10 Captivating Brand Campaigns From Around the World Pt. 2

Engaging your audience and capturing their attention means cutting through the noise and leaving a lasting impression. Branded merchandise is everywhere — from promotional pens and water bottles to tote bags and more — so in order for campaigns to be successful, brands need to connect with their audience in a way that aligns with their values. 

In part one we covered 5 captivating brand campaigns from around the world, and in this article we’ll take you through 5 more successful promotions that really won over their target audience. 

1. McDonald’s McDelivery Collection 2017

In 2017, McDonalds teamed up with UberEats to promote the launch of their delivery service, McDelivery. The service was launched with a collection of branded clothing and merchandise featuring some of the most popular menu items. The collection included a Big Mac onesie, Egg McMuffin sweatshirt, a McNugget Dunker, and a Big Mac & Fries blanket, to name a few. 

During the promotion, customers could get pieces from the collection for free with any McDelivery purchase from the 4,200 participating McDonald’s restaurants worldwide. These highly collectible items really captured the attention of the target audience, while creating hype for their new delivery service. McDonald’s even named the day of the launch “Global McDelivery Day” to celebrate. 

2. Spotify x Coca-Cola

In 2012, during the earlier days of the Swedish music service Spotify, the company announced a huge marketing deal with Coca-Cola to help boost awareness for the streaming platform. Spotify utilised the access they had to Coca-Cola’s massive audience and created a promotion called ‘Play a Coke’ that would certainly get customers listening. The campaign got customers to download an app which would allow them to scan playlist themed labels on Coke bottles, linking directly to the free playlist on Spotify. The bottle even acted as a remote, allowing users to change the song by twisting the bottle left or right!

Over 100 playlists were added for the campaign, and aimed to connect with young people on a range of occasions — like their graduation day or their favourite summer time tunes. It was a huge hit thanks to the audience’s love of music, and the innovative delivery of the campaign. 

3. Birdhouse — Tony Hawk Twitter Hunt 

The brand Birdhouse, by world famous skateboarder Tony Hawk, started their “Twitter Hunt” campaign in 2012 and it was an immediate success with the audience. The campaign involved 80 mystery gift boxes filled with branded merchandise from a number of major sponsors being hidden in cities all over the world. When the scavenger hunt started, Tony Hawk jumped on Twitter and began dropping clues showing the city with a photo, along with a riddle or hint related to the exact location. 

Fans who managed to track down the boxes were asked to reply to the original tweet with a photo of themselves and the package. This created a huge buzz with fans on the lookout for new hints, and was a perfect way to engage the audience both online and out in the real world, from all corners of the globe.  

4. Discovery Channel Shark Week surfboards

Shark week has been a staple on Discovery Channel since 1988, and since then they’ve continued to work hard to promote this fan-favourite documentary series. One year that stood out was 2009 when Discovery Channel promoted Shark Week in Australia by scattering shark-bitten surfboards along popular Sydney beaches.

This unique medium captured people’s attention in an environment that viewers were likely to spend some time, and provided key details around when they could catch the series on TV. 

5. Colgate — Don’t Forget campaign

Oral Health company Colgate in Thailand created a clever campaign to remind customers, especially children, to brush their teeth after eating sugary snacks. Usually the company would hand out samples at events and conferences, but found that customers would usually forget about the sample later on. To combat this, they decided to give away ice cream and lollipops — but the stick would reveal a hidden message. Once the sweet treat was finished, a toothbrush shaped stick was uncovered with the simple message “Don’t forget” written on the side, alongside the Colgate logo. 

While it might seem counterintuitive for a company focused on oral hygiene to be giving out sweets, the campaign left a lasting impression with the audience. 

As you brainstorm your next brand merchandise campaign, keep these campaigns in mind. Your brand may not be able to match the production value of the brands on this list, but these brands are best in class when it comes to strategic branded merchandise campaigns. And they prove that merchandising can work as a valuable tool to help grow your audience and build positive engagement.

Ready to create a meaningful promotional campaign that resonates with your customers? Book your free ideation session with our team today!