Harri Roblin

In the modern world centred around social media, anyone can post and promote products online. Marketing schemes must be more creative than ever to maximise market revenue. These methods are relevant in both recruiting customers but also encouraging loyalty in current consumers. In this article, I will identify my top five marketing schemes over recent years. My decision is based on various factors: innovation, global reach, or simply an outside-the-box idea.

1. Nike

Nike has various campaigns worthy of this list, but my specific example is the 2012 Olympics campaign. Adidas won the sponsorship rights by purchasing them for $150 million. To most, this seemed an unrecoverable blow for Nike as they were prohibited from using any Olympic imagery at arguably the world’s most significant sporting marketing event. A creative workaround was, therefore, required. Nike created a campaign centred around all the other locations named London worldwide. Their advertisements focused on ordinary people striving for success, centred around the message “Find Your Greatness”. Viewers felt lifted by listening to inspirational stories. They also maximised Nike’s visibility by sponsoring as many athletes as possible in a broadly televised event. This was a fantastic brand strategy with an overall lower campaign expenditure than Adidas while generating a higher return on their investment. Nike’s approach changed sports marketing forever.

2. Virgin America

The aviation industry is an incredibly competitive and challenging sector to succeed in. Airline companies need highly innovative marketing strategies. In 2015, Virgin America took this to new levels and decided to create one of the longest ads ever created. The ad was six hours long and centred around a fictional airline company called Blah Airlines. This was a representation of a mundane airline with comically bad social medias, embodying everything wrong with generic airline carriers and highlighting the strength of Virgin. This was an unusual approach, but it ultimately succeeded and drew significant exposure for the company. In this case, the risk Virgin America took in their marketing strategy paid dividends.

3. Red Bull

Red Bull has a hugely successful and distinct marketing strategy centred around the popular phrase “Red Bull gives you wings.” However, this is not the branding I want to focus on. They currently have a successful brand ambassador campaign at UK universities. The identification of students as a large part of their consumer market has allowed them to pivot their strategy to focus on university campuses. The scheme involves hiring student ambassadors to drive around in Red Bull branded cars, using their online personal media presence, and distributing free Red Bull cans at university events. Introducing possible new consumers to the drink from their most common customer background will lead to further product purchases and a broader consumer network. This marketing strategy is canny and innovative.

4. McDonald’s

McDonald’s is arguably the most well-recognised global brand. You are never more than 120 miles from the ‘Golden Arches’ in the USA; they are in 120 countries and serve 68 million customers daily. Despite being a global company, it employs a local marketing strategy. This is where, despite a brand’s global scale, it still uses a local approach to appeal to the native market. In McDonald’s case, they have unique food items in specific countries. For example, the Philippines have the McSpaghetti. This intelligent marketing strategy encourages people to visit McDonald’s when they travel to different countries.

5. Spotify

Spotify dominates the digital music industry, and its marketing strategy is the key to its success. They have built a variety of innovative features that have allowed them to create a global brand. The first is the “for you” playlist, where Spotify suggests new songs based on individual tastes. This makes the service seem personalised, increasing consumer satisfaction and the feeling they are receiving more from the paid subscription. Annually, every Spotify user also receives a “Spotify Wrap-Up”, showing which artists and songs the user has listened to most over the year. They also include a share to social media function so people can show their friends and followers their preferences. This clever marketing move provides free exposure to new clients. The focus on personalisation is the strategy that has made the app successful.