What Is a Marketing Campaign? Definitions, Types, and Examples

By Aristide Zouheir-Kuhnle | Feb 9, 2022 10:46:40 AM

Do you remember Dove’s Real Beauty marketing campaign? Megacorporation Unilever launched it in 2004 to challenge global beauty standards and celebrate women of every colour, size, and shape.

According to a case study competition winner, the campaign helped boost the brand’s sales from $2.5 billion to $4 billion in the first ten years. Today, it remains a marketing gold standard and still resonates with worldwide audiences.

No matter what size or industry your company is in, a captivating marketing campaign can do wonders for your business. Without one, you might end up wasting precious resources on unrelated strategies that won't leave an impact on your target market.

Like Dove, you need to build a unified effort to stand out from the competition. You can’t throw random blind shots and expect impressive results.

This article will discuss the importance, definition, types, and examples of marketing campaigns. It will also cover how to create an effective one.

By the end of this feature, you should have everything you need to develop a groundbreaking plan to take your business to the next level.

Are Marketing Campaigns Really Necessary?

Marketing campaigns are an essential component of virtually every organisation’s success. Developing the ideal one can be the game-changer you need to hit — or even exceed — your targets.

The marketing rule of seven is a classic concept that states a prospect needs to experience your brand message seven times before buying your products or services. Without a marketing campaign, this process could take years! Random social media posts, emails, or text messages are not enough to win customers over.

If you want to boost your sales, attract new leads, or enhance brand awareness, it's time to put on your thinking cap and build a strategy for your business.

Marketing Campaign Definition

Marketing campaigns are unified strategic efforts designed to achieve a particular company goal — maintaining thought leadership, increasing customer value, transforming employees into brand ambassadors, or other similar targets. They usually aim to reach customers through a combination of offline and online efforts, from TV ads to social media posts to emails.

As long as your efforts reach your target market, you can be as creative as you want. You don’t have to stick with conventional methods. Instead, you can create webinars, work with influencers, or join community events.

Keep in mind that not all efforts are part of a campaign — which literally means an organized course of action to achieve a goal.

For example, not all Kit Kat ads you see on the way to work are part of any campaign. However, if you come across billboards, tube ads, and emails promoting a particular limited edition flavour like Purple Sweet Potato, you’ve witnessed a marketing campaign.

Marketing Campaign Types

You can reach potential clients using different platforms, from pay-per-click (PPC) ads to text blasts to sampling activities. However, whatever your campaign goal is, it’s best to have a dedicated team manage the traffic influx your efforts attract.

Below are some of the most common marketing campaign types. Remember, you can mix and match them as needed.

Traditional Media Campaign

A traditional media campaign relies on the big three of offline marketing: TV, radio, and print. This strategy is often more expensive than online strategies, but it offers low cost per thousand (CPM) exposure for brands with massive advertising budgets. For example, the FIFA 2018 World Cup finals viewership statistics show that a whopping 1.1 billion people tuned in for the match. Imagine placing ads while that was showing!

Social Media Marketing Campaign

With the global social media population reaching a whopping 4.62 billion, it’s time to tap these platforms and engage with audiences through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter. It’s best to mix up organic and paid posts to achieve desired results.

Search Engine Marketing Campaign

Google runs billions of searches daily, making it an ideal platform to reach your target audience. You can tap this sector by boosting your visibility through PPC ads. Contrary to popular belief, this strategy works even for companies with limited marketing budgets.

Email Marketing Campaign

Many people think email marketing is dead, but it’s not. Best practices just evolve, and you should keep up. With average open rates reaching 21 – 25%, you can’t ignore its massive potential.

Brand Awareness Campaign

A brand awareness campaign aims to spread buzz about who you are and what you offer consumers. Your campaign should do more than get people to recognize your logo and instead differentiate you from your competitors. A successful campaign should be a thought-provoking, emotion-inducing effort that leaves prospects wanting more.

Product Launch Campaign

Launching a new product should always involve a campaign that spreads awareness on how it addresses consumers’ needs. Otherwise, you risk your product not having enough demand and dealing with cash flow and inventory challenges.

Remarketing Campaign

Remarketing or retargeting means serving targeted ads to people who have already interacted with your brand. The great thing about it is that you don’t have to reintroduce your company to this audience. Recent retargeting statistics show that such efforts help boost click-through rates tenfold and conversion rates by 150%.

Contest Marketing Campaign

Contests are a fun way to motivate people to interact with your brand. With the right prize, you can encourage user-generated content, social shares, and indirect referrals. They can exponentially grow your social following in a short period.

Seasonal Push Campaign

If you have periodic products or time-sensitive programs, you can create a seasonal push. For instance, if you sell winter boots or have limited-time sales events, you can use this strategy to generate focused attention.

