Duo, Duolingo’s giant inexperienced mascot, may well be probably the most well-known owl of the post-tootsie roll pop industrial generation.
The language-learning app first established a TikTok presence in early 2021 and located its stride via sharing humorous movies that includes the sassy owl Duo. Since then, Duolingo’s TikTok account has grown to almost 7 million fans and amassed over 147 million likes from more than a few viral movies.
How did Duolingo do it? By way of embracing “unhinged” advertising.
What’s unhinged advertising?
When manufacturers take much less of a cultured, highest strategy to social, and embody extra chaotic conversational moments, it’s frequently known as unhinged advertising. For those who see a social media put up and suppose “How did that get authorized?” it might probably most probably be regarded as unhinged.
This method used to be first popularized on Twitter when Wendy’s turned into notorious for “roasting” social media customers and brazenly shading the contest. Since then, different corporations together with Popeye’s and McDonald’s discovered viral moments via sending sassy Tweets.
Unhinged advertising may also be in particular efficient at profitable over Gen Z shoppers preferring advertising that feels extra actual and not more salesy. What will have been deemed unprofessional up to now is now regarded as extra original and relatable.
With the creation of TikTok and the upward thrust of short-form video content material unhinged content material now expands past rapid meals corporations sending imply tweets, and Duolingo has capitalized on it.
Duolingo’s TikTok Technique
Since transferring from making an investment in TV advert spots to a focal point on natural social, Duolingo has discovered its advertising stride. What has made Duolingo’s TikTok content material so viral? 3 key methods:
1. Leisure Over Promoting
The content material is humorous and targets to entertain greater than it targets to promote.
Duolingo’s TikTok began starting off when the content material featured Duo, the app’s mascot. The content material occupied with Duo being a funny persona the target audience may hook up with, and it has stored other people coming again for extra to peer what Duo would do subsequent.
When the usage of the app is discussed, it’s performed in a humorous mild, and the target audience doesn’t really feel overly bought to. In truth, Duolingo’s TikTok content material that mentions the app frequently highlights the unfastened model of the app.
2. Hopping On Trending Subjects
Scrolling via Duolingo’s TikTok feed, the logo is all the time on peak of the usage of trending sounds and hopping on present subjects whilst they’re sizzling.
One put up from closing fall includes a quilt symbol of well-known competitors Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber. The put up used to be shared in a while after the footage of the pair (which led to waves on the net) first dropped and performed up Duolingo’s one-sided red meat with Google Translate. This video illustrates how the logo can hop on a then-trending subject whilst reminding the target audience that it’s nonetheless a language-learning app.
Every other instance is a contemporary put up that includes Duo on the premiere of the Barbie film dressed as the primary persona of the movie which has been a trending subject on social media in anticipation of the movie.
These kinds of posts stay the logo’s content material contemporary, which is helping construct believe with the target audience.
3. Constant Storylines
Duolingo’s account additionally does an excellent task of getting constant storylines for the target audience to observe. This is helping audience really feel extra hooked up to the logo and creates a way of belonging as a result of constant audience are in at the funny story. Listed below are a couple of examples:
- Duo’s one-sided competition with Google Translate: A number of movies (together with the instance above) characteristic Duo shading Google Translate and people who use it as a substitute of studying a brand new language on Duolingo.
- Duo + Dua Lipa: Every other storyline is Duo’s “overwhelm” on singer Dua Lipa. This provides the logo simple subject material any time Dua Lipa is trending.
- The Duolingo criminal staff: There’s some other operating funny story at the TikTok account that highlights Duolingo’s recommend looking to forestall Duo from posting (a nod to the unhinged nature of the content material).
It’s no longer all memes and humorous movies — the business plan has equipped an ROI for the corporate. Duolingo’s day by day energetic customers are up 62% from closing 12 months and it remains to be a few of the top-downloaded Schooling apps.
When performed proper, a extra at ease, much less company strategy to social media can cement an original connection between a logo and its target audience. The content material doesn’t (and most definitely shouldn’t) must include imply tweets and pictures of the corporate mascot in a thong to be efficient, however a bit of of persona and relatability can pass some distance.
