As I am in the early stages of planning my campaign and this project, I have undergone some research and looked at a couple of existing social media campaigns that have been successful in order to get a good idea of what I will need to include in mine.
In this blog post I will be looking at one specific example and critically analyse how well this project was executed and ways in which I can apply this to my campaign.
Zalando - #StyledayFriday
When the coronavirus hit and sent everyone inside, it saw the move online. From ‘nights out’ over zoom to working from home. It saw the slowing down of life as we knew it. Fashion company Zalando was part of the fashion trend that aided in the increase in more casual clothes and loungewear became the trend - it was the only way for companies to survive as no one had to go out anymore or have anything to dress for. So they created #StyledayFriday which encouraged people to make every Friday an occasion to dress up and ‘discover new styles together. It had the backing from established fashion influences, Zalando employees and users became influencers too and launched the company's popularity and credibility through the roof.
It became ‘the fastest-trending lockdown hashtag in the fashion industry’ and helped the Zalando Instagram reach 1 million followers.
This campaign encouraged people to take videos, photos and share their love of fashion with their friends in a time when people needed connections and communication more than ever. Zalando took a dark time for many and turned it positive and helped people have something to look forward to every week.
They used both Instagram and TikTok as their main platforms to promote this campaign. The use of tiktok was tactical as this is when the platform really took off.
Tiktok had been around since 2016 but only became popular during the 2020 covid lockdown. This is because people had nothing to do but stay inside so it saw a trend in people filming short videos about their lives in lockdown, the clothes they have bought or funny dance routines. Zalando capitalised on this and joined the platform at the best time - when everyone else was on it too.
Why did this work?
This campaign came about during a dark time, where people felt alone, bored and were not allowed to leave their houses or see family and friends. It challenged people to connect with people online and reconnect with their love of fashion during a time of loungewear and pyjamas everyday. Seeing people showing off their outfits every week sparked inspiration for people to recreate or create their own versions.
What do we take from this?
Appealing to people in a time of need and offering something exciting and different is going to get a good result. If people have something to look forward to every week, it is going to raise spirits and they’re going to talk about it to their friends and spread the word.
By creating it as a weekly thing, it allows people to look forward to it and creates an event out of it. In this instance, that is exactly what people needed during the dark time the world was going through. It also creates a community of people who are sharing their outfit creations and commenting on other peoples who they may have never met before. It builds solidarity and a community/family ethic which was needed more than ever during this time.
Applying this to my campaign
From looking and understanding the success of this campaign, it has allowed me to gain an understanding of how audiences respond to content and challenges on social media and how I can best apply this to my project. It reiterates the point that people like to feel included and seen on social media.
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