No matter the situation, you want people to see your brand in the best light possible. And the best PR campaigns can make that happen.
💡 Read Digital PR Explained: Best Strategies and Tools
Whether you’re looking to soften the blow of negative press or bolster your image with a respectable move, you’ve made the first step in creating emotional connections with your audience.
PR campaigns can bring out the best or worst in a brand. Today, we’ll focus on positive examples of successful companies that generated buzz, enhanced brand reputation, and increased customer loyalty.
What Is a PR Campaign?
A public relations campaign is a marketing strategy that aims to make a meaningful connection with a target audience. PR campaigns are often carried out with a clear goal, such as increasing awareness of a product, service, or brand.
However, not all PR campaigns are proactive in creating a positive image of a brand. Many of them are reactive. For example, a crisis might occur stemming from a negative social media post or a marketing campaign gone wrong.
As a result, a business scrambles to save its reputation by acknowledging its part in the negative event and taking corrective actions to alleviate outrage.
Unfortunately, “getting ahead” of bad news isn’t always realistic, so brands must take steps to resolve the issue and prevent it from happening again.
Establishing trust and managing crises is what a comprehensive PR campaign is all about.
Read 5 Crisis Managemet Solutions You Shouldn’t Miss Out On
Best PR Campaign Tips
Follow these five simple tips to help your PR campaign go off without a hitch.
Set a Goal
Before you set out to craft your powerful message and distribute it to your audience, you must have a goal in mind.
Ask yourself why you’re sending the press release, pitch, or advertisement. PR campaigns can go beyond just generating press or managing crises.
You might launch yours for other reasons, such as boosting sales or reaching a new audience. Setting a clear goal will help guide your campaign strategy and prevent you from getting “stuck” during the process.
Read 10 Digital PR Examples to Inspire Your Next Campaign
Know Your Audience
Being familiar with your audience’s pain points, interests, likes, and dislikes will allow you to create messaging that resonates with them.
If you have a buyer persona, go back and look at it to refresh your memory on what your audience truly wants and values.
Then, tailor your message and news to that specific persona.
Read Analyzing the Top 9 Best B2B SaaS Marketing Campaigns
Find a Creative Angle
Grab your audience’s attention with a campaign that stands out. Why should they care about the information you’re sharing? Why should a journalist take up your story?
If you’re not sure what angle to take, consider working with a PR agency. These experts can help you develop your brand identity and create quality news content that resonates with your audience.
Make Communication a Priority
Create a communications plan to highlight your target audience, the problem you’re trying to solve, the messages you want to convey, and the channels (e.g., mail, news articles, social media promotion, digital signage, open forums) you will use.
Plan out your distribution channels wisely to reach the right audience. And remember, your audience isn’t just potential customers. It’s also journalists — the people and outlets that’ll help you get your story out.
Consider using digital business cards to complement your communications efforts. These business cards offer a quick and convenient way to share your brand’s contact details, social media links, and other relevant information.
Measure Your Results
There’s really no point in launching a PR campaign if you’re not going to measure its impact. You can do this by using a media monitoring tool.
Detailed reports can help you stay informed about social media posts that mention your brand or competitors as soon as they happen.
Read 10 Key PR Campaign Metrics for Measuring Campaign Success
10 Best PR Campaign Examples 2024
Without further ado, here are the best PR campaign examples we saw in 2024.
1. Stanley Quencher Tumbler
In November of 2023, a TikTok video showing a Stanley tumbler surviving a car fire went viral.
Even the ice inside didn’t melt.
The video received over 84 million views. After seeing the video two days later, Stanley’s President, Terence Reilly, stitched the original video. In the new video, he offered the creator a new tumbler—and a new car.
His response got over 32 million views, which helped boost the brand’s visibility.
This set the ball in motion for one of the most-talked-about PR wins of 2024. As a result, the Stanley Cup went from a niche favorite for outdoorsmen and blue-collar workers to a mainstream must-have in 2024.
What lesson to take away from this campaign? It highlights how authentic, unplanned moments can amplify a product’s appeal and drive purchase decisions, especially when you get a strong, customer-focused response from the brand.
2. Duolingo’s “Brat Summer”
Duolingo’s BratSummer campaign was inspired by Charli XCX’s viral “Brat Summer” cultural movement. It represents a blend of pop culture and social media engagement to promote Duolingo’s language-learning platform.
