Biggest Brand Marketing Moments of 2019
Another year-end list!
The best part about ending a year is, well, ending a year. Putting it all behind us…the good, the bad, the ugly…and starting fresh. No resting on our laurels and no regretting what’s happened. Just learning and growing.
Which is why I love all of the year-end lists. Because we can grow from them. So every year I take a look at what I consider to be the Top Ten Biggest Brand Marketing Moments of 2019. From a brand perspective. Brands in action, if you will.
Here we go, in my own priority order!
10: Peloton…I just have to include Peloton on this year’s list. Not because it made a big impact per se, but because it’s a not-so-subtle reminder to all of us marketers that we have to pay attention to the social media court of opinion. And prepare for it. It made the Soul Cycle drama seem like old news.
9: Tide NFL…this clever partnership with Tide and the NFL brought new pop culture meaning to when we all do our weekly laundry.
8: Incogmeato: Fast food chains were perhaps the most prolific this year, as you’ll soon see with my pick for Popeye’s, but also active were the non-meat brands with Incogmeato being the most clever new brand name IMHO.
7: Target XXO…Target celebrated twenty years of designer collaborations. Great retrospective from the brand who might not have originated the idea but certainly brought it home!
6: Bud Light Guy at the World Series…Bud Light seized the moment and one loyal fan got his fifteen minutes of fame. Agile marketing at its finest.
5: Hefty’s Trash Talk…such a simple, virtually no-cost idea brought attention to a category that no one pays attention to!
4: Barnum’s Animal Cookies…the brand revised their packaging to take the animals out of cages and people went wild. My most commented blog of the year for sure.
3: Disney+…this overnight success was decades in the making proving that there’s no such thing as an overnight success and bringing real entertainment value to viewers including families with small kids. Timed perfectly to a new Star Wars release.
2: Popeye’s Chicken…The fast food chicken wars were full on this year and more competitive than in any other category to my eye, with Popeye’s at the center of it all, including being open on Sundays. Kanye West even got in on the action with his new album release.
1: 50th Anniversary of Gay Pride…World Pride celebrated its 50th in New York, sparking an avalanche of brand support. It was beyond huge and omni-present. But the best part is how much “Pride” has now become for anyone and everyone, just just gay people. Happy Anniversary!
What are your biggest marketing moments? Did I miss anything? What’s your experience? JIM
P.S. I have to throw in a few Honorable Mentions:
Biggest “Huh?!?”: Sauvage with Johnny Depp.
Most Clever Use of an Insight with a New Product: True Sons Hair & Beard (and other things) Dye
Most Emotional (for me anyway): Gillette’s First Shave
Best Pop-up Experience: Taco Bell Hotel in Palm Springs
Biggest Snafu: Starbucks on GOT