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Amol Ghemud Published: August 14, 2018
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Digital marketing is now the biggest growth sector in the 21st century. Businesses and brands are now able to utilize this incredibly versatile technology to communicate with their customers. Digital marketing can take many forms and can be used across a plethora of platforms; from SEO(Search Engine Optimization), content marketing, social media marketingto B2C email and newsletters. A successful digital marketing campaign takes a lot of planning, research, money, and patience. The large brands we know and love today have refocused their marketing strategies, employed brand managers, and digital marketers to handle their communication and ensure they are utilizing communication within digital marketing. 2016 saw the growth of smaller brands and charities grabbing the limelight and coming up with some impressively creative campaigns. From the rejuvenation of the Girl Scouts across twitter to the ice bucket challenge. We have been spoilt for choice in choosing our line up. First, let’s start with what makes a successful digital marketing campaign.
Prove the ROI of your marketing efforts by presenting these seven metrics
There are a number of measurable factors and many of them will be the same no matter the business or brand. According to lighthouseinsights.coma successful campaign could be determined by the brand’s global reach, the engagement and reaction from their audience or simply by the creativity involved in the digital marketing campaign. The Digital Marketing Institute highlight the most important steps brands should follow to ensure they are successful. Internally success for individual brands will be related to what their overall goal for the campaign is. Outlining goals and objectives, forming a strategy, reaching the audience and finally measuring the outcome are all steps brands will follow to ensure their chances of a successful campaign. Once the initial planning steps have been followed and a clear digital marketing strategy has been implemented, the campaign can be easily measured. Success will look very different for each brand or company, it could be they are looking to engage with a new audience and raise further awareness of their brand or they may simply want to increase their revenue with the products they already offer. We have researched, reviewed and dissected the most successful digital marketing campaigns of 2016, finally narrowing down to our Top 3. Our chosen three digital marketing campaigns have been based on particular but diverse criteria.
Has their campaign made a difference to others?
Was the campaign creative?
Who has been the most effective in terms of the brand message and authenticity?
1. Penny the Pirate. Interactive books for children.
Hitting our screens over two years ago, it was only in 2016 the campaign really hit the world of digital marketing. The campaign is based on a storybook created specifically to test children’s eyes whilst they read. According to digitalagencynetwork.com the campaign, which was developed by marketing leaders, Saatchi & Saatchi has been a success due to the numerous platforms it utilized. The campaign included traditional print media, as well as digital marketing. An app was also developed to reach the target audience and engage the next generation.
Our conclusion
We could not fail to be impressed by the brand’s ability to reach it’s target audience across so many different levels. Engaging children and parents across digital media is a challenge marketers are always looking overcome and Penny the Pirate certainly achieved this. An impressive digital marketing campaign, perfectly executed.
2. Always – #Likeagirl
The campaign hit the digital world in 2015, but it’s true force and communication really hit the marketing mainstream and obtained success in 2016. A brand with a need to communicate with the next generation and especially with female millennials, the #likeagirl campaign started an empowering and powerful message. A case study of the campaign by dandad.org highlighted the success factors involved. The brand took a usually negative expression ‘like a girl’ often used in the school playground and turned it into a positive. An expression already known and used globally, they were able to use positivity and girl power to rejuvenate three simple words.
Our conclusion
The brand’s ability to create an encouraging, positive and empowering message for girls certainly left us impressed. Through research, planning, and creativity the brand has elevated themselves and have been accepted by the next generation of Always consumers.
3. Disney #shareyourears
Using the strong and influential arm of social media Disney launched their share your ears campaign and reached their fundraising goal almost immediately after launch. Digitalpulp.com highlight the importance of what made the campaign such a success. They determined that the fact Disney built a kid-friendly, easy to use website was key to the success. Kids are able to snap and share pictures of themselves with mickey mouse ears and post it online, Disney donated $5 for each share. #shareyourears raises money for ill children and is a refreshed version of ‘make a wish’ charity.
Our conclusion
The creativity, engagement coupled with the fact the campaign is for a good cause made this a clear winner for us and worthy of our Top 3. Disney has shown through social media, they can not only create engagement, encourage fun participation and get all the family involved they can also raise an impressive amount of dollars for charity. The world of digital marketing will only continue to impress and elevate large and small brands to a global audience.