This movement celebrated a carefree and rebellious attitude, which resonated with younger audiences on TikTok.
Duolingo joined in by creating language-related content tied to the “brat” theme. It used humor and playful challenges to engage fans.
The campaign worked because it blended Duolingo’s fun brand personality with the viral trend. TikTok creators and fans participated by sharing videos, which helped spread the message.
3. Airbnb’s “Stay for Good” Campaign
Airbnb’s “Stay for Good” campaign” in 2024 wanted to highlight the positive impact travel can have on local communities.
It focused on promoting stays in eco-friendly and socially responsible accommodations that help support local economies and preserve cultures.
To showcase these properties, Airbnb created a special section within its app. This section showed properties that met certain sustainability and social impact standards. The goal was to make it easier for travelers to choose accommodations that align with their values.
The campaign also featured stories of hosts who were making a difference in their communities through video content and blog posts.
Airbnb used discounts to encourage bookings at these featured properties and collaborated with travel influencers to amplify the message.
The results paid off. The campaign led to a 25% increase in bookings for Stay for Good properties. Airbnb also received positive media coverage for its focus on sustainable tourism.
Read How Much Does a PR Campaign Cost?
4. Hims – Mental Health Ambassador
Hims & Hers is the perfect example of a successful PR campaign. Kristen Bell joined Hers as a Mental Health Ambassador. This isn’t the first time Hims & Hers collaborated with a celebrity.
The brand also had a successful YouTube collaboration with JLO, highlighting the importance of having brand ambassadors to build trust and show social proof.
Partnering with Kristen Bell was a huge step in PR for Hims & Hers to spearhead growth in 2024. This achievement inspires other telehealth brands that even when selling products as delicate as mental health medicine, it’s possible to make a big impact and target a large audience.
A more recent press release in 2024 further highlights Hims & Hers continued commitment to redefining health and wellness care with a holistic approach.
The brand’s weight loss program, centered on personalized care and compounded GLPP-1 treatments, has shown remarkable results. Customers report an average loss of 10.2 pounds within the first month of treatment.
Beyond physical transformations, the program addresses deeper aspects of health by offering mental health medicine, which can improve confidence, social lives, and mental well-being.
In fact, 61% of participants reported feeling mentally healthier. Reduced anxiety levels were a standout benefit.
This shows how committed Hims & Hers is to addressing every aspect of health and making wellness accessible for all.
Read 5 Steps for Creating an Effective PR Campaign
5. Burger King’s AI-Generated Whopper Contest
On February 5, 2024, Burger King launched its Million Dollar Whopper Contest. The campaign invited participants to create their own versions of the iconic Whopper burger for a chance to win $1 million.
Plus, three entrants would get the opportunity to see their Whopper innovations in restaurants for a limited time.
How it worked: Participants would input up to eight ingredients in the BK app or via a microsite. Then, Burger King would use generative AI to bring the burger to life. After that, the fast food chain would create a customized jingle with a voice rapping about the ingredients that called back to BK’s popular “Whopper Whopper” jingle.
How did this campaign make our list? It successfully tapped into the growing interest in AI while staying authentic to Burger King’s brand.
The AI-generated images and jingles combined dynamic elements with personalized content, which created a unique experience for each participant.
6. Facebook – Yes, Couch!
On January 4, 2024, Calvin Klein’s Spring campaign featured Jeremy Allen White, star of The Bear. It quickly became a viral sensation due to White’s newfound A-list status.
But what truly got the public’s attention was the red corduroy couch he lounged on in the ad. In a clever move, Facebook sourced the exact couch from the shoot. It even listed the couch on Facebook Marketplace with a cheeky description: “FREE—Red corduroy sofa from famous ripped chef shoot.”
The post instantly went viral. It spread across platforms like TikTok, the New York Times, and TMZ.
Facebook used this vital moment to boost its relevance among young adults. It capitalized on a cultural event and embedded itself into the conversation.
What’s even more impressive is that Facebook spent zero dollars on media, production, or talent. Yet it garnered a jaw-dropping 2.7 billion earned media impressions and a 5.3% increase in daily active users.
Drew Barrymore even featured the couch giveaway on her talk show, which brought even more attention to Facebook Marketplace.
