When strategizing for marketing campaigns, brands usually outline their plans based on their unique identity and objectives. However, common goals often encompass enhancing user engagement, cultivating trust and authenticity, and driving conversions. As time has passed, marketers have faced the challenge of crafting captivating, interactive campaigns that provide meaningful value to consumers.
Over the years, it has become a challenge for marketers to create engaging, interactive campaigns with value propositions for consumers. Fortunately, a hidden gem has emerged in the form of User-Generated Content (UGC), so let’s have a look at a few UGC examples that totally rocked it.
Why are Brands Shifting to User-Generated Content?
Before looking at the UGC examples, let’s understand why brands are going crazy over UGC. We all know that crafting marketing content that’s both thrilling and captivating for consumers is an uphill task, and it isn’t a one-time process, as content creation is constant along with marketing campaigns.
Despite the dedicated work poured into content creation and marketing, the outcomes often fall short, yielding diminishing returns on investments.
That is why brands have resorted to leveraging user-generated content marketing to empower their campaigns. As user-generated content is known to be the most trustworthy, authentic, and reliable form of content among consumers, it hugely influences their behavior & decisions.
According to Adweek, a staggering 85% of surveyed users hold user-generated content in higher regard, considering it more meaningful and genuine than content directly generated by brands.
11 User-Generated Content Examples [Campaigns]
We’ve arranged 11 UGC examples that have successfully garnered the users’ attention, engagement, and conversions.
1. GoPro UGC Campaign
The best UGC marketing campaign is GoPro, as it perfectly understands that the best promoters of a brand are its customers, given their firsthand experience with the products. So, their experience will define the quality & success of a brand.
GoPro has delegated the power of marketing to its customers and constantly creates campaigns, contests, and challenges to encourage its users to create valuable & influential UGC for their hashtag campaigns.
Not just a marketing campaign, but all of their digital profiles, be it social media or website, are filled with incredible user-generated content. Their website even has a 1 million-dollar contest asking users to submit their best visual content using GoPro.
Hashtags like #gopro and #milliondollarchallenge are mostly used by users to share their shots, or they can even submit their content on the website as well.
With these campaigns, they perfectly showcase their adventurous brand personality, user engagement, loyal online community, and brand exposure, along with customer gratification.
2. HelloWorld Australia
HelloWorld Australia, a leading travel & holiday experience brand and also the next UGC marketing campaign, created an incredible marketing strategy empowered by user-generated content that significantly impacted the audience.
With the brand’s custom hashtag #HelloworldRELAY, they encouraged their customers to share their photos & videos of experiences and post them on social media using the hashtag. They then displayed it through the touchscreen display ads in an offline environment.
The display screens had a world map with highlighted pins for different locations. So, the audience could interact with the screens and explore what travelers (or customers of HelloWorld) from different locations are posting and their travel experiences.
This campaign helped showcase the brand authenticity, customer satisfaction, building social proof, a diverse range of locations they serve, and, most importantly, enhanced user engagement with this Digital out-of-home UGC marketing example.
3. AERIE
The next UGC campaign example, #AerieReal has been called more than just good marketing, and it’s all for the right reasons.
In 2014, the women’s clothing company began with a simple yet powerful campaign where it refused to use photo editing software to retouch the photos of models clad in swimsuits.
Whenever a user posted an unedited picture of them in a swimsuit, Aerie donated $1 to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).
It’s crucial to understand that people wish to purchase and be associated with brands constantly working towards societal causes.
There has always been a debate over the excessive use of photo editing applications in marketing and advertising and its impact on the average woman who binges on the images of models seeming god-like and perfect in magazines and its direct effect on the woman’s self-esteem and dietary lifestyle.
Authentic and resonating by design, Aerie’s consumer-generated marketing shot their sales up by 20%, coupled with the new stores that the brand launched.
4. DORITOS
The fame came from the UGC campaign example #BurnSelfie, where Doritos asked its customers in Canada to post pictures of their ‘burn selfies’ taken while eating the newest flavor from their range, Doritos Roulette.
The packet of chips is filled with insanely spicy tortilla chips hidden amongst normal nachos and cheese Doritos. Having been called a ‘solid slap in the face,’ people took the challenge and posted pictures and videos of them eating Doritos and burning their tongues.
Painfully hot and spicy chips in the packet took people to further take the challenge on YouTube as part of the Doritos giveaway. Several entries by Canadians who took the spice challenge where Doritos got success their way by successfully introducing the product in the market and making it famous.
