5 great UGC campaigns by non-videogame brands
By Creative team. Top image: LEGO
User-generated content (UGC) is fundamental to videogaming, but there are shining examples to learn from in other markets, too
While UGC is a core part of gaming’s popularity, it’s also become a powerhouse strategy for brands competing in any category.
So as gaming and non-gaming brands increasingly seek collaborative opportunities, it makes sense to take inspiration from a deeper pool of successful UGC campaigns.
Each of the following campaigns exemplifies a different aspect of UGC strategy, and can be used to elevate your brand’s ventures in this fertile marketing space.
Beyond that, we also have some quick tips for powering up your own UGC campaigns…
Product ideation: LEGO Ideas
An inspired UGC Lego build based on the movie Jaws…
…Became this official LEGO Jaws set available for purchase!
Lego fans are encouraged to upload their ideas for new sets to the LEGO Ideas website. As you can imagine, their creations range from the weird to the wonderful to the genius.
Next, Lego “supporters” can vote on their favorite ideas - because LEGO knows that the true power of UGC lies in its capacity to mobilize a community.
If an idea wins enough votes then it’s reviewed by LEGO, and a lucky few are released through the LEGO Ideas brand.
60 UGC sets have been produced so far, with the original designer receiving royalties of 1% of net sales, plus official credit as the set’s creator.
Along the way, LEGO inspire greater community participation with regular challenges, winner roll calls, and prize giveaways.
In exchange they bask in earned media and community affection, while their in-house designers take every other Friday off. (That last bit may not be true.)
Takeaway: Ignite your community’s creativity and include mechanisms that widen participation.
Motivating the audience: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Remember this? When half the world was chucking buckets of icy water on their heads and the other half feared they would be next.
The craze was sparked by a fantastic UGC movement in aid of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disease. The idea was simple: video yourself getting soaked, then share the moment on socials to make your friends laugh.
Of course, the laughter would die in the throats of the ‘friends’ that you nominated to take the challenge next.
The nomination / sweet revenge mechanic caused the campaign to go viral as celebrities all the way up to ex-Presidents jumped on board.
Even better than that, over $250 million was raised for the ALS organizations involved, driving forward research into the disease.
Takeaway: Focus on things your community cares about, keep barriers-to-entry low, make it entertaining and shareable.
Product pages: Lulus fan photos and customer reviews
Fashion brand LuLus incorporates UGC reviews and photos onto product pages - betting that trustworthy peer recommendations will prove net positive for conversions. The strategy works for LuLus because:
They put real photos of real people front and center - so customers can have confidence that items will look good on them, too.
Lulus aren’t afraid to leave negative reviews in prominent positions, immediately inspiring trust in the brand. Moreover, poor reviews get an individual response from the customer service team - signaling they’re “on it” when it comes to resolving customer issues.
Reviewers submit their height, weight, and body measurements, enabling customers to match their particulars to the most relevant UGC contributions.
What’s more, you can filter customer reviews by body measurement metrics, and review rating, and even the “event” the item was bought for (e.g. party, night out, vacation etc) to streamline your decision-making.
Takeaway: Encouraging customers to share their honest opinions and photos is powerful social-proof, inspires confidence in Lulus’ sales process, and fosters loyalty to the brand. Next-order discounts or loyalty points can be used to incentivize UGC reviews and photos.
Trends: Pringles What’s Your Flavour campaign
Pringles noticed an emerging X (née Twitter) trend where fans compared celebs’ mono-colored outfits to tubes of the moreish snack.
The playful, humorous nature of the trend was a perfect brand fit and so the “What’s Your Flavour” UGC campaign was born.
Pringles encouraged fans to dress up as their favorite flavors - whether that be Hot & Spicy or Honey Mustard or even Dill Pickle.
Naturally, they catalyzed the campaign with strategically selected influencers:
While they also curated and celebrated normies with the sass to pull off the Sweet Chilli look or step out as a Prawn Cocktail.
Takeaway: Watch out for trends that can be converted into a fun UGC campaign for your brand.
Earned media: Aldi Home Bar campaign
Supermarket brand Aldi saw beer, wine, and spirits sales spike 35% during lockdown.
Determined to capitalize on the behavioral shift, they launched a search to find the UK’s best DIY home bar.
Britain did not need to be asked twice as the nation deluged Aldi with thousands of UGC pictures of pubs, tiki bars, and cocktail joints craftily squeezed into all kinds of spaces.
The worthy winners converted their garage into the “Duke of Wellington pub” where the good times are always on tap:
Needless to say, this kind of heart-warming eccentricity goes down a storm in Britain, and multiple news outlets ran with the story.
Takeaway: A creative approach to UGC campaigns, backed by market knowledge, can help you find the idea that strikes organic and earned media gold.
UGC campaign thought-starters
Read our in-depth UGC playbook for more, but these steps are a good starting point:
Research your audience. What topics and trends do they love? What type of content do they like to share? Which platforms do they share it on?
What feelings or associations does your brand evoke and how can those be tied to a topic or trend discovered in step one?
What creativity tools does your product incorporate? If none, that’s OK, anyone can take a picture or a video. The important thing is to make it simple to create for your campaign.
Make it easy to share. You’ll need a custom hashtag and to be prepared for your participants to share their UGC on social media.
Use influencers and creators to get the ball rolling with their UGC takes on your campaign.
Incentivize contributions with ongoing challenges and prizes.
Engage with your audience: reshare funny / interesting / creative offerings and celebrate your fans’ efforts. Interaction by your social team is crucial.
Create a UGC showcase on your campaign website.
Integrate UGC into your product if possible: perhaps via a naming or packaging design challenge.
Build in a mechanism that allows your wider community to participate. For example, by voting on their favorite UGC entries.
Provide ground rules on the type of UGC you’d like to see. Ironically, setting guidelines stimulates creativity.
Include the right to reuse UGC in your terms and conditions.
Regularly refresh your community’s creativity by dreaming up new UGC themes, responding to trends, and organizing competitions.
Our mantra is keep it simple, keep it creative, keep it fun… do that and the UGC will pour in.
Drop us a line to talk to an agency with the creative and research skills to build awesome UGC campaigns.
If you would like to discover more about our integrated approach and work together on a project, get in touch.
