Newsjacking to feel… calm?

We all know how stressful voting could get, whether it’s voting on an Instagram poll, voting on a decision at work, voting on which top your friend should get… but how about the stress of voting during the US elections? now THAT’S stressful!

Calm took advantage of that

After the stressful US Elections, Calm, a meditation app for mobile phones published an ad with CNN without giving any political or election-related news. Picture this: watchers all over the US are watching CNN’s election coverage(stressful), and all of a sudden they see a Calm advertisement! There were also several 30-second advertisements Calm made leading up to election day.

The goal?

As Calm’s mission is to “make the world happier and healthier,” they took advantage of the opportunity and decided to place their advertisements during the elections, which was known to be a stressful time for all. In the campaign, “Calm did not use any election-related messaging but showed calming ads that served as a stark contrast to a rather stressful election season.” The campaign was a success, and I’m not shocked.

The campaign was a success

Calm placed their advertisements and campaigns at the right place, at the right time. As many people naturally felt stressed, the advertisement sparked conversation and created awareness. If the calm advertisement was placed during a less stressful time, chances are, many people would not even notice the ad. The key was to place the ad during a time when people all over the US may have felt stressed or anxious. In this situation, calm was able to news jack and take advantage of a situation for their own benefit.