Campaigns to admire #2: #BlossomWatch
Straight into my top ten for UGC campaigns. Probably top five. You’ll not convince me otherwise.
I mean, just look at these tweets:
Spring. It happens every year. It’s just that we’ve all been totally wasting it, until the National Trust came along with a cracking UGC campaign.
What makes a decent use of UGC? For me, these three things:
1. Purpose
Both for your brand and the person taking part. There must be a real reason behind it. It has to say something about what you stand for as an organisation, to shift the dial in some way. And the participant needs to see a value in helping you to do that (knowingly or unknowingly). There should be something there that inspires them to join in.
For the National Trust, I’m going to go ahead and assume it’s their long term approach to moving the perception that remains in some quarters about them being a ‘chandeliers and creams teas’ visitor destination, and more towards a discussion of the shed load of nature they look after as a charity.
For the participant, it’s the pure joy of looking out for and celebrating a moment of the year when you’re surrounded by beautiful, natural, colourful decoration, and realising that there’s a whole community of others out there who love it too.
Also, you get a fun pink oakleaf when you use the tag, so there’s that.
2. Ease of entry
Do you know where the outdoors is? Do you have a smart phone? I’m going to assume you’re using social media, however reluctantly. Then you’re good to go >> see blossom, snap blossom, tag blossom, done.
There are so many UGC campaigns where you have to travel to Marbella at exactly the right moment of the earth’s position against Mercury, in order to film yourself training a colony of ants to dance to Harry Styles, and then tag in some weirdly phrased thing (here’s looking at you #QantasLuxury – although there were other issues with that one), to wait around to maybe win a prize.
None of that with #BlossomWatch. You’re just spotting the beauty around you with all the other lovely people out there.
3.Value
And this is where it gets really fun. Blossom photos became NT social content, generating their own entries in turn. There were dedicated activity packs and places to explore, and a shed load of influential folks across a broad spectrum of audiences were brought on board to share their own #BlossomWatch.
AND THEN… they stuck the blossom on giant digital billboards in UK cities, having encouraged the photographers to caption them, leading to further engagement and presenting a really authentic, participatory, accessible vibe to the charity (see below).
All of which tracked back to the purpose behind it, the value of the National Trust for the nation, and the role it plays in protecting and restoring our natural environment. As well as the stronger association between the brand and nature.
Purpose. Ease of Entry. Value.
A cracking campaign.
*Massive disclaimer alert* I currently do some freelance community management for the National Trust, and previously worked in-house for the charity for many a happy year, so I’m not an unbiased observer here. But that also means I’ve seen the pure joy that people experience with #BlossomWatch. Plus a shite load of cherry blossom.