As a new year approaches, social media, emails, and apps are filled with highlights of the past year and applause to audiences for being loyal supporters, customers, and followers.
Recapping key moments from the past year is a great way to share thanks and create a sense of nostalgia that keeps audiences entertained. But how do you do it in a way that’s engaging and inspires folks to stay connected to your brand? Here are a few things you’ll want to consider for a stellar end of year campaign:
Make it relevant to your audience
The one thing business owners and leaders can lose sight of is their audience. When you’ve put your heart and soul into a product or service, it can be easy to see why you think what you’ve created should matter to others. The reality is, your audiences may not always see it that way.
Audiences care about why you’re providing a specific service or how you’re going to fulfill your mission. They want to know why they should purchase from your brand or donate to your organization. Whether or not you’re non-profit, make fair trade coffee, or produce the latest device means very little to your audience. What audiences want to know is why it should matter to them.
Spotify is a brand that knows how to do this and do it well. Every December, social media feeds are filled with everyone’s results from Spotify’s Year Wrapped.
And it’s not just individuals engaging with Spotify’s end of year campaign, other companies are as well.
Spotify knows that to get people engaged with their brand, they have to put the spotlight on their audiences, not on the company. Providing audiences with a tailored look at their favorite songs, artists, and genres puts audiences at the center instead of the brand asking them to do, buy, or sign-up for something.
You know that guy at holiday parties who makes everything about them the minute they start talking to you? No one wants to be around that guy. That’s why you need to give your audiences the space to explore and share their own experience with your product or service.
Share memorable moments
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received is that people may not remember what you did or said, but they will remember how you made them feel. That’s true not only for personal relationships but also connections audiences have with brands. Most people will remember how a kitchen appliance helped them quickly and easily prepare a meal or that a particular scene from a movie made them cry.
If there’s a brand that understands the impact of emotional connection in an end of year campaign, it’s Netflix. Their Year in Rewind campaigns do an excellent job of touching on the moments that evoke powerful emotions.
Not everyone will like the same shows on Netflix or agree which ones were the best this year, but the company understands how to take impactful moments and bring them together to make a compelling story.
Show appreciation
When brands show appreciation for their audiences, most start off with “Thank you” or “Because of you.” Even though these are meaningful phrases, audiences might find them repetitive after seeing the same ones from different brands. That’s why it’s important to recognize audiences in other ways by inviting them to be a part of your journey and community.
One of my favorite campaigns that does this well is Google’s Year in Search.
Taking the top search terms every year, Google creates a sense of belonging and a common bond we all share with the words we look up. They do an excellent job of bringing audiences together by reflecting on what we’re searching for and reminding us with a simple message why we need to be a part of their community. Their final 2022 send-off and call-to-action (CTA) does just that.
View my work with end of year campaigns
Video edited by VidMob
Video edited by David Topete
Now over to you: What do you think makes a successful end of year campaign?
Like this post? Pin it for later!
Image by OleksandrPidvalnyi on Pixabay