Whirlpool and Upworthy Tug at Heartstrings to Pull in Shares

Whirlpool has extended its "Every Day, Care" campaign to social sharing site Upworthy by creating two new videos meant to encourage viewers to thank their families for everyday expressions of love.

Whirlpool has partnered with Upworthy to release two new “Perceptions of Care” videos for the brands’ “Every Day, Care” campaign, which focuses on appreciating loved ones for the everyday tasks they do in the name of love.

Upworthy, a feel-good viral content site with many popular social media channels, seemed like a natural choice for the videos since it focuses on sharable content, while Whirlpool’s “Every Day, Care” focuses on creating engagement by pulling viewers’ heartstrings. The first video, which was created by DigitasLBi, features a “sandwich” family, wherein a young mother must care for her own aging mother as well as her adolescent son. In the video, the woman’s austere elderly mother finally thanks her daughter for the care she’s received.

Upworthy offers both visibility and a built-in audience for the campaign, says Jon Hall, senior brand manager at Whirlpool.

“[Upworthy] obviously has a wide database, and they have multiple ways to communicate to customers who are looking for this these types of stories, whether it’s through email, visiting the website, or social channels. Ultimately, we believe when people watch the video they’ll be inspired to share it with people in their lives.”

The appeal of the video lies in its sentimental approach, says Jeremy Bacharach, vice president and creative director at DigitasLBi, an appeal which also makes it highly sharable.

“So far we’ve seen an incredible response, people just kind of getting emotional and being able to relate to the family dynamic,” Bacharach says. “People are kind of moved. There have been a lot of tears. And we’re seeing that people share as a way of expressing recognition for the care that they’ve given or received.”

“Perceptions of Care” videos are just one aspect of the “Every Day, Care” campaign. In order to maximize shareablity and invite engagement, the brand has also created the #EveryDayCare hashtag, and frequently pairs the hashtag with trending topics to invite consumers to share their own moments of care photos. For example, Whirlpool invited fans to tweet pictures of their pets under the #EveryDayCare hashtag and fans responded by tweeting hundreds of pet pictures at the brand.

whirlpool-tweet

“We’ve been making use of the hashtag. It’s asking people to express care for their loved ones, especially after seeing this video making the point that it’s not that hard to let your loved ones know that you care,” Bacharach says. “It’s easy to ask someone to tell their mothers, husbands, wives, and children that they appreciate the care in their lives.”

“Every Day, Care” also taps into natural social media behaviors to court engagement. The holidays are a good time to get customers involved with the campaign, since so many people already express gratitude for loved ones on social media at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

“People are always sharing photos of their children, family, vacation, and pets,” Bacharach says. “So it’s natural for our audience to want to participate, and we’re definitely going to continue those themes [through the holidays].”

Bacharach believes that the success of the campaign lies in its authenticity. Whirlpool isn’t attempting to assert that their household products will make household chores any less tedious, but rather, the brand is simply acknowledging the fact that everyday chores make customers’ lives better.

“The authenticity and the realism in this campaign is the fact that we’re empathizing,” he says. “We’re not going to pretend that our products are going to make life perfect. The fact is [customers] do chores every day all day, and then the next day [they] do them again. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, age, race, sexual orientation, the care that we give is universal, and that’s what we have in common.”

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