Trendjacking: If You’re Not First, You’re Last

Trends have a short life, and the early bird catches the worm. 

Image from ADWEEK

Trendjacking is when a brand uses a trending topic to their advantage to gain views and engagement. There are four main steps to successful trendjacking:

1. Pick out the trend 

2. Relate the trend to your brand in a genuine way

3. Post it as quickly as possible 

4. Add new value to the trend 

This summer has been full of trendjacking. Brands have been fighting to be the first to connect their brand to the trending topic, from shows to albums. Quick and unique posts thrived, while the dull and late disappeared. 

Image from People Magazine

Love Island USA, a popular dating show, started trending the minute the first episode was aired. Fans quickly took to social media analyzing the cast and highlighting funny moments. One of the most infamous quotes from the season included Huda Mustafa talking about Jeremiah Brown going on a date with a bombshell saying “My dream date… cute. And he knows that.”

Chipotle quickly collaborated with Jeremiah Brown to create his own burrito, titling the collaboration ‘Jeremiah’s dream burrito… cute.” Chipotle successfully connected the trending topic to their own brand and released the collaboration quickly enough, resulting in a positive trendjacking. 

Official album cover of "The Life of a Showgirl"

When Taylor Swift announces anything, your brand better be paying attention. The singer and songwriter stopped the world on August 12th when she announced her new album ‘The Life of a Showgirl.’ Almost every single brand in the world started trendjacking this album announcement. Brands quickly created edits and memes with their products, incorporating the album’s themed colors of sparkly orange and green.

Dunkin’ Donuts posted a graphic on Instagram turning their logo into sparkly orange with the caption “we’ve always been in our orange era.” Olipop took to Facebook to post a graphic of their ‘Orange Squeeze’ can turned sparkly orange with a green background, and text that said “me at 12:12 on august 12.” These are examples of brands successfully, and quickly, trendjacking Taylor Swift’s album announcement while still connecting it to their brand in some authentic way. 

Marketing teams, pop culture and social media are your best friends. Stay up to date on trends and don’t be late!