It’s Leap Year, and that gives marketers one extra day in February to get their brand noticed. We’re seeing a few themes, and a few standout examples in this year’s Leap Year marketing campaigns.
Make the most of this extra day
Brands like Harley and Nokia are asking their audiences to imagine what they can do with the extra day.
Harley asks what you will do with 24 hours of extra freedom.
Nokia asks how you will spend your extra day. #YourSay
Literally leaping
Can’t think of a way to tie Leap Year into your brand? Show pictures of people leaping!
Oakley: Take a leap of faith #LeapYear
Mint is running a giveaway, asking people to share how they’re “leaping out of debt” in 2016.
This campaign by Red Bull is actually pretty on brand.
So many frogs
Animals also leap, so these critters are plastered across the Internet on Leap Day. Kudos to Google for getting creative with their leaping animal theme.
This frog is everywhere.
The World Wildlife Federation frog.
This is the only rabbit we found! Well done Google. Love the doodle!
It’s a day on the calendar
Unfortunately a lot of brands just used a calendar stock photo for the creative, resulting in a wave of visual sameness. The “blue tack” stock photo showed up so frequently, I was happy to see the also highly popular “weathered blocks” calendar photo popping in, just to break up the monotony.
The blue tack!
Really, it’s all over the place.
The shabby chic calendar.
KFC shakes it up for us!
Promo time!
There are plenty of discounts and promotions delivered through the Leap Year theme. Most have some pricing relating to the 2/29 date, like limited time for $2.29, 29% off or flights for $29.
A dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts for $2.29.
Airline one day sale.
Xero comes in with a bold promotion.
The most surprising campaign: Arby’s
The Arby’s tagline is “We Have The Meats” and they’re promoting a meat-free menu, available only on Leap Day.
Arby’s CMO Rob Lynch explains, “At Arby’s, we’re proud of our meats, but we also understand that meat isn’t for everyone. So we’ve decided to give vegetarians a reason to visit Arby’s on Leap Day by offering a one-day menu designed specifically for them. If it goes well, we’ll likely bring back the vegetarian menu on Feb. 29 each year.”
No meat – one day only!
Most committed campaign: Zappos
Zappos filed a petition with Change.org to make Leap Year a federal holiday. They are supporting this with their #TakeTheLeap campaign while also shutting down shop for the day – even their call center.
Now that’s commitment! #taketheleap
One to watch
Buzzfeed and NBCUniversal have crafted a unique campaign for American Express, drawing from the theme of getting more. Leap Year gives you more days, Amex is giving you more TV show time, and less ad time. The campaign will be weaving branded content throughout shows like the Today show and The Voice, while reducing traditional advertising time. More shows, fewer ads…but maybe more branding throughout the shows.
This is a huge brand campaign for Buzzfeed and I’m curious to see how it rolls out. Read more about it on AdWeek.
The campaign that made me chuckle: Microsoft Office
Ok, I thought it was funny!
