MARKETING
5 Trending Topics Brands Leveraged in 2022 [+ How They Did It]
As we head toward the end of 2022, it’s time to look back at examples of brands that have successfully “newsjacked” a trend.
In this article, we’ll cover some of the top trending topics of the year and the brands that took them on.
1. Popeyes
In late September, artist Rihanna announced via Instagram that she would be performing at the Superbowl.
The image, which confirmed earlier speculations of the singer’s participation, quickly made its rounds.
Wasting no time, Popeyes then shared its own version of the popular image just one day later.
Popeyes is one of the few brands that executed this newsjacking correctly (and legally). Many brands wanting to jump on this news took a great legal risk.
Instead of following Popeyes lead, which replicated Rihanna’s image with its own product and hand model, many simply Photoshopped their products into the artist’s hands.
This could be considered copyright infringement, as the recreation of the image in this way is considered derivative work and requires explicit authorization from the copyright holder.
Secondly, it can also violate the artist’s right of publicity, as their likeness is used in a manner they have not agreed to.
Is this likely to escalate? Probably not as it serves as additional publicity for the NFL and Rihanna. However, in another case, it could. The legal consequences are simply not worth the temporary boost in reach or engagement.
The key takeaway here is that when newsjacking, it’s still important to review the trend before jumping in to ensure you’re not putting your brand at risk.
2. Lay’s
The reality TV competition show Big Brother isn’t where you’d expect to see Lay’s advertisement. But when one contestant showed a love for Lay’s chips, the brand started shouting out the contest on its Twitter account.
This particular contestant, and subsequent winner Taylor Hale, become one of the most popular faces of the franchise due to the bullying she faced in the house. With many Americans rallying around her to show their support, Lay’s also joined in.
Judging by Lay’s recent Tweets, their posts on Hale earned them over 50x more engagement than they typically get on the platform.
Once Hale was announced as the winner, the brand also contacted her – seemingly for a potential partnership.
This is a great example of how a brand can leverage a seemingly trivial situation and turn it into something special.
3. LEGO
Remember when Wordle has us all agonizing over five-letter words? Well, LEGO capitalized on that buzz and joined in – in LEGO fashion, of course.
Can’t stop imagining #wordle tiles as LEGO bricks. 🟩🟨⬜ pic.twitter.com/GYzQISo6g2
— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) January 12, 2022
Something like this is so simple yet can be incredibly effective. Because the point of newsjacking isn’t necessarily to get sales, but instead to increase your reach, get engagement, and connect with your audience.
When you think of it this way, it’s much easier to leverage.
4. Norwegian Cruise Line
The conversation around NFTs started gaining steam in January 2021 and peaked one year later in January of this year, according to Google Trends,
Since then, brands have been scrambling to both understand what it is and how they can use NFTs for marketing.
NCL took the leap by leveraging the buzz around NFTs to announce its new cruise line. They released a collection of six NFT art pieces available for auction that depict the new cruise line at sea.
According to a press release, the winner of the auction will also win a room on one of the ship’s inaugural voyages.
5. K18
BeReal has made a big splash this year as the better, more authentic version of Instagram.
As a quick refresher, the concept behind BeReal is simple: At some point every day, users are prompted to share a picture of themselves in real-time using both front and back cameras.
There are no pre-taken pictures allowed and once you miss the two-minute countdown, that’s it.
The idea is quite interesting and has garnered the attention of many consumers as well as brands.
The thing is, many brands are still unsure how to use the platform. Not K18 though.
Joining brands like Chipotle, E.L.F, and Rare Beauty, K18 is one of the few brands that are exploring this platform.
Because spontaneity is required, it makes it difficult for brands to add structure to their BeReal strategy. However, K18 has taken this as an opportunity to build community and take users behind the scenes.
The takeaway here is that not every platform will allow the same approach. Having some flexibility will give you more room to explore these trends as they come.
