Top content marketing initiatives of 2020 that marketers wanted to be part of

Marketers always look for innovative and creative campaigns to get inspired. Although 2020 was a much different year than most of us had anticipated because of numerous uncalled and unforeseen challenges and restraints, there were many examples of beautiful engaging content campaigns.

BuzzInContent.com did a roundup of such heart-warming and thought-provoking campaigns and content initiatives while discussing what made them memorable enough.

Not Just A Cadbury

Mondelez India's 'Iss Diwali Aap #KiseKhushKarenge?' campaign that featured more than 1,800 local retailers across more than 260 pin codes in the country, was designed as a personalised ad that showed stores specific to a pin code in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Indore, Ahmedabad and Lucknow. The ad that ended with the message: “When all of us support our local stores, all of us can have a Happy Diwali”, definitely evoked generosity among many.

Rajeshree Naik

Rajeshree Naik, Co-founder and Director for India Food Network, said the work done by Cadbury during Diwali was really powerful in such stressing times.

BYJU'S Give - Light the lamp of learning

BYJU'S Give initiative that aimed to take digital learning to as many children as possible, giving them a chance at remote learning, was part of the ‘Education for all’ initiative that democratises education and aims to provide five million underprivileged children access to quality online learning opportunities by 2025.

Angad Bhatia

Terming the campaign as his favourite, Angad Bhatia, Founder, MensXP and CEO, Indiatimes Lifestyle Network, said, “The initiative was very mindful and had a high order purpose. It’s also a testimony that even brands in adverse situations and times can bring about the best in themselves. The brand asked the audience to donate their old mobile phones, laptops or tablets for the underprivileged children so that their education doesn’t stop. The reason for mentioning this campaign is simple— they did everything right. It was relevant to the time the campaign came out.”

Unacademy | Cracking the Game

Being the official partner of IPL 2020, Unacademy gained a lot of exposure with its film #LetsCrackIt and won many hearts. Apart from the brand film showcasing the highlights of the season in the most creative way, it featured a rap illustrating educational topics, showing how students could have learned them from the cricketing moments.

Karthik Nagarajan

Karthik Nagarajan, Chief Content Officer, Wavemaker India, said he loved what brand did during Dream11 IPL. “The way they associated themselves with the live action and also the film they had made towards the end of the season was brilliant. We are deeply appreciative of the work some other brands do,” he said.

#GiftOfSleep ​by Duroflex

During Christmas, Duroflex, along with The Better India, launched an initiative called ‘Gift of Sleep’ to donate 365 mattresses to 365 children, with the hope that every kid can enjoy at least eight hours of quality sleep on these mattresses — the initiative amounted to gifting a million hours of sleep in a year.

Smita Murarka

Smita Murarka, Vice-President, Marketing and E-commerce at Duroflex, said content website The Better India successfully showed the brand’s messaging of giving back to the society. The website enabled readers to share their wishes and messages for the children with the brand.

Maggi Desh Ke Liye 2 Min | Apna Food Business

Desh Key Liye 2 minute - Apna Food Business, an initiative by the brand to empower women from all across India to start their own food business, was in association with India Food Network. This campaign aimed to empower and support 10,000 home chefs across the country by helping them realise their dreams of becoming successful food entrepreneurs.

Naik, while stating this was another campaign she really liked last year, said, “The year was all about women seeking solace in their cooking, and this campaign gave them a chance to actually make it a profession. The response and entries were overwhelming so as to say, and it made us feel like we did something so good and right to end the year with this campaign.”

#ThankYouHaters for AcneStar

The AcneStar Facewash ‘Thank You Haters’ campaign that aimed to spread the message of being comfortable in one’s skin, was a fight against the rise in online trolling on social media— something that was relatable to many.

The video campaign showcased four influencers who faced social media trolling, and spread the message, ‘do not step back, do not let these hate comments affect you and always be comfortable in your skin’.

Joy Chatterjee

Joy Chatterjee, Deputy General Manager Marketing at Mankind Pharma, said the film talked about real instances and actual pain points of consumers, and so had a far better connect. “Emotional content can absolutely make you connect to your TG,” he said.