One of my favourite sessions from Dx3 was a Canadian success story, a Guy In His Underwear. Stanfield’s used to be a brand with zero online mentions and it was obvious something had to be done to attract a younger consumer demographic.

The idea? Stanfield’s underwear supports men. Literally. The Guy At Home campaign supports a good cause and will donate $1 to testicular cancer research for every “like” garnered by the campaign’s Facebook page.

This Canadian campaign was a first Facebook campaign that included donations (and definitely not the last). Go Canada!

Source: ITBusiness

John St did a wonderful job. It was everything a social media campaign should be - interactive, positive, fun and enforcing the impression that Stanfield’s supports men physically and emotionally.

So, would you go online to watch an average Canadian guy order pizza, meet a blind date, have Strombo crash the blind date, all while wearing a pair of underwear?

Turns out that over 50,000 people would. Not bad.

Here are the 8 lessons that campaign creators Angus Tucker and Mavis Huntley shared at Dx3. 

1. Does the idea align with your brand?

The values of the campaign need to relate to the values of your brand. As mentioned, Standfield’s had the idea of supporting men – physically and emotionally.

2. The “lazy ask”

“What could I ask the laziest person in the world, on the couch with a beer, to do and expect them to do it?” Don’t overcomplicate a task and assume that people are lazy,

3. Impossible is possible (but it’s time consuming and hard).

Just because no one else has done it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Stanfield’s campaign started a trend by being the first of its kind.

4. Keep it real

“Social media is less scripted, less polished, feels the way you interact with friends, feels more real”. Amen to that! We’re people again.

5. Create a playbook (and revise it)

Have a plan for when the plan changes.

6. Community management is a 24/7 job

You need commitment and don’t underestimate the amount of time it takes to manage a real-time community. It’s not a job for an intern.

7. PR can be your media plan

If your idea is so interesting or dramatic or provocative, the news media will want to jump on board.

8. You can’t control it

And that’s the best part. Social is organic, moving and developing. Embrace it.