Before your Social Agency posts around the next big trend, stop and think.
Because what you think is a trend may be something far less.
It was April 2020. My wife was heavily pregnant. The world was moving swiftly and inexorably towards lockdown. Google had already issued WFH orders; so both of us were busy reorganising our home to make room for not just our little one, but also for all the virtual meetings we suspected we’d be having for some time to come.
Then, sometime around 4 April, something began to show up in people’s social feeds. The phenomenon had begun in Korea that January, but it took the early days of the pandemic to become a global story. Everyone was doing it; everyone was experimenting with their own ways to make it; everyone was Instagramming it. Indonesia embraced it fully, with Singapore only a whit behind, India a mere #18. Searches for “how to make it” spiked between 12 and 18 April…convenient for us sleep-deprived new parents.
And then, suddenly, it started declining. Its popularity spiked again in October 2021, but then quickly declined and was confined to social media history.
You could say it was “Dalgoing, Dalgoing…Dalgona!”
But before it was Dalgone for good - yes, I’m going to unashamedly milk that one - it had become social media fodder for brands. Who saw this as the next new trend to jump on to.
But was it, really?
In a previous post, I’d written about how important it is to understand what impact your human’s mindset and behaviour on a daily, weekly, monthly or even lifelong basis. Understanding the “Trending → Trends → Culture” model is key.
It’s easy to look at Dalgona coffee as a great trend. Viewed in isolation, it seems to fit. Social feeds were packed with pictures of peoples’ brews and variations. Search trends surged. News media used it to bring a ray of sunshine to a terrible moment for humanity.
You could forgive brands for jumping on to the bandwagon.
But there was something we were all missing.
The screenshot above is what Google Search trends around Dalgona coffee have looked like over the last 5 years.
In isolation.
Because there was something else spiking at almost exactly the same time.
#sourdough and #bananabread were trending topic that brands were quick to latch on to.
But now step back, put on your consumer planning hat and ask yourself…
Viewed together, and in the context of the pandemic, Dalgona coffee, sourdough bread and banana bread were merely symptoms of something deeper. They helped us bond over shared interests and recipes, and helped us feel connected. For those fleeting moments each day, we no longer felt as isolated as we were.
Dalgona coffee, sourdough bread and banana bread were Trending.
But the real Trend was that hunt for community, during the isolation forced on humanity by COVID-19.
There are several examples of how Trending topics are mere symptoms of deeper Trends.
#girlmath is a Trending symptom of a larger Trend around GenZ’s search for financial independence.
The plant-based food movement is a Trending symptom of a larger Trend towards sustainability and wellness.
#cottagecore is a Trending symptom of a Trend towards escaping the complexities and anxieties of modern life.
The list goes on.
At some point, Trends grow so deep-rooted, so everyday, that they simply become part of culture.
Who amongst us didn’t post using #wfh #wfhlife, #remotework and #homeoffice?
Who amongst us didn’t post about being interrupted by kids or pets?
Or about speaking on mute?
Or about going to work in our pyjamas?
Today, WFH has tipped over and become part of Culture. So smoothly, seamlessly and all but unnoticed. It’s something we now expect and take for granted.
You also know something’s part of Culture when a Culture War begins around it. Amazon’s (IMO, rather short-sighted) move to go back to 5 days in office is probably the biggest acknowledgement of how work culture has changed.
So how do you use Trending, Trends and Culture differently in your Marketing strategy?
Here’s one approach that’s (so far) worked for me:
Trending topics are for short-term engagement. Tap into the theme, drive some (relevant) engagement, exit. Where possible, keep this to Social.
Trends can fall into two types.
Repetitive trends you can predict will drive engagement. Use these to drive short-term relevant engagement, knowing that this is an area you can commit to for the long term. Sport (tournaments, critical games) and entertainment (concerts, movies) are good examples of such trends you can activate through Social or even integrated campaigns.
Deeper trends that you can leverage for short-term sales activation or long-term brand building, at whatever scale is right for the brand.
Culture is something you leverage to build your brand. It’s something you want your brand to be deeply associated with, and repeat over the long-term, at scale.
Like most short-term focused marketing activities, a Trending topic is easy to get into and leverage.
But unless you’ve gone deeper to understand and leverage the larger Trend it taps into, and the Culture it could become, your brand will stay stuck in a vicious cycle of driving short-term engagement, and eventually fall by the wayside.
That is the insight.
Samit