3 of the best Facebook campaign examples from 2017

How three very different brands gained social success by creating Facebook campaigns that engaged users and got them talking

In our Facebook marketing guide we share lots of examples of practical techniques for businesses to achieve their goals. We're always on the lookout for new examples to share, so we 'put our heads together' in our team to share those we liked best from this year.

We'd be interested to know which campaigns you rate from this year, please share to Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

The examples we have chosen are all remarkable for getting cut-through and engagement to support the goals of the organisation. Thinking of our RACE planning framework,  Facebook (and other social networks) can support all the parts of the customer lifecycle goals from achieving reach, encouraging interactions, generating conversion and customer engagement. We have chosen these three examples since they achieve these across very different categories.

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1. KFC Clean eating burger

I’m a veggie myself, but I had to admire the impact of this video campaign created primarily for Facebook. It’s a great spoof that sends up health food vloggers, featuring Figgy Poppleton-Rice – a fictional food vlogger who “would literally marry kale”. She’s explaining a video recipe for the ‘Clean Eating Burger’: a combination of raw cauliflower, pulsed ice, kale and boiled chicken which is crushed with the not-so-healthy Dirty Louisiana burger which KFC launched in the UK. Over 16 million views shows the power of viral videos which poke fun. Branded virals don’t always link so well to a product, but this pulls it off.

2. MQ: It’s time to give a xxxx about mental illness campaign

It’s been good to see the amplification of this recent charity campaign in my family, with one of my daughters sharing and we’re now donating. It’s a campaign from charity MQ: Transforming Mental Health Through Research focusing on mental illness in young people.

I like the high impact creative based on different ‘It’s time to change the facts’ messages, which encourage sharing by showing how this a neglected illness with 23% of the population affected, but less than 6% of health research spent here or how four in 10 feel that mental illness is ‘an inevitable part of life’. The simple visuals and messages work well, but this campaign is integrated with powerful videos and commentary from indie bands.

3. AO.com Bloodthirsty Gin Punch campaign

I love the way that the retailer AO.com runs its Facebook page since it almost makes white goods sexy and fun. Almost! AO get a lot of engagement through simple plots like asking the audience to get involved, whether it’s counting rubber ducks in a dishwasher or how many beers are in a fridge-freezer, how many clothes fit into a washing machine

This year's Bloodthirsty Gin Punch campaign piggybacked on Halloween and nicely integrates to their AO.Life blog. It’s been widely shared since it’s just a bit edgy – the video features an eyeball-bearing punch and spooky sounds, so not for the squeamish. I can’t imagine John Lewis doing this.

So, that's what caught our eye, what about yours?