How Always, Magnum & Arla Reached Audiences In 2015

2016 is well underway and with a new year comes new methods, targets and ambitions.

Here, we take a look at three global brands who made us feel all sorts of emotions, maximised reach and gave us some food for thought for our own marketing strategies.

Always - the most convincing campaign

How do you sell sanitary pads and tampons? Not exactly hot stuff, right? Procter & Gamble were faced with this challenge for Always' products. But in partnership with agencies Leo Burnett and Holler they came up with #LikeAGirl, the thought-provoking campaign which focused on girls who were going through puberty. And it was a global phenomenon. 

Millions saw the first film on Super Bowl Sunday, February 2nd 2015, giving the campaign a huge boost and #LikeAGirl spread like wildfire. To date, the ads have been watched over 90 million times...and counting.

With simple tools and a positive twist on a term that's often used in a derogatory way, Always reached consumers and gained media coverage in more than 150 countries, racking-up millions of shares, clicks, comments and likes along the way. And, Procter & Gamble has since further expanded their reach through a collaboration with TED, creating videos to boost youngsters self-confidence.

Always hasn't spoken publicly about the value of earned media, but a recent survey shows that 76% of 16-24s say, after watching the film, that they no longer see “like a girl” as an insult. 

Check out their video here. It's pretty darn awesome!

Magnum - the best-executed campaign

During the summer heat, Instagram exploded with photos of delectable, decorative Magnums. Those pictures were all part of a brilliant strategic move from Unilever, the parent company of Magnum. And I totally fell for it...and it was scrumptious! 

With pop-up stores in some of the world’s greatest cities, Magnum connected itself with fashion, lifestyle and design, inviting customers to create their own ice-cream concoctions. This move made Magnums even more Instagram-worthy, and by inviting the biggest fashion bloggers to document their creations, Magnum and Unilever maximised their reach to thousands of ice-cream craving consumers.

An Instagram search reveals a huge reach, and the reason behind this? They launched the campaign as a mobile based experience, thereby reaching directly into customers pockets.

The campaign “Make My Magnum” reached completely new markets in 2015, with their beautiful film “Be True to your Pleasure”. Launched during the Cannes film festival in May with a clear reference to the festivals love of luxury, decadence and pleasure, it became a viral hit. Furthermore, the film smartly brought the often taboo topic of transsexual and transgender into mainstream culture and was rewarded with a Gold award at the prestigious marketing festival Epica Awards.

Arla Foods - the most creative campaign

In a world where consumers are choosing convenience over loyalty, how do you sell normal stuff like butter and milk? How do you create that love towards a product? Because in all honesty, few people go to a different store if their favourite milk or butter brand is sold out. They take the one in front of them, or the one that's on offer! But in 2015, Arla Foods did their best to change that approach. With their Freestyle-campaigns, Arla spoke directly to the taste buds - and to all of us aspiring chefs! The campaign was a continuation of The Chef from 2013 and the idea was much the same: pictures bombarding our senses and close-ups of mouth-watering foods.

Wieden + Kennedy is the strategic mastermind behind Arla Foods’ Lurpak campaigns. Managing Director Neil Christie explains "we wanted to make people’s mouth water. The next time they were standing in front of the dairy counter, they would associate Lurpak with the joy of cooking”.

Lurpak didn’t stop with the Freestyle-campaign. Last year they also launched Adventure Awaits, a film that takes advertising to a whole new level by comparing cooking with space travel. Conquering new frontiers in the kitchen became their raison d’etre, and consumers loved it. We haven’t yet seen the final results of Lurpak’s marketing strategy, but 2015 was definitely a defining year for the brand. And we bet you can't help but think of their film the next time you're shopping for your dairy products! 

Written by Katrine Barslev, Marketing Manager at Mynewsdesk Denmark.