How brands can (successfully) trendjack with these 5 tips
So if your social feed has been awash with mint green and orange glitter, you’re not alone.
Trendjacking is a marketing tactic where brands capitalise on something that’s capturing viral attention – a meme, event or trending topic.
Here, a brand applies its brand logo or brand identity in some way to join the online conversation in the hopes of engaging its base, showing some personality and hopefully swaying prospective customers into loyal advocates.
Connecting a brand with newsworthy trends
Connecting your brand with newsworthy trends is becoming an increasingly popular way to take part in online discussions and give your business an easy ‘in’ into consumer conversations.
A 2024 study Trendjacking Strategies by Influencers: Their Impact on Engagement and Customer Purchase Decisions in the Digital Era showed that as many as 70% of consumers who engage with trendjacked content are more likely to purchase products from the brand.
And bonus points (in the form of Advertising Value Equivalency) if a news outlet picks up on the story and includes your brand in it.
Making Swiftie dreams come true
From Fortune 500 companies to smaller start-ups, the Taylor Swift’s orange era trend can be seen across virtually every industry – with retail, health, travel, food and even sporting brands looking to potentially reach new audiences by associating with something deemed popular.
Global brands that have joined the buzz include Le Creuset, PGA Golf, FedEx, M&Ms, Amazon, Disney, Sesame Street, Post-It, Diet Coke, Pizza Hut, Burger King, and United Airlines. Even the Empire State Building lit up NYC in sparkling orange with the caption Story of a Showgirl on their Instagram.
Closer to home, Checkers Sixty60 (we see you Retroviral!) showed their marketing magic by changing up their signature turquoise delivery driver with the glitter orange hue to promote a T12 product range in their app.
To benefit as a brand, it’s all about the trifecta of timing, relevance and creativity.
5 tips on trendjacking
Ready to trendjack? Here are five top tips to consider.
- Don’t delay
Part of what makes trendjacking so appealing is its urgency and immediacy.
As a brand, you need to be able to identify viral moments and react quickly, showing that your brand keeps its finger on the pulse of popular culture. Trends come and go quickly, so you want to be reactive before public interest wanes.
- Give your team autonomy
An intimidating concept for most of the C-Suite, but marketing teams need trust and autonomy. As with the above point on timing, speed is everything in trendjacking.
If your processes for approval involve delayed feedback, lengthy legal reviews or death-by-consensus meetings, your trendjacking ambitions are over before they’ve begun.
Of course, things can go wrong, especially in today’s age of cancel culture. But then you can just blame the intern.
- Be clever and creative
Easier said than done, sure, but there’s an art to trendjacking. It’s not about just throwing your brand logo into the hat, but rather finding ways to authentically connect in ways that will resonate and be relevant with the people that matter to you.
Being natural is key because consumers can smell inauthenticity from a mile away.
- Avoid overdoing it
There are new trends by the week, sometimes even by the day.
You can’t join them all (even you, Nando’s) and trying to do so erodes the dazzle factor that you want your audience to experience. Less is always more with trendjacking; otherwise, you’ll get lost in your brand noise.
- Keep an eye on analytics
Taylor’s universal brand appeal means that you’re likely to get engagement on this particular trend, but make sure you’re always choosing trends that align with your brand and target audience.
Involve your data teams to track the performance of this type of content so that you can adjust your trendjacking strategies where needed.
Overall, trendjacking lets you show a different side to your brand, a side that’s more human, more fun, more real and baby, that’s (show) brand business for you.