It was an attention-grabbing yr to be a marketer. Expectations had been excessive, budgets had been low, content material moved on the pace of sunshine, and entrepreneurs needed to make magic occur by means of all of it.
As 2023 involves an in depth, I polled the HubSpot Media Workforce to see what their favourite advertising and marketing campaigns of the yr had been. Take a look at the total run-down under.
HubSpot Media’s Favourite Advertising and marketing Campaigns of 2023
The Barbie Film
Let’s begin with the apparent: Barbie owned the primary half of 2023.
To advertise the summer time blockbuster, Warner Bros. and Mattel teamed as much as execute one of the sturdy, well-rounded advertising and marketing campaigns we’ve ever seen. The “Barbie” film’s advertising and marketing engine, from experiential activations to product collaborations, had all of it. A number of the highlights embody:
- Ken’s Malibu Dreamhouse that was listed on Airbnb
- Barbie-themed co-branded merchandise with manufacturers like Crocks, XBOX, BEIS, and Homesick Candles
- An experiential Barbie-themed boat cruise in Boston
- The Barbie meme generator
Nevertheless, Warner Bros. and Mattel can’t take all of the credit score — “Barbie” additionally had a ton of natural advertising and marketing help. Opening the identical weekend as “Oppenheimer” led film followers to create the “Barbenheimer” double characteristic pattern on social media, giving each movies a advertising and marketing enhance. Additionally, anytime we noticed the colour pink this yr, we couldn’t assist however consider Barbie.
Snoop Dogg and Solo Range
Within the fall, Snoop Dogg shared a cryptic social media put up implying that he was giving up smoking. Naturally, the put up garnered numerous consideration, as Snoop Dogg’s marijuana use has been a giant a part of his model since day one.
It seems the put up was a teaser to advertise his collaboration with Solo Range, a model that sells smokeless fireplace pits. The model introduced Snoop was its official “smokesman” and dropped an official advert days after his preliminary social media put up.
Walmart Black Friday
Walmart tapped into nostalgia advertising and marketing in a giant approach with its “Imply Women” themed Black Friday marketing campaign.
The retailer rolled out a sequence of commercials starring the unique solid of the 2004 movie reprising their roles. This marketing campaign was well-produced and successfully focused the most important demographic of vacation buyers: millennials.
Millennials are anticipated to spend extra than different generations this vacation season. The unique “Imply Women” was a generational movie that many millennials know and love, and the adverts instantly sparked nostalgia for this essential group of customers.
Dunkin’ Donuts x Ben Affleck
In February, Dunkin’ Donuts aired its first-ever Tremendous Bowl industrial starring Ben Affleck. The Massachusetts-raised actor has been photographed having fun with Dunkin’ espresso a number of instances through the years, so it made sense for him to grow to be an official spokesperson for the model.
The Superbowl industrial kicked off a sequence of Dunkin’ Donuts adverts starring Affleck, and the partnership is a good instance of name alignment and a celeb endorsement that simply is sensible.
Nicki Minaj’s Gag Metropolis
Nicki Minaj has one of the engaged fan bases on the planet. This yr Minaj followers, often known as the Barbz, rallied across the launch of her newest album Pink Friday 2 successfully making a viral advertising and marketing second for the rapper.
In September, Minaj shared the album cowl on social media. The quilt featured her set in a pink futuristic metropolis. Her followers shortly started utilizing the time period “Gag Metropolis” to explain the album cowl and used AI to generate their very own pink cityscape photos to depict Gag Metropolis. Barbz basically created a web-based world and generated memes to assist promote the album.
Different manufacturers like Baskin Robbins and Microsoft Bing shortly bought in on the motion, creating their very own Gag Metropolis photos and including gasoline to the pattern.
Whereas it’s unclear whether or not the Gag Metropolis marketing campaign was deliberate advertising and marketing from Minaj and her label or purely an natural motion created by her followers, it’s an attention-grabbing case research on the intersection of fan UGC and generative AI.
Dove Self-Esteem Venture
The Dove Self-Esteem Venture had a string of stellar campaigns supporting its impression work this yr.
Within the spring, Dove took on social media magnificence filters with the #TurnYourBack marketing campaign. The marketing campaign featured celebrities and influencers sharing unretouched content material warning their followers concerning the risks of digital distortion and inspiring them to show their again on filters that change their pure options.
Quickly after, Dove launched an initiative with Lizzo known as the Dove Self-Esteem Venture Analysis for Children On-line Security. The purpose of the marketing campaign was to attract consideration to the Children On-line Security Act, which promotes security on social media for younger customers. To help the invoice, Dove produced a movie known as “Value of Magnificence” to focus on the impression social media magnificence requirements can have on younger individuals’s psychological well being.
As we lined this fall, Dove additionally teamed up with Nike to launch the Physique Assured Sport initiative, which inspires women’ participation in youth sports activities throughout and after puberty. Along with an academic toolkit for coaches and caregivers, the Physique Assured Sport marketing campaign included a sequence of YouTube movies depicting the advantages of ladies’ participation in sports activities.
From cinema to social impression, 2023 had its fair proportion of efficient campaigns. We stay up for seeing what entrepreneurs have in retailer for 2024.
