Most of us have seen many popular name brands become exceedingly popular in recent years. In the past, this was done through traditional marketing.
You would have seen the name of the company, usually on television commercials, or on billboards, and this would prompt you to make a buying decision. You may have received mailers, advertisements that would come directly to your home or PO Box, providing you with some type of a promotional offer.
However, advertising has changed substantially over the years. This is all because of the Internet. Here is how some of the most famous brands in the world have achieved even greater heights of success all because of digital marketing.
Why These Campaigns Have Worked
Before diving into which companies were the most successful, there is a basic strategy that they all use.
Firstly, most of them have a memorable spokesperson, or a unique byline or slogan, that captures your attention.
Second, they are going to use a unique form of marketing, one that has never been done before. This adds novelty to the advertising campaign they are doing, and if they are good, these are ones that we will remember for many years.
Finally, there is always a call to action at the end of the advertisement. This could be the display of their logo, motivating you to try out their products, or they might provide a website or a phone number that you can call.
As long as they are advertising to the demographic that is more receptive to their products, they can make millions of dollars with each advertising campaign that they do using these simple strategies.
Volkswagen Cars
Back in the 1960s, Volkswagen had an ad campaign that was emphasizing how small their vehicles were. This was something that had never been done before.
In modern times, using the Internet, as well as social media, they were able to show young people driving around these smaller cars that had been modified. This attracted many people in younger demographics to consider purchasing these vehicles. It catered to primarily girls in the 16 to 25 year old demographic range. When they saw their favorite celebrities with them, or the unique and cute styles of these vehicles, they were motivated to make a purchase based upon the online campaigns, commercials, and videos that Volkswagen was using.
Old Spice Cologne
This was one of the better advertising campaigns in recent years. It featured an African-American man that was well-built, placed in these very unique situations. One of the most memorable commercials had him going through changing scenarios, eventually ending up on a white horse.
Not only were these commercials used on television, but they went viral on the Internet courtesy of social media. They were so unique, and admittedly funny, that more people than ever before were introduced to, or reintroduced to, the old spice cologne.
Nike
Nike has always been a frontrunner in the shoe industry. They are one of the most well-known brands for shoes, and have been for decades. They utilized the popularity of Michael Jordan back in the 1980s and 1990s.
However, this was prior to the Internet. What Nike did to involve begin to evolve, using PPC campaigns on Google, as well as viral social media campaigns, in order to generate sales.
Recently, Nike took a gamble, incorporating one of the more controversial athletes into their commercials. They made football player Colin Kaepernick their main spokesperson. He is controversial, having started the kneeling movement in the NFL that was both loved and hated. Nike decided to appeal to those that appreciated his gesture of solidarity with African-Americans that had been killed by police officers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq2CvmgoO7I
This gamble paid off very nicely, and courtesy of the Internet, has led to many viral advertisements that has increased their sales significantly.
GoDaddy
This company is the most successful online domain registrars. This business began with simply selling domain names for people that wanted to build websites. They were able to benefit from a beautiful spokesperson by the name of Danica Patrick, a professional race car driver. It was her beauty, and thus somewhat controversial commercials that were seen during the Super Bowl, that really brought them into the spotlight.
As of late, Danica Patrick has retired from professional race car driving and is now their main spokesperson. They have started to use viral marketing campaigns online, once again using her as their main spokesperson, to generate sales on the web. Not only do they offer domains, but they have web hosting, and many other services. In this case, they took a proven icon, and brought her back, to truly take advantage of the power of social media.
Dollar Shave Club
This is a relative newcomer to the industry, a business that is capitalizing on not only viral videos, but on the popularity of ordering products online and having them delivered. They focused upon the frustration that many people have over the cost of razors. By offering them at discount prices, and by using powerful video marketing, they were able to target a demographic of people that wanted cheap quality razors without having to go to the store.
As a result of their efforts online, and the many viral videos they have produced, they have become very popular and profitable company courtesy of how viral videos work.
Takeaway
This overview of how both old and new famous brands have use the Internet to their advantage should show you how powerful digital marketing can be. Understanding that most people are looking for products on the web, and are on social media, they capitalized on this understanding.
Although traditional advertisements are still used by these businesses, a large portion of their success comes from online marketing. It is one of the best ways to attract a large audience and have your message spread, about the products and services that you have to offer. There will likely be more companies emerging, utilizing video marketing and the viral nature of social media, that will become very successful.
The world is always changing, and with the Internet playing such a crucial role in our day-to-day activities, this is why this type of marketing can help businesses generate large profits annually.