After a raft of platform updates over the last few weeks, the tail-end of May has been comparatively quiet. At least from a UK perspective it’s likely that most media has the election firmly on their mind, but even in the US there has been relatively little to report.
As such, this week I’m devoting this newsletter to a couple of interesting brand case studies that I’ve come across this week – one featuring British electronics retailer Currys, and the other looking at Budweiser’s lovely offering on Spotify.
Beyond that there are (as ever) a few interesting nuggets of information relating to finding out which keywords your competitors are bidding on, ad blockers and which words you should avoid using on LinkedIn. Like I say, it’s been a slow week, but stick with me – the good stuff is coming…
TikTok’s Unlikeliest Star
There’s a new star on TikTok; namely Currys, an electronic retailer that I would guess most Britons have a fairly neutral opinion towards. However, it isn’t just chance – there’s actually some strategy in there, with The Drum taking a look at this this week.
The electronics retailer has managed to captivate audiences with a blend of quirky and authentic videos, which are not just random acts of weirdness but carefully crafted pieces aligned with their brand strategy.
The key to Currys’ TikTok fame lies in understanding the platform’s unique environment. As we all know, TikTok’s algorithm pushes and rewards content that engages users quickly and retains their attention. Currys has mastered this by producing high-quality, short, and engaging videos that resonate with their audience.
They leverage trending hashtags and incorporate popular cultural elements, ensuring their content is discoverable and shareable.
What can we learn from this? Well, authenticity and strategic planning are crucial. Embrace a platform’s trends and quirks, but ensure your content aligns with your brand’s voice and goals. It sounds simple, but it’s remarkable how few brands actually do this. Most platforms offer insights into what your audience are interested in; indeed, TikTok’s Audience Insights can show you how to identify relevant interest categories and hashtags, and focus on creating engaging content that hooks viewers from the very start.
Budweiser harnesses the power of Spotify
It’s not often I look at case studies from Brazil, but this caught my eye this week; Budweiser turns songs mentioning the brand into targeted ads on Spotify.
Budweiser Brazil has launched a groundbreaking campaign called “UninterruptAds” on Spotify, replacing traditional ads with songs that mention Budweiser in their lyrics. This approach integrates over 500 tracks featuring the brand name (who knew there were that many!) into Spotify playlists. This campaign not only enhances brand engagement but also leverages Spotify’s rapidly growing user base in Brazil.
Goodness knows we don’t all manage brands that are lucky enough to have been mentioned across over 500 different tracks – but, this is a great example (and one of the few I can think of) of a brand using Spotify in a genuinely useful way. Fair play.
Further Reading
Apple has signed a deal with OpenAI to integrate its products into iOS, although it is still looking to offer Gemini as an alternative choice.
Ad blocker users are now finding that YouTube is muting or skipping videos, after a long-telegraphed crackdown on them by Google.
Hootsuite loves an experiment, and this week they’ve been looking at how many Instagram stories is optimal for a brand. While the obvious answer is “it depends”, it’s still interesting to read and ponder.
If you’ve ever wanted to find which keywords your competitors bid on, then this how-to from Search Engine Journal might come in handy.
Finally, and while it’s absolute clickbait, I did enjoy this from Forbes on the 10 most hated business phrases, and ensuring you avoid them on LinkedIn. Anyone using the phrase ‘Spidey Sense’ on their LinkedIn profile deserves to be rinsed, quite frankly.
That’s it for another week – if your Spidey Senses found this interesting and you fancy being a Change Agent, then I would really appreciate it if you shared this with your friends and colleagues.
If you want to Act Your Wage, then I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise it’s Mission Critical that you have a great weekend and I’ll see you next week for more Ideas Harvesting!