Year-End Review: A Look at Top Social Media Campaigns of 2018

Can you believe it’s almost 2019? What a year it’s been!

Time moves so quickly that we sometimes don’t get a chance to reflect on major events throughout the year.

From a PR perspective, it’s been a great year for social media. Let’s stop for a minute and discuss some of the year’s top campaigns.

1. Wayfair

Social media platforms have created fun and innovate tools for companies to use to promote business. With Instagram’s shopping feature, consumers now can buy products simply by tapping a photo and clicking the price tag.

Home decor company Wayfair has used this feature to engage in substantial social media strategizing.

Wayfair recognized that using promoted advertisements does not work as best as showing off its products on its own social media account, so it made things easier for customers to buy right from its photos.

Source: @wayfair on Instagram

2. Amazon – Jurassic Park #AmazonFindsAWay

Many Los Angeles residents may remember a tractor trailer driving around a huge brown delivery box with holes and the Jurassic World logo stamped on it.

In May, Amazon partnered with Jeep Wrangler and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom to mastermind a triple-branded stunt that would advertise all three companies.

Inside the box, there were sets of Jeep Wranglers. On the outside of the box, there was a shipping label that allowed you to scan a SmileCode and took you to a site, where you could buy Jurassic Park movies for a discounted price.

Special delivery… #AmazonFindsAWay #JurassicWorld pic.twitter.com/0cVH7x1I74

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) May 30, 2018

3. Spotify’s New Year’s Resolution

Did someone say billboards were going out of style?

At the beginning of 2018, Spotify launched a campaign that grabbed attention from people on the streets rather than on a digital space.

Spotify gathered quirky information about its consumers’ streaming tendencies and placed them on billboards in different cities around the country; it titled this campaign “2018 Goals.”

These goals — paired with famous music artists — were placed on buildings, in subways, and along bustling streets.

Fans took photographs of the billboards and shared them on social media.

Spotify wraps up 2017 by making humorous goals for 2018 using its data and artists https://t.co/gnRrUVN36p pic.twitter.com/ewbXyvTzLJ

— The Drum (@TheDrum) November 30, 2017

4. IHOP = IHOB

IHOP shocked the world when it jokingly announced it would change its name to IHOB (International House of Burgers) to become a burger brand. The campaign essentially helped spread the word about how the famous pancake restaurant would add steakhouse burgers to the menu.

So far, it’s been one of the most successful social media campaigns this year as it has amassed 32.3 billion earned media impressions, 20,000 news articles, and placed IHOP as the second trending topic globally on Twitter, according to Fortune.

#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/Oz92LNGKKz

— IHOP (@IHOP) June 7, 2018

5. Colin Kaepernick and Nike

A campaign where politics and sports go hand-in-hand is pretty rare.

But Nike successfully executed this strategy when it collaborated with Colin Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who actively protested injustices against African Americans by taking a knee during the national anthem on live television.

Together, Nike and Kaepernick created an ad with just his face displaying the words, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

The campaign caused quite a stir: While many customers chose to boycott Nike, the company gained 170,000 Instagram followers and Nike hit a record-high stock share of $83.90. Additionally, the media exposure this campaign brought about is worth more than a whopping $163 million.

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Imani Jasmin is a Public Relations Product Intern at Cision, as well as a senior in college. Imani enjoys reading, travelling, and restaurant hopping around New York City.