The Whippies Awards: Best brands on social in 2018

December 19, 2018

Written by NewsWhip
top brands on social media 2018 2019

2018 was a wild year on social. Who emerged as the best brands on social?

This year, we saw brands become even more indistinguishable from publishers and even other social users, in the roles that they play in social media audiences’ lives.

There’s a saying that brands want to be people and people want to be brands.

This could be a summary of brands on social in 2018. Along with brands acting more human, consumers expected the brands they associated with to be a reflection of themselves and their beliefs.

We saw this exemplified by Gen Z, who have always been digital consumers, and expect to have a 1-to-1 relationship with everyone in their lives, be it a peer or a brand. This was seen fully in the wake of the Parkland shooting, which went from a moment to a movement on social.

David Hogg Twitter Hulu

In fact, social users expect brands to help fix societal issues. Additionally, 92 percent of consumers have a better impression of a company when the company supports a social or environmental issue.

Beyond corporate responsibility, content and social media marketing continue to pay off. Indeed, content marketing revenue is expected to exceed $300 billion by 2019.

Lines are blurring further this year, from platform-to-platform, from open channels like Twitter to walled gardens like WhatsApp, and hopping over into real life, as we saw with Reese’s candy robot.

This vending machine will trade you Reese's peanut butter cups with your unwanted candy (via Thrillist thrl.st/2RmC7lp)

Posted by NowThis on Wednesday, October 31, 2018

We expect these trends to continue next year.

Last year, we broke down our Whippies into several categories. There were countless contenders again for this year, but we decided to hone in on just a few you can’t have missed, and a few to know for 2019.
Here are our choices for the top brands on social in 2018:

The top brands on social
Let’s dive into what each of those brands has accomplished this year.

1. Nike for social responsibility

In terms of social media buzz, Nike is the undisputed winner of 2018. No other major brand saw nearly the amount of virality this year as Nike did for its campaign with Colin Kaepernick.

Nike made a bold move featuring Colin Kaepernick after the national controversy with the NFL. The controversy centered around Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the national anthem as a way to raise awareness on race and social issues.
Nike NewsWhip
The campaign sparked international press coverage on major and niche outlets. Users across social channels responded with responses that ranged from support to boycotts.

snapchat Kaepernick
Taking a stance isn’t anything new for Nike. In 2016 and 2017, the brand’s biggest moments were also linked to social responsibility.
Nike NewsWhip 2017
In 2017, Nike had its biggest moment on social media come from its launch of a hijab sportswear product. And in 2016, the most viral moment came from the brand dropping Manny Pacquaio after his anti-LGBT comments.
Nike 2016
It’s worth pointing out that while 2016 and 2017’s moments generated a few million engagements on social, the Kaepernick campaign was exponentially higher. Vox reported just weeks after the campaign launched that Nike saw a $6 billion increase in overall value.

When it came to corporate citizenship, there were many brands to consider for this category.
Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods were notable in their reaction to the Parkland shooting. B2B brands were among those that pledged to March For Our Lives.

Starbucks and Ben & Jerry’s continued to be at the forefront of social responsibility, with Starbucks’ racial bias training, and its ban on plastic straws, and Ben & Jerry’s “Pecan Resist” flavor. While not all brands take part in politically-linked movements, these do tend to drive the most attention on social.

2. iHop for creating a viral moment

When it comes to making a splash on social, plenty of brands drive buzz by being reactive to what’s currently big in pop culture.

iHop changed things up by creating its own viral moment. The pancakes-focused restaurant announced that it would be changing its name to “iHob” in June. There was considerable buzz as social users tried to figure out what the ‘b’ could possibly stand for.

It was revealed that the ‘b’ stood for burgers, as iHop temporarily rebranded its channels. The restaurant wanted the stunt to make create awareness around its new burger and lunch offerings.

Social media users reacted as one might imagine, but the stunt was further propelled by the reactions of other fast food brands.

While at the end of the day, it was only a publicity stunt, it comes in at #2 on our list for creating a viral moment that made the social stratosphere pay close attention.

3. Merriam-Webster for newsjacking

As we mentioned, newsjacking continues to be a prevalent theme of today’s social media age. While not as colossal as the infamous “Dunk in the Dark” moment, Merriam Webster has quietly driven attention for its quippy and timely tweets.

