Should you care about trends and brand relevance?

Creating culturally relevant ads has always been in my mind. It can be entertaining to see campaigns and creative work referencing popular Netflix shows, films, or trendy news. But sometimes it doesn’t always work.

I started my career in social media creating and planning content for various brands. I was and still am proud of the work I planned and created. I spent a few minutes every day on social listening, paying attention to news headlines, online groups, and news aggregators to identify interesting trends. 

I remember creating an Australian $5 note with the Bundaberg Rum bear on it because Australia was deciding who to put on it. Another fun one was mocking when Instagram released stories and how Australia’s largest liquor supermarket was adding its version of stories to its stores. These were great for engagement but they didn’t link back to something strategically other than trying to be relevant. 

Hawk Tuah, U.S Election and Summer Olympics

The latest hit is the ‘Hawk Tuah’ woman Haliey Welch filling up the trends on social, office conversation, and general on-the-fly comments. Depending on your brand, you probably should give it a miss. There would be a few brands that could capitalize on it well enough and get away with it. Internet is full of these types of videos yet this one happened to hit popular culture.

Stay away from political and controversial trends. Think of the upcoming U.S. election or any type of death (i.e the queen). Many of these things are polarizing or sensitive and can harm your brand. Unless you’re in Australia where the news of the leader of the opposition party in 2016 incorrectly eating a sausage roll united the nation on agreeing “WTF was that?”

Sports has always been a safer bet when it comes to trends. No doubt there will be something during the upcoming Paris Olympics.

Trends can be fun, you may see short-term engagement but no matter what, always ask yourself: 

1. Does this trend relate to my brand?

2. Will it fade or have an impact in the long term? 

3. Why should I do anything about it? 

4. How does this contribute to my marketing and business objectives?

5. What’s the risk?