Best marketing campaigns on International Women's Day 2021

Nowadays, marketing campaigns are meant not only to promote a product or a brand, but they also help become closer to the target audience by sharing common ideas and beliefs. This is especially important during holidays and awareness periods such as pride month, women's history month, world autism awareness day, etc. Showing their attitude and supporting communities, companies can simultaneously raise brand awareness, attract customers and contribute to society.

According to Horizon Media's Finger's on the Pulse study research, 81% of millennials are more likely to buy from brands with a social mission and responsibilities even if their products are more expensive.

This year, many companies decided to pay extra attention to gender discrimination and joined Women's History Month initiatives. Why did this happen? Despite the considerable progress worldwide, the pandemic revealed that millions of women found themselves in vulnerable situations, lost their jobs, or suffered domestic violence. Therefore, supporting female communities is a better way to play a long game rather than simple product promotion.

Here is a short list of inspiring campaigns dedicated to International Women's Day:

IKEA's FiftyFifty game

Ikea partners with Swedish star and activist Zara Larsson to launch a card game "FiftyFifty", aiming to increase equality in domestic routine. The brand collaborated with relationship expert Jennie Miller to develop the game's questions, including: "How many hours a week do you spend on housework?". According to statistics, women do three times more unpaid domestic work than men. The game helps partners discuss their roles playfully and set up transparent rules comfortable for both.

You can try the game in dedicated stories on Ikea’s Instagram account.

Additionally, Ikea and Zara Larsson hosted a free virtual concert on YouTube to celebrate everyday equality.

Getty Images and UN Women's Unstereotype Alliance gallery

Two companies united their efforts to show how women's leadership looks in real life. Generally, when we google "women's leadership", we get thousands of similar images of a woman wearing a blazer with her arms crossed, right? Getty Images created a curated gallery featuring women in various leadership positions within multiple industries to inspire women to orient on their passion when building a career instead of choosing the familiar ways.

Google launches a "First of Many" video on YouTube

According to Google's insights, people are now searching more actively for the first women who...type here anything, for example, break the sound barrier.

For that reason, the tech giant created a video honoring inspiring women who were the first in something and those who continue to break the glass ceiling.

Barbie adds a new doll and launches #YouCanBeAnything Series

This year Barbie added a new persona to its inspiring women series — Eleanor Roosevelt. The collection consists of 8 dolls featuring notable women as Rosa Parks, Ella Fitzgerald, Sally Ride, and others.

Besides, the brand launches #YouCanBeAnything family series on YouTube, telling girls they can choose whatever they want in their lives. The show will feature women role models, inspiring speeches by stars and other activities.

Nevertheless, even if you decided to join the movement, it's crucial to communicate your message correctly to avoid misunderstandings that might lead to a scandal. Unfortunately, some brads get into a trap when trying to attract attention to important things using wrong words or tone of voice.

For example, Burger King is known for its humor and sometimes a little rude jokes. Usually, the audience appreciates the brand's communication, but this time, the internet burst into hate comments and total confusion.

What happened? "Women belong in the kitchen" tweet appeared on a brand's official page and immediately got thousands of negative comments. Even though it turned out the campaign consisted of several messages announcing the Burger King Foundation's H.E.R. Scholarship for female employees, the audience was outraged by the statement. Despite good intentions, the brand made a mistake by choosing these particular words to grab attention to its nonprofit project. The story ended up with apologies and deleting the post.

Wrapping up

Crafting a meaningful marketing campaign with social impact might be challenging, but if you reach your consumers' hearts, they will turn into ambassadors. Nevertheless, you should be prepared for any reaction, both positive and negative. The crucial part of a process is monitoring the audience's attitude and response to your ads and put out the fire as soon as possible.

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