One of the ways to become inspired to create an amazing summer campaign for your business is to assess successful campaigns by others. It sounds time consuming, and it is, but we thought we would help you out by featuring a few campaigns that grabbed our attention.
With summer on the horizon, thoughts of sunshine and warmer weather fill the heads of consumers, creating an opportunity for you to place your brand or product in their heads as well. You need to establish a goal that will keep your customers engaged, interested, and excited about the warmer weather, the outdoors, and their favorite summer activities.
Check out these stand-out summer marketing campaigns to get inspired for one of your own!
IKEA’s Books On The Beach (2013)
Let’s start with a product that most would not associate with making a summer purchase - bookshelves. To promote and celebrate the Billy bookshelf’s 30th birthday, IKEA placed a number of their Billy bookshelves, filled with books, on Bondi Beach in Australia. Beach-goers and book lovers were able to take home a book in exchange for a donation to the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation.
The beauty of this campaign is that IKEA combined a favorite summer location and a popular summertime activity and placed their product in the center of the fun. They took a bold approach and turned it into a brilliant marketing campaign for their most popular bookshelf model - The Billy.
Why It Worked:
Instead of playing it safe, IKEA took a risk and successfully combined their product with a summer location and activity enjoyed by warm weather lovers. By placing Billy on the beach filled with books, IKEA took summer reading to a whole new level and used what usually would be a slow season to promote a cause and turn an ordinary product into a reminder of fun in the sun.
Snapple’s “High Tea” Tour (2006)
Another great marketing campaign for summer comes from Snapple. In this case, iced tea does have an association with summer, and Snapple upped the game by combining this favorite summertime beverage with a fun summer adventure. To launch their new flavors, Snapple White Teas "The Lightest Tasting Teas on Earth," Snapple hit the road for the "High Tea" Tour. They visited nine different cities in the United States from June through August, taking tea lovers to the sky
What took this campaign over-the-top and made it the most successful in Snapple history was that at each stop on the tour, Snapple consumers were lifted 1,500 feet up off the ground in personal helium balloons making both the tea and the customer lighter than air.
Why It Worked:
By combining a little adventure and giving away samples along the tour, Snapple was able to introduce their product to a larger target population. They delighted their current customers and new customers, providing an exciting, interactive experience they’ll never forget.
Coca-Cola’s “Share A Coke” (2014)
One of the best in the business when it comes to summer marketing campaigns is Coca-Cola. They have a unique way of finding an approach that guarantees long-term success, and last summer was no different. For the summer of 2014, they launched the “Share a Coke “campaign which capitalized on the idea that people love to see their names on anything.
According to Coca-Cola, “the campaign capitalized on the global trend of self-expression and sharing, but in an emotional way. Coke is big enough to pull off an idea like this, which speaks to the iconic nature of the brand. Who would want their name on a brand unless it was as iconic as Coke?"
Why It Worked:
One of the biggest reasons for the success of this campaign revolves around the fact that Coca-Cola appreciates its audience and how it can play a role in their lives. When you know your customer and your customer knows you, your brand is able to communicate through, and capitalize upon, a unique voice with a distinct personality and established values.
Sprite’s Soda Machine Shower (2012)
Another great idea comes from one of Coca-Cola's billion-dollar brands, Sprite. In an attempt to reach a global market, this campaign relied on ingenuity and originality to boost current sales, using an experiential marketing campaign in Brazil – free Sprite Showers. Yep, they really installed a giant shower on the beach, and no, it did not cover you in Sprite - it was just water. The showers served as a hub where beach-goers could cool off as well as receive samples of Sprite. This allowed Sprite to leverage their brand and stand out. Beach-goers were spreading the word that Sprite possessed refreshing powers that could be seen, heard, felt, and tasted.
Why It Worked:
The success of this campaign is two-fold. First, it made people associate the flavor of sprite with the refreshing effects of a cool shower in sweltering heat. And second, this campaign was fun and it truly encouraged consumers to take part in a refreshing, engaging experience.
Pixar & Disney's Monsters University Experience (2012)
In preparation for the summer release of Monsters University, Pixar and Walt Disney stepped way outside of the box and scored big! Instead of presenting the traditional movie site, Pixar took a unique approach and created a functional Monsters University (MU) website that allowed visitors to tour the School of Scaring, learn about MU sports and their teams, read about famous alumni, and check out news and upcoming events.
This site felt like a real university website. It allowed potential movie-goers to feel like they were spending time with fellow students and getting to know them before the upcoming semester started.
Why It Worked:
The ad to direct people to the website began in January during the Rose Bowl, which was a perfect placement considering the title of the film. Within a few days, the entire site was flooded with anxious visitors. The authentic, user-friendly appeal of the website generated a buzz to excite audiences while also keeping them engaged until the release of the film.
Atlantic City Alliance’s “DO AC” Tourism Campaign (2014)
In April of 2014, following a series of casino closures and recent years of drops in tourism, The Atlantic City Alliance (ACA) launched a$20 million tourism campaign to increase travel to the seaside resort destination. The campaign titled, Do Anything. Do Everything. Do AC. was designed to broaden the current image of Atlantic City and take it from a gaming destination to a more family-friendly, leisurely vacation destination.
The first ads for DO AC, appeared at the end of April on TV, radio, print, digital, and billboard advertising. The online advertising was national, but concentrated heavily on the primary target populations located in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. On social media sites, the ACA encouraged visitors to post pictures and tell their stories. In doing so, Atlantic City began to be seen as something more than just a gambling hot spot.
According to an interview with a representative from the ACA, the campaign was successful in promoting Atlantic City as offering “more than just gambling," and negative media coverage decreased by 28% while positive coverage increased 95%.
Why It Worked:
Rebranding is hard, but Atlantic City chose the summer to give it a shot and they chose wisely. They presented potential visitors to the resort with a unique proposition and invited them to be part of the change. It was risky, it was bold, and it was smart. The ACA capitalized on the idea that people would want to be “seen” in Atlantic City enjoying all the attractions, not just the gambling.
Now, it’s your turn…
Summer marketing campaigns are becoming more and more essential in today’s economy. These are just a few unique and creative ideas that used summer in a way to help sales sizzle for these brands. The possibilities are endless, just like you wish those summer nights could be. Who knows? Maybe your next summer campaign will end up being “the talk of the town” for years to come.
Learn more about our marketing services or contact us today!