Most effective and notable Brand Campaigns of 2017

Authored by Sabiha Khan, AVP Account Planning and Strategy, WATConsult

As we bring 2017 to a close, it is nobody’s guess that we should stick to the tradition of ‘reflection’ or in other words a lookback. With digital sealing its place as an important and not to be ignored medium and with brands leaping onto the opportunity this medium offers, brand campaigns have only gotten bigger and better. Brand Campaigns of 2017 are proof that a lot is now possible that hitherto seemed unrealistic. Here’s a list of the 10 effective and notable campaigns of the year:

1. Nissan with Star Wars – The Last Jedi

Star Wars is known to go all out in its promotions, but this year the association with Nissan has taken the cake. The auto brand has done a phenomenal job with its extensive promotional campaign featuring Nissan Intelligent Mobility technologies from its top selling models. From image recognition to augmented reality and custom designing, this campaign has a flavour of everything that digital is talking about and more.

https://www.nissanusa.com/blog/star-wars-the-last-jedi

1. Beardo – International Men’s Day:

With the market for men’s grooming brand expanding at a fast pace, lot of innovative campaigns were noticed on International Men’s Day. My personal favourite was this campaign by Beardo which got women across different spheres of life to speak on their most important man. The twist here was to speak about a man who is neither their father, brother, son, husband or boyfriend.

1. Dont Hold Back 2.0

Usually sequels tend to fizzle out and not hold as much attention as the original. Where Don’t Hold Back as a campaign is concerned, this wasn’t true. The second leg of this campaign had a phenomenal response and is a brilliant example of user generated content creating brand love and brand connect online

1. Bajaj Allianz – Awkward Silence

Digital allows brands to get quirky and take a departure from the norm. A nuance well explored by FSI brands especially insurance. Bajaj Allianz through its awkward silence campaign didn’t just leverage video intelligently but also experimented with a contemporary style of showcasing communication that leveraged pop culture and its TG’s content consumption interests

1. OLA Primetime

This is a perfect example of Influencer Marketing done right and done interestingly!

1. Vivo Vsee7

Any new launch needs a buzz campaign, more so in the space of mobile phones. To excite users Vivo initiated a simple yet very powerful activity when they launched their V7+ phone in India. The activity required fans to click a Perfect Selfie with the number 7 and the brand leveraged their brand ambassador Ranveer Singh to build hype alongside as well. Well thought, well executed and impactful activity across digital racking up an engagement rate over 15% on Facebook.

1. Apollo Tyres – Earn The Jersey

Leveraging technology to bring consumer interest and brand objective together at a common ground, this campaign helped Apollo Tyres give more meaning and a value add to consumers via Football and an AR App

1. Neurobion: My True Hero

Collaborate and Co-create – two buzzwords that are only going to grow bigger and bolder next year. Neurobion launched a heartfelt campaign which was in sync with its brand communication and also effective in reaching out to the audience. The brand made a true impact with its campaign and leveraged social currency to fuel its cause

http://www.helpingtrueheroes.in/

1. Ola- Ghoomo Responsibly:

Ola used a topical occasion “World Tourism Day” and launched a campaign that spoke of responsible tourism – why this campaign makes it to this list is because it integrates a strong message which lends a positive influence on the brand thus making the brand relevant to the consumer from an emotional as well as social lens. The campaign is ofcourse interesting and was well executed as well with influencer marketing woven in well.

As part of the campaign Shehnaz Treasurywala visited 21 less travelled destinations across seven states of India in 14 days, speaking to tourists at every destination, and spreading the word.

#HonourTheHeritage wherever you go! #GhoomoResponsibly #OlaOutstation

A post shared by Ola (@olacabs) on Sep 22, 2017 at 2:47am PDT

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/ghoomoresponsibly/

1. Sofy – World’s First ever Tampon Ad

A brilliant example of how to defy the norms. This campaign resonated with the TG because it spoke to them – straight, no nonsense and to the point and thus broke through the clutter. Also, they leveraged numerous opportunities to connect with the audience and even got the insights right which further helps the TG connect with the campaign – from occasions, to formats this campaign got that right

The author of this article is Sabiha Khan, AVP – Planning & Strategy, WATConsult. She has been with WATConsult since May 2011, as an Account Manager B2B. Over the years she proved her mettle and consistently gained vast amount of experience. Now, after six very fruitful and efficient years she heads Planning and Strategy at WATConsult, managing a team of over 50 people.

Prior to that she had worked with Datamonitor, Avance Group, SMP Recruitment and Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council. She found her true calling when she was working with Datamonitor in the UK in a digital marketing role and then continued in the same industry with WATConsult.

Sabiha was involved in several award winning campaigns and manages various accounts from FMCG, to Pharma to Fashion and Lifestyle and even Finance. She has worked on a plethora of brands; Godrej, Merck, Tata and L&T, to name a few.