Example #1: The Fifth Guy
This video is part of a social marketing campaign implemented by the Florida Department of Health in May 2007 to increase awareness of the importance of hand-washing to prevent the spread of illness.
Example #2: Film from SOS Children's Villages Norway
If you saw a boy without a coat shivering alone at a bus stop, what would you do? SOS Children's Villages Norway, seeking to raise awareness and funds to help Syrian children in need, created this moving film. They set up a hidden camera and placed Johannes at a bus stop, in Oslo, Norway, and it's moving to see how people respond. An SOS rep shared, "The goal was to touch upon the fear of becoming numb to crises that don't affect you directly."
(To view in English, choose English on the captions icon in media player in YouTube.)
Example #3: Snap and Click
This video shows how the Colorado State Department of Transportation utilized the popularity of Snapchat to send the message of seat belt safety to high school students state-wide. By using social marketing tactics, the CO DOT surprised, informed, educated and interacted with high school students. As a result, the message of seat belt safety became a talking point among students and raised awareness of the importance of seat belt safety.
Example 4: Metro Trains: Dumb Ways to Die
Public service announcements are known for being boring, so back in 2012, Melbourne Metro Trains decided to liven things up a bit with their visual marketing campaign, and came up with the perfect way. How do you convey a message to avoid deaths caused by train accidents? You add cute cartoons, a catchy tune, and some dark humor, of course! And so they came up with some catchy lyrics about several dumb ways to die – getting your toast out with a fork, doing your own electrical work, keeping a rattlesnake as a pet, selling both your kidneys on the Internet, to name a few.
As expected, the campaign went viral. Within 24 hours, the song reached iTunes Top 10 Charts, and has 140 million views on YouTube as of this date!
Read more about this example from The Yellow Sparrow.
Example 5: ALS: Ice Bucket Challenge
This one, you know it just had to be on the list. These challenges were all the rage back in 2013, and your Facebook newsfeeds were flooded with people pouring ice cold water on themselves, nominating people to do the same, and then donating some amount for the ALS Association. But here’s the best part: ALS never planned this campaign!
Wait, what?!
Yup, a golfer from Florida, Chris Kennedy, nominated a friend to participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge, which had nothing to do with ALS at the time.
Read more about this example from The Yellow Sparrow.