5 examples of immersive digital marketing
What drives digital marketing today? It’s not SEO, it’s not the latest social media platform, and — sorry Mark — it’s definitely not the metaverse.
by Corinna Keefe
No, the most important thing in digital marketing is the same as traditional marketing: storytelling. Whether you’re selling a product, building a brand, or seeking support for a non-profit, you’ll see better results if your audience is immersed in your story.
This is easier said than done. So, rather than run through the obvious tactics, we thought we’d focus on the stories that drive digital marketing campaigns.
In this post, we’ve collected these five digital marketing examples to inspire your next campaign. They all come from different sectors, have different goals, and use different styles… but they all show the importance of immersive brand storytelling in your digital marketing strategy.
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What is digital marketing?
“Digital marketing” (sometimes known simple as online marketing) is nothing more than marketing conducted using digital technologies, primarily the internet.
This sounds simple, but digital marketing is one of those funny phrases. If you’re in a marketing team, it’s probably entered your discussions without anyone having a shared definition of what it actually means.
That’s partly because there are so many types of digital marketing campaigns. Depending on your marketing plan and target audience, you might leverage:
- Social media marketing. This can involve everything from LinkedIn social media posts to pay-per-click (PPC) promotion, and is typically aimed at lead generation and brand awareness.
- Search engine optimisation (SEO). This is typically aimed at optimising posts to reach the top of the SERP (that’s the search engine results page!) and generate increased organic traffic (alongside a score of other metrics).
- Search engine marketing (SEM). Distinct from SEO, SEM typically involves running ads on search results to landing pages, with the aim of increasing conversions. The most popular of these marketing platforms is Google Ads.
- Email marketing. This form of marketing can involve everything from newsletters to sophisticated marketing automation using marketing tools like Hubspot and Marketo, aimed at converting potential customers.
- Influencer marketing. This is an ancient marketing tactic, but has come into prominence with the rise of social media influencers. It can be incredibly successful with younger demographics.
- Affiliate marketing. This involves seeding links on sites with high website traffic that are relevant to your target audience, and paying commissions on any new customers that come your way.
- Inbound marketing. This often involves creating and distributing content — often gated — so that users will provide you their email address. This allows you to send ‘nurture’ emails and encourage leads further down your funnel.
- Content marketing. High quality content underpins many of the tactics listed above, and a great content marketing strategy today includes everything from webinars and podcasts to video content.
- Mobile marketing. For direct-to-consumer brands, sms and mobile apps can be a critical part of your marketing efforts.
We could go on! But it’s all well-and-good to know what digital marketing is. But what does the best modern digital marketing look like? What separates the good from the great?
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: great storytelling. That’s what links the five digital marketing examples you’ll see below. They come from all parts of the globe, and from different sectors with different drivers… but they all understand the importance of immersive brand storytelling.
Let’s dive into our examples.
Image: A_B_C/detakstudio/Adobe Stock
5 examples of immersive storytelling in digital marketing
Nike: Dare To Do Bold
Who it’s from: The English football club Tottenham Hotspur, in partnership with Nike, one of the world’s most famous brands for sportswear.
Who it’s for: Football and fashion fans.
What it does: Product marketing.
The release of new football kits each season has become a hotly anticipated event. It’s part of the close relationship between high fashion and élite sports, and a major sales and branding opportunity for the teams that take part.
This announcement of a new Away kit from Spurs is an example of immersive storytelling to promote sales of a particular product. Every detail of this announcement, from the colour palette to the casting to the copy, tells a story about Spurs and Nike. It also offers a beautiful user experience.
There’s a variety of animated and interactive media to get viewers’ attention. The announcement starts with a silent gif showing people wearing and playing in the kit, overlaid with animated logos, colour filters that match the kit colours, and collage-style special effects. It’s a mix of glamorous branding and homemade-looking media, which makes the product seem simultaneously aspirational and accessible.
The photos and videos show players from both the Men’s and Women’s First Teams wearing the kit. That tells a story about Spurs’ values: football is now more welcoming to women than ever before, and women make up a greater proportion of players and fans.
However, immersive though the announcement is, it never loses sight of the ultimate goal. “Buy now” buttons are scattered through the announcement, and there are details about how fans can watch the first match of the season in the new kit.
Perth Now: 10 Epic West Aussie Experiences
Who it’s from: local news provider Perth Now, sponsored by the road trip company Australia’s Golden Outback.
Who it’s for: People who want to spend more time exploring Australia and seeing the less well-known sights.
What it does: Marketing tourism services through the medium of entertainment.
