Summer can never come too soon. It’s the season of fun and creativity, and summer campaigns have proven to be extremely effective for brands who are seeking to boost their customer engagement by doing something memorable and unique.
Here are 5 brands who have started summer with a bang through their exciting campaigns:
IKEA: BOOKS ON THE BEACH
How can we talk about summer campaigns without beginning with Ikea’s iconic summer idea? All the way back in 2010, to celebrate the 30th birthday of one of their signature bookshelves, BILLY, IKEA set up their very own outdoor library on – you guessed it – a beach!
The lucky beach in question was the famous Bondi beach in Australia, and IKEA’s library consisted of 30 red bookshelves scattered around the beach. They offered readers a huge variety of books to choose from. The goal was to pick one book for themselves from the library and exchange it with a book they already had with a gold coin donation. Not only was this a good idea, it was also for a good cause, as all the proceeds were going to the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation.
This was a spectacular success. The libraries attracted not only readers but also typical beachgoers, and The Times The Times reported in 2019 that more than 110 million Billy bookcases were sold since its inception. It’s pretty clear that their fantastic summer marketing was what gave them the final push.
BURGER KING: SUN FLAME-GRILLED WHOPPER
If you think your summer is hot, you clearly haven’t been to Kuwait. It’s known as one of the hottest countries on the planet on a regular basis, with its blazing temperatures skyrocketing more than ever in summer. In 2018, Burger King came up with a miracle-solution to this problem, and it was nothing short of fantastic. They developed their very own solar-powered cooking surface to produce their one-of-a-kind “Sun Flame-Grilled Whoppers”. Perfectly named, right?
The burger was available in selected stores in Kuwait and was clearly meant to encourage its citizens to enjoy themselves despite the heat.
L.L BEAN: MARSHMELLOW ROAST
For summer 2019, L.L Bean had a special surprise. They unrolled their brand-new “S’more out of Summer” campaign, comprising of pop-up campsites all across the United States, including cities like NY, Buffalo, WI, Boston, NY and the flagship store in Freeport, ME, among others. Each of them featured cedar trellis entryways which led to giant roasting pits filled with Biolite FirePit camp stoves for their visitors to toast marshmallows over.
SPRITE: EPIC SODA SHOWER
What are the two things everyone needs on a hot summer day? A cold drink and an ice-cool shower, of course! In 2012, Sprite gave its customers both.
As part of an outdoor media campaign, Sprite built a giant soda machine complete with their famous green-and-yellow logo on a beach in Brazil. This encouraged people to stand where the cup would usually go, and once they pushed the giant levers, a refreshing shower would rain down on them.
Predictably, this campaign was a fantastic success, with more than 1,500 people lining up each day to enjoy the Soda Shower.
TACO BELL: THE BELL HOTEL
Can you imagine a hotel selling out in just two minutes? That’s exactly what happened at Taco Bell’s temporary summer resort, The Bell, created with the purpose of making summer fun and glamorous for its customers. In August, during the peak of summer, the lucky bookers would have been able to retreat for 4-days into this resort which was bedecked and bedazzled with all things Taco Bell, and “‘Live Más’ at the Baja Blast Freeze Lounge.
If you’re a marketer or influencer, don’t forget to take full advantage of the season!
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