We’re halfway through 2017 already, and there’s been a whole host of really interesting Marketing and PR campaigns – both good and bad – that have intrigued and inspired us when we’ve been working with our own clients. So we thought we’d count down our top six PR campaigns of 2017 so far and explain exactly why they were so great.
Digital Glue’s top 6 Marketing and PR campaigns of 2017 so far
January
Pranks are all the rage on social media, so what better way of grabbing people’s attention than scaring them silly?
That’s just what the brains behind the new sequel to The Ring did back in January when customers looking to buy a new TV were met with a real life horror movie.
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The makers of this stunt were also behind a similarly spooky prank for the 2013 remake of Carrie which saw members of the public get more than they bargained for when they went to buy a coffee – you can watch the video below.
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February
As an office of foodies, this one certainly caught our attention!
In a bid to get Brits “in the mood for romance”, February saw supermarket Morrisons selling Oysters for the discounted price of just 25p each – the same price as a Freddo! Given that the average retail price of a single oyster is £1.59, that’s a pretty big bargain, and one that the press loved!
March
Greta spotted this piece of brilliance and shared it round the team back in March – and we’re still thinking about it!
To raise awareness for World Water Day on March 22nd, and to highlight the poor water conditions many around the world suffer, One Water created ‘dirty’ bottles. The effect was created by giving normal water bottles a brown colouring, and the campaign was picked up by several media giants, including The Huffington Post and The Metro.
April
April saw the London Games Festival take place, and it was a pretty big deal.
And by big, we mean big.
To celebrate the festival, a giant Monopoly board was installed in Trafalgar Square – complete with dice and counters – which featured significant events in video gaming, which the public could play on.
Michael French, director, London Games Festival said that the board game was created to “highlight the launch of London Games Festival in a visually fun and interactive way”. We love the simplicity of updating a classic and instantly recognisable game to draw audiences in – it’s a much more creative idea than sticking up a VR pop up stand!
May
May saw loads of brilliant PR campaigns take place – from Topshop’s virtual waterslide down Oxford Street, to Ladbroke’s survey announcing that Britain should leave Eurovision as a result of Brexit.
The campaign on everyone’s lips however was, of course, Nike’s Breaking2 campaign, the brand’s attempt to make history by breaking the sub-two-hour marathon barrier. They invested millions in training some of the best long distance runners (Eliud Kipchoge, Lelisa Desisa and Zersenay Tadese), as well as in cutting edge science for the athletes’ shoes and equipment. The nation watched with baited breath as the mission-impossible-marathon took place, and although they didn’t beat the record (they missed by just 25 seconds!) Nike’s campaign has made history in other ways.
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June
Our favourite campaign this month was another spot by our eagle-eyed PR pro Greta, who shared this lovely campaign with the team.
As part of Tesco’s wider ‘Food Love Stories’ marketing campaign, the supermarket launched its latest advert which aims to highlight its ongoing efforts to tackle food waste.
The ad shows the supermarket donating surplus food each week from the Tesco Bo’ness store to a local school, who use the leftovers to create a menu to serve at their on-site community café for older people, run by the school children. The ad has been accompanied by a host of other Tesco owned media, including a recipe for their ‘nothing wasted’ banana bread. We think this is a lovely touch to their ongoing campaign, and works really well in tying in with some of the social concerns that consumers want businesses, particularly supermarkets, to be tackling.
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