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As temperatures rise, it’s time to bask in some of this year’s hottest content marketing summer campaigns. From new flip phone promos and AI activations to kids’ toothbrushes and colorful cars, read on for a look at the best summer marketing campaigns we’ve seen so far this year.
Samsung: Join the Flip Side
Summer Spin: Sleepaway Camp
Creative Concept
“People think they’d never ditch their current phone, but it’s not out of love; it’s just habit. Or, for most of us, it’s the fear of switching. It was really fun to dramatize that insight through a horror movie parody. The truth is, there’s nothing to be afraid of.” — Edouard Olhagaray and Ramona Todoca, Creative Directors at W+K Amsterdam
Marketing Campaign Details
Switching phones can be scary for a lot of people, but in the second installment of the Join the Flip Side campaign — which debuted last year to promote the brand’s Galaxy Z Flip5 phone — Samsung tries to ease the pain through some summer marketing campaign silliness.
With a light-hearted parody of the classic teen horror movie set at summer camp trope, the brand manages to “tap into a very appealing cultural zeitgeist right now, as well as connect to the naturally nostalgic feeling of the flip phone,” says Sonia Chang, VP, Head of Brand Marketing and Global Launch Campaign at Samsung Mobile. It also makes a serious play at competitors whose more minor updates just don’t measure up to the phone’s foldable features.
Join the Flip Side season one taught us that in a market where most devices look almost identical, we could stand out with a product and a campaign that grabbed people’s attention,
— Chang
But will it be enough to drive a significant number of devoted users to make the jump?
Brand Value-Add
Changing perceptions means we have to do something different. We know people know they want to switch, but there is inertia to taking that step,” Chang explains. “Rather than ignore barriers, we embraced the people who say they’d ‘never switch’ by making them feel seen and understood on their emotional journey of switching.”
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Away: Extraordinary is Out There
Summer Spin: Vacation Vibes
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Creative Concept
“This campaign was inspired by the fascinating intersection of travel, imagination and how cutting-edge technology facilitated by AI has the power to change our experiences. We wanted to put the power of discovery back in the hands of our community, pushing their imaginations beyond their limits.” — Carla Dunham, CMO at Away
Marketing Campaign Details
For luggage brand Away, creating quality travel-focused content marketing is a no-brainer. But this in this summer marketing campaign, they’ve taken the concept to a new level. At the end of June, they invited folks out to a two-day activation in Venice Beach for a chance to create their own AI-generated worlds alongside postcards of very real but extraordinary landscapes (and popular summer destinations) found on planet Earth.
Alongside the in-person event, Away debuted a dedicated landing page, ran a full-page print ad in The New York Times, sent out marketing emails, and organized out-of-home efforts to drive store traffic in New York and LA as well as core audience interest.
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And Dunham knows exactly who she’s talking to. “They are individuals who appreciate the beauty of our world, want the freedom to imagine without limits, and are inspired by the potential of the future,” she said of the brand’s marketing personas. “For them, technology is a conduit that enables a more visceral experience —” an idea also encouraged by travel inspo follow-up messaging that was sent out to attendees after the event.
Brand Value-Add
“While many brands have experimented with AI in various ways,” Dunham says that “At Away, we felt it was important to share our perspective on AI in a way that reinforces our core belief: that the more you travel, the better we all become.
This activation allows us to drive a new conversation and make a statement that our world’s beauty is unparalleled.
SuperMouth: Summer of Smiles
Summer Spin: Blockbuster Movies
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Creative Concept
“We’re revolutionizing the way families approach oral care by offering age-based solutions for every stage of development. And to make it even better, we’re adding an element of fun. Our upcoming summer’s live-action and animated film is just one example of how we stand out.” — Dr. Kami Hoss, Dentist and Founder of SuperMouth
Marketing Campaign Details
To mark the launch of the “first dentist-invented mouthcare system for kids,” last month SuperMouth unveiled their Summer of Smiles campaign. Featuring educational content as well as subscription-based oral hygiene products, the heart of it all lies in The Rise of SuperMouth: a 35-minute-long kids’ movie inspired in part by the likes of Marvel and other big-budget summer action blockbusters.
Based on characters created by the husband-and-wife dental team behind the brand (who’ve also run an amusement park-themed office out of San Diego for the past 25 years), the family-friendly film premiered at the 26th Annual Dances With Films Festival and boasts incredible production value for an exciting and unique way to introduce the brand’s target audience to its range of products.
Brand Value-Add
“We have always been entertainment-forward in our dental practice, and from the SuperMouth brand’s point of view, we see releasing the movie starring our SuperMouth Squad and Cavitar [villain] as a way for family audiences to fall in love with our characters and stories,” Dr. Hoss explains. Because, like content marketing at its best,
They should be entertained first, which creates a positive association with mouth care.
Fiat: Operation No Gray
Summer Spin: The Italian Riviera
Creative Concept
“To be memorable, distinguishing ourselves from any other ad, especially automotive ones, was not important: It was the only thing that mattered.” — Francesco Martini, Executive Creative Director at Leo Burnett Italia
Marketing Campaign Details
When summer comes around, so do bursts of bright, beautiful colors. So when Italian auto manufacturer Fiat announced that they’d be eliminating gray cars from their line up, the colorful shores of the Italian Riviera were an obvious choice for a backdrop. But despite the summery surroundings, one color ends up taking center stage: orange.
To make a serious splash in the automotive market, the team knew they had to bet big on a significant PR stunt. That’s how they ended up dipping CEO Olivier Francois into 10,000 liters of paint, sans CGI. “Italy is joy, optimism, love, passion, life. And what has gray got to do with all that? Nothing,” he tells viewers. “The world doesn’t need another gray car. So let’s change the rules. From today, at Fiat, no more gray —” and away he goes into the piazza-sized vat, only to emerge as a brighter, better version of the brand.
Brand Value-Add
With 7.2 million views in the two weeks since debuting on YouTube, “The idea was designed to achieve this kind of result, but the reality has exceeded our expectations,” Martini said. “But beyond that, we believe that one of the reasons behind the success of this operation is that people always reward brands that put their values before their business.”
Ready to turn your brand values into content marketing campaigns that sizzle? Let’s talk about strategies that can help you stand out during every season.