5. IBM
The software and technology giant IBM took to social media to give the world an insight into the IBM world. Their product or services are difficult to display creatively; IBM took to sharing the interiors and give the world glimpses of its inside by the hashtag #IBM requesting posts from its customers and employees.
Isn’t it intriguing to get a peek into the tech giant and the life of the people there?
Employees working, the cafeteria, the conference rooms, and a whole lot more are just like an everyday affair. Showcasing the human facet of the brand, IBM took to visualize itself through its very own people. What a thoughtful and classic approach to user-generated content marketing!
6. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
First, whatever is said of the pictures on the National Geographic handle would amount to less. The pictures on the handle are beyond words to describe and are taken by photographers from everywhere.
Keeping the game up, National Geographic devised its consumer-generated marketing campaign valuing user-generated content, and #wanderlustcontest came into form.
The contest requested people to capture people, places, and experiences from their travel and share them with the hashtag and out came millennial pictures from people bit by the travel bug. Travel fans were promised a reward for a National Geographic expedition to Yosemite National Park. This is a great UGC campaign example that created a community for NatGeo.
7. LULULEMON
Who doesn’t live the sweat life and burn out those carbs? Lululemon’s #thesweatlife campaign asked customers to share pictures of their Lululemon activewear.
The brand is a maker of yoga clothing & activewear, and people getting into their garbs were asked to share snaps on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag.
A section on Lululemon’s website mainly displays user-generated content photos being pulled from the #thesweatlife campaign, magnetizing potential customers and allowing them to click through.
The large follower base was utilized by the brand significantly. Furthermore, the display of the feed on the website acts as a visual user review of the yoga and activewear, telling people what the products look like in action.
8. Coca Cola
The “Share a Coke” UGC campaign by Coca-Cola, transformed ordinary beverage consumption into a personalized and shareable experience. Coca-Cola replaced its iconic logo with famous names, igniting a hunt for personalized bottles.
People embarked on a quest to find their names, nicknames, or even terms of endearment on Coke bottles, sharing their discoveries on social media. This UGC campaign turned Coke bottles into conversation starters and fueled a sense of connection.
Friends snapped pics of their personalized drinks, creating a wave of user-generated content that showcased the power of a simple sip to spark joyful interactions and memorable moments and coca cola was flooded with User Generated Content which was later displayed on their socials.
9. Apple
Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” UGC campaign celebrated the artistry of everyday users. Turning iPhones into creative tools encouraged people to capture stunning photos and videos of their world.
Through this lens, UGC transformed into a global gallery, showcasing the diverse beauty and creativity of individuals. The campaign spotlighted both the technological prowess of iPhone cameras and the artistic potential within us all.
Each user-submitted image became a brushstroke in a larger masterpiece, demonstrating how UGC can transcend marketing to empower a community of creators, redefine photography, and capture the world through countless unique perspectives.
10. Starbucks
Starbucks’ UGC campaign brewed authenticity, transforming coffee moments into a vibrant campaign. Coffee enthusiasts shared their artistic latte designs, cozy café corners, and heartwarming coffee rituals.
UGC painted a caffeinated community through snapshots and stories where each cup became a canvas. From Instagram-worthy shots of frothy creations to serene scenes in coffee havens, Starbucks tapped into the power of shared experiences.
UGC became a digital gallery, uniting java lovers and turning coffee sips into extraordinary narratives. This campaign exemplified how UGC can craft an inclusive brand identity while inviting coffee enthusiasts to co-create a global coffee culture.
11. Sephora
Sephora’s UGC campaign bloomed with beauty revelations. Makeup mavens and skincare devotees shared transformations, tips, and hacks. The beauty insider platform became an interactive haven where users showcased their cosmetic conquests, reviews, and tutorials.
UGC painted a vibrant portrait of empowerment, where each contour and shade told a unique tale. From bold makeup experiments to radiant skincare journeys, Sephora harnessed UGC to create a virtual beauty sanctuary.
This campaign highlighted how UGC can unite a community of enthusiasts, celebrate personal metamorphoses, and reflect the diverse and dynamic world of cosmetics and self-expression.
Conclusion
Consumer-generated media is one of the most effective ways for brand building, user engagement, authentic feedback and customer reviews, and more, as demonstrated by the above companies who have successfully worked on UGC campaigns without dispensing a whopping sum of money.
Leveraging user-generated content to increase website engagement is what every marketer should do; using a UGC platform for this is the best possible way!
Promoting the brand product on the website or the social channels, offering customers giveaways and prizes to encourage participation, steal some notions from these flourishing brands for your social campaigning.
