Apr 24, 2022
7 Great Examples of Influencer Marketing Done Right
Every influencer marketing campaign is unique. Likewise, no two brand influencers are the same. However, there are influencers and campaigns alike that stood out from the crowd. These are the campaigns that you should take inspiration from. It is always advisable in marketing and other disciplines or professions to take the good with the bad while also channeling the bad into something useful.
Here are some great examples of influencer marketing campaigns done correctly.
Swisspers ‘Naked Selfie’ campaign
Swisspers is a luxurious cotton brand made from certified organic cotton. In 2015, it launched the said campaign on social media (though the actual campaign started in 2012), encouraging users to #sleepnaked or makeup-free. The campaign targeted health-conscious women between 18 and 35 years old and culminated in a live event and sweepstakes.
This influencer marketing campaign is so successful not because it hired beauty influencers on Instagram but also because of how relatable the underlying concept is. Every woman who wears makeup knows the struggle of removing makeup before going to sleep. Since it is relatively easy to take a picture of your face sans makeup and post it on Instagram along with the official hashtags, authentic content keeps on flowing.
US Cotton - Swisspers #SleepNaked
Subaru’s #MeetAnOwner campaign
This campaign targets millennial buyers for its brand new car model Impreza. Influencers from various locations are hired. YouTube content creators like Devin Graham, with 5 million subscribers at the time of the campaign, were enlisted. He created an excellent video highlighting his and his friends’ personalities through a slip and slide cliff-diving while showcasing the car they used to drive up the cliff.
The campaign effectively appeals to the emotions of young car buyers. The video highlights a selling point: the Subaru Impreza is all you need to fuel an epic adventure with friends. Cars are generally perceived as a status symbol, but the campaign highlights that a car can be so much more than just its prestige.
Slip and Slide off 500 Foot Cliff!!! In 4K!
Lagavulin and Nick Offerman’s collab
No one saw this coming—a collaboration between a luxury whisky brand and Nick Offerman, who is more of a casual drinker. They created a video where Offerman, known for his portrayal of Rowan Swanson in comedy-drama Parks and Recreation, sips a glass of whisky for forty-five minutes. He was seated next to a crackling fire.
Offerman is not your typical Hollywood A-lister, so this campaign is not necessarily a celebrity endorsement. But this is where the appeal lies. The video takes the best in Offerman and Swanson, which made him the perfect fit for the campaign. And the video is not your everyday mainstream commercial. Some perceived its length as absurd, but it made the viewers feel like they were actually sitting next to him. People need not look twice to appreciate the video and the influencer. This is where content-related risks pay off.
Casper’s dog mattress launch
In 2016, Casper, a well-known sleep essentials company, launched a campaign for its new product line, dog mattresses. Precisely so, the company gathered twenty dog lover influencers and held a dinner gala for them, complete with steaks, green carpet, and ‘pupperazis.’ The party happened in Manhattan. The influencers’ combined following totaled 3.5 million followers who got to witness the event through Facebook live streaming. Dodo, an organization that caters to ‘animal people,’ got its live streaming rights.
This is an example of making live events right, gathering several influencers in one place to participate in core activities. It is like an Insta meet but on a more organized scale. Although the event only included a fraction of dog lover influencers, their personalities (and that of their doggos) shine through against the branded backdrop where actual dog mattress products are placed.
FIJI Water’s partnership with a micro-influencer
In 2017, FIJI Water tapped the services of Danielle Bernstein, a fitness micro-influencer with the social handle @weworewhat. She launched 8-minute videos of her workout and fitness routines, teaming up with a celebrity trainer, Eric Johnson, and the drink brand. The series of videos is known as Body Wore What. In the videos, she reminded the viewers to stay hydrated while doing the workout routines. Indeed, it was a promotion that did not feel forced because of the strategic fit between her content and FIJI Water products.
The campaign shows that success follows when the brand’s purpose aligns with the influencer’s overall branding. In this way, the brand will fit the ongoing narrative that the influencers let their audience engage with during that period. In addition, it feels more organic this way, allowing the influencer to take over the creative process.
Tom’s of Maine’s snowballed campaign
A personal care company, Tom’s of Maine chose to collaborate with select Instagram micro-influencers who are eco-warriors themselves. Then, the goal was to encourage their followers to try a product and post about it on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. This influencer marketing strategy had a snowball effect. In the first three months of the campaign, it reached more than 4 million engagements and, thus, potential customers.
The campaign thrived due to exposure. The fact is selling deodorant, for instance, requires multiple impressions before a social media user would decide to purchase the product for the first time or switch brands. What makes this strategy appealing to brands are its effectiveness and affordability. A group of micro-influencers took care of these parts the same way that one macro influencer would. Indeed, more followers do not always mean better reach in influencer marketing.
Bedrock Real Estate’s the “Anthem of Us” campaign
Bedrock has been known for its outstanding influencer marketing campaigns throughout the years. One of its most successful campaigns is the “Anthem of Us.” It’s about selling real estate properties in the Detroit area, so the video created cultivates a sense of pride among those who want to live there. The video features a Detroit-born celebrity rapper, Big Sean. He provided an emotional voiceover during the video’s opening—and an unscripted one at that.
Having a celebrity star in a video can be share-worthy enough. However, what truly makes the “Anthem of Us” video stand out is the micro-influencers who got to share their living experiences. So there is the regional appeal, which is crucial when targeting a geographic area. Local personalities are more valuable than big shots. These micro-influencers are given a voice that leverages the collective impact. In watching the video, it felt like you would like them to be your neighbors.
Anthem of Us | A Short Film About Detroit | Presented by Bedrock
With these examples, the key takeaway in making a successful campaign is that the brands need to look into what value they can bring to their target audience. One that brands can achieve by employing the right influencers.