Next in our series of the ‘Best Influencer Campaigns In..’ is consumer electronics. And although we’ll mostly be talking about monitors, smartphones, headphones, and tablets, it doesn’t mean these ideas won’t work for blenders, air conditioners, or any other home and consumer appliances. Interested to learn more? Then check out these six great collaborations between consumer electronics brands and social media influencers.
Sony
Okay, so Sony’s #CatchTheTablet campaign happened a while ago. Still, it is nevertheless a great example of how a ‘personal touch’ can turn a marketing idea into an excellent marketing idea.
This is how it went – Sony, before launching their then-newest tablet model, the Tablet S, got the idea to get as many people as possible to try it out. This, in return, created a huge brand awareness spread and a whole slew of mouth-to-mouth recommendations. Of course, providing first-hand experience is always a game-changer, and although it has been done plenty of times since Sony did it, it just proves that a strategy like this works.
Now, imagine doing such a pre-launch trial and a first-hand experience combined with a social media influencer collaboration. It could work for anyone and anything, really!
Beats by Dre
Remember the frenzy society was experiencing about these headphones a while back? Well, that’s no coincidence, but a clever marketing strategy in working.
There’s no surprise that Beat by Dre was more into fashion culture than audio culture from the beginning, and they’ve achieved this status through carefully crafted influencer and celebrity endorsements. Take, for instance, the guerilla stint they pulled off in the 2012 Olympics by giving the headphones to the most famous athletes for free. The stars were then filmed and photographed before their performances, listening to music with headphones which created the illusion that customers could also ‘hear what the athletes hear.’
After that, they collaborated with many pop and hip-hop stars to cement the brand’s name as the coolest thing for listening to music. And any brand could do it, really – all you have to know is a clear message for your product or service and translate it by collaborating with the most relevant creators to reach your target audiences.
GoPro
GoPro had some pretty awesome marketing ideas throughout the years, but let’s talk a bit more about their ‘Be a Hero’ campaign. So, GoPro knew their customers were mostly adventure-seekers and daredevils who like to achieve the unachievable and film it while they’re doing it. Thus, GoPro reinvented the idea of personal heroism by inviting its customers to share their most cherished moments with them. This gave the company thousands of user-generated content pieces, which they’ve used both in their social media channels and actual commercials.
This un-staged and very real footage spoke volumes to their primary audience, The Millennials, who found it relatable and inspiring. And although it was GoPro who started the ‘Be a Hero’ trend, its customers soon made it viral themselves.
So, the message here would be to know your audience, their needs, and likes. Once that is established, you’ll know exactly what kind of campaign will resonate with them and will likely become a viral thing.
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard’s (HP) 2022 campaign, the #HPSustainableSounds, launched in conjunction with the Coachella music festival, ticked all the boxes to become phenomenally viral on TikTok. The initiative called for people to record beats by using various everyday items (including, but not limited to, pots and pans) and then add said beats to TikTok’s most popular songs. #HPSustainableSounds attracted the attention of TikTok stars like @abigailbarloww and @dreaknowsbeast, who have hugely contributed to the HP hashtag’s popularity. So much so that it has significantly outranked Coachella’s own TikTok account!
So, once again – most of the time, ingeniousness lies in simplicity. Create a hashtag that invites people to participate in an uncomplicated and fun manner, and it is very likely you’ll succeed in becoming, if not hugely viral, then at least moderately successful.
Samsung
Forever young and enthusiastic, Samsung not only delivers innovative ideas in electronics but also in the marketing department of their products. So, when the time came to showcase its newest Galaxy A smartphones, they created a campaign that was guaranteed to speak to Gen Z. How did they do it? Simple enough – Samsung dubbed their global campaign ‘Awesome is for Everyone’ and launched a series of hashtags on TikTok. One of them, the #danceAwesome challenge, was particularly successful and generated 4.7 pieces of user-generated content with over 20 billion views on TikTok. That’s 20 BILLION, folks.
Why was this hashtag so successful? Well, Samsung knew that to get to Gen Z, your whole campaign has to be based on a clear message and engaging content. They also knew where exactly to find their target audiences, Gen Z, and what they like – fun challenges. And although this scale of success seems kind unbelievable, you can replicate the idea, too, by creating similarly engaging content aimed at the right target audience.
LG Electronics
LG, a South Korean electronics brand, has solidified its name as a gaming-centered giant with its latest YouTube creator collaboration. Timothy Jon Betar (TimTheTatman on YouTube) is a gaming creator and the man behind the wildly popular Call of Duty Warzone videos, many of which have over a million views. Timothy uses LG’s UltraGear Gaming Monitors in these videos and adds affiliate links to the brand’s website. Seems like quite a simple idea, but the pairing is quite ingenious. And that’s not all; LG also collaborated with a renowned tech reviewer Linus Sebastian who has also produced gaming-oriented videos for the brand, thus spreading brand awareness even further. These two aspects combined have created a name for LG as a gaming giant, and even we here now want to play our solitaire on their high-tech monitors.
We think there’s no need to convince you that social media influencer marketing is here to stay anymore, as these examples should speak for themselves in highlighting the creators’ power. By leveraging their power, using user-generated content, and staying on top of relevant trends, any appliance brand can apply this strategy to its benefit. And if you think it is time for you to try it, too, give us a message!
