🪶📜 THE FANDOM BOARDROOM

Last week, Taylor Swift released her 11th studio album The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD), concluding the already anticipated event with 15 (more) surprise songs. From the time of announcement, in true Swift fashion, the songstress pulled all the stops in creating hype leading up to the actual release date. From social media teasers and easter eggs to curated playlists —fans were kept on their toes till the very last minute. With so much done to reward the unwavering devotion of her fans throughout various points leading up to the release, we’d like to believe brands would’ve already taken a page out of Ms Swift’s fandom strategy—instead, many resorted to trendjacking over the weekend with their own renditions of the tortured. We weigh in on why this is a bad idea and what can be done instead. 

💡 OUR TAKE

It’s arguable that there’s really no harm for brands that want in on the fun—and this can be true to an extent. Done right, trendjacking can give brands their 5 seconds of fame for being witty but how often has that catapulted brands into the spotlight and instantly made them culturally relevant? What marketers seem to have a hard time grasping time and time again, is that fans are already used to brands showing up everywhere they go; making these activations annoying at best, intruding when overdone.

The release of the album itself was not a trend that had happened overnight leaving brands no option but to trendjack—they were given more than a fortnight to craft an intentional and ownable activation that would be distinct to their brand platform (if they wanted to, they would). Trendjacking, in its essence, is the equivalent of laggards in brand speak: a reactive adoption by those who are just too late in the game.

Understandably, the blurring lines between brand and entertainment pose both the permissibility for brands to play in spaces that were previously out of reach and the challenge of competing for attention within the same space. For the most part, in an attempt to prioritize speed over impact, many not only fail to cut through the clutter but also make the grave mistake of overlooking a key component: engaging the fans themselves. Which then causes more damage to the brand than it would have had they decided to stay out of it.

To take part in a trend that involves a fandom means entering their world—not the other way around. It is inherently entitled for brands to assume the only job to be done is putting your own spin on the artist’s creative assets when speaking the fandom language involves acknowledging their shared identity, celebrating what brings them together, understanding the layers of their inside jokes, and giving them the opportunity to co-create experiences that let them enjoy more of what they already love. Consistently showing up in the same space with depth to your activations is what ultimately allows you to access the fans’ cultural wallet.

One brand that seems to have gotten it right is American doughnut brand Krispy Kreme. Following the release of TTPD, the brand was quick to announce a giveaway for anyone wearing their friendship bracelets. As a brand that prides itself on inspiring creativity (who can forget their Total Eclipse Collection featuring an Oreo at the center), the brand took this cultural moment to reward the creativity of Swifties by acknowledging the lore, celebrating the fandom, and creating something fans will remember their brand for—all communicated from an enduring brand platform.

Engaging fandoms doesn’t always have to be an out-of-pocket fanfare—Merriam Webster shows us how sometimes you just have a place in that conversation, and the opportunity comes to you (for the uninitiated, fans were advised to keep a dictionary handy when listening to TTPD).

Brands can be seen as a positive force of culture when they don’t just show up once, but consistently. What distinguishes the line between impactful vs intruding is a marketer who knows when a trend is worth the hijack. This only becomes clear when they’ve clearly defined the role they want their brand to play in engaging culture and fandoms. A cultural calendar that marks niche, fandom-specific celebrations (not festivities) helps brands identify culturally significant moments ahead of time and work towards meaningful activations. Having such structures in place is what allows brands to act at the speed of culture without stepping on any toes or forsaking the brand for a one hit wonder.

For those of you born before 1997, ‘fax, no printer‘ is Gen Z speak for ‘undeniable facts I agree with’