We’re always tracking trends, but it can be hard for some brands to understand how to interpret the latest hot meme or craze into a cool marketing campaign. Here are three getting it right.
From flower beards to hot honey to prom hashtags, we constantly have our eyes out for the latest trends young consumers are embracing. But the reality is that many brands have a hard time figuring out how to translate cultural zeitgeist into a successful marketing moment. Glomming onto hashtags and slang can make it look like you’re trying too hard. Efforts to co-opt the latest buzzword or fashion trend can fall flat.
But we also make a point to call out marketing that gets it right, and today we’ve rounded up three brands that have interpreted hot memes and cultural crazes into cool, and smart, campaigns:
The Trend: Unboxing
The Brand: Samsung
The appeal of unboxing videos may be a mystery to some, but they’re viewed millions and millions of times on YouTube—from toy unboxers captivating kid viewers, to Millennials unsealing their new tech products with the excitement of Christmas morning. Samsung has used the genre to inspire their latest campaign for the Galaxy 6, giving it, as Adweek said, a “fun pro take on amateur genre.” Though the spots begin like your average unboxing—unprofessional angles and a voice-over describing the newly revealed product—each is given an unexpected twist, or surprise. One takes viewers on a parkour tour, while another includes everything from famous chef to a disco dance party.
The Trend: Foodie Obsessions/Food Trucks
The Brand: Spam
What happens when a low-brow product starts to be embraced by trendy chefs? If that product is smart, they seize the opportunity and show off their new foodie side. Spam is doing just that with their Spamerican! Tour, which is sending a Spam-themed food truck around the country to serve up Spam recipes from chefs in major cities. The brand told brandchannel, “We discovered love for the brand popping up all over the US, from diners in the Midwest serving Spam and eggs, to trendy Manhattan hot spots featuring Spam Musubi.” The truck will play off that creativity, offering items like “spammy tots” and a “Spam and Jack pretzel sandwich.” The tour will also include local artists showing brand-themed art, and musicians playing instruments made of recycled Spam cans.
The Trend: Extreme Videos
The Brand: Bobbi Brown
GoPro’s extreme videos have been going viral, and creating buzz for the brand, for years. But now another unexpected category is taking advantage of the crazy. Bobbi Brown cosmetics has ditched the traditional glamour-shot beauty marketing for their #LongWearLifeProof campaign which asked four female GoPro-sponsored athletes to submit their own GoPro footage that showed them going through life wearing Bobbi Brown products. Of course, if you’re an extreme athlete, that means breathtaking, authentic shots of surfing, jumping out of planes, and rushing down snow-covered mountains. The campaign is meant to show that the brand’s Long-wear makeup can stand up to any conditions, but it also capitalizes on a fun, captivating content trend, and shows that tossing marketing traditions out the window can be a good thing.
