Putting real people at the heart of your campaign
Should we be aspirational, or inspirational? Is it better to strive towards the long-term goal, or to be motivated in the moment? Over the last few years we’ve seen a trend for brands to focus less on what they can give, and more on what their customers can achieve themselves.
Dove pioneered the way with ‘Real Beauty,’ placing their customer at the heart of the message and inspiring women to love themselves. Fast forward 12 years, and the proliferation of social media means that all customers are the voice of your brand. Collaboration with bloggers and vloggers is now commonplace within the beauty sector, as brands look for new ways to talk about their products more honestly.
Wanting to dispel the myth that cruising lacks adventure, Royal Caribbean used the live streaming platform Periscope to connect real holiday makers with a new millennial audience. The campaign provided a level of truth and transparency not often seen in the travel sector, and gave these hard to reach customers a preview of what they could be posting about on their own social channels.
There will always be a place for aspiration. Luxury brands entice customers to buy into a lifestyle with the help of beautiful people and exotic destinations. However, it’s the shift to inspiration that has closed the gap between the message and customer. Whether its Dove’s real women or Royal Caribbean’s real-time view of cruising, the real way to talk to your customers is to relate to them honestly.
Read on for examples…
On 3rd February following a nation-wide search, Cadbury revealed the identity of the new Milk Tray Man – Patrick McBride, a 39 year old firefighter from Liverpool.
The hunt for this new British icon coincided with the release of the latest James Bond film and was open to the public, including women, tapping into contemporary X-Factor culture of ‘it could be me.’ Cadbury were looking for someone who already encompassed everything the modern Milk Tray Man should be, not someone to play a part.
The interview process challenged applicants to not only show their adventurous side, but also demonstrate a caring nature. Whilst displaying both bravery and courage in his every day job as a firefighter, Patrick is also a caring family man who impressed the judges with his down to earth yet heroic nature.
Over the next year he will don the iconic black polo neck and embark on a mission to show the nation what it means to be a modern day Milk Tray Man, aligning the brand with the act of being more thoughtful.
Agency: Fallon, London & Gravity Road, London
‘Cancer’ is such a big word and a huge subject for anyone to get their head around. When one in two in the UK will be diagnosed, how is it possible to make a difference? CRUK needed to create a feeling of immediacy, whilst also communicating that although there won’t be one grand cure for cancer, progress is being made every day. Inspired by the emotional power of observational documentaries, the ads tell the profoundly personal stories of those being affected by cancer ‘right now,’ from patients to researchers.
Agency: Anomaly
The cruising company wanted to set themselves apart from competitors and appeal to a millennial audience with their new positioning ‘Come Seek’. Designed to attract the next generation of cruisers, Royal Caribbean used live streaming platform Periscope to connect customers with guests already on a ship. The result is a more truthful and transparent view of what it’s like to be on-board. “Their perception is that you can’t have unique and unexpected experiences while cruising” said Jim Berra, CMO. “We’re tackling that misperception head on.”
Agency: MullenLowe, Boston
The Co-operative Food wanted to highlight its 20-year long commitment to Fairtrade, showing the movement’s transformative effects on communities and proving that the extra money paid in-store goes to supporting the producers. They used Facebook and Twitter to create a social campaign that connected customers directly with workers and farmers in Fairtrade Co-ops. To encourage people to join the conversation, they donated £1 for every fun message that was shared on social media up to £25,000.
Agency: Dinosaur, Manchester
Looks like you need to create a Creativebrief account to perform this action.
Create account Sign inLooks like you need to create a Creativebrief account to perform this action.
Create account Sign in