Listicles are one of the most commons types of digital media. They’re easy to put together, pack in lots of information, and they are very clickable on social media.
This feature from Perth Now combines the entertainment value of a listicle with marketing from a road trip agency. Each engaging item, with its glossy photos and intriguing details, comes with a specific offer for consumers. This kind of native advertising on news and magazine sites is extremely effective.
So what makes this a great piece of immersive storytelling?
The design is reminiscent of travel scrapbooks, with its slightly sepia photos, handwritten-looking captions, and ragged sweeps of colour that make it look like a collage. The overall colour scheme summons up the colours of the Australian landscape. As you scroll through the listicle, it’s hard not to fall into a daydream about road-tripping your way across the outback!
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World Vision: Operation Seasweep
Who it’s from: World Vision, an international children’s charity.
Who it’s for: Anyone with an interest in World Vision’s mission and values: donors, supporters, and volunteers.
What it does: Supports World Vision’s comms strategy by sharing some of the charity’s history.
Marketing and comms for non-profits often have to focus on the short-term: running emergency campaigns, soliciting donations, and so on. But it’s also essential to build a reputation over time. Charities have to tell a story about their values and effectiveness in order to connect with people.
World Vision have done this by going back into their archives and telling a story from their history.
Operation Seasweep was a daring initiative during the Indochina refugee crisis of the 1960s–1980s. Thousands of refugees were in danger as they tried to travel in tiny boats, at the mercy of rough weather and hostile coastguard policies. World Vision converted an old freighter to rescue the refugees themselves.
It’s a gripping story that makes the most of immersive media. You’re plunged into the heart of the crisis through old video clips and quotes from both rescuers and refugees.
Notably, there’s no call to action at the end of the feature. There isn’t even a “donate now” button. This an example of longform, premium content being used for a long-term strategy. World Vision are storytelling as an investment for future awareness and fundraising.
Adweek: A Marketer’s Guide To Twitch
Who it’s from: the marketing magazine Adweek, sponsored by Amazon (which owns Twitch).
Who it’s for: people in media, comms, and marketing teams, who might be interested in Twitch as a new digital marketing channel.
What it does: Content marketing to promote the use of Twitch, through sharing in-depth information and insider tips.
This next feature is an example par excellence of how to educate your audience through immersive storytelling.
Amazon wanted to teach marketers about Twitch… so they built a piece of premium content which takes inspiration from Twitch’s top creators and users.
Dark mode? Check. Neon everything? Check. The most ‘80s retro colours and artwork you’ve ever seen? Also check. Twitch is a streaming platform that’s mostly dedicated to Gen Z gamers and creators, and this is their style.
But while the design of this piece tells a story about Twitch’s audience and values, the copy has to make a business case that appeals to marketers. It’s filled with headline statistics, a primer on Twitch’s biggest names, case studies from other brands, and a glossary to help marketers feel at home on the platform.
By uniting design and text, Adweek and Amazon tell a compelling, immersive story about the power of this new medium.
University of New South Wales: The Family On A Mission To Restore The Desert Ecosystem
Who it’s from: The University of New South Wales Sydney.
Who it’s for: anyone with an interest in the environment, ecological research, or UNSW. That could include donors, research funders, academics, politicians, and activists.
What it does: Raises awareness of the University’s research and environmental initiatives, as part of its comms strategy.
One of the biggest challenges for cultural and academic institutions is showing the impact they have on the world. How do you make research exciting and accessible for everyone?
In this feature, UNSW uses immersive storytelling to bring one of their research programmes to life.
Dr Bec West and Dr Reece Pedler, and their two children, live in the most remote point of New South Wales — working to reintroduce extinct and endangered animals to the outback. As well as this challenging project, they have to be almost entirely self-sufficient in terms of food, medicine, transportation, and social life. The piece tells the story of how the couple met and how their family has built a life in one of the most isolated places on earth.
The design of the feature supports the story. Satellite photos zoom in from space onto the researchers’ tiny homestead and video clips of the children playing and feeding animals show everyday life in the project. Scroll-based animations show how the landscape has changed over time.
The vast images in this article make it feel almost cinematic — which makes sense, because the piece ties in an ABC documentary about the researchers. UNSW use immersive storytelling like this to attract attention from ever-wider audiences and show the value of their work.
Shorthand makes immersive storytelling easy — whoever you are, and whatever story you have to tell
These digital marketing examples span all kinds of media, from video archives to infographics, audio recordings, and scroll-based animations, all easily combined on one publishing platform.
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