Being Human is a Beautiful Thing: Three Brands that Connect

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg takes on the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

The right digital branding campaign has the power to extend your reach and engage your customer on a deeper level than traditional advertising outlets. Below are three examples that are doing it right.

The ALS Association: The Ice Bucket Challenge 

www.alsa.org/fight-als/ice-bucket-challenge.html
An extraordinarily successful social campaign gone viral, individuals across the U.S. are dumping buckets of ice on their heads in support of ALS. Participants range from those in grass roots America to top celebrities such as Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Taylor Swift, and Oprah Winfrey. The ALS Association, a national non-profit organization fighting Lou Gehrig’s disease, received $31.5 million in donations between July 29 and August 20 compared to $1.9 million during the same period last year!

TD Canada Trust Bank: “TD Thanks You” Campaign 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUkN7g_bEAI
In July, TD Canada Trust Bank surprised more than 20,000 customers as they distributed envelopes containing a $20 bill to every customer in more than 1,100 bank branches. They also surprised some account holders with a twist to a traditional ATM machine by changing it into an Automated “Thanking” Machine. Whether the gift was plane tickets to Trinidad to visit a cancer-stricken daughter, college fund for a young widowed mother’s two sons, or a trip to Disney World, the ATM delivered real dreams to its customers. Captured on video, this campaign has accumulated more than 10 million video views!

Always: "Like A Girl" Campaign 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs
The Always brand launched this campaign to reclaim and redefine what it means to be a girl and do things such as “run like a girl”, “throw like a girl”, or “fight like a girl.” Their goal is to dispel disparaging stereotypes and increase confidence in girls everywhere going through the difficult teenage years. This campaign has had more than 47 million views!

How can you connect? By providing “fans” with genuine, direct, and authentic tokens of appreciation and entertaining engagement, these three brands promote goodwill and positive feelings and mindsets throughout their respective communities. Surprising active and loyal customers with a sign of gratitude when they least expect it will go a long way to securing their loyalty. Get creative. Try direct links to special content, special advertising and PR, access to VIP events, or rewards that cater to specific needs. Even better: mix this all together for a killer campaign.