With the Oxford Dictionary including the term and giving it the legitimate status of a 'real' word, this is one trend that is here to stay.
But what does this mean for brands? How have they joined in on the party or have they even? The answer is a big loud YES! Brands around the globe have been incorporating this trend into their social media and content campaigns to create the era of the ‘BRAND selfie’.
Here are some brands that have created some stellar content around this trend:
Dove #Beautyis Campaign
While there can be many who curse the existence of selfies and believe it to be an exercise in narcissism, this campaign shows them the other more positive side. As always, Dove has been a brand that promotes the ideas of real beauty and self worth among its users. Staying true to this legacy the ‘Beautyis’ campaign used selfies to communicate the idea that beauty is not dependent on any singular quality rather is very subjective. They did this through a 7 minute video which features teenage daughters and their mothers talking about their insecurities and fears when it comes to beauty and how they overcome them through ‘the power of the selfie’. Selfies are helping change beauty mindsets that people have, making them more accepting of themselves and their ‘perceived flaws’.
The video was another feather in the hat for Dove and their global mission to redefine the idea of beauty and self acceptance for women over the world. It has over a million views on Youtube and is still discussed as part of their wider marketing efforts.
Turkish Airlines
One of the most popular campaigns to go the ‘selfie way’ was that of Turkish Airlines with the Kobe v/s Messi selfie shootout campaign. The ad that is one of the most popular videos of 2014 and has over 138 million views on Youtube!
Featuring not one but two world famous athletes, the video attempts to show that the airline flies to popular spots across the world. It shows the athletes competing with each other to click selfies in prominent places across the globe. An additional benefit of having Lionel Messi was the FIFA World Cup fever which had already taken the world by storm.
Dunkin Donuts
One of the first brands to use the selfie wave as part of their marketing was Dunkin Donuts with their ‘Fan of the Week’ initiative. It invited customers to share their own ‘Dunkin Donut’ story through a selfie taken with the beverage. The brand in turn, chooses one fan story and it is featured on their official Facebook page as the ‘Fan of the Week’.
What made this campaign exceptionally interesting is that it helps promote the idea of ‘brand love’. All their selfies include the brand and help in building recall while billing high points on customer engagement as well!
Axe #Kissforpeace
The Axe Peace project is another example of brands using selfies to promote an idea or a message that goes beyond the brand itself. The campaign was an online photo contest that encouraged users to upload selfies taken with a partner to promote the message of peace around the world. It was hugely popular with thousands of participants clicking pictures and uploading them through Instagram, Twitter and the Axe Facebook page.
These campaigns show how brands have leveraged the power of the selfie to create something that is greater than just a picture. The rise of the online medium and social networking has rewritten the rules of engagement and marketing and staying relevant means staying ahead of the game.
The trend of the selfie is just the beginning of a marketing world that will be more visual than ever before. The brands that join the conversation early, stand to make the greatest gains.