Every time you open Social Media you get an Ad. Social Media are structured so that you see that Ad the first time you “open your eyes”, but what do you do when Generation Z has befriended the AD BLOCK? Simple. You make good campaigns that reach consumers organically. But to do that you have to get out of your comfort zone!

Below I’m going to show you 5 good Social Media campaigns from this year that I simply couldn’t forget and what I particularly liked about them.

1. KFC: POP OR DROP

KFC Pop or Drop took place on TikTok, where Alex, the main character of the campaign, was playing with the new KFC product: Popcorn Chicken.

The concept of the Pop or Drop campaign consisted of content delivered each day where Alex would drop a piece of Popcorn Chicken and try to catch it with his mouth. The twist was that if he didn’t catch it, the magical DROP would bring a 20% discount on the product that day.

Why it worked: The idea behind the concept was that KFC consumers were fully engaged in the campaign, as they gave Alex challenges in the comments on how or where to play Pop or Drop. This campaign was active until the product was sold out in the restaurants, being a limited edition product. Something so simple managed to explode on TikTok.

Wondering why this campaign worked? Quite simply: in times of crisis any discount is welcomed, especially if it’s targeted at Generation Z who make no secret of working hard for little money. KFC managed to combine the useful with the pleasant, 20% discount on Drop Day, a discount caused by the community challenge. 

Here you can see Alex.

2. Pepsi: CARPE DM

Remember that time of summer when you finally decided you wanted to go to Summer Well? That moment when you listened to a little Arctic Monkeys on Spotify and said, “Boy, I could see them live!” What did you do then? You went in to get a ticket and it was sold out.

Campaign Concept: After this disappointment, Pepsi did a campaign on Instagram called CARPE DM where Pepsi influencers gave away their tickets to the only sold out festival of the summer – Summer Well. How did we find out about this campaign? Like you, I wanted to get my ticket to Summer Well and it was sold out.

Why it worked: The campaign worked like this – Pepsi influencers sent Summer Well invites directly to the Instagram DM (direct message) of fans in the community, using a native Instagram feature: View Once. This meant you could see the invite once and then it disappeared. What was the consumer supposed to do? Be quick. Manage to take a screenshot and send it back to the influencer, so the invite was theirs.

Of course, the activation continued at Summer Well at the Pepsi corner where people had all sorts of activities and surprises.

What do you mean why did the campaign work? Finding a ticket to Summer Well in summer 2022 was a challenge, a challenge that Pepsi passed with flying colours! In fact, they even won an award at Webstock thanks to it.

3. 

   Samsung in collaboration with DeMoga Music: #22EpicNights

Let’s say you haven’t heard of the campaign. LET’S SAY. But I’m sure you’ll know what it’s all about when I tell you a bit about it.

DeMoga Music managed to create a complete music experience for Samsung Electronics Romania together with the communication agency Cheil Centrade. What does that mean? On the occasion of the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, the phone’s camera and DeMoga music joined forces and an album was released!

Campaign Concept: The #22EpicNights album includes 22 tracks produced in DeMoga Music studios, geared towards Generation Z, that address a variety of topics: mental health, personal development, environmental protection and more. Basically, he’s taken all of Generation Z’s issues and exposed them in a way young people feel best: through music.

It’s all manifested in the cozyness of nightlife. Why do I say cozyness? Nightlife isn’t just about partying. We tend to think of partying when we say ”nightlife”, when in fact nightlife is so much more than that: it can mean a movie at a drive-in cinema, a long walk in the park that ends in conversation until the morning, or simply a season of your favourite show watched quickly in one night. Nightlife, broken down into words and explained, is the night that comes alive, that is, that doesn’t sleep, you don’t have to be in a club to consider it nightlife.

Why it worked: Because the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra was launched at the time, Samsung wanted to show that you don’t need professional equipment to follow your dreams, especially for beginner artists who don’t have a big budget to shoot a video, or who knows – you want to vlog and don’t have equipment. You don’t.

The campaign was run shooting 22 videos at night, where the light isn’t great, the conditions to shoot something decent are tough, and Samsung proved that you can do it without professional equipment. 

Doesn’t that sound familiar yet? Listen to this track then, you sure know what I’m talking about.

4. ING: Unfollow hate

Hate, one of the most discussed topics nowadays, especially since online has grown so much that it’s more important what X says on Facebook than the doctor.

