February may be the shortest month of the year, but we’ve got a tall order of social stories and campaigns from Nike, British Airways, TikTok, LinkedIn and Twitter – let’s get started.
(As always, don’t to forget to check out Econsultancy’s social media training and Best Practice Guides)
Nike celebrates women in its ‘Dream Crazier’ campaign
Ahead of International Women’s Day, Nike rolled out a powerful and emotive campaign that encourages women to ‘dream crazier’ as well as dispelling sexist assumptions about women and how they show their emotions.
The campaign is a direct follow up from the Colin Kaepernick fronted ‘Dream Crazy’ campaign from 2018 but is instead spearheaded by Serena Williams and a whole host of female athletes – including Simone Biles, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Chloe Kim and Caster Semenya.
Perhaps the most fitting part of the campaign comes from its narration – by Williams, someone is who no stranger to being habitually targeted by the exact stereotypes and misconceptions she speaks to in the ad.
Serena Williams’ Dream Crazier Nike Ad????????????????????????????????????????
YASSSS QUEEN YASSS pic.twitter.com/epIxO8DFRz— Christine (@christinecna) February 24, 2019
Since its release, the video has generated thousands of comments and shares on social media as well as 50+ million views across Nike’s organic social posts, all in addition to it surpassing its predecessor, ‘Dream Crazy’, in terms of engagement.
How brands in APAC are showing their support for International Women’s Day 2019
Brands pull ads from YouTube to mitigate association with inappropriate content
AT&T, Disney, Epic Games, Nestle and other big brands have paused their YouTube ad campaigns and halted their ad buys amid reports that their pre-roll ads have been featured in videos of children, that have been popular with paedophiles.
In response to the concerns, YouTube has since removed over 400 channels and their comments from the platform as well as promised to bolster the efficacy of its detection tools.
Stories like this raise further questions about how YouTube and other social media platforms handle questionable material on their platforms.
Conversely, advertisers also have a responsibility to ensure their campaigns aren’t popping up next to unsavoury content – something Econsultancy writer Patricio Robles discussed in this piece.
British Airways uses some famous U.K. faces for ‘Made by Britain’ campaign
After 100 years of soaring the skies, British Airways is celebrating its centenary with a little help from some of Britain’s biggest household names and faces – including Oscar-winners Olivia Coleman and Gary Oldman and world boxing champion Anthony Joshua.
This clever branding piece combines an array of high-profile celebrities with emotive storytelling, all designed to pull at the heart-strings.
Although the U.K. finds itself in fairly uncertain political times, as Brexit negotiations drag on (for what feels like the 1485th year), the video still manages to stir a feeling of pride – which makes tweets like the below all the more satisfying for the Airline, I’m sure.
Thanks for the lovely comments. We hope we can welcome you on board soon. ^Sarah
— British Airways (@British_Airways) February 2, 2019
Twitter extends its PCP to the EU, India and Australia
March 11th 2019. This is the date that Twitter will be rolling out its political campaigning policy (PCP) to the European Union member states, India and Australia.
The policy was initially launched last May in the US to provide Twitter users with clearer insight into political content, and importantly, who is behind the advertisement – this also involved the launch of Twitter’s Ads Transparency Center (ATC).
Once the policy is rolled out, only certified advertisers will be allowed to publish politically campaigning ads which means going through a rigorous application process.
This will be welcome news for India, Australia and the EU, who all have upcoming general elections in May that will not want to be tarnished with the same scandal that dogged both the U.S. presidential elections and the Brexit referendum in 2016.
TikTok fined by the FTC over alleged violation of child privacy laws
We’re implementing changes to accommodate younger US users in a new, separate app experience. More info here: https://t.co/jPWVJDTYfX
— TikTok (@tiktok_us) February 27, 2019
One of social media’s shiniest new apps, TikTok, has found itself in privacy trouble after accusations of the company allegedly collected the personal information of children under the age of 13 – which is against federal law in the U.S.
It’s a requirement of any social network in the U.S. to ask anyone using their platform, that is under the age of 13, to get parental permission to share their personal information with the app or service.
TikTok has released a statement addressing the case stating:
“It’s our priority to create a safe and welcoming experience for all of our users, and as we developed the global TikTok platform, we’ve been committed to creating measures to further protect our user community – including tools for parents to protect their teens and for users to enable additional privacy setting.”
The complaint from the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) is likely lead to the payment of $5.7 million to settle the case.
More on this at The Verge.
Mothercare celebrates women with #BodyProudMums campaign
UK retailer Mothercare has launched a new campaign celebrating mothers, their post-pregnancy bodies and stories and the unrealistic expectations of body image set by social media.
Using a mixture of Instagram’s highly visual platform and 10 real-life mothers – with their unique stories – Mothercare manages to spark a conversation around not only the body consciousness of new mothers but also the erosive impact that social media can have on an individual’s self-esteem – pressuring them to “snap back” into shape.
Well done @mothercareuk for the #bodyproudmums campaign. There’s so much pressure on social media for new mums to ‘get back into shape’ post childbirth that it feels like the enormity of baby growing and birthing is lost. #bodyproudmums is exactly what new mums need to see ????????????
— Jenny Goodwin (@Jenny_Goods) February 28, 2019
Facebook branded as ‘digital gangsters’ by MPs
The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee released its final report at the end of its 18-month investigation into disinformation and fake news that it believes Facebook is responsible for enabling on the social media giant’s site.
The report claims that Facebook, along with Russia, should be held accountable for its part in the manipulation of the electorate as it pertains to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, the 2016 EU referendum and the 2017 general election – all of which’s outcomes have been marred by social media influencing voters’ decisions.
Amongst other issues disclosed in the report, the committee concludes that the current state of British electoral law is no longer fit for purpose and susceptible to interference from external agents that attempt to discredit democracy in the U.K.
More on this at The Guardian.
‘LinkedIn Live’ – LinkedIn’s livestreaming feature
Following the launch of its native video in 2017 and testing of an Instagram styled Stories feature towards the end of 2018, the professional social networking site has now decided the time is right to go all Periscope and launch its own live video-streaming feature in this year.
The feature will give people and companies on the platform the ability to broadcast themselves – covering conferences, announcing products, holding Q&As and hosting events – to select groups or the entire LinkedIn community in real-time.
Initially being launched in its beta form in the U.S., LinkedIn Live is distinguishing itself from other more DIY livestreaming options on other social networks by producing more polished video content with a stringent selection process of the developers and creators that it works with to produce videos for the feature.
More on this at TechCrunch.
Seven helpful tips for livestreaming success
Apple Watch 4 campaign fuses high art and wearable tech
When it comes to product launches, not too many brands can top Apple, in my opinion, and the company’s latest campaign to promote its fourth instalment of the Apple Watch is no exception.
The exhilarating and creative advert conveys the feeling of freedom users get when they use the Apple Watch – which now has cellular connectivity so you can use it autonomously from your phone.
In a time where a lot of brands are turning to more purposeful ways to engage their audiences – especially younger demographics – Apple is sticking to what we’ve come to expect from it and has produced a memorable campaign that sticks in the mind.
Don’t to forget to check out Econsultancy’s social media training and Best Practice Guides.