Brands will have to
Stay fresh, feel current and ‘on trend’
Continue to be different and original
Step up and be able to communicate and engage the next generation
Stay accessible and ensure their message covers a range of media platforms
Get creative
Involve the whole family, be fun and educational
Feel transparent and authentic
Digital marketing is exciting and open to whoever wants to take it on. Big or small, brands and companies all have the opportunity to speak to their audience all over the world. If you’re just starting out or you need to overhaul your existing marketing strategy, make sure to familiarize yourself with these 7 important marketing metrics Digital marketing remains accessible and can often be a free marketing tool which gives everyone a chance to share their message. It’s not just companies and brands who benefit from digital media, bloggers, school kids with a business idea and entrepreneurs can all utilize it’s power. As social media platforms continue to diversify and grow we can only look to the future of digital marketing and wonder whats yet to come? We cannot wait to see.
A clear strategy ensures every action is purposeful and measurable against specific benchmarks. This foundational step transforms a campaign from a series of random tactics into a cohesive effort designed to achieve a specific outcome, whether it's building awareness or driving engagement. According to the Digital Marketing Institute, a successful campaign hinges on this structured approach. For instance, without clear goals, you cannot accurately determine the value of achieving significant global reach. A well-defined plan involves:
Outlining Goals: Articulate exactly what success looks like, such as increasing brand awareness by 20% or engaging a new demographic.
Forming a Strategy: Choose the channels and messaging that align with your goals and target audience.
Reaching the Audience: Execute the plan across chosen platforms, ensuring consistent communication.
Measuring the Outcome: Use predefined metrics to evaluate performance against the initial goals.
This process, as seen in the planning behind campaigns like Penny the Pirate, allows you to prove the return on investment and refine future efforts. To see how top brands structure their goals, explore the full analysis.
Evaluating a campaign's success requires a look at metrics that capture both performance and perception. Focusing solely on revenue ignores crucial indicators of brand health and long-term growth, such as how an audience connects with your message. A truly successful campaign is often measured by a blend of factors that reflect its impact and creativity. Key metrics to consider include:
Audience Engagement and Reaction: This goes beyond likes and shares to include sentiment analysis, comment quality, and the level of conversation generated around your brand.
Global Reach: This metric indicates how far your message has traveled and its potential to penetrate new markets, a key success factor for brands like Always with its #Likeagirl campaign.
Campaign Creativity: While subjective, this can be gauged by industry awards, media mentions, and the uniqueness of the concept, which drives memorability.
Message Authenticity: This measures how well the campaign's message aligns with your brand's core values and resonates with the target audience's beliefs.
By tracking these elements, you gain a holistic view of a campaign's performance and its contribution to your brand's equity. Understanding these diverse metrics is the first step to creating your own successful campaign.
The Penny the Pirate campaign excelled by creating a seamless, multi-platform experience that added genuine value. Instead of just advertising, it provided a useful tool—a storybook and app to test children's eyesight—which organically brought parents and children into the brand's ecosystem. This integrated approach demonstrates that the most effective marketing solves a real-world problem for the target audience. The campaign's success, which was significant in 2016, rested on its ability to unify different channels with a single, compelling purpose. Key components of its strategy included:
Traditional Print Media: A physical storybook provided a tangible, screen-free entry point for families.
Digital Marketing: Online content and promotion drove awareness and directed users to the campaign's digital assets.
Mobile App: An interactive app extended the storybook's functionality, making the eye test engaging for the next generation.
This campaign's impressive engagement and reaction metrics show that when platforms work together to serve a core mission, brands can overcome significant marketing challenges. Discover how other brands have used similar integrated tactics in our complete review.
These campaigns demonstrate that authenticity and a compelling call-to-action are more powerful than a large budget. Their success was not driven by massive ad buys but by creating a movement that people felt genuinely motivated to join and share. They tapped into a desire for community and purpose, proving that a creative idea can achieve incredible global reach organically. The key takeaways for other brands aiming for similar impact are rooted in strategy and human connection. Brands like the Girl Scouts succeeded by:
Focusing on a Simple, Shareable Action: The 'ice bucket challenge' was easy to understand, execute, and pass on, reducing friction for participation.
Tying the Campaign to a Clear Purpose: Whether raising money for a cause or celebrating girls' empowerment, a strong mission inspires deeper engagement.
Empowering User-Generated Content: Both campaigns thrived by letting the audience become the stars, which fostered a sense of ownership and accelerated organic spread.
These examples prove that a campaign's creative core and its ability to connect with shared values are critical for standing out. To learn more about crafting a campaign with viral potential, explore our detailed analysis.
