August, 2013 The digital space provides countless opportunities for advertisers and marketing managers, as it facilitates specific targeting, a wide range of media and powerful engagement platforms unavailable in traditionally above-the-line mediums such as television and radio. As I spoke about in last weeks blog regarding Wrigley’s successful 5X campaign, social networks and the power of earned media allow brands to generate awareness, reach impression goals and engage with audiences at a much lower cost than traditional media. 
The Facebook Studio Awards are an annual celebration of the best digital campaigns to appear on the social networking site, and this year 2 of 3 podium winners were Australian agencies, with Publicis Mojo and The Monkeys taking out 2ndan 3rd place respectively.
Sydney-based creative agency The Monkeys’ ‘Reverse Robberies’ for Oak flavoured milk campaign was highly successful at achieving objectives, with 60 new stores stocking Oak and a 50% increase in Facebook fans after the campaign. Based on the consumer insight that Oak fans were having a hard time finding Oak in stores around them, The Monkeys developed the idea of ‘reverse robberies’. Over 3000 robbery requests were made, and fan engagement stayed high throughout the campaign.
This digital campaign differed from traditional campaigns as it required an ongoing commitment from the agency and brand to respond to the significant fan engagement. “OAK fans were at the core of the campaign idea, and engagement was unprecedented because we tapped into a community insight” (The Monkeys, 2013). Additionally, the campaign relied on input from audiences to be successful, using ‘earned’ media to help spread the message online.
Creative work has had to adapt significantly to the digital platform, as it offers such a wide variety of ways advertisers can engage with consumers and share a message. The nature of viral videos provides great opportunity for well executed creative; an ad can potentially be seen by millions of people without a single cent spent on media by the agency. Cookies also provide specified audience targeting never seen before, meaning creative work can be more niche-orientated and targeted towards much smaller market segments.
On the flip side, the digital space has also given power back to the consumer, meaning advertising must be honest and transparent or run the risk of criticism on social networks and blogs that can potentially harm the brand. Additionally, creatives must have a sound understanding of the different ways people interact with media online, and create content that accordingly. A thorough SWOT analysis is a good idea for any creatives thinking of tackling the digital space.