7. Sweethearts’ Situationship Boxes
Sweethearts, the beloved brand behind those iconic conversation hearts, stepped into the world of modern relationships with a cheeky twist.
For 2024, it offered a limited-edition Situationship Box, which hoped to resonate with those who found themselves caught in the gray area of the dating scene.
Yes, the boxes featured blurry, misprinted candies that were just as hard to decipher as the non-committal “situationships” many Gen-Z singles find themselves in.
With an intentional nod to the latest dating trend, Sweethearts embraced the imperfections of relationships that don’t quite fit into a neat, labeled box.
Sweethearts has always been a brand that’s in tune with pop culture, and this campaign perfectly captured the spirit of today’s dating world.
8. Tubi: Interface Interruption
Tubi’s interface interruption technically happened in 2023. But it won the 2024 Grand Effie Award, an award that brands win for the most effective marketing campaign of the year.
The campaign took place during the 2023 Super Bowl, and stood out for its unexpected and creative approach that grabbed the audience’s attention during one of the most-watched TV events of the year.
Mischief @ No Fixed Address, a marketing agency known for its bold creativity and effective marketing tactics, crafted the campaign.
The agency’s idea was to trick viewers into thinking they had accidentally changed the channel. In the middle of the Super Bowl broadcast, the screen suddenly cut to Tubi’s interface, as if someone had pressed a button on the remote control. Viewers were confused.
While the move was disruptive, it captured the audience’s curiosity, which made it a memorable and engaging experience.
The campaign’s main goal was to boost Tubi’s brand awareness, and it succeeded. It got people talking on social media and led to a significant increase in viewing time and revenue for Tubi.
9. California Pizza Kitchen’s (CPK) Mac n Cheese Meltdown
California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) served up a masterclass in handling a PR crisis with its response to a viral TikTok video that threatened to turn the restaurant’s Mac n’ Cheese offering into a PR disaster.
Back in July 2024, a frustrated customer uploaded a video claiming that their CPK Mac n’ Cheese order only contained cheese and no pasta. The video quickly went viral, with over 4.5 million views. This put the restaurant chain in a tight spot.
However, instead of ignoring the issue or issuing a generic apology, CPK embraced the situation with a clever, light-hearted response. It shared a funny video that humorously explained how the dish was meant to be served.
Plus, it offered a month-long discount on its Mac n’ Cheese as a gesture of goodwill. The team even sent the affected customer a generous apology package: a year’s worth of free pizza and Mac n’ Cheese.
CPK’s response went viral in its own right. It racked up over 10 million views and increased the brand’s TikTok following.
The company also saw national attention. Local, national, and broadcast radio stations picked up the story.
But the true success of the story is the fact that CPK demonstrated effective social listening. This allowed it to react quickly to the viral video, which ensured the brand stayed on top of the conversation and showed its customers it cared about their feedback.
10. One Green Bean and Tourism Australia — That World Cup Guy
When it comes to creative travel campaigns, one that truly stood out in 2024 was the collaboration between One Green Bean and Tourism Australia, with its brilliant That World Cup Guy campaign.
This Gold-winning campaign took advantage of the global spotlight the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 offered, which attracted over two billion viewers.
Australia, the tournament’s host, needed a way to differentiate itself and present the country as more than just a sports venue.
Andy (a.k.a. “That World Cup Guy”), the most recognized football fan in Britain, was the solution. The campaign showed Andy experiencing the country’s natural beauty, local culture, and vibrant tourism scene.
The campaign generated significant media buzz and positioned Australia as a go-to destination for tourists.
Wrapping Up
Business owners put their brands out there to the public to build awareness, generate interest, increase customer loyalty, and boost sales. So, in a sense, brands engage in PR activities every day.
We’ve explored several companies that built connections with their target audience. But what about when these interactions aren’t always positive?
This is where effective crisis management comes into play. It’s important to always be prepared for a crisis and use the right tools to manage it, such as an AI-powered media monitoring platform. Book a demo to learn how Determ can help you mitigate crises.
If you are interested in improving your brand reputation, schedule a demo with our experts to see how Determ can assist you.
Author bio Born and raised in Atlanta, Britney is a freelance writer with 5+ years of experience. She has written for a variety of industries, including marketing, technology, business, finance, healthcare, wellness, and fitness. If she’s not spending her time chasing after three little humans and two four-legged friends, you can almost always find her glued to a book or awesome TV series.
