5 Examples of Successful PR Campaign Strategies

A successful public relations (PR) campaign strategy has always been a must for any brand that wants to build awareness, a good image, and even generate sales. 

Successful PR campaigns come in all shapes and sizes. However, they all have 3 things in common: clear goals, strong messages, and an obvious target audience. 

5 Examples of Successful PR Campaign Strategies  

To achieve their goals, PR campaigns must be creative, innovative, consistent with brand tone and values, and timely. Here are the best examples of successful PR campaign strategies of all time:  

1. LEGO - Rebuild the World 

This 2019 campaign was inspired by the idea that the world is full of challenges. But children are the future, with the power to create positive change. 

Therefore, this campaign aimed to encourage children and their parents to rebuild the world around them using their creative imagination and LEGO bricks.         

Targeting children, LEGO promoted this campaign through interactive pop-ups, fun and playful TV commercials, social media and Lego Life (a website where children can share their LEGO creations). 

This multi-channel PR strategy successfully reached a wide audience and promoted the positive message that children can do anything with their creative imaginations.   

2. Spotify - Wrapped 

Since 2016, Spotify's Wrapped has always been an annual viral event to end the year. It creates a fun and colorful, personalized summary of users' listening habits throughout the year. 

Users can see their most streamed songs, singers, genres, albums and more. It also shows the total time they spent listening to music on Spotify.

Eye-catching graphics and copy encourage users to share this data on their social media accounts. This helps Spotify build awareness and generate more buzz.

The campaign also creates a sense of community and excitement as the year ends and the new year begins. This has successfully positioned Spotify as the king of music streaming platforms in the world. 

3. Aqua - #AdaAqua 

Aqua is a brand of bottled mineral water in Indonesia. "Ada Aqua" means "There is Aqua," which conveys the message that Aqua is there for the people. 

This PR campaign in 2015 collaborated with Sandhy Sandoro, a musician, and Narji, a comedian, who look similar to each other when the audience is not focused. 

This campaign aimed to tell people to drink more mineral water to gain focus in their daily routine. This message was also reinforced by the results of research which mentioned that lack of drinking can reduce concentration and focus. 

This campaign successfully reinforced Aqua as a top brand and market leader in the bottled mineral water business.     

4. Dove - #TheSelfieTalk   

Dove has been promoting body positivity and self-confidence since it first entered the beauty industry. #TheSelfieTalk is a Dove campaign that focuses on the negative impact of social media on girls' self-esteem. 

Launched in 2017, the campaign featured a video of a teenage girl struggling to edit her photo for posting on social media. Dove then showed the process in reverse, ending with the girl's natural face without makeup or filters. This campaign aimed to reverse the negative impact of social media on girls' self-esteem and educate girls to stop hiding their true beauty. 

Dove also provided a website where parents and teachers could find resources such as tips and downloadable kits to educate their daughters or students. In addition, the hashtag #TheSelfieTalk can be used by anyone who wants to share their experiences and advice with others on social media.  

Promoted with the dedicated hashtag on social media, a dedicated website, television and OOH posters, this campaign strategy positioned Dove as a brand that promotes self-love, confidence and body positivity. 

5. IKEA - #StayHome 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Swedish furniture brand launched the #StayHome campaign. When the world's citizens were tired of being isolated at home and forced to look at the same walls, door and furniture every day, IKEA encouraged people to love their homes again. 

This was done by guiding people to remember all the happy memories with family that happened at home, to make them feel safe and comfortable there. In addition to this reassuring message, IKEA also included tips and online tutorials about home furnishing.   

This campaign connected with the audience on an emotional level, resulting in strong engagement. It also reinforced IKEA's position as the first choice for functional and affordable home furnishings. 

A successful PR campaign will help you reach a wider audience, build brand awareness and image, strengthen your position and even generate sales. Use the examples above as inspiration to create a successful PR campaign strategy.