Even a small-town stunt can have big reach these days thanks to social media, meaning some brands are reducing reliance on mass, opting to animate their campaigns through experiential. And they’re seeing results. Here are two first-timers whose summer stunts reaped impressive returns.
In mid-July, the Canadian Cancer Society supported its tan-free initiative by parking two seemingly sunburnt actors on Vancouver’s Kitsilano Beach. Education on the sun’s harmful effects accompanied the stunt, with supporting creative by Giant Ant Media in Vancouver, and a video was posted on the organization’s YouTube channel via a Facebook link. The stunt added to the near 3,500 online tan-free pledges amassed by press time and garnered attention from the likes of CTV, Global and Citytv.
Some brands are entering the stunt space and exiting certain traditional media strategies. Take Tetley Canada, which rolled out its first stunt in July to promote Tetley Infusions with its “Routine Experiment #1” campaign. Though the campaign was supported by a TV commercial and online ads, with creative by John St., media by MediaCom and sampling by Fuse Marketing, it was one of the first to go print-free as the brand is favouring online efforts, says Tetley Canada brand manager Andrea Stodart.
Video of the stunt – which replaced shopping carts at a Port Credit, ON., grocery store with personal butlers – was uploaded to Tetley Canada’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. It exceeded targets, with 231,365 YouTube views by press time and enough feedback from fans to warrant a similar event held in Toronto at the end of August.