5 Breakthrough Brands With Ingenious Marketing That Hit a New Level in 2017

Ah, 2017. What a year! There were certainly some pretty massive brand flops, but on the other hand, many others took a stand and got political. There were also brands that had an all-around awesome year, even though the country certainly didn’t.

Below, Adweek highlights some of the year’s breakthrough brands with ingenious marketing strategies—those companies you just couldn’t escape in 2017.

1. HQ Trivia 

You might have noticed at the end of 2017, around 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. E.T., groups of friend or coworkers begin huddling in a circle, each person with a phone in hand, eyes glued to the screen. They weren’t scrolling through their Instagram feeds or being antisocial, but instead tuning in to play the hottest live trivia game show designed for a smartphone: HQ Trivia.

The show’s charismatic, rhyme-loving host, Scott Rogowsky, is a major draw for some players—but there’s also a chance to win cash each night. Participants answer 12 trivia questions. Answer all of them right, and you can win anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000. If the game has more than one winner, that amount is split between all the winners. Sounds like something straight out of Black Mirror, but the app, launched by the creators of Vine, debuted in late 2017 to great fanfare; while the app has had a few bumps in the road, it’s still bringing in hundreds of thousands of players each night.

Why it’s a breakthrough brand: In a few short weeks, the live game show has attracted over 600,000 players in an evening. People are literally stopping everything (work, dinner, Netflix-bingeing) to tune in, making it a candidate to replace those classic TV game shows you’ve grown to know and love in the future.

2. Away

It’s been quite some time since a brand tried to revolutionize the way you pack for a trip. Sure, luggage brands have made adjustments to their bags—adjusting the size per airline regulations, or coming out with new colors—but as of 2017, Away has truly taken the lead in the category.

“Before we launched, luggage was an afterthought, even though it’s something you take on every trip,” Jen Rubio, creative director and co-founder of Away, said. “Our perfect suitcase—available in five sizes and eight evergreen colors—was the result of truly connecting with our customers and delivering an item that they had already told us they wanted.”

For tech-savvy travelers, the bags have USB charging ports (that are still airline-safe, despite new rules from some airlines that smart bags cannot be carried on board).

Why it’s a breakthrough brand: For an industry that hadn’t experienced a lot of disruption in quite some time, Away swooped in and answered all your travel luggage needs with a stylish, well-made and relatively affordable product. While the company has been around since 2015, this year was when it came to the forefront, when you really started to see the products in airports, in subway ads or on your Instagram feed.

3. Halo Top Creamery

Another brand that’s been around for a bit, but became a true sensation this year: Halo Top Creamery. Started in 2012, the company is now known for its low-calorie ice cream in various flavors. There’s birthday cake, red velvet, oatmeal cookie, pancakes and waffles, rainbow swirl and so many more—all clocking in between 240 and 360 calories a pint.

In 2017, Halo Top’s delightfully colorful packaging was pretty much everywhere, mainly because of its growing Instagram presence and its genius marketing. In September, the brand rolled out “Eat the Ice Cream,” a darkly comical spot directed by Mike Diva that had the whole internet buzzing. To date, the spot has nearly 800,000 views on YouTube.

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Katie Richards

@ktjrichards

Katie Richards is a staff writer for Adweek.