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The 4th of July is indeed an important event for American families. But it is an equally essential marketing opportunity for brands to establish an emotional connection with customers. 

Take, for instance, the case of Away, a renowned American travel retailer. The company made headlines with a unique ad in the New York Times. As part of its 4th of July promotions in 2021, the company published an advertisement with the headline "If you want to be a better American, get out of America" The heading sounded odd to readers. But the ad stressed that the best way to be a good American is to travel —  engage with people from different backgrounds, and foster empathy. 

The travel company subtly promoted its services by encouraging people to go on vacations frequently. 

Away is not the only company leveraging the 4th of July holiday to advertise its products. Five leading brands, including American Eagle, Škoda, Bomb Pop, Budweiser, and Old Navy, ran outstanding influencer marketing campaigns on the 4th of July, creating spectacular awareness and engagement. 

Let's walk you through the campaigns! 

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5 brands that shined bright with stellar 4th of July Promotions 

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1. Škoda - Piggyback on the popularity of competitor brands 

Škoda adopted a spectacular influencer marketing strategy for its 4th of July promotion campaign in 2022. The Czech automobile manufacturer knows it is not one of France's most popular car brands. So instead of talking about their cars in influencer videos, they piggybacked on the popularity of the top 3 cars in France—Renault, Citroen, and Peugeot. 

The company collaborated with three YouTube influencers—Vlog Cars Passion, Mécanique Sportive, and Le Billet Auto, who create genuine car review videos. The creators posted YouTube videos featuring test drives of the three competitor cars. But there's a twist. Škoda put up a billboard of its new car, the Škoda Fabia, in the background of each video. 
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The result: 

• Product endorsement to viewers actively looking to purchase a car 
• Subtle promotion by highlighting differentiating features between brand and competitor 
• Genuine recommendations from authentic influencers 
• Massive reach 
• Increased chances of sales for Škoda Fabia

The YouTube influencer marketing campaign was a clever move ideated by Track DDB, a marketing agency in Toronto. "We dissected the customer journey and asked ourselves how, at each stage of it, to succeed in getting noticed. This is complicated when you are far from being a major player in your own market, so we had to be original in our approach," explained Benjamin Dessagne, creative director at Track DDB, in an article by Adweek. 

"The car buying process has recently changed radically. Nowadays, everyone watches test drive videos made by car influencers because they are more objective in their demonstrations. Generally, competitors in the automotive industry don't confront each other directly," said he. 

The campaign set the brand apart from its competitors and made a mark in the mind of the customers, which is essential to do if you're marketing around special events such as the 4th of July. People at such times look to purchase new products. So instead of giving discount offers like everyone else, you can go creative with your influencer campaign. 

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2. Bomb Pop - Build influential UGC with TikTok filters 

Bomb Pop is one of the most beloved tri-color popsicles in America. With its blue, red, and white color icy treat, Bomb Pop reminds people of the American flag. It only makes sense that the brand leverages the 4th of July promotions to widen its customer base. 

In Summer 2022, the frozen confection company collaborated with GALE, a global business agency, and TikTok to launch a TikTok filter. The #AFlavorForEveryYou campaign attempted to reintroduce the nostalgic treat to the younger generations. The TikTok filter allowed youngsters to connect over things that interest them. Be it reading, dancing, sports, or more, creators shared their interests, building tons of user-generated content (UGC) for the company. 

The strategy worked in favor of the brand. The campaign created a positive buzz for Bomb Pop right before American Independence Day, leading to an almost 11% engagement rate. Not just that. The company also achieved 37.4 million views on its content, according to TikTok for Business. 

The company regularly develops engaging TikTok creator marketing campaigns with new filters, challenges, and contests to captivate the younger demographic.
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3. Budweiser - Approach millennials with star-studded content 

Budweiser, the best-selling American beer brand, is well-known for its incredible 4th of July promotions. The beer company uses American Independence Day to not only target the older generations but also drive awareness and sales in the younger demographics. 

To do so, Budweiser launched a music video called Yours To Take in April 2022. The video featured an original song sung by Anderson Paak, an American rapper, singer, producer, and a sensation among millennials. And that's not it.  