Every day I tell my acquaintances who have online communities to be very careful what they do, what they post, because cancel culture is a very serious thing and hate once started is hard to stop, especially when we are talking about a “herd effect” which is very common online.

Campaign Concept: ING did an absolutely wonderful campaign called simply: Unfollow hate, with a very strong message: “You’ll never know how good you are at something if hate gets in the way.”

A campaign with Influencers that was very visible to the online world, it even launched somewhere earlier this year and I still remember it now, it really impressed me. As part of the campaign a 5 minute video was made, which you can see here if you haven’t already. 

By the way, if you don’t remember the video, I’m sure you remember Killa Fonic’s song released as part of this campaign, also for them.

Why it worked: ING understood that the role of brands has changed and that they have a very big influence on the public, they understood that it is essential, and in my view it should be mandatory, for brands to look beyond products and services, to try to bring as many changes for the better in people’s lives as possible. ING understood that every person should be treated with dignity. ING understood that as wide as the internet is and as opportune as it is to showcase your talents and capabilities, the tendency to bully is also high.

It certainly reached your ears one way or another, that’s what I call a successful campaign. Unfollow hate, everybody!

5. Pepsi: Fizz Up

Why did I feel like putting this campaign first? Simple, I’m 24 years old, proudly part of Generation Z, and for me Fizz Up was so visible that when Smiley appeared on my TikTok with Fizz Up I was already humming along. Granted, you didn’t have much to hum, but the important thing is to be catchy and on the beat with those two words. Bravo Pepsi! We gave Fizz Up the summer together.

Campaign Concept: Something simple, summery, with cold Pepsi and bubbly sounds. That’s what we love! The Fizz Up by Pepsi campaign has been absolutely everywhere this summer. EVERYWHERE. Smiley thought it was so cool, he even did the song for it.

After all the summer madness, from 4-12 September, at Calea Victoriei 145, Pepsi opened FIZZ UP Studios, where they launched the creative concept of Hashtag Challange directly from TikTok offline. Hashtag Challange on TikTok is that “trend” when a Hashtag is made that can be used for multiple videos in the same range, following a very well thought out thread. Brands have built these hashtags for more visibility, like #5pasidebine and other such hashtags that are widely used because they went viral from a Hashtag Challange.

How did Pepsi translate the Hashtag Challange directly from TikTok to Offline? It basically created this place where you could make TikToks cool as hell. Pepsi had built a cool setup with the ideal backdrop for making TikTok. It brought offline a great place to bring everything that TikTok is about: colourful places, cool transitions, atypical shapes and interesting offline challanges, so you could make your material for online, Fizz style! Of course, there were also Pepsi influencers on site, including Smiley, the Fizz Up “head of mischief”!

Why it worked: Geared towards Generation Z, made from cool transitions that use TikTok, the campaign took shape from this summer’s fun at Fizz Up Studios, the place where TikTok becomes reality and the reality becomes TikTok .

Probably the best Social Media campaign: Pepsi managed to be close to the community with a focus on content creators who are just starting out. For those who don’t know yet: being a content creator it’s a real job and the fact that Pepsi supports the generation to become someone… THUMBS UP!

How you can make Social Media campaigns just as cool in 2023

Very simple: try it. Don’t be afraid. Dare to be different!

How to do it:

• Don’t run away from TikTok – it’s the platform that can turn dreams into reality. New trends emerge every day, and if a brand does them successfully it has so much to gain. See Kaufland, after all we all know the 5 types of Capybara you find in Kaufland.(TikTok Trends)
• Don’t refuse to engage your community – your community is your mirror. You need to be noticed, you need to show them that you care and love them because without them you wouldn’t be where you are now, no matter what brand you are. Thank them in every way possible.
• Music is the cure for the soul – You want to target Gen Z, that’s what you want, give them what they love! That’s what I want to see more of online in 2023: music!
• I want to see friends – What do I mean by that? You know the comments between McDonalds and KFC? WE WANT TO SEE MORE. Why don’t we see between Samsung and Huawei? Pepsi and Coke? The kind of competing friendship in Social Media it’s to die for!
• Creativity – as much as possible. All of it. Dear marketers, I want to see you put your heart and soul into your campaigns, a creatively worked campaign gains huge ground, especially for us youngsters, we want to see cool executions, unique ideas and as different as possible from others.
• Entertainment – we want to laugh! We live in very atypical times, for brands that can pull off comical campaigns, DO THAT PLEASE! People need to laugh.

Good luck to us all in 2023 and let’s see campaigns that stick in our minds!