Posted on 22/12/2020 by Melanie Comerford

The Best Marketing Campaigns of 2020

2020 has been a year unlike any other. Marketing has evolved and altered with a constantly changing world. Amid this ceaseless adaptation, there have been unique and incredible marketing campaigns. To share some marketing inspiration for your next campaign ideas brainstorming session, we’ve put together three of our favourite campaigns of 2020.

The Best Digital Marketing Campaigns of 2020

I Saw It First’s Influencer Campaigns

I Saw It First is an online fast-fashion retailer that aims to keep up with the latest trends by adding new styles daily to their eCommerce store. Despite only being founded in 2017, they’ve already established an effective Instagram presence and a core audience on the platform.

As part of their 2020 Black Friday campaign, they ran a giveaway competition on Instagram featuring Love Island’s Jack Fowler. The campaign was called ‘Jack Friday’ and featured the reality TV star posing in photos they posted sporadically on their page leading up to Black Friday. To enter the competition, users had to like the competition post, tag a friend, follow the brand’s account, and share the post on their story.

i saw it first jack fowler

Image Source: I SAW IT FIRST

The campaign aimed to increase traffic on their Instagram page and gain followers. This is similar to other campaigns they have run in partnership with influencers before. For example, they have previously partnered with YouTube fashion and lifestyle content creators with different audiences who share similar interests and could be enticed by the brand.

Each content creator filmed a video and the brand provided the influencers with a 30% discount code. A tracking link was placed in the description box of each video, so the brand could see the traffic and sales the campaign generated.

Analytics showed the discount codes produced a 200% ROI.

The description box link tracked 237k unique users to I Saw It First’s site.

Since then, the brand has started its own influencer program which has gone from strength to strength in 2020. It has allowed them to connect with influencers who fit their brand themselves and run a variety of micro-campaigns to different audiences across multiple platforms.

So, what lessons can you learn from working with influencers that you can apply to your own campaign ideas?

The biggest takeaway is that similar audiences exist across platforms. Although the brand has a big presence on Instagram, by reaching out to similar influencers on other platforms, they massively increased traffic and sales on their site.

Examine your brand and ask yourself where your presence is strong? Is there another platform with a similar audience you can reach? Marketing to this audience can tap into a goldmine of potential customers interested in your products and services. Trial out different channels and measure the data, this will help inform your future marketing decisions.

Argos’ Christmas Campaign

The campaign uses an advert that taps into the heart and unique selling points (USP) of the brand. Featuring on television and YouTube to reach as wide an audience as possible. 

This festive season, every high street retailer is going to face challenges, even established retail brands like Argos. 2020 has accelerated the rise in online shopping, so what this advert does so well is that it taps into people’s nostalgia for the brand.

argos christmas advert

Image Source: Argos

In the video, two girls search through the Argos catalogue and imagine playing with a magic set. We’re shown all their tricks and performances over the Christmas holidays before one of the girls shows the camera an Argos catalogue with ‘Book Of Dreams’ written on the cover.

What we think works so well is it showcases a memory a lot of people can relate and connect with: looking for Christmas presents in the Argos catalogue. They’ve pinpointed what’s unique about their brand and displayed it in an entertaining way. How well has it worked? Well, we’ll have to wait and see until after Christmas for the results.

You may be asking how you can take marketing inspiration from a big campaign like this, right? In terms of budget, there is going to be a difference, however, any brand can showcase their USP in a memorable way that potential customers will engage with. Establish what people love about your brand and brainstorm campaign ideas. These could be social media posts, blog content, or copy to include in your email newsletter.

Pret A Manger’s Coffee Subscription Campaign

Lockdown restrictions in March forced all non-essential shops to close. When these measures were lifted many marketing efforts in 2020 were focused on encouraging people to return to reopened stores. The food and drink outlet Pret A Manger did this in a highly effective and unique way.

Everyone wants something for free and businesses want to make a profit. These seem like two contradictive ideas, however, this marketing campaign shows both are possible to achieve. Pret offered a 1-month free trial of their coffee subscription which normally costs £20 per month. This campaign gave their customers free drinks but had 3 clear objectives to meet which would lead to an increase in profits.

– Customer Acquisition

– Customer Retention

– Defend Market Share

The biggest challenge the campaign faced wasn’t attracting customers, it was retaining them past the end of the free trial. To convert trialists into paying subscribers, Pret worked with customer engagement agency Soul. They reinforced the value of the subscription to trialists, so it became something they were reluctant to give up. The strategy was very effective and led to paid subscribers being 4 times higher than their original target.

pret a manger

Image Source: Pret A Manger

The subscription works as it’s an innovative idea, despite being a tried and tested concept. It takes something all consumers are familiar with, paid subscription services, and adapts them to fit a new sector. In this case food and drink. When implemented effectively this strategy retains customers, upsells products, and collects transaction data to use for future marketing campaigns.

So how can you draw marketing ideas from this campaign? Incentivise purchases. Customers subscribed as it was a good offer and stayed on as they felt it was good value. 

Depending on your business, you could do this in a similar way by using loyalty cards or offering gift cards for purchases over a certain amount. If you can incentivise consumers to purchase from you, they’re more likely to return and buy again.

We think these are 3 great examples of some of the best campaigns we’ve seen this year, of course, we had to exclude our own marketing efforts from the running. However, in 2020, we’ve created and launched a variety of successful campaigns and can’t wait to build on this in the new year. Get in touch with us today to turn your campaign ideas into a marketing strategy that delivers results.

Mel is our Partner Strategy & Delivery Manager and also a CIM Chartered Marketer, a testament to her commitment to excellence in the field. But Mel’s contributions don’t stop at the office door. Beyond her professional endeavours, she leads an active life as a qualified run leader and dedicated volunteer. Her experience in these roles has streamlined her leadership and teamwork skills, making her an invaluable asset when it comes to collaborating on projects and ensuring their success. Her sharp insights, strategic thinking, and knowledge have made her a backbone in our team’s ability to drive results for clients in this industry. Mel will make sure that we can approach marketing challenges from all angles and deliver outstanding results for our clients.

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