The tweets are often a commentary on specific words used by politicians or in pop culture, and what their actual meaning is.

Last year, BuzzFeed called Merriam-Webster the sassiest dictionary on Twitter, and this has only continued in 2018. The dictionary brand is quick to jump on misspellings by prominent figures, as evidenced in the example above.
Beyond this, Merriam-Webster has reinvented itself into a cultural commentary of sorts, whether it’s

remarking on the words that spike after news stories, or adding new terms to the dictionary.

The buzziest story about Merriam-Webster this year was about the term ‘dumpster fire‘ being added to the dictionary. The brand holds no punches when it comes to content.

4. Fashion Nova for influencer marketing

Social and search can go hand-in-hand, and that’s part of the reason why Fashion Nova has landed on our Whippies list this year.

Google’s 2018 Year in Search report landed Fashion Nova at the top of its fashion category. The brand surpassed the likes of Louis Vuitton, Versace, and Givenchy.

How? Fashion Nova understood the power of the influencer early on. According to Quartz, Fashion Nova worked with 12.4k influencers in 2017, “catering to women many other brands still fail to design thoughtfully for—those with full hips and butts and busts.”

Partnering with both macro and micro influencers expanded the Fashion Nova brand on both an accessible and a “coolness” level.

The most famous influencers include Kylie Jenner, Amber Rose, and Cardi B. Cardi B has partnered with the brand since before she became a signed artist, and this year, her first collaboration with the brand sold out in hours.

5. Steak-umm for personality

There are many brands that try to adopt a snarky tone on their social channels, to varying degrees of success. Last year’s stand-outs, Wendy’s and Moon Pie are still notable, but we wanted to present a new contender for 2018.

Steak-umm has the sass of other brands, but it takes it to an entirely different plane of existence.

The tweets read less like a brand and much more like a Millennial or Gen Zer’s Tumblr account. With only a year of being active on Twitter, Steak-umm has already amassed 43,000 followers and challenged Wendys for the Twitter crown.
Steak-umm Twitter
The philosophical yet beef-riddled tweets certainly stand out, and drive attention for the brand.
An honorable mention in this category goes to Gritty, the mascot of the NHL Flyers. From responding with self-made gifs and creating inexplicable videos, Gritty’s able to create delightfully fun and whimsical moments for its followers.

6. Budweiser for real-time disaster relief

The past years have been hard, with hurricanes, wildfires, and mass shootings plaguing North America. To that end, we’ve seen more brands step in quickly to provide relief and aid.
While some brands donate portions of their sales (or 100 percent for certain products), other brands have mobilized their resources.

After autumn’s hurricanes, Anheuser-Busch sent more than 300,000 cans of drinking water to the affected areas. Two of the company’s breweries paused beer production to can emergency water.
This isn’t just opportunistic aid, either. Since 1906, Anheuser-Busch has worked with the American Red Cross to provide disaster relief.

On social, the brand’s efforts elevate it beyond being only a beer brand. The initiatives go beyond earth-bound philanthropy as well — Budweiser just recently worked with NASA to send barley seeds into space to improve agriculture.

7. IBM for making their content accessible

For B2B brands, it can be difficult to create content that’s relevant to more than a niche audience. IBM stands out here, for its content that’s approachable to a multitude of audiences.

This includes nuanced tech news, which appeals to the B2B and enthusiast audience. IBM has a robust blog, focusing on a variety of topics, from cloud computing to AI to blockchain.

1956 – IBM shipping a 5MB hard drive.

Posted by Weird History on Friday, August 31, 2018

The brand’s strategy also includes content that focuses on some content best practices, like sharing human interest stories, looks at futuristic tech, and eye-opening throwbacks. All of these can make IBM stand out and drive interest with a broader audience on social.

What’s next

What’s ahead for brands in 2019? We asked experts in our 2019 predictions report, but there’s really one thing to keep in mind.

Content is king, but beyond that, is understanding your audience. Understand your customers, especially if they’re underserved, and make sure you’re reaching them in a way that’s delivering value, in the places where they spend the most time.

NewsWhip

Email marketing@newswhip.com

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