Media campaigns, often understated against creative campaigns, reached new levels of innovation in 2023 with AI, custom outdoor, first-party data and unique partnership driven strategies, according to Australian media agency professionals.
Barbiemania takes the crown as this year's most loved media campaign, with $150 million marketing spend (higher than the film's production cost) that's no surprise.
Other highlights includes Jacquemus's experiments with AI to Adidas' clever partnership with Australia's most loved sports event of the century.
From Australia's most loved brands and also some favourites from NZ and US the industry shines a light on their favourite media campaigns this year.
French luxury label Jacquemus - AI activations
"They’ve had a giant book pop up in Chateau de Versailles, had bags wheeling down the streets of Paris, and even had a bag pop-up on the shores of France," says Florence Chieng, client executive at iProspect.
"It may be AI – but their ads on social media have most definitely been making a splash.”
Chlöe Cripps, communications strategist at Mediahub, also loved Jacquemus' AI campaigns.
"How do you get someone’s attention when they’re in a social media scroll hole? You’ve got to SHOCK them," Cripps said.
"And that’s absolutely what Jacquemus managed to do with their first-of-its-kind faux OOH social campaign, by making their audience think they’d been able to turn cars into handbags for Paris Fashion Week and leaving marketers everywhere thinking ‘how on earth get that across the line!?!?’."
"Little did we know, we’d all been tricked into watching and rewatching one of the best social assets I’ve seen in a while. It's a perfect example of breaking away from what’s generally considered social best practice, building creative that doesn’t feel like an ad and truly exciting your audience - causing them to stop that thumb when they’re mindlessly scrolling," Cripps said.
"The creative racked up 14.8M impressions on TikTok and 48.5M on IG, reflecting the cut-through it had on social platforms.
"Other brands have since hopped on this trend such Maybelline, MECCA and Uber."
Samsung Join the Flip Side - Digital
Pooja Aggarwal, affiliates and partnerships head at Ryvalmedia, loved this campaign because Samsung targeted tech-savvy Gen Z to hunt for cues to win a Galaxy Flip phone by typing in three specific terms into the search engine and then clicking one specific listed Samsung ad (that linked to set of 3 videos).
Whoever watched all three videos went into a retargeting pool and was served the winning ad as a YouTube pre-roll. The first person to find the ad per day won a new Galaxy Z Flip4.
They amplified via Instagram influencers (I got to know it via 'Invest with Queenie').
"I didn't win the phone (or for that matter, find all videos) but the whole campaign compelled me to take such technical steps to win the phone, and in the journey of doing so, made me well aware of the products - which is big win for Samsung," Aggarwal said.
Barbie - OOH take over at Bondi Icebergs
"Not only did this campaign take over the world with its captivating OOH, but the social media element helped to create the ultimate buzz and omnichannel experience," Tegan Salter, activation specialist at Havas Media Network, said.
"The campaign was fun, cheeky and the movie did not disappoint.
"It's a cultural moment to remember! #kennough"
Source: Caroline McCredie
Samantha Nunura, group business director at WiredCo., also loved this campaign which in her opinion was talked about more than the movie itself.
"This game changer a masterclass is brand collaborations, show stopping media (specifically OOH) - bringing the Barbieverse into the real world - and a really effective use of social - utilising AI and turning our feeds into a sea of pink and glitter. Marketing brilliance and such fun!" Nunura said.
For Rena Allain, client service director at 27 Degrees Media, this takeover was the movie's most iconic activation.
"The Barbie movie completely flooded Sydney's CBD with hot pink references, with countless brands followed suit, replicating the Barbie meme across various social media platforms," Allain said.
"The campaign's most iconic activation undoubtedly was the transformation and takeover of Bondi Icebergs pool. Illustrating its significant influence on contemporary marketing trends."
Barbie - AI
Cy Mani, head of strategic growth at Intentional, said the marketing brilliance by Warner Bros and Mattel played a key role in the movies success with an 18-month campaign surpassing the film's production cost.
"Barbie posters launched on Twitter, endless memes, an AI-Generator, and highly curated strategic partnerships fuelled global anticipation, leading to a record-breaking $1.38 billion box office success," Mani said.
"The Barbie marketing machine showcased the vital role of creative driven brand awareness for success, a lesson applicable to brands of all sizes and case study for years to come."
Barbie x Airbnb - Partnership
Shriya Tewari, client solutions executive at Half Dome, also loved everything the Barbie movie marketing campaign did from creating scented candles to Xbox controllers, but the Airbnb partnership was her favourite.
"They partnered with Airbnb, offering a free, 2-day stay in the Barbie Malibu Dreamhouse," Tewari said.
"Before dropping the movie bomb, they kept us on our toes, fueling intense curiosity. And the cast? They nailed it, bringing in big shots like Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, plus folks that look just like all of us.
"It wasn't just a movie; it was a worldwide hangout."
See the rest of the campaigns over at Adnews via the link below.
Article by Ashley Regan. Read the original post on the Adnews website here.back to news
