3 Instagram Marketing Campaigns and What They Reported

Instagram marketing campaigns are time-limited brand efforts built around Instagram's formats, hashtags, creators or direct messages. In 2014, Starbucks asked customers to decorate a white cup and share it with #WhiteCupContest, and QSR Magazine reported that the company received almost 4,000 entries in three weeks. Three campaigns below show three different approaches, what each reported, and what a PR team can take from them.

What counts as an Instagram marketing campaign?

An Instagram marketing campaign is a defined effort with a start date, a mechanic and a measurable aim, run mainly through Instagram. The mechanic can be a customer contest, a hashtag that fans reuse, a creator program or a paid placement.

This page covers three campaigns with published, dated sources. Every result is described as reported, with the source named, because brand-reported figures are not independently audited. For the PR side of running Instagram, see the Instagram PR guide.

What did Starbucks learn from the #WhiteCupContest?

Starbucks showed that a simple customer contest can produce a large volume of brand-safe content with little production cost. The company launched the #WhiteCupContest in April 2014, according to Brandwatch's roundup of Instagram campaigns, and invited customers to decorate a Starbucks cup and share a photo through social media with the hashtag.

QSR Magazine's report on the follow-up partner contest says the first contest drew almost 4,000 customer entries in three weeks. Fast Casual's report on the winner says Starbucks chose a design by Brita Lynn Thompson, from more than 4,000 entries, for a reusable tumbler sold on StarbucksStore.com.

The lesson is that the prize was tied to the product. The winning entry became something customers could buy, which gave the contest a visible outcome. The contest ran across social media, with Instagram as a main channel, so it should not be read as an Instagram-only result. QSR also reported that Starbucks later ran a version for its own employees using the hashtag #PartnerCupContest, which shows how a working mechanic can be reused.

How did Calvin Klein use #MyCalvins on Instagram?

Calvin Klein used #MyCalvins to turn customers and celebrities into the campaign. The hashtag launched in February 2014, according to Truly Deeply's write-up, and asked people to post themselves wearing the brand's underwear and fill in the blank in a line starting with "I".

The reported results came quickly. Grazia, citing Women's Wear Daily, reported that Calvin Klein added 3.6 million followers across its combined social channels in the two weeks after it unveiled Justin Bieber in its spring campaign, and that #mycalvins generated 1.6 million Twitter mentions in 48 hours. Grazia's report on the Bieber campaign gives both figures. Marketing Dive's report on the later campaign says the brand moved to a digital-first "Our Family. #MYCALVINS" campaign three years after the hashtag began, drawing on the user-generated content people had built up.

The campaign also carries a risk lesson. Digiday reported that a Spring 2016 campaign image on the brand's Instagram account drew angry comments, including accusations that it looked like it showed a minor, from an audience of 4.8 million followers. Digiday's report on the backlash describes the reaction. A campaign built on fan participation and edgy imagery needs a review step for audience and age.

How did Daniel Wellington build its brand on Instagram?

Daniel Wellington built its brand by working with micro-influencers on Instagram instead of using typical marketing channels. Practical Ecommerce, citing Bloomberg, reported that the Swedish watch company launched in 2011 with $15,000 and now earns roughly $200 million in revenue, and that it credits word-of-mouth and social proof from those creators.

Practical Ecommerce's summary of the strategy also notes a campus-influencer program aimed at a younger audience. Other published accounts give a different starting figure for the influencer spend, so treat the figures as reported and approximate.

The lesson is that a creator program works as a distribution channel when the product photographs well and the creators match the audience. The risk is dependence: the brand's sales rely on creators' posts and on disclosure rules for sponsored content, so contracts should cover both.

How do the three campaigns compare?

The three campaigns use three different mechanics, and each has a different reported outcome and a different risk. The table sets them side by side.

What should a PR team take from these campaigns?

A PR team should choose the mechanic that fits the goal, then plan the risk that comes with it. The table links each approach to when it works and what it costs.

For creator contracts and rights, see influencer marketing agencies and influencer content usage rights. For work involving children, see InstaKids: marketing to children on Instagram. For other platforms, see TikTok marketing campaigns and Snapchat marketing campaigns, and for Facebook, the Facebook PR guide.

Conclusion

The three campaigns share one idea: the mechanic does the work, and the brand's job is to set rules and review the risk. A contest needs moderation, a hashtag needs a review step, and a creator program needs written terms. Pick the mechanic first, then plan for what goes wrong.