Trends come and go – the key is knowing which ones to join and which ones to skip. However, when done right, they can earn you a stronger community, more engagement, and more reach.
MARKETING
Trends in Content Localization – Moz
Multinational fast food chains are one of the best-known examples of recognizing that product menus may sometimes have to change significantly to serve distinct audiences. The above video is just a short run-through of the same business selling smokehouse burgers, kofta, paneer, and rice bowls in an effort to appeal to people in a variety of places. I can’t personally judge the validity of these representations, but what I can see is that, in such cases, you don’t merely localize your content but the products on which your content is founded.
Sometimes, even the branding of businesses is different around the world; what we call Burger King in America is Hungry Jack’s in Australia, Lays potato chips here are Sabritas in Mexico, and DiGiorno frozen pizza is familiar in the US, but Canada knows it as Delissio.
Tales of product tailoring failures often become famous, likely because some of them may seem humorous from a distance, but cultural sensitivity should always be taken seriously. If a brand you are marketing is on its way to becoming a large global seller, the best insurance against reputation damage and revenue loss as a result of cultural insensitivity is to employ regional and cultural experts whose first-hand and lived experiences can steward the organization in acting with awareness and respect.
MARKETING
How AI Is Redefining Startup GTM Strategy
MARKETING
More promotions and more layoffs
For martech professionals salaries are good and promotions are coming faster, unfortunately, layoffs are coming faster, too. That’s according to the just-released 2024 Martech Salary and Career Survey. Another very unfortunate finding: The median salary of women below the C-suite level is 35% less than what men earn.
The last year saw many different economic trends, some at odds with each other. Although unemployment remained very low overall and the economy grew, some businesses — especially those in technology and media — cut both jobs and spending. Reasons cited for the cuts include during the early years of the pandemic, higher interest rates and corporate greed.
Dig deeper: How to overcome marketing budget cuts and hiring freezes
Be that as it may, for the employed it remains a good time to be a martech professional. Salaries remain lucrative compared to many other professions, with an overall median salary of $128,643.
Here are the median salaries by role:
- Senior management $199,653
- Director $157,776
- Manager $99,510
- Staff $89,126
Senior managers make more than twice what staff make. Directors and up had a $163,395 median salary compared to manager/staff roles, where the median was $94,818.
One-third of those surveyed said they were promoted in the last 12 months, a finding that was nearly equal among director+ (32%) and managers and staff (30%).
Extend the time frame to two years, and nearly three-quarters of director+ respondents say they received a promotion, while the same can be said for two-thirds of manager and staff respondents.
Dig deeper: Skills-based hiring for modern marketing teams
Employee turnover
In 2023, we asked survey respondents if they noticed an increase in employee churn and whether they would classify that churn as a “moderate” or “significant” increase. For 2024, given the attention on cost reductions and layoffs, we asked if the churn they witnessed was “voluntary” (e.g., people leaving for another role) or “involuntary” (e.g., a layoff or dismissal). More than half of the marketing technology professionals said churn increased in the last year. Nearly one-third classified most of the churn as “involuntary.”
Men and Women
This year, instead of using average salary figures, we used the median figures to lessen the impact of outliers in the salary data. As a result, the gap between salaries for men and women is even more glaring than it was previously.
In last year’s report, men earned an average of 24% more than women. This year the median salary of men is 35% more than the median salary of women. That is until you get to the upper echelons. Women at director and up earned 5% more than men.
Methodology
The 2024 MarTech Salary and Career Survey is a joint project of MarTech.org and chiefmartec.com. We surveyed 305 marketers between December 2023 and February 2024; 297 of those provided salary information. Nearly 63% (191) of respondents live in North America; 16% (50) live in Western Europe. The conclusions in this report are limited to responses from those individuals only. Other regions were excluded due to the limited number of respondents.
Download your copy of the 2024 MarTech Salary and Career Survey here. No registration is required.
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