The Top Marketing Campaigns in 2023: Continuation

Cadbury – ‘Garage’

Cadbury has been effectively utilizing its successful ‘Glass and a Half’ brand platform for the past five years. The platform is centered on the message of generosity, with campaigns such as ‘Mum’s Birthday’ and ‘Speakerphone’ delighting audiences with a heart-warming and uncomplicated message.

However, the success of Cadbury’s first 2023 campaign, ‘Garage’, created in collaboration with VCCP, surpassed expectations. This simple advert depicts a garage cashier being gifted a bar of chocolate by her father, following the established template but reaching new heights.

It was declared the "best ad of 2023" by System1 just a few weeks into the year. The ad scored exceptionally well in long-term brand building, short-term spike, and brand fluency. Kantar also gave it high praise and Mark Ritson described it as "lasting". This campaign has helped Cadbury reach new heights, growing brand value by 47.6% and annual sales rising by 22%.

Norwich City FC – ‘Check In On Those Around You’

Cadbury was the well-deserved winner of this year’s Our Website Grand Prix award at the Our Website Awards, thanks to the overwhelming success of Garage and the Glass in a Half platform. Little wonder! JS

The ‘Check In On Those Around You’ campaign by Norwich City FC made a significant impact with its unexpected ads, especially when shared on World Mental Health Day in October.

The video, which runs for two and a half minutes, depicts two male football fans sitting together in the same stadium during the football season. Throughout the video, one of the men appears more subdued while the other is cheerful and checks in on his friend. The video ends by showing the empty seat of the seemingly happier man, who has died by suicide. The goal is to challenge the misconception that only those who display overt signs are experiencing mental health struggles.

In collaboration with Samaritans, the campaign was widely shared on social media, garnering praise from thousands of people for Norwich City's efforts. It was accompanied by the caption: "At times, it can be obvious when someone is struggling to cope, but sometimes the signs are harder to spot."

The film, previously known as Twitter, was seen over 57 million times, and received more than 153,000 reshares and 311,000 likes. On LinkedIn, it amassed over 1,000 comments and more than 20,000 reposts.

“Norwich City’s video has made a significant impact worldwide, serving as a powerful reminder that many individuals face internal struggles without displaying any outward signs. Samaritans stated, "We are aware that people have sought assistance directly as a result of viewing the video, and we hope that by making it available to everyone, we will reach even more people.”

Guinness – ‘Holding out for a Zero’

Guinness is closely associated with St. Patrick's Day, and this year Diageo decided to highlight its 0.0 non-alcoholic option.

The brand encouraged consumers to 'Make it a St. Patrick's Day to Remember' with its largest responsible drinking campaign to date, going against the norm for a day traditionally linked with alcohol.

Guinness 0.0 launched its ‘Singing Pints’ campaign ahead of 17 March, inspired by a consumer trend of drinkers creating smiley faces on the head of their pint and sharing the pictures on social media. The campaign featured the smiley faces coming to life to sing a parody of a Bonnie Tyler classic – ‘Holding Out for a Zero’.

The non-alcoholic version of the popular stout sparked a lot of buzz in its domestic market on its national day.

On X (formerly known as Twitter), #Guinness00 was the third most popular hashtag in Ireland over the St. Patrick's Day weekend (after #StPatricksDay and #Ireland). The campaign also instilled pride in Irish consumers who ordered a non-alcoholic drink, with 8% agreeing with the statement 'Proud to order a non-alcoholic drink' after the campaign, compared to before.

Guinness was the most discussed non-alcoholic brand in the UK and Ireland for the year ending June 15, 2023, across all sectors. Diageo's promotion of Guinness 0.0 appears to be paying off, as the product now makes up 36% of the company's non-alcoholic sales and is the fastest-growing non-alcoholic beer brand worldwide.

The non-alcoholic beer also serves to recruit drinkers into the brand – it has attracted an additional 500,000 drinkers to trademark Guinness over the last year. NC

Yorkshire Tea – ‘Pack Yer Bags’

Yorkshire Tea's success has been steadily growing in recent years, thanks to its 'Where Everything Is Done Proper' brand platform. This has enabled the brand to rise from being the UK's third largest brand in the black tea market by volume to taking the top spot since 2017. With a 34% share of the market, Yorkshire Tea's straightforward approach has struck a chord with tea drinkers across the nation and beyond.

