Create don’t commentate: how to walk the fine line between relevancy and cringe.

Brands recreating viral trends sometimes feel as awkward as dad dancing at weddings - the effort’s there, but it’s hard to watch. Unfortunately for brands, consumers feel that it’s a bit of a buzz kill when a wave of brands jump on the bandwagon with imitation videos that kill the inside joke. Not very demure, not very mindful.?

For years it’s been drilled into us that jumping on trends will help you relate to your audience. But now the tides are shifting.?

Using trends in the wrong way can negatively impact your brand.?So how can brands walk the?fine line between cultural relevance and cringe?

Be the culture

Ogilvy recently highlighted during their talk at Adweek house how “brands realise we can’t just speak to audiences, we have to be with them in culture”, but it’s also important to stay true to your brand and not get lost in the internet speak. TikTok-spawned viral phrases are here today, gone tomorrow. Some brands are quick to latch on, but instead of latching on, brands should learn how to navigate them.

Brands should BE the culture! They play an integral part in people's lives, and we look to brands to cultivate the culture we experience. So make it ownable. Tune into conversations people are having about your brand and bring them to life. Your brand is a facilitator of fantasies - now that’s got viral fame written all over it. Loewe recently did just this by turning a meme into reality.

Avoid sameness

Plenty of brands tried to jump aboard the demure bandwagon. From posting TikTok videos to using the phrase in email copy, many companies benefited from tapping into the trend. But some fell short. With so many brands getting involved, the term “demure” was oversaturated, and as a result, some people began snubbing companies for their inauthenticity when hopping on the trend.

Brands need to assess whether these turns of phrase align with their brand identity and consumer ethos. It’s important to speak the language of your consumer to feel relatable, but if it’s not a fit, brands will seem out of touch. Resist joining in just because everyone else is doing it. Instead, keep it on-brand while leaning into your audience's response. Coca-Cola decided to switch up the narrative and show consumers where they show up in culture outside of internet memes. The campaign highlights the brand's iconicity and its integral role in Mexican culture with candid images that highlight where its presence feels natural and unforced.

Choose your moment

The life cycles of viral trends are only getting shorter.?Trends could last half a decade at one point, whether it be style, culture, fashion, or memes, but now, trends have a life cycle of a matter of months or even weeks before they become “cheugy” (and?that’s?one example in itself).

Timing is key. The preference would be to stay ahead of them, but it’s admittedly advantageous to be the first to the punchline in a crowded market. If timing isn’t on your side, think instead about how you can create content of your own to infiltrate culture instead of piggybacking trends. A brand’s audience is much broader than just its customers. It includes cultural observers, commentators, critics and fans. Content is a way to address them all.?Founder films (e.g. Air, The Founder, Blackberry, Flamin’ Hot, House of Gucci, The Social Network), brand podcasts or sports sponsorships do exactly that.

What’s going on in brand?

Content as culture

How a brand’s products are discovered, shared, talked about and bought is more important than the product itself. Rhode, Hailey Bieber’s brand, effectively makes its products discoverable without her celebrity status doing the heavy lifting. The lipgloss holder phone case, monochrome colour pallet, and pop-up events have all become content for customers, prospects and all of us in the audience.

Limited Edition Labels

Listening and reacting to how consumers talk about your product makes for a viral marketing moment. La Vieille Ferme just pulled a cheeky marketing move by rebranding itself as "The Chicken Wine," all thanks to a TikTok trend where Gen Z fans couldn’t get enough of its tasty rosé at a bargain price. Riding the wave of this viral moment, they’ve rolled out limited-edition bottles in some UK stores as a fun PR stunt. It’s a bold and playful move that will ruffle a few feathers (in a good way)!

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