The Always #Likeagirl campaign highlights the power of a purpose-driven message over direct product promotion for building lasting brand affinity. While a product-focused strategy can drive short-term sales, a message-driven approach fosters a deeper emotional connection by aligning the brand with the audience's values and identity. The choice depends on the campaign's ultimate goal: tactical conversion versus long-term brand building. When comparing these two strategies, consider the following factors:
Brand Authenticity: A message-driven campaign requires a genuine commitment to the cause. The #Likeagirl campaign worked because it felt authentic to a brand focused on young women's health and confidence. A mismatched message can backfire.
Long-Term vs. Short-Term Goals: If the primary objective is to increase quarterly revenue, a product-focused campaign with a clear call-to-action may be more effective. If the goal is to build a loyal community, a message-driven approach is superior.
Measuring Success: The engagement and reaction from a message-driven campaign are often qualitative, while product campaigns are measured with sales data. Brands must be prepared to track different key performance indicators.
Ultimately, #Likeagirl proved that for millennial audiences, standing for something can be far more powerful than just selling something. Read the full article to see how other brands have navigated this strategic choice.
A small charity can achieve significant impact by focusing on a smart, disciplined strategy rather than a large budget. The key is to create a compelling, shareable concept and then meticulously plan its execution and measurement. By following a structured process, you can ensure your limited resources are used effectively to generate awareness and support. Drawing lessons from highly successful campaigns, the essential steps are:
Outline a Singular, Clear Goal: Start by defining one primary objective. Is it to raise a specific amount of money, grow your email list by 30%, or achieve a certain level of global reach for your cause? A single focus prevents your efforts from becoming diluted.
Form a Creativity-Led Strategy: Develop a simple, emotionally resonant, and easily shareable campaign idea. Like the ice bucket challenge, it should have a low barrier to entry and a clear call to action.
Identify and Reach Your Core Audience: Pinpoint the specific platforms where your most passionate supporters are active and concentrate your initial outreach there. Let them become your first wave of ambassadors.
Plan Your Measurement from the Start: Determine exactly how you will measure the outcome against your primary goal. Track shares, mentions, donations, or sign-ups to prove the campaign's ROI and learn for the future.
This disciplined, four-step approach to planning and measurement is what separates a viral hit from a forgotten post. Explore more detailed implementation tactics in the full article.
The most common mistake is launching a campaign without first defining what success looks like in measurable terms. Brands often focus on creative execution or platform trends while neglecting to establish clear goals and key performance indicators, making it impossible to prove the campaign's value later. This leads to wasted resources and an inability to justify marketing spend. The solution lies in adopting a disciplined, goal-first framework before any creative work begins. Successful brands, including the teams behind Penny the Pirate, avoid this pitfall by building their entire strategy around a desired outcome. To solve this, you should:
Start with Objectives: Before discussing tactics, define the campaign's primary goal. Is it to boost brand awareness, generate leads, or increase customer loyalty?
Connect Metrics to Goals: Assign specific, measurable metrics to each objective. For awareness, track global reach and impressions. For engagement, monitor shares and comments.
Implement a Measurement Plan: Put the tools and processes in place to track these metrics from day one.
By making measurement a foundational part of the planning process, not an afterthought, you can clearly demonstrate the ROI of your efforts. Learn how to build this framework for your own campaigns by reading our complete analysis.
Brands must shift from transactional advertising to building relationships based on shared values. Younger audiences, particularly millennials and Gen Z, are adept at spotting inauthenticity and are drawn to brands that stand for something meaningful, a trend powerfully illustrated by the Always #Likeagirl campaign. This implies that future marketing success will be tied to a brand's social and ethical stance, not just its product quality. To adapt, you should re-evaluate your communication strategy to:
Integrate Purpose into Your Core Brand: Your brand's mission should be reflected in all your actions, not just in a one-off campaign. Authenticity is built through consistency over time.
Foster Dialogue, Not Monologue: Use social media and other digital platforms to engage in genuine conversations about topics that matter to your audience, creating a community around your brand.
Prioritize Transparency: Be open about your business practices, your values, and even your mistakes. This builds trust, which is a critical currency with modern consumers.
The strong engagement and reaction to purpose-driven marketing indicates a permanent shift in consumer expectations. Brands that fail to adapt risk becoming irrelevant to the next generation of buyers. Explore how to build a more authentic brand voice in our complete guide.