While the UK has a strong tradition of tea consumption, the market is declining, especially among Gen Z. Enter 'Pack Yer Bags', a campaign based on the idea that tea-loving Brits often bring their favorite brew with them when traveling. Yorkshire Tea teamed up with 'Skipton Alfie' to create a humorous video showcasing his efforts to enjoy a proper cup of tea while on vacation in Ibiza.

The video, with catchy lines like "10 kilos of the good stuff", "Let’s get lightly caffeinated", and "Now I’m in the club queue it’s chock-a-block, so I sneak a Yorkshire bag in me sock", resonated with viewers, resulting in over 3 million views on YouTube. It was especially popular with the 25 to 34 age group, with a 17% recognition rate, a demographic the brand is committed to attracting as it aims to expand its market share.

Among all age groups, 78% found it to be incredibly memorable, 74% found it uplifting, and 70% expressed a liking for it. Most agree that it presents the brand as more contemporary and less serious. Additionally, two-thirds (66%) believed it to be distinctly different from typical ads, and 62% found it to be unexpected for Yorkshire Tea. On social media, it has been hailed as "legendary" and "genius", with one person even saying they would buy multiple boxes of the tea as a thank you for the music. Mission accomplished.

M&S – ‘Anything But Ordinary’

There has been a noticeable shift in style perceptions at M&S, with a series of campaign launches aimed at redefining the brand's fashion image. According to the head of clothing and home, these efforts are crucial to the brand's ongoing success. After acknowledging that the brand had veered off track, M&S has introduced new initiatives and revamped its style-focused campaigns throughout 2023. In the spring, it unveiled an updated version of its ‘Anything but Ordinary’ campaign, featuring a comprehensive approach to staying "more relevant, more often" for consumers seeking style and adaptability.

In September, the company signed Hollywood actress Sienna Miller to represent its womenswear range, followed by its first dedicated menswear campaign in eight years in October. According to Anna Braithwaite, M&S's head of brand and marketing, the time is right for the company to address style across all products, not just women's.

The ongoing campaign for M&S is noteworthy because each phase adds to the public's evolving view of the brand's style credentials, as established in earlier phases. According to M&S’s chief executive, Stuart Machin, the campaign has led to measurable improvements in brand perception, with womenswear style perception rising 5% and menswear increasing by 7% over 18 months. As a result, clothing and home sales increased by 5.7% in the six months leading up to September 30.

Despite those concrete benefits, it is evident that the campaign is still ongoing. Machin has characterized the brand as being "positively dissatisfied" - content with the current progress, but unsatisfied because it has not yet reached the destination of its transformative journey. CS

Tesco’s Clubcard growth

During a cost of living crisis, Tesco has been at pains to emphasise to its shoppers that they get more value with Clubcard.

In 2020, the retailer launched Clubcard Prices to provide customers with exclusive discounts. This year, they have enhanced their offer at the same time that several competing retailers have implemented similar loyalty schemes. Tesco has emphasized its first-mover advantage with Clubcard over its rivals' member pricing.

Tesco's former chief customer officer, Alessandra Bellini, emphasized that while the mechanics may be similar, the way value is delivered can vary significantly. This year, the supermarket has made a concerted effort to highlight the benefits of the Clubcard, increasing its visibility in stores and through social media campaigns.

The focus of its advertisements this year has also been the Clubcard, with a new version of its ‘The Power to Lower Prices’ campaign called ‘The Power Within’ released over the summer. The campaign features a shopper singing lyrics from ‘The Power’ at the till after scanning their Clubcard to reduce the price of their purchase, an experience described as the “thrill at the till” moment by Bellini. Tesco and agency BBH also capitalized on the well-known “Clubcard accepted” moment at self-service tills, allowing brand fans to become the voice of the checkout for a week using TikTok’s ‘face/mouth’ AR effect and the duet feature.

The TikTok campaign garnered over 5 million organic views within the first 24 hours and accumulated 42 million video views over the 10-day submission period, trending daily on the TikTok app. Nearly 3,000 entries were submitted for the checkout voice audition. Additionally, Tesco experienced a 7% increase in Clubcard usage post-campaign.