‘Winning’ brands that made us laugh, cry, reply and retweet this 2021

“Best Use of Video” goes to Smart’s #BTS campaign —photo from @LiveSmart twitter

From K-pop to KFC, major brands and even a Philippine government account have leveled up their marketing game and kept the conversation going on the popular social media platform Twitter.

With over 211 million active users, Twitter remains a powerful tool for companies to reach and engage with a vast audience.

Twitter honors their campaigns with this year’s #BestofTweets2021 Philippines Awards, which also feature Union Bank of the Philippines as well as Smart Communications’ unforgettable marketing coup after tapping South Korean superstars BTS.

“From groundbreaking launches to the most creative use of Twitter; these winning brands made us laugh, cry, reply and retweet. It’s one thing to be trending—another to leave a lasting impression,” says Avril Chua, brand strategist for Twitter NEXT, Southeast Asia.

While going viral to meet business goals is critical, Unilever Philippines has gone further via its #Shop2Give campaign, now on its fourth year.

For 2021, Unilever has added Gawad Kalinga as another recipient charity, boosting the latter’s efforts to build communities and combat widespread poverty in the county.

Mobile phone provider Smart has won the “best use of video” for its #SmartBTS campaign.

“Filipinos were feeling weighed down by uncertainties and pandemic anxiety, so Philippines’ telco giant Smart Communications decided to spread positivity by encouraging people to pursue their passions and purpose,” Twitter says.

To amplify the message to audiences, Smart has featured a video series with catchy BTS tracks combined with the company’s core values.

“In the end, the campaign generated massive conversations on Twitter, with a 98 percent positive sentiment. Encore!” Twitter notes.

Red Velvet’s Wendy —PHOTO FROM @PONDSPH TWITTER

Most tweeted

Spotify Philippines is No. 1 on the Twitter charts as the “most tweeted about” brand in 2021.

“Spotify understood the assignment: they make an effort to understand their audience’s behavior and interests—then leans in with gusto,” Twitter says.

“They also tap into cultural moments like Halloween or phenomena like K-Pop to drive cultural relevance and spark exciting conversations among fans,” it adds.

Twitter also recognizes Union Bank’s #WillUBMine campaign, hailed as a “clever take on adding a human-centric touch to product information, piquing the interest of its target audience.”

“The campaign takes customer service in the eyes of love, demonstrating that they are the only bank that truly knows how to love their customers. Likewise, the Filipinos showed love for the brand. The overall response is positive with significant lifts across ad recall and top of mind awareness,” Twitter says.

Pond’s Philippines makes it to the list via the “Best Connection to Culture” category after tapping K-pop star Wendy of Red Velvet for a new skin-care product.

“Twitter proved to be an essential channel for us to create a movement and constant engagement with K-pop fans and enthusiasts; it was a creative challenge to produce content that the K-pop fans would love consistently, keep the excitement going, while ensuring branding was also clear,” says Jackie Kawsek, Pond’s assistant business performance manager.

#SafeTripPH campaign —photo from @tpbphl twitter.

KFC Philippines also scores big with the revival of its bread-free #DoubleDown chicken burger while the Department of Tourism is recognized for its #SafeTripPH to raise awareness for traveling safe during the pandemic.

Of note is the campaign’s use of Twitter’s emoji engine, which sees over 30 customized emojis to match 30 local destinations. Each also comes with customized replies, images and landing pages.

On top of these, #SafeTripPH is using a host of ad solutions, including carousels, which feature multiple “swipeable” videos and images in a single tweet and the conversation button.

“The lighthearted and innovative approach that also delivered educational messages is unique to Twitter. And a brave move by the Department of Tourism for taking the route less traveled,” Twitter said.

Consumer campaigns

Pepsi Philippines has given virtual events an extra pop with its #PepsiHitSaSarap campaign.

The beverage giant has staged a virtual event to remember, allowing Filipinos to participate and win prizes alongside local celebrities such as Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla and SB19.

E-commerce giant Lazada Philippines, for its part, stands out from the sea of virtual shopping events through its “shoppertainment” campaign.

“To kick-start the campaign, they released branded notifications, sending customers various deals in the lead up to the big show. During the livestream, the full suite of Twitter’s ad solutions were also deployed, including the powerful and effective Live Event Page,” Twitter notes.

Meanwhile, video tools have been featured prominently in streaming platform Viu Philippines’ #TagDubOnViu campaign. This has been released in various formats that culminated in a video series showing the reactions of different personalities while watching dramas dubbed in Filipino.

“Engrossed in the shows, their reactions—be it scared, worried or amused—were authentic and engaging to watch. This creative approach enticed Filipinos to see and try out the experience for themselves,” Twitter says.

BYS Cosmetics has won recognition for the “best campaign from a newcomer.”

Combining the reach of Twitter with a K-drama star ambassador, BYS has rolled out a new skin-care line that makes huge impressions online.

“BYS Cosmetics also flawlessly executed Twitter’s ‘Tease, Reveal and Sustain’ launch strategy and boldly explored multiple ad formats to drive full-funnel metrics. In the highly saturated beauty market, their strategy to lead in a space where competitors are not yet fully present, paid off multifold,” Twitter says.

Skin-care brand Eskinol has gone for “authenticity and creativity” with its #SanaAllWithEskinol campaign.

“Eskinol combined the country’s love for soap operas with the unique feature of Twitter threads, to come up with the innovative Twitter Serye (series) format, which generated massive engagement for the brand,” Twitter says.

Across Southeast Asia, Chua observes that brands have gone to Twitter to launch new campaigns and connect with users.

“This year’s winners raised the game on Twitter by tapping into insights from the talk on Twitter,” Chua says.

“They were not afraid to lead the conversations and not just follow. The winning brands also dialed up their innovation through experimenting with new features, as well as exploring bold and creative ideas.”