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Absolut Vodka- The Absolut Bottle (debuted 1981)
Despite the shape of the bottle being standard, Absolut made their bottle the most recognizable in the world through implementing this marketing campaign. This campaign featured over 1,500 advertisements in total and became the longest uninterrupted campaign ever (it did not stop running for 25 years).
The campaign shows Absolut bottles “in the wild”, outlining its shape within various cities and landscapes around the world. Before the campaign began, Absolut had a 2.5% market share; however, by the time it ended (in the late 2000s), Absolut was importing 4.5 million cases annually (which was half of all imported vodka in the United States).
KFC- FCK (2018)
This advertisement serves as one of the most creative corporate apologies of all time. When KFC’ UK business ran out of chicken, they turned this catastrophe (a fried chicken fast-food chain, running out of chicken) into an ironic PR initiative. In response, KFC put out a full-page advertisement in the Metro (UK’s newspaper), rearranging the letter of the company name into an explicit, but funny response to the matter, FCK (depicted on an empty KFC chicken bucket). One can guess what this shorthand abbreviation may stand for.
This shows an instance of a successful story of turning things around in light of receiving bad press. The company showed great humility and brought humor to the unfortunate situation, while simultaneously acknowledging the disappointment brought to their customers.
KFC has a notable Effie Index, coming in at number two on the Restaurants & Foodservice list with 366 points. Effie Index ranks represent the most comprehensive global rankings of marketing effectiveness.
Volkswagen- Think Small (created in 1960)
Many marketing and advertising professionals refer to this campaign as the gold standard. This campaign was created to answer one question: how can a company change people’s perception about an entire group of people (not just a product)?
This was the challenge Volkswagen set out to solve, as Americans (at the time) were inclined to buy larger American manufactured vehicles. The majority of Americans refrained from buying small German cars, even fifteen years after the end of WWII. Instead of trying to convince the mass market of adult Americans to change their perception of Volkswagen, the company created this campaign to further agree with Americans’ perceptions. The company did not try to argue that they were something they were not, instead they fed into the target markets’ prior expectations. They did not change to suit customers’ current wants, accounting for the variable of change and demand shifts within the market.
Clairol- Does She or Doesn’t She? (1957)
This advertisement for women’s hair coloring product was so successful that some states decided to stop requiring women to denote their hair color on their driver’s license. Prior to this campaign Clairol found that only one in fifteen women were using artificial hair color, but eleven years later (after this campaign) that statistics became one in two women.
Instead of stiving to enhance blatant brand promotion, through seeing and knowing fellow consumers are using their product, Clairol focused on marketing on the opposite end of this spectrum. Instead, the company boasted that you don’t walk around and see other women wearing Clairol’s artificial hair color. Why? Well, because they had the perfect match for all hair colors! This helped the company convey that their product is highly effect, so effective one would not even know who uses it and who doesn’t.
Coca-Cola- Share a Coke (began 2011)
This campaign debuted in Australia, and as most of you might be familiar with, it was when Coca-Cola released personalized bottle with 150 of the most popular names in Coke’s branded font. Further customization options have since been made available on Coke’s website due to the success of this campaign.
Although some consumers questioned the idea of making something temporary (a drink that one finishes and then throws away) personalized, others were excited to look for their name on store shelves. This was targeted at people of all ages (and especially great for those who could find a bottle with their name, and spelled correctly!). It introduced a very small change to the product’s label to produce a big surge in brand interest among consumers, and thus sales. I remember this marketing campaign growing up. I found it fun, my little brother even kept his Coke bottle as room décor for years!
he Coca- Cola brand has an Effie Index rank of nine in the Food & Beverages (non-Alcoholic) category with 92 points. Effie Index ranks represent the most comprehensive global rankings of marketing effectiveness.
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