5 top social media campaigns of 2014

When was the last time a social media campaign made you really feel something, whether it was happiness, hope or fear?
Below are five of the most successful social media campaigns of 2014, each of which was able to tap into genuine emotion to make a lasting impact on consumers.
Each of the below will be featured at this year’s Mashies Award Ceremony, where we’ll be revealing the year’s most outstanding examples of digital media from categories including Best Real-Time Marketing, Best Branded App and many more.
The Mashies will be held at Gotham Hall in New York City on Nov. 4, so make sure to get your tickets before they sell out.
The ceremony will be hosted by comedians Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenfeld, and will feature special guests, surprise entertainment and more. It’s also a fantastic chance to meet our finalists, winners and judges, as well as mingle with the Mashable team and digital media professionals from across the globe.

1. Burger King’s “Motel King” campaign by Colenso BBDO

When Burger King came out with its new Chicken Tendercrisp burger, it had to convince people to “cheat” on the Whopper.
The solution? It created the official Burger King Motel, complete with Burger King-branded toiletries, robes and towels. Consumers could check into the hotel through social media, and were encouraged to share their experience using the hashtag #motelBK. The result was a massively viral campaign that included a flood of user-generated content across nearly all major social media platforms.

2. AT&T’s “@SummerBreak” campaign by BBDO New York

If there are three things that teenagers love, it’s reality TV, social media and their cellphones. AT&T combined the three in its social media reality series @SummerBreak, which followed eight friends during their last summer together before college.
Fans were able to interact with the cast through their mobile devices over social channels like Instagram and YouTube, and racked up millions of YouTube views across the 51-episode series. The show was so successful that AT&T decided to launch a second season, which aired its final episode in September 2014.

3. Tombstone’s “Bites of Fright” campaign by Deep Focus

When you think of Halloween, what comes to mind? In 2014, Tombstone began a campaign to associate itself with the holiday by creating a series of spooky yet funny Vines named “Bites of Fright.”
The Vines, which were posted every day during the month of October, were also housed on Tombstone’s Twitter and Facebook profiles in order to increase their reach. And it worked –- the campaign went viral and helped consumers cement the association between Tombstone and Halloween.

4. Chevy and the American Cancer Society “Paint Social Media Purple” campaign by iProspect

Chevy’s emotional “Purple Your Profile” campaign paid homage to cancer survivors, kicking off with a moving 60-second spot during the 2014 Super Bowl entitled “Life.” The brand gave people the opportunity to “purple” their Facebook profile, and pledged to donate $1 to the American Cancer Society for each person that participated.
The program was massively popular, with leading consumer brands like Energizer and Lowe’s joining the movement and the story being covered across major networks like Fox and ABC. Most importantly, it raised $1 million for cancer charities and gave survivors the chance to come together to deliver a message of hope.

5. Nestle Coffee-mate’s “Stirring up Love ‘Outside the Cup’” campaign by Zocalo Group

Sometimes expressing how you feel — especially on Valentine's Day — can be a little daunting. Nestle's Coffee-mate stepped in, tasking a team of professional artists to turn users’ declarations of love into shareable, one-of-a-kind valentines. Using the hashtag #CMValentine, users submitted love notes on Twitter and Facebook, which were turned into handcrafted Valentines for their loved ones.
By thinking “outside the cup,” Nestle turned everyday expressions of love into miniature works of art, increasing their channel engagement and adding new consumers to its social media communities.