Why Netguru shone a spotlight on Hidden Heroes to connect with a wider audience
Netguru won at The Drum Awards for Content 2022 in the News, Media, or Publishing category for its Hidden Heroes campaign. Here, we find out more about what went into this eye-opening campaign.
Netguru's Hidden Heroes Campaign
Digital acceleration company Netguru wanted to bring software innovators out of the shadows and present their stories in conjunction with author and speaker Steven Johnson. The goal was to highlight people who have shaped today’s reality with modern software and how it has influenced our lives. Using content research and its knowledge of the industry, it created eight impressionable stories that made an impact on over 15 million people.
The brief
Netguru recognized that to stand out in an extremely crowded market, it needed to rise above normal marketing strategies that only reiterate USPs and find a way to expand its audiences, as well as showcase its brand as a top tech company. It needed to bring attention to the ideals and values of its company in a way that would forge a deep connection with potential and current customers.
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The idea
As an innovation consultancy employing hundreds of engineers, product designers, product managers, and consultants, Netguru wanted to inspire other generations of tech innovators by using the power of storytelling. The initiative was designed to hit all the checkpoints of a successful branding campaign:
- Have a mission/purpose and be unique
- Create a series of stories
- Partner with a renowned author/producer
- Have viral potential
- Include emotional appeal
- Be valuable, relevant, and educational
Based on these parameters, they chose to profile people who were virtually unknown and whose discoveries mirrored the company’s values and abilities. It also chose innovations that were foundational to the tech industry and still had lasting impacts on society.
Eight people were ultimately chosen for the profiles and author Steven Johnson crafted emotional stories that would reach readers within and without the tech trade.
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The results
Responses were encouraging, coming from the tech industry, community, and the Hidden Heroes themselves. But the results could also be addressed with numbers. Paid tactics, using Google Ads and social media channels, reached over 9.2 million people. Organic social media alone, accumulated over 4.5 million people, while the campaign website had over 75,000 views. They were also extensively covered in the media, as well as earning social upvotes and comments.
This campaign was a winner at The Drum Awards for Content 2022. You can see all the winners here. The Drum Awards for Marketing are currently open for entry. Find out how you can enter now.