The 'Penny the Pirate' campaign was highly effective because it created distinct but connected value propositions for both parents and children. For children, it offered an engaging story and interactive app; for parents, it provided a free, accessible tool to screen for potential vision problems. This dual-value approach, executed across print and digital platforms, ensured the campaign was not just marketing but a genuinely useful service. The key lesson for marketers is to design campaigns that serve the needs of different stakeholders within a target demographic. The success of this Saatchi & Saatchi project was built on:
Addressing a Parental Pain Point: It tackled a real concern—a child's eye health—transforming a marketing campaign into a helpful resource.
Creating Child-Centric Content: The storybook and app were designed to be fun and engaging for kids, ensuring they would want to participate.
Seamlessly Integrating Platforms: The journey from the physical book to the digital app felt natural, reinforcing the brand message at each step.
The impressive audience engagement and reaction demonstrated that when a brand solves a problem for one part of its audience while entertaining another, it can achieve remarkable results. Find more case studies on effective audience segmentation in our full report.
Campaign authenticity means ensuring your brand's messaging and actions are a true reflection of its core values and promises. It is the alignment between what a brand says and what it does, which builds trust and credibility with its audience. This quality is critical because modern consumers are skeptical of traditional advertising and actively seek out brands they feel a genuine connection with. As seen with campaigns praised for their message like Always #Likeagirl, authenticity is the foundation of meaningful audience engagement. Achieving it requires a commitment to several principles:
Consistency: The message must be consistent across all platforms and over time. A one-off campaign that contradicts previous brand behavior will be seen as inauthentic.
Audience-Centricity: Authentic campaigns speak to the audience's real needs, values, and concerns, rather than just pushing a product.
Transparency: Being open about the brand's purpose, practices, and even its flaws can build significant trust.
Without authenticity, even a campaign with massive global reach will fail to build the lasting relationships that drive long-term loyalty and advocacy. Learn how to audit your own brand's authenticity by reviewing the frameworks in the full article.
A successful product launch requires a methodical, four-stage approach that moves from high-level strategy to detailed performance analysis. This structured process ensures that every decision is deliberate and aligned with the ultimate goal of generating awareness and driving sales for the new product. By following this framework, your B2C company can avoid common launch pitfalls and maximize its impact. The essential steps are:
Define Goals and Objectives: Begin by setting specific, measurable targets. For example, aim to achieve 1,000 pre-orders, secure features in 5 industry blogs, or generate a certain level of engagement and reaction on social media.
Form a Multi-Channel Strategy: Identify your target audience and select the digital channels (e.g., social media, email, SEO, influencer marketing) where you can best reach them. Develop a cohesive message tailored for each platform, much like how Penny the Pirate utilized print, digital, and app platforms.
Execute and Reach the Audience: Roll out the campaign according to a pre-defined timeline. Engage with your audience in real-time, responding to comments and feedback to build momentum.
Measure and Analyze the Outcome: Continuously track your pre-defined metrics. Analyze the data to see what's working and what is not, allowing for real-time adjustments and providing clear insights into the launch's overall success.
This systematic approach from planning to measurement is the key to turning a product launch into a major market success. Discover deeper insights on each step in the full report.
Many creative campaigns fail to make a lasting impact because they prioritize novelty over a meaningful message. A clever or humorous concept might generate short-term buzz and high initial engagement and reaction, but if it lacks a deeper connection to human values or the brand's core purpose, it will be quickly forgotten. The strategic element that separates fleeting trends from enduring movements is a focus on brand authenticity and a purpose-driven narrative. The Always #Likeagirl campaign succeeded and endured because it tapped into a powerful social conversation and aligned the brand with an empowering ideal. To build a campaign with lasting impact, you must:
Anchor Creativity in Purpose: Your creative idea should serve a greater message that reflects your brand's values and resonates with your audience's beliefs.
Build a Community, Not Just an Audience: Design the campaign to foster conversation and shared identity, encouraging user participation that extends beyond a single interaction.
Maintain Consistency: The message should not be a one-time event. It must be reinforced through subsequent marketing efforts and integrated into the brand’s overall communication strategy.
By grounding creativity in a foundation of authentic purpose, brands can create campaigns that not only capture attention but also build lasting brand equity. Explore the full analysis for more examples of campaigns with enduring impact.
Amol has helped catalyse business growth with his strategic & data-driven methodologies. With a decade of experience in the field of marketing, he has donned multiple hats, from channel optimization, data analytics and creative brand positioning to growth engineering and sales.
Growth Strategy and Planning