Rebranding Campaign

A rebranding campaign aims to educate consumers about any change you’re making in your operations, including logo upgrades or company mergers. You can also use this strategy to change the way the market perceives you.

Marketing Campaign Examples

Ready to explore the exciting world of marketing campaigns? Check out these examples of the most iconic ones that propelled brands into superstardom.

Nike’s Just Do It Campaign

Nike is one of those special brands that don’t need introductions. Just one look at its iconic swoosh or just do it slogan gives people vivid images relating to the brand — Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, and Serena Williams, among others. It makes people feel empowered and encourages them to reach for their dreams.

Nike launched the just do it campaign in 1988. It featured amateur professionals who told inspiring stories about their accomplishments and how they powered through the most difficult physical and mental challenges. The company used TV ads, the internet, and print platforms to introduce its campaign to the market.

The campaign was so successful that it paved the way for Nike’s sales to grow from $800 million in 1988 to a whopping $2 billion within a decade. Today, it’s still a popular global campaign that resonates with worldwide audiences.

Absolut’s Bottle Campaign

Absolut's bottle campaign elevated its status as one of the most recognizable brands in the world. The vodka brand started the campaign in 1980 and kept it going for 25 years — still the longest-running one in history.

Instead of executing a complicated and expensive strategy, it differentiated itself from its competitors by highlighting its packaging. The ad creators explored many creative possibilities and came up with variations for different occasions, locations, and people, among others. Some of the most memorable ones include Absolut perfection, Absolut security, and Absolut L.A.

Before the revolutionary campaign, the vodka brand had an impressive 2.5% market share. Two and a half decades later, Absolut made up half the vodka market.

Burger King’s Order From McDonald’s Campaign

The previous examples are two of the classics consumers won’t likely forget soon, but the pandemic also gave rise to beautiful marketing campaigns. One of the most unforgettable ones is Burger King’s order from McDonald’s letter-type content.

Before the second lockdowns in the U.K. began, Burger King released a simple letter across various platforms asking consumers to order food from their direct competitors. According to the giant fast-food chain, the crumbling restaurant industry needed help in supporting thousands of employees.

It ends the letter by saying, “Getting a Whopper is always best, but ordering a Big Mac is also not such a bad thing.” In one swift move, BurgerKing encouraged customers to order food from several competitors while giving the industry a much-needed shout out.

The kindness, empathy, and sheer boldness garnered hundreds of thousands of social shares.

How To Build a Marketing Campaign

Now that you understand the power of a marketing campaign, it’s time to learn how to build one of your own. Check out the steps below to get started.

Step 1: Know your target audience. The first step in any campaign is to identify who you want to create content for. Determining this factor can help you focus your resources toward the right market.
Step 2: Define SMART goals. Next, think of specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based objectives. Remember, you can use campaigns for various targets, including sales, brand awareness, or lead generation.
Step 3: Set a budget. A budget helps you determine how to use your resources best to reach your ideal audiences. Ultimately, the goal is to relay your message at least seven times using the most cost-effective strategies possible.
Step 4: Choose ideal platforms. Plan a way to make the most out of your budget. If you have a bit of money to spare for your campaign, steer clear of TV ads and focus instead on hypertargeted online efforts.
Step 5: Develop your content. Before creating videos, blogs, or print materials, think of groundbreaking campaigns and get your inspiration from them. Your campaign can start your journey toward the big leagues.
Step 6: Launch your campaign. Starting your program is not the end of your task. As you run your campaign, monitor your key performance indicators to determine which platforms work well. You can adjust your online strategies if necessary.
Step 7: Analyze results. After your campaign, you should run the figures to see whether it was worth your while. Whether it was a staggering success or a massive flop, find improvement opportunities for future efforts.

Create a Marketing Campaign Now

What is a marketing campaign? It’s a strategic technique that unifies your platforms toward a common goal. You can use these marketing tools for different purposes, such as boosting sales, enhancing brand awareness, and attracting high-quality leads.

Marketing campaigns have propelled brands into household names in the past. Think of Apple’s Get a Mac campaign, Pepsi’s Is Pepsi Okay campaign, and Red Bull’s Stratos campaign. The best way to make the most out of your efforts is to find the perfect budget, platform, and content mix that will resonate with your audiences.

A catchy marketing campaign can help you take your industry by storm. And, automation can guarantee reduced costs, seamless transactions, and faster information dissemination.

Are you ready to take your brand to the next level? Book a demo with us now to discover the impact automated workflows can have on your strategies.

References:

1. Dalim

https://www.dalim.com/en/products/automated

2. PR Week

https://www.prweek.com/article/1582147/doves-real-beauty-campaign-won-nearly-lost-its-audience

3. Tutorials Point

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/management_concepts/the_rule_of_seven.htm

4. Ziflow

https://www.ziflow.com/blog/types-marketing-campaigns

5. Investopedia

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketing-campaign.asp