Firs of all, what is a brand action, anyway?
Let’s just face it: despite media being bombarded by all types if ads in different media formats throughout an average day, It’s getting harder and harder to gain the consumers’ attention. Attention spans are shortening, and what used to cut it just ain’t cutting it anymore (for the most part, anyway).
So what exactly are brand actions? – OOH tactics and other events and “stunts” to cut through the clutter and connect with consumers by giving them an experience. These brand activations or brand actions are becoming all the rage in the industry. While there have been many excellent and very creative brand actions and activations over the last few years, I wanted to showcase just three of the top creative brand actions/activations from the past couple years.
#1. Burger King – Google Home “Hack”
As smart speakers have started invading homes and reacting to what is happening around them, Burger King decided to take advantage of that new presence in its customers’ homes.
In a TV spot, they decided to talk directly to Google Home speakers, triggering an action with the “OK Google” formula, so you can learn more about their most iconic product, the Whooper.
This hack had so much momentum Google decided to block that specific request, generating even more PR for Burger King in the end. One of the great brand actions of 2017 and wonderfully creative idea (although Google might have not been so amused).
#2. Absolut Vodka – “Never Gonna Gif You Up”
This is the story of how the brand got 780 million organic views using wit, stop motion and a lot of vodka.
Giphy, the world’s largest GIF platform serves 2 billion gifs to users on a daily basis and Tinder reports that users who start conversations using GIFs have a 30% higher reply rate than those who don’t. The way these GIFs are used poses an exciting opportunity for brands, as they’re shared as a form of self-expression from one person to another.
If a brand could create GIFs relevant enough for a certain audience, they could effectively inject the brand into their target audiences’ online conversations without having to rely on intrusive ads. So, this is exactly what Absolut did.
#3. Pedigree (UK) – “Dog Dates”
1.2 million older people in the UK are labeled as chronically lonely. Pedigree, following the direction of their Feed the Good campaign, decided they could make a difference by pairing seniors with local dogs and sending them out on a date together.
Armed with the belief that ”a dog is a conversation waiting to happen,” program participants took their dog date for a walk and met new people through the instant ice-breaker of their canine companion. The program got elderly people out of their homes and into social settings, without the responsibility of owning a pet themselves. And it worked brilliantly, both as a way to get lonely seniors out and socializing, and Predigree gaining more grade awareness amongst consumers. (Here’s a link to the case study)