The music video also featured famous artists, micro-influencers, and go-getters, including French soccer player Sean Garnier, Swedish fashion designer Julia Dang, Brazilian rapper Xamã, Colombian graffiti artist Wanda Pot, British drummer Louise Bartle, Argentinian singer Lara91K, Brazilian graphic and NFT artist Gabriel Massan, to excite the millennial audience further. 
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Budweiser published individual Instagram posts to highlight the journey to success of these influencers, creating an emotional connection with the audience. 
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The "Tomorrow Is #YoursToTake" campaign is not the first attempt by Budweiser to rope in the younger segment. The 4th of July ad, Go Fourth, America with Bill Pullman, is an excellent example of using star-studded content to stir patriotism in millennials. Released in 2021, the commercial features Bill Pullman re-enacting his iconic Independence Day speech from the 90s film, encouraging younger generations to join in the spirit of America after finally defeating Covid-19. 
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4. American Eagle - Create hype with OTT stars the summer before the 4th of July 

Looking to build a massive fanbase for your product? One of the unique ways is to partner with OTT celebrities. Something that American Eagle has been doing for a long time and has gained huge success. 

American Eagle is a fashion store chain targeting Gen Zs and millennials for its summer collection. The brand knows that the younger generation is drawn to its popular products. So they collaborated with the cast of "The Summer I Turned Pretty" to build hype and boost sales around Independence Day 2023. 

‍Discover what OTT platforms are up to in the influencer marketing industry! 

"The Summer I Turned Pretty" is a popular Prime Video series featuring Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno, and Lola Tung. The "The Summer of Us" campaign launched by American Eagle boasts partnerships with the three actors promoting the brand's clothing line right before the 4th of July. 

"(The show) has the spirit of the summer season, it has a spirit of getting outside and living out loud," American Eagle's CMO Craig Brommers told Marketing Dive. "The style of the show made it an obvious choice for AE."

Their celebrity influencer marketing campaign is a clever attempt to build hype and target the younger segment before an upcoming event without directly mentioning the 4th of July. 
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5. Old Navy - Foray into the Metaverse with a purpose-driven campaign 

Old Navy is one of the top 50 patriotic brands in America, according to Forbes. And their flag tees are a staple wear for most American families. So it's no surprise that the clothing retail company comes up with the most creative 4th of July promotions every year. And 2023 is no different. 

This year Old Navy decided to take its Magic the Dog mascot on Metaverse. The company wanted to commemorate Independence Day and pay tribute to its founding year, 1994. They collaborated with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (a national organization educating young minds) to create a modern version of Magic—the shelter dog chosen as a mascot for the brand in 1995. 

The collaboration resulted in 1,994 (founding year) non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of Magic sporting a set of headphones, flaming hot Cheetos, firecrackers, and an Old Navy 4th of July t-shirt. The collection is available on Sweet.io, an NFT marketplace. 
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Additionally, Old Navy partnered with Heather Parady, influencer and podcast host of The Heather Parady Show to: 

1. Let a word out about their NFT collection 
2. Educate people about NFTs
3. Break the assumption that only men collect NFTs 
4. Leverage a female voice for the campaign 
5. Boost sales around the 4th of July holiday 

Parady is a podcast host who helps creators build a strong career through her content, which allows her to explain to the audience how NFTs work. The holiday influencer marketing campaign also built excitement among the audience, encouraging them to stock the 94cent NFTs. 

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‍To Summarize 

4th of July promotions are an excellent way for your brand to carve out a name in the competitive market. All you have to do is develop a stellar influencer marketing campaign, just like the brands in the examples. 

But if you need help figuring out what to post on Independence Day, here are our influencer marketing guides to inspire you! 
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1. Happy Pride Month! Here are the 5 Brands With Impactful LGBTQ+ Influencer Strategy  
2. The Growing Power of Dad Influencers in Fashion, Fitness, Food, and Lifestyle (Father's Day) 

These campaign examples will help you set your brand apart from competitors, provided you partner with influencers who can create genuine branded content. Influencer marketing platforms such as affable.ai simply influencer search, campaign management, and tracking, enabling you to run compelling campaigns.  

‍Connect with our experts to learn more! Book a free trial. 

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