If committed influencers have already been emerging for a few years on social networks, this year they will become the spokespersons of their commitments by participating in large-scale campaigns and events alongside advertisers. This is a boon for brands when we know that consumers now prefer brands that are leaders in environmental, social and economic sustainability. Getting your brand commitments heard through an influencer marketing strategy will be a winning combination in 2023.
What are value-based campaigns?
In recent years, we have seen the emergence of socially, humanitarian and environmentally engaged content creators. These creators often collaborate with brands to develop high-value, meaningful campaigns that have the potential to reach and educate their respective communities.
In order to spread these important messages to as many people as possible, influencers and brands often work together to create powerful campaigns. Nowadays, consumers prefer brands that are conscious of societal issues such as the environmental cause or the social and economic problems of our countries. It is currently known that 79% of French people purchase from brands that are in line with their personal beliefs.
Thus, it is clear that making societal commitments a central part of a communication campaign undeniably contributes to strengthening a brand’s reputation. Therefore, alternating between campaigns and product campaigns is advantageous.
How to build a campaign with strong values?
To build a campaign with strong values, it is important to follow several key steps. We will detail each of these steps to help you create your campaign and provide you with all the elements for a successful campaign!
Step 1: Start thinking responsibly
The first step in building a value campaign is to think responsibly. It is important to choose a commitment that corresponds to your values and for which you have already taken action, in order not to fall into what is called “washing”. Washing refers to the fact that a company gives itself an image that is not in line with reality. We have seen many examples of washing in recent years: the use of abstract words to talk about a brand’s CSR commitments, without ever really saying what actions are taken, talking about the eco-responsibility of a product in its totality when only one element is ecological. We can also mention the choice of packaging and visuals: the use of green, or designs that refer to nature such as trees or plants.
For the campaign to be well received, it must be in line with the brand’s commitments. Nike is a good example of a company that has understood this for a long time. Known for its human-oriented commitments and values, such as surpassing oneself and perseverance in effort, the brand promotes these same values in its anti-racism or feminist campaigns, which is very popular with the public. If your company is not committed to social, environmental or societal issues, it is important to make internal changes before launching a campaign. This will help to build a campaign that is consistent with the brand’s values and will be better perceived and have a greater impact on the target community.
Step 2: Alternate between brand value and product campaigns
Engaging campaigns that deliver messages of social justice, equality and love have a positive impact on consumers. Indeed, consumers are more likely to appreciate brands that stand for such values. It is therefore crucial for companies to create a consistent brand image that reflects real commitments. To do so, it is best to alternate between product and value campaigns to show consumers that these commitments are backed up by concrete actions.
Step 3: Select and work with engaged influencers
It is important to select relevant content creators to spread your message effectively to their community. To list your content creators, you can use tools such as Stellar that will allow you to access a database of more than 15 million influencers in 50 countries. When selecting influencers, it is important to ensure that their editorial line corresponds to your brand image and values. Choosing the right influencers is important to reach your target audience, boost engagement and strengthen your brand image.
Strong value-based influencer campaigns are most powerful when the influencer you collaborate with is well chosen, as the audience is not just drawn by the message, but also by the person delivering it. It’s a win-win strategy that promotes positive messages and great actions.
Strong campaigns with strong commitments: some inspiring examples
Adidas x Decathlon campaign
Over the years, many value campaigns have been created. In 2022, the sports brands committed to accessibility, Adidas and Decathlon, teamed up to create sports fields in order to encourage women’s participation in sport. The project aimed to build more inclusive sports grounds. For a month, consumers’ pairs of shoes were collected in all Decathlon shops in France. Whether they were worn, dirty, torn or grated, more than 25,000 pairs of shoes were recycled and turned into floor coverings to give life to these sports fields dedicated to women.
Pantone x Charity Water campaign
Pantone and Charity Water have also collaborated to highlight the lack of access to water in some parts of the world. Today, one in ten people in the world do not have access to clean and safe water, and to illustrate this and raise awareness of such living conditions, color shades have been set up to represent the colors of the water that people around the world have access to. A fundraising campaign was then set up to help people in those parts of the world where access to water is an everyday issue.
#JeDonneLeSourire’s Colgate campaign
The Colgate brand regularly launches meaningful campaigns that show its commitment to optimistic projects.
First of all, we can mention the #JeDonneLeSourire campaign launched in collaboration with the agency of the Stellar group, which has been accompanying Colgate France for three years now. In 2021, the #JeDonneLeSourire solidarity program was created. Through this campaign, Colgate supported 11 associations: €100,000 of donations were given to optimistic associative projects such as Femixsport or T’Cap 21. This project was supported by a dozen influencer-ambassadors on Instagram and TikTok, including Cindy Poumeyrol and Valentin Leonard. The results are impressive since more than 11 million people have potentially been reached by this campaign.
At the end of 2022, the #LaChaîneDuSourire concept was set up. It is a relay race throughout France, in favour of 5 associations selected by 4 content creators; @thomasgoldberg, @bouboule_42, @alicia_mapr6 and @victoriiine, as well as the Colgate Team.
In 2023, the new #JeDonneLeSourire campaign supports the association Premiers de cordée through a partnership at the Journée Évasion organized at the Stade de France on 12 April. The brand has also invited the influencer Natoo to amplify this action of solidarity thanks to a TikTok video that shows her day at the Stade de France alongside Colgate.
Want to know more?
In 2023, more than ever, value-based campaigns are becoming phenomenal, as consumers are now very receptive to committed brands. That’s why alternating throughout the year between value and product campaigns makes sense. We have a team of experts in France and in Belgium who can help you build great value campaigns from A to Z. Contact us to discuss your wants and needs!
Key takeaways
- Spreading values in line with your brand: it is important that the values your brand carries are in line with its internal actions
- Alternate between a values campaign and a product campaign: consumers must be shown the application of the values through concrete actions
- Choosing the right influencers: the chosen content creators must match your brand image and their editorial line must be coherent with your brand
- Don't fall into washing: communicating beautiful values is very important, but actions must follow in order not to fall into any kind of washing
