love watching and admiring what brands around the world are doing with their marketing campaigns and the past five months have delivered some absolute gems.
During ‘normal times’, we know how much time, planning (and often budget), goes into crafting killer brand campaigns. The beauty of the material we have seen during lockdown is that even the most renowned brands will have crafted and produced their campaigns in record time, without access to the bells and whistles commonly associated with a high quality marketing campaign.
We have rounded up three lockdown campaigns that we think made maximum impact with minimal investment. It just goes to show that when everything else is taken away a little creativity goes a very long way!
- Gymshark #NHSSweatySelfie:
Fitness brand, Gymshark came up with an idea that saw the brand going viral on social media. Based in Solihull, Gymshark, set up a fundraising campaign encouraging the people of Birmingham to, ‘Sweat for the NHS’, in a bid to raise £175,000 for the Birmingham Women’s and Children’s hospital.
For every sweaty photo uploaded with the hashtag, #NHSSweatySelfie, the company donated £5 to the hospital. The results saw the campaign trending on social media with over 35,000 images being uploaded. It generated interest from as far away as the US and Australia and raised over £180,000.
What we loved about it:
There’s nothing better than a simple social media campaign to make people take action. The choice to participate was a no-brainer for the Gymshark audience. It takes no time at all to upload a selfie, always feels good to be supporting a great cause and what better way to earn bragging rights than by showing your friends, family and colleagues that you haven’t succumbed to the lockdown laziness!
- Earl of East – Scents of Normality:
Everyone loves a scented candle to infuse their homes with smells that evoke memories, and Earl of East is known for producing scents that have been inspired by travel. With the absence of foreign travel during lockdown, Earl of East came up with the genius idea to launch a limited edition range of candles, with all proceeds being donated to Hospitality Action to help support the huge numbers of workers facing hardship as a result of Covid-19.
The aptly named ‘Scents of Normality’ collection carried the strapline, ‘Buy for Charity. Burn for Normality’, and reflected some of the nation’s favourite hangouts that were missed the most during lockdown – The Pub, The Cinema and The Festival.
What we loved about it:
This one warmed our hearts with its quirky nature and charitable focus. What’s not to love about a candle that’s described as having, ‘Top notes of spilt beer, hair pomade and chip fat, jostle amongst a pungent base of varnished teak and sticky carpet’. We all need to maintain a sense of humour at the moment and this tongue in cheek campaign with its purposeful cause was the perfect tonic!
- Thai Airways – #StayHomeClaimMiles:
Like all airlines, Thai Airways was hit hard by the impact of Covid-19. Its quick response was to turn its frequent flyer bonus scheme on its head by rewarding members with free air miles for staying at home, rather than for regular travel.
The campaign worked via an app, using geolocation technology to determine whether the user was staying at home. A total of three million air miles were up for grabs, with points being earned for every four hours spent at home.
What we loved about it:
This is a clever campaign that saw Thai Airlines rising above its own financial situation, doing its bit to keep its members safe and prevent the spread of the virus.
The clever part is how Thai Airlines launched the campaign whilst keeping one eye on the future. By rewarding its members at a time when they can’t travel is a sure fire way to keep the airline front of mind and relevant, whilst incentivising customers to be thinking about their future travel plans. Simple, but very effective – everyone’s a winner!
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