Marketing campaigns come and go and often fade into obscurity. However, every year, a few break through the bombardment of annual advertising and sales lingo to become memorable and long lasting. 2012’s best campaigns optimized every marketing mogul’s dream outcome – to ascend above flat sales pitches and weave their way into everyday culture. Here are just a few campaigns which worked in 2012 and why.

Red Bull, Stratos

Red Bull demonstrated that in the world of marketing, beating the competition is better than joining them. In 2012, the team cleverly incorporated their famous slogan ‘Red Bull gives you wings’ in the Stratos campaign in which Felix Baumgartner sailed through more than 128,000 feet to break the sound barrier. The monumental jump which lasted 9:09 minutes was filmed and streamed around the world, complete with Red Bull logos on the helmet and suit. The record breaking jump became the most watched live stream ever and was televised to millions of viewers.

Psy, Gangnam Style

Marketing does not only apply to big corporations and businesses. In 2012, the previously unknown Korean pop star, Psy demonstrated that with the right marketing, an individual can be propelled to stardom – the video became the most viewed video ever on YouTube. Although the singer and his team probably weren’t expecting such a glowing reception, there are several factors which can explain Gangnam Style’s success. Firstly, the song was funny and memorable with an easy-to-follow beat. This gave rise to thousands if not millions of parodies which was achieved through the lack of copyright restrictions. The singer received a percentage of all the money made from these parodies and the rest, as they say, is history.

Coca Cola, Olympic Games

The London 2012 Olympic Games was one of the biggest stories of 2012. The BBC coverage was watched by around 90% of the British public and was rated the most watched event in TV history. Coca Cola teamed up with British stars Mark Ronson and Katy B to create a catchy dance track which was used throughout the games. This soundtrack coupled with visual marketing strategies created a memorable and profitable result for the global giant. Any company, from Secret Salons to a start up media business to a corporate giant can benefit from using a sensory ad campaign, which incorporates sound as well as imagery to create a memorable campaign.

Channel 4, 2012 Paralympic Games

Channel 4 also played a huge part in making 2012 one of the most memorable years in recent history. The London Paralympic Games was hailed as the most successful Paralympic Games ever and Channel 4 was praised for their tasteful handling of the event. Their collection of adverts called ‘Meet the Superhumans’ focused on the strength and determination of the athletes rather than weakness and difference. This was made even more poignant in a year in which disability benefits were slashed by The Conservative Party.

Invisible Children, Kony

This marketing campaign demonstrates that both positive and negative views can generate publicity. The videos created by Invisible Children hoped to raise awareness of Joseph Kony, the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda and its child soldiers. The marketing strategies which were used were very similar to an American political campaign. They used global celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, shocking images, slick slogans and a personable company spokesman to achieve global attention. Shortly afterward, criticisms over the nature of its spending and its involvement with the Ugandan army provided even more headlines for Invisible Children. However, the incident also highlights the short longevity of negative publicity as the buzz quickly died down in 2013.

About the Author: Laura Comben is a writer from Brighton. On her lunch break she likes to use http://www.secretsalons.com/ to hunt for salons to relax in after work and keep up-to-date with the latest beauty trends. .