TEDxPORTLAND — #PERFECT Campaign

BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION-

Ted Talks are a well-known and well-established brand. Best known for their inspiring speeches and authoritative voice. They recruit speakers and motivators from around the world to teach anyone and everyone about a subject that they have authority in. In 2014, TEDx was heading to Portland, Oregon and implemented a new social media campaign using #PERFECT.

The TEDxPortland event consisted of carefully considered speakers who would talk about the idea of perfection on their life journey. So, to kick-off the event, they decided to make #PERFECT a buzz word on social media.

HOW:

TED used several different social media platforms to accomplish their goal. The more content was created and shared, the more publicity the TEDxPORTLAND got. This strategy was implemented to get users on these platforms informed and engaged with content.

The platforms they targeted were;

Perfect photo app:

- TED created their own app that lets users create a filter on their photos that has the word “Perfect” overlaid on the photos that they would then post on social media.

Instagram:

- They used #PERFECT on shared photos to generate buzz about the topic and the upcoming event in Portland

- They invited and encouraged users on Instagram to use #PERFECT on their posts to tell their journey

- Instagram could also use the Perfect Photo app to generate their own content with the word perfect on top on their image.

Twitter:

- Used #PERFECT on tweets to generate buzz about the upcoming event

- They encouraged followers to post about their story using #PERFECT

- Twitter users could use the Perfect Photo app to filter their twitter pics with the word perfect.

Going even further with the inspiring campaign, TED capitalized on the buzz. They partnered with Nike to create a sneaker. This was no ordinary shoe- it was an Air Jordan high-top created exclusively for the event. The sneaker, of course, had the word PERFECT on the soul of the shoe. The shoe was not only desirable, but culturally relevant. They auctioned the shoe at an event for charity. All the while, promoting their brand.

At the 2014 April event in Portland, TED went even further with the campaign. They partnered with Postano to create giant, inspiring, unforgettable and impossible to ignore- posters featuring the shared social media #PERFECT content. Instagram and Twitter users who used the hashtag and the photo app could be featured on the 80 ft posters at the event.

WHY:

As I mentioned above, TED Is well-known. Their YouTube channel alone has 17 million subscribers. So, why spend so much time on this campaign when they undoubtedly will get people to attend and watch the speeches for years to come? I think it comes down to two reasons; Engagement and understanding.

TED talks that we know of usually consist of one speaker on stage and an audience listening. That is what we know, and we have accepted it. TED wanted to be able to help audience members feel a part of the event with this campaign. They started off by reaching out to the audience and potential on social media and invited them to share their idea of perfection with a photo of themselves. Users then felt like they were contributing to the theme of the event, and they were a part of something bigger. This allowed people to anxiously wait for the event and hear the speakers talk about something that the audience has already been thinking about. Plus, they might have seen themselves on the large posters, helping them see their importance in participating in the campaign and the event. It was TEDs way of getting everyone involved. In a way, the event could not have happened without the users who participated in the campaign.

The word perfect can be taken in a lot of different meanings. TED was bold to use this as their event theme. People could look at the word “perfect” and say “I am nowhere near perfect so I guess this TED event isn’t for me”. So, I speculate that TED, foreseeing this possible issue, implemented this campaign. They decided to spread some knowledge about the word and the idea of “perfection”. Because seeing the word PERFECT on a screen will automatically grab the eye, then adding the definition of the word perfection would help the user know that this is a topic that they can relate to.

WHO:

This was a pretty broad subject. The topic of perfection could go just about anywhere, and I am sure TED did want the campaign to spread worldwide, but I think their intended audience was the potential audience members at the TEDxPORTLAND event.

Demographics

- Western US

- College Graduates

- Entrepreneurs

- Community Builders

- Making 50-100k

- 25 yrs and up

Psychographics

- Wanting to further their career

- Have seen failures

- Feel a lot of pressure to be the best

- Social media users

- TEDx followers.

CAMPAIGN RESULTS-

For what it was, this campaign was a huge success. The TEDxPORTLAND event was attended by 3,000 people who were intrigued to know more about the topic and theme of the day, perfection.

On twitter, they got nearly 4000 mentions (tracked using the hashtag). This is huge, because it shows that people really did want to be heard and involved with the event. Also on Instagram 500 photos were posted with the word PERFECTION slapped on the photo.

ANALYSIS-

In my opinion, this was a very smart campaign. TEDx not only spread awareness about their event but they helped their audience feel engaged. The whole point of social media is to connect, right? TED did a wonderful job at connecting with their audience through this campaign.

#PERFECT is so simple, yet so effective. People felt drawn to it because we all have our own story of perfection… or lack thereof. This is what other companies can learn from. We need to be able to find the buzz word, or big topic that our audience wants to know about. TED harnessed and capitalized on their audience’s needs with this campaign.