Four successful advertising campaigns and what you can learn from them

Bookworld’s pop-up stores

It’s common knowledge that an audience’s attention isn’t bought but earned. Australian online bookstore Bookworld tapped into this idea during its 2013 Christmas marketing campaign.

As part of the campaign, the retailer turned tram and bus stops into mobile bookstores. Passers-by were encouraged to take a free book and also shop locally.

Kim Noble, marketing manager at Bookworld, said the campaign was a success because it was so different to traditional ways of advertising.

“The Book Stops were a success because we were able to tap into commuter’s everyday routines with a unique experience that helped provide a meaningful connection with Bookworld, a task that is much harder to achieve with a standard advertising campaign,” she said. “Once you have that connection with a consumer the path to converting them is much easier.”

Bookworld’s Christmas campaign was recognised as the best marketing initiative at the Online Retail Industry Awards.

As a result of the mobile book stops, memberships to Bookworld doubled – showing just how important it is to surprise potential customers and tap into their everyday routine.

Patagonia Black Friday campaign

Patagonia, a company that sells outdoor clothing and climbing gear, ran a campaign that was held on Black Friday – a major shopping event in the United States after Thanksgiving.

While other retailers were having sales akin to Australia’s Boxing Day specials, Patagonia took a fresh approach. Instead of copying everyone else, the retailer invited customers into Patagonia’s store to get their apparel repaired or to simply relax.

Michel Hogan, an independent brand analyst, said the campaign encouraged people to focus on pieces of clothing they had bought from Patagonia and in doing so built up customer loyalty.

“Patagonia are masters at aligning and building what they care about across their whole business and the Worn Wear campaign is just another example of their philosophy in action,” she said. “Encouraging people to only buy what they need and reuse, recycle or repair what they have is at first blush counterintuitive, but for their customers who care deeply about the same thing it drives the kind of loyalty that extends across the whole year far beyond a single event.”

Hogan said the lesson for SMEs is to remain true to who they are and really get that message across to customers.

“Standing up for what you care about will often help you stand out, and if it puts a few people off, well they probably weren’t ever going to be your customers in the first place.”