The recent viral Blinkit/Zomato meme launched a thousand other ships in the branding world exhibiting a fine example of trendjacking in marketing. Viral trends do have the tendency to catch on quickly in the social media realm. Through a hashtag, event, meme, and other means, trendjacking can be a terrific way to increase brand recognition.
The viral meme behind the trendjacking
Following Zomato’s recent acquisition of Blinkit, both companies posted a picture of two creative billboards that put a unique spin on the well-known phrase from the 2002 film Maa Tujhhe Salaam. While Zomato’s billboard reads “Kheer mangoge, kheer denge (Ask for kheer, we will deliver it),” Blinkit’s initial post stated, “Doodh mangoge, doodh denge (Ask for milk, we will deliver it). This attracted the attention of online users, and it didn’t take long for other brands to follow suit. The meme was used by everyone – from candy companies to matrimonial websites and even for public service announcements from several police departments.
So, what exactly is trendjacking and is it really useful as a social media marketing tool?
Trends in social media marketing
For consumers trends are an important phenomenon. It helps them to stay up-to-date with what is happening in their areas of interest. Be it fashion, food, lifestyle, technology etc, trends are important. And because brands cater to consumer demands, they cannot absolutely ignore trends. If brands want to stay relevant and break through the competition, they always need to have an eye on the trends in the market for appropriate social media marketing for business.
Every trend is a sign of evolution and change in the industry. Businesses can push the limits of the market and social media marketing for business, thanks to trends. New concepts and opportunities are presented by trends. Additionally, trends enable brands to convey their beliefs in a variety of ways. Even social media marketing for small businesses can benefit from following trends.
However, a majority of organizations view trends as passing fads. Even though it might be the case, it still makes sense to capitalize on the momentum generated by current trends in order to increase brand recognition and credibility. Additionally, you get to keep your brand visible to your target market and relevant while you’re at it.
Trendjacking
Capitalizing this momentum created by a trend is called trendjacking. The concept of newsjacking has been around for a while. When a business uses newsjacking, their content reacts to recent news in order to attract views or become more relevant (for example, an organic farmer releasing articles about the implications of new farming regulations and its implications).
Trendjacking is its pop culture equivalent. Similar to newsjacking, this practice involves a business reacting to or engaging with an online pop culture movement. By “trendjacking,” a business and by extension its brand image can “hijack” or “jack” the appeal of a specific trend. When done correctly, it leads to an increase in views, impressions, and higher brand affinity.
Trendjacking is hardly a brand-new idea. Similar to developing seasonal material (for Valentine’s Day or Christmas, for example), with two important differences: it’s more difficult to prepare for and necessitates a better understanding of internet culture. Seasonal trends, like those needed for Diwali, are simple to develop in advance because it is known what would be needed. Contrarily, trends develop considerably more impulsively and without a clear pattern or underlying rationale.
Advantages of trendjacking
When done correctly, trendjacking can help you boost your brand’s image and your marketing team’s performance in other areas as well. By contributing to the conversation, you have the chance to attract additional attention to your social media profiles. If your trendjacking is executed properly, you may increase the buzz about your company and attract new followers to your accounts. Social media marketing for small businesses also gets a boost with trendjacking without additional financial costs.
- It keeps your brand fresh.
- Reinforces your brand identity.
- Strengthens your brand positioning system.
A successful trendjacking example
via Forbes
Although Oreo as a company has nothing to do with either football or energy, they managed to enter the online conversation and secure a viral tweet. One of the best examples of trendjacking is still this timely tweet sent out during the Super Bowl in 2013. When the lights went out in the stadium, Oreo intervened and posted a graphic joking that people could still drown Oreos in the dark. This brief tweet was favourably welcomed at a gathering that already had a lot of advertising.
Challenges of trendjacking
Trendjacking can be hazardous, and if done incorrectly or in bad taste, it could insult and alienate people. Regardless of how popular they may be, there are some things you should never bring up. Politics, disasters, and other weighty subjects are often off-limits on social media. If a famous person passed away, don’t pay tribute unless they had a direct connection to your company.
A trendjacking example gone wrong
via Buzzfeed
A random viral hashtag like #WhyIStayed could appear to be an excellent chance for marketers to incorporate branding into the conversation. Unfortunately, DiGiorno Pizza was unaware of the reason behind the hashtag #WhyIStayed. It was being used by domestic abuse survivors to highlight their reasons for staying in abusive relationships. Shortly after publishing the controversial tweet, DiGiorno Pizza apologized and removed the Tweet, but screenshots are everlasting.
Points to remember while trendjacking
# Understand your audience
# Judge relevance to your brand ethos
# Is the trend appropriate for marketing?
# Is it timely?
# Does it add value to your brand?
To wrap it up
Social media fads are continuously changing and evolving. Since audiences may lose interest in content they perceive as “old,” timing is crucial when it comes to trendjacking.
At Sunnyday Consulting, we took the opportunity presented to us by the Blinkit-Zomato meme and made creatives for our social media handles. It is lighthearted, easily adaptable to any brand image (including ours) and was accompanied by a frenzy of online chatter and debate.
Our strategy for trendjacking necessitates that our content teams remain aware of the ups and downs of online culture and be inventive and quick enough to seize the chance of a popular trend before it becomes irrelevant.
Need a hand incorporating trendjacking into your social media strategy? Contact us at support@sunnydayconsulting.com or check our website at www.sunnydayconsulting.com!
