The Most Successful Social Media Marketing Campaign Ever?

Written by Jeff Bullas - View Comments
Categories: Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing, twitter


Cutting through the clutter of traditional media or digital media to make an impact and achieve millions of viewers is the goal of any marketer. Conan O’Brien achieved that 2 days ago with the launch of his new late night talk show on cable TV, achieving 4.2 million viewers, which is a record on cable TV for his genre and pushing Leno and Letterman into second and third place in the ratings (with figures of  3.5 million and 3.4 million respectively) according to deadline.com.The Most Successful Social Media Marketing Campaign Ever?

Nine months ago Conan walked away from his contract with NBC (which is one of the largest free to TV networks in the US) to contemplate his future and immediately embraced Twitter as his new digital channel. His Twitter following is now over 1.8 million and he has used it to maintain his public profile while he planned his next move.

During that time he also visited “Silicon Valley” the heartland of technology and all things digital and  was interviewed at Google where he revealed his frustrations and experiences at NBC (you can view his interview here).  Due to contractual requirements he was not allowed on TV until recently but used  his TV downtime to plan a nationwide comedy tour (booked out in 2 hours thanks to Twitter and social media) and put in place a social media marketing campaign that made the new show’s launch such a success.

Social media marketing is about getting people to share your name, brand and content on the different channels that people hang out on whether that be Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and all the other channels that your audience is engaged with.

So what social media channels did Conan employ to market his brand and his new show

1. Website (which is actually a blog) which is the hub of his social media and digital  campaign Teamcoco.com

2. Facebook (with over 350,000 fans)

3. Conan’s Twitter (1.8 million plus followers for Conan and Team Coco with 112,000 followers)

4. YouTube Channel ( over 11 million views)

YouTube Preview Image

5. MySpace (188,340 friends)

6. Flickr (with all his images posted and tagged)

7. Foursquare (This is integrated with his Team Coco Blimp)

In conjunction with these social media channels the marketing included a  ”Conan Blimp” that traveled the skies and itself was integrated with Foursquare.

Conan Blimp

So what were the key elements that made his new shows launch such a hit?

1. Total embrace of all things social media.

2. Utilizing social media that is used by his 18-49 year target audience

3. Tight integration, linking and optimization of his social media channels

4. Leveraging his his large Twitter following to get his message out

5. Not being afraid to use social media marketing in place of his normal mass media channels ( he didn’t have much choice as using traditional media would have been far to expensive)

Is this the best social media marketing campaign ever? For me it gets my vote with its multiple channels and touch points and tightly integrated approach and the results speak for themselves and serve as an excellent example of best practice.



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  • http://www.gbjvt.com/smm Dennis

    Hard to know how to measure whether it’s the most successful without knowing their own metrics – but I ‘d take these results any day! (#1 in SM campaigns or not by anybody else’s measure:)

  • http://www.jasonfox.web864.com Jason Fox

    It seems like NBC keeping Conan off the air was the worst thing they could have done. He used that motivation to put together a brilliant social media strategy that will hurt the failing NBC even further. Great article and great job Conan. Giving further proof of the power of social media.

  • http://www.fashionslap.net Kate

    I’m sure the results were great, but because of the fall out with NBC he already had an amazing following online for him. His core demo’s were always 18-49. The smart thing he did was take to online immediately after-wards. His twitter was announced by huge media outlets like Perez Hilton. I guess the thing to consider is yes it was successful, but he was already a celebrity so in reality can it be considered that successful because we was riding a wave of sympathy from an audience who made ratings sore his and Leno’s last few nights on NBC at that time. I don’t know I think perhaps he has too much praise. Besides to we praise Lady Gaga on her social media skills…she far out reaches most celebrites. What should be praised is his ability to think of it before he faded in the public eye.

  • http://www.spinwyz.com Alex

    I think Kate brings up a great point as to the celebrity status of Conan and how much easier it is to push a campaign with a known personality.

    But the fact that Conan embraced the technology and used it effectively in marketing himself also speaks highly of how in-touch he is with his market demographics. ( 18-49 )

    Great article!

  • http://2writewithpassion.com I Write

    Whether he did it on his own or with a social media strategist, I think his approach was brilliant. His return to late night was was a blast! Excellent post, thanks for giving us the inside scoop.

  • http://chuckb23.wordpress.com/2010/11/21/128/ Marketing For A Viral World

    [...] emotions in their empathy box of 500 or so friends. You put out your heartbreak and your happiness, some people more than others. It is something that is very powerful for us in the social media marketing world. You see that [...]

  • patrickdh

    A very exciting way to reinvent yourself and raising the bar as a professional. Surely the direct contact through social media was key and integral that matched a class act to increase his following, but describing it as part of a ‘marketing campaign’ may be an understatement. I much like the thoroughness of the article though. Thanks for sharing

  • Anonymous

    Still a powerful story about the exceptional use of new media. We have seen many small businesses take similar steps before launching there own products which result in positive PR. Being on the radar before your business even opens is a great way to create a curiosity buzz.

  • http://thebusinessglue.com/2011/03/14/what-makes-your-social-media-marketing-campaign-%e2%80%9csuccessful%e2%80%9d/ What makes your Social Media Marketing Campaign “Successful”? | The Business Glue

    [...] More details about Conan O’Brien social media campaign… [...]

  • Achudy

    I love to see how Social Media Marketing helps people/companies name GROW! and I LOVE Conan! Great blog, thanks Jeff! Check out our Social Media eBook. http://www.impactbnd.com/free-ebook-social-media-tuneup-3-step-process-effective-social-media-accounts.html 

  • http://jeffbullas.com Jeff Bullas

    Thanks for the question Mike. Connected and consistent are the 2 keys.
    Ensure that all channels link back to your hub (website or Blog) and that your branding is consistent across all platforms. Another thing to keep in mind along with the same integration theme is treating your social networks as an extension of your blog and online presence.

  • Carol

    Let’s not forget a large pocket book helped as well.

  • Carol

    Let’s not forget a large pocket book helped as well.

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