8 inspiring content marketing campaigns and what you can learn from them
As the global recession continues to gain traction, most companies cut their budgets on marketing activities that require significant investments, but don’t bring quick returns
This means we’ll see many more exciting, experimental, and game-changing content marketing campaigns in the next few months! But before we roll up our sleeves, Depositphotos, a stock content marketplace with over 250 million royalty-free files, looks at eight top-of-mind cases to inspire and motivate you.
The latest content marketing campaigns worth your attention
1. 'Stories to get you out there’ by Patagonia
This editorial platform contains dozens of brave, motivational, and thrilling real-life anecdotes from the Patagonia team and community. Supported by strong imagery, stories feature skiing, finishing, climbing, hiking, and other adventures that call upon activism, rewilding, and planet protection. This content marketing project is executed in multiple formats and in collaboration with other brands (PRX and Pop-Up Magazine Productions) to inspire an existing community and conquer the attention of new audiences hungry for travel and experiences.
This annual content marketing project is an overview of top lists, new genres, emerging or popular artists, and even personality types that Spotify outlines after reviewing their service by the end of the year.
Designed in an interactive and striking way, this project quickly catches attention and unites all Spotify users in the same place. Additionally, being one of the first streaming services present in Roblox, they took ‘Wrapped’ to the metaverse and top artists,thematic quizzes, and games on Spotify Island.
Source: 2022 Wrapped by Spotify
3. ‘Creativity: Inside&Out’ by Depositphotos
Among various content marketing projects that Depositphotos develops is their recent YouTube channel - ‘Creativity: Inside&Out’. It is created on the edge of visual communications, marketing, and culture, providing designers, content creators, and photographers with the latest industry trends and insights.
With five different rubrics, they cover topics from the history of memes to the challenges and opportunities that AI technology will open in the near future. Whether you want to have fun or learn something new, the Depositphotos creative team has got you covered.
4. Pinterest Predicts by Pinterest
Many companies make trend forecasts at the end of the year, but Pinterest ones are always the most discussed. Code-naming their content marketing project ‘A window into the future’, they provide dozens of insights about styles, aesthetics, and topics that will be trending in the following months. In addition to sharing detailed trend descriptions and mood boards, they allow filtering your search by different generations, values, and categories. This way, their audience can easily find what they're looking for.
Source: Pinterest Predicts 2023
5. TikTok campaign by Duolingo
In 2022, Duolingo took over TikTok and became an example for many brands on what marketing that goes viral should look like. Creating videos that get millions of views, they speculate on trending hashtags, pop culture news, and audience insights that make every message so funny and relatable. In a short time, Duolingo managed to become a lovemark brand, which is also thanks to their well-tailored content marketing.
Source: Duolingo’s TikTok account
6. Be Brave Like Ukraine by Banda Agency and the Office of the President of Ukraine
Many people have heard about this communication platform created by the Ukrainian Banda Agency and the Office of the President of Ukraine. The project translates one important message and encourages millions worldwide to stand with Ukraine during the cruel war. 'Be Brave Like Ukraine' is an excellent example of how content marketing can be used to build brands, not for commercial but ideological purposes.
Source: brave.ua
7. Content Style Guide by Mailchimp
Thinking of ways to spread the word about your brand as cost-effectively as possible? Learn from Mailchimp's recent content marketing project. They created a landing page with their corporate content style guide that is free to access and use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license. All you have to do is credit Mailchimp and enjoy tons of valuable tips and advice, from what writing principles and goals can be to grammar rules and more.
Source: Mailchimp Content Style Guide
Another format that content marketers can turn to is newsletters, and Robinhood skillfully takes advantage of this. As attention spans are getting shorter, they provide users with bite-sized information and the latest news in daily and weekly newsletters. The Robinhood team also experiments with formats and layouts that look visually interesting and easy to read to keep their audience engaged. And the important thing is that they bring the most value to their users by gathering all the essential information in one place, straight in their user’s mailboxes.
3 important ideas to remember when planning your next content marketing campaign
1. Build a strong community within and around your brand if you want to achieve multiple goals at the same time
The pandemic has shown that brands with communities got more support and managed to keep the lights on during the crisis. But if you look closer, you can achieve a wider range of goals by investing in brand community building. You get organic brand growth by making your community members talk about your brand, increase customer loyalty, and generate additional income by running various activities. What’s more exciting for brands with a big mission is an opportunity to impact the market and society.
2. Don’t underestimate collaborations. They are a must-use marketing tool for brands that want to grow
Collaboration between brands is the most common way to join forces and create something new. However, the opportunities are not limited to that. Depending on your goals and project, you can partner with a government institution, an artist, a charitable organization, or an opinion leader. Or, you can also collaborate with all of the aforementioned to get the most coverage, impact, and results with your activities.
3. Your best content marketing projects don’t always require the largest investments
Quite often, beginner content marketers want to create complex projects that require the collaboration of many cross-functional teams. However, simplicity is king, and it has always been. Ideas that are comprehensive and relatable can bring great results if you want to increase brand awareness, generate new leads, and build a strong community.
You’ve got this.