Nike
Nike's "How will you #MakeItCount in 2012" campaign takes the traditional New Year's resolution and turns it into a rallying cry to motivate and inspire individuals to meet and exceed their goals via visual imagery.
Nike has enlisted the help of superstar athletes like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dirk Nowitzki as catalysts for sparking the #MakeItCount movement.
Since launching in January, more than 41,000 Instagram images have been tagged with the #MakeItCount hashtag.
By staying true to its core brand attributes, Nike's call to action and the imagery that it evokes become the visual embodiment of the brand. That is carried forward as a virtual representation of both the brand and the individual.
Other noteworthy players
There are many other brands making an impact with Instagram-generated content, including Pepsi, Starbucks, Burberry, Volkswagen, Warby Parker, Puma, and Maersk. The top five most-followed brands on Instagram are:
1. MTV -- 768,563 followers
2. Starbucks -- 704,731
3. eOnline -- 616,248
4. Victoria's Secret -- 442,265
5. Burberry -- 442,587
With Facebook's recent purchase of Instagram and the launch of its own photo-based app, no one quite yet knows what the future will hold for Instagram. But with numbers continuing to grow across the board, Instagram is not looking to slow down any time soon.
Regardless of the platform, visual storytelling and social curation are now at the core of the social experience. Brands that can incorporate user-generated images that are relevant to both the brand and the individual will find the most engagement and potential for activation.
Tom Edwards is vice president of digital strategy and innovation for The Marketing Arm.
On Twitter? Follow Edwards at @BlackFin360. Follow iMedia Connection at @iMediaTweet.
"Picturesque seascape" image via Shutterstock.
