Trendjacking
When hopping on the bandwagon pays off, by Janelle Cynthia
Trendjacking. Sounds scary, right? Don’t stress—it’s simply the act of capitalizing on an existing trend in order to bolster your brand in the marketplace. The word itself first surfaced around Twitter’s inception in 2006, when we were introduced to hashtags, allowing social media users to discover trends that were emerging in real-time. When done correctly, trendjacking can give your brand a well-needed lift. When done incorrectly, your brand image could suffer—majorly.
According to Ogilvy Malaysia’s managing partner, Nizwani Shahar,
“This is the perfect time for brands to convey their brand identity or positioning by tapping into trending topics, which arguably not all brands can do well. I’ve seen some brands try to be relevant but when they all try do it without any creative thinking, it starts to look all too similar and monotonous,”
So, how can your brand jump on the trendjacking bandwagon? First things first, do your research. In many cases, trends can be a reflection of cultures and communities with rich back stories and nuances. Failing to do your due diligence on a trend could lead to cultural misunderstandings or make your brand come off as superficial. Case in point, Pepsi’s tone-deaf attempt to join the Black Lives Matter conversation with this commercial featuring Kendall Jenner:
Next, can your brand move fast enough to ride the trend while it’s still fresh? Trends come and go quickly. If you don’t hop on take advantage when they’re at their peak, your content can look stale and out of touch. If your content team can’t turn it around fast enough, it’s best to sit this one out.
Finally, you need to consider if the trend is a good fit for your brand. You don’t want to feel like you’re stretching to make the connection—if you feel a disconnect, your audience will too. Can we all take a moment to cringe at this Kenneth Cole tweet from 2011?
So, you’ve come across a trend that’s the right fit for your brand, you’ve done your research, and you’re ready to act fast—what now? For some inspo to get the creative juices flowing, here are some of our favorite trendjacking campaigns:
Oreo
Perhaps the most memorable example of trendjacking is this tweet from Oreo. They jumped in during the 2013 SuperBowl power outage with a tweet and the tagline “You Can Still Dunk in the Dark”. It went viral, with over 15,000 retweets and multiple awards for their ad agency.
Visit Singapore
We love this take on the #10YearChallenge where the world’s most popular egg meets Visit Singapore’s most popular dish, chicken rice. #EggGang
VERB
You didn’t think we’d leave ourselves out did you? We’re hopping on the “Which Disney Character Are You” bandwagon by creating our own Instagram filter that speaks to #AgencyLife. Wanna try it? You can find it here.
Janelle is a Marketing Project Manager with VERB Interactive—a leader in digital marketing, specializing in solutions for the travel and hospitality industry. Find out more at www.verbinteractive.com.
