Examples of Businesses Taking Advantage of Social Media Trends

Do you recall the insane tribute to Carrie Fisher that Cinnabon posted? Or when Burger King UK tweeted, “Women belong in the kitchen”?

The internet is littered with examples of brands receiving backlash after failing to read the room.
However, for every high-profile failure, there are numerous instances in which brands jumped on social media trends precisely. This article will focus on the second camp, sharing 20 of our favorite examples of brands that used trending subjects to generate social engagement.

1. Tommy Hilfiger Joins the “Airball” Trend

If you haven’t seen it, the “airball” trend – or “holy airball,” or even “holy freaking airball” – sees posters share something about their life or achievements by contrasting it with a common misconception or misunderstanding. Something that misses the mark. Or, in basketball terminology, an “airball.” Makes sense, huh?

In other words, it’s basically a way to show off about yourself. Therefore, it is not hard to comprehend why brands have joined the discussion. For instance, fashion giant Tommy Hilfiger jumped on the trend with this post that opens with the words: “I told them I have my own fashion brand.”
Even though it is just a carousel image post, it has received over 11 million views and more than 2 million likes as of this writing. Why It Functioned Unlike a lot of brands, it’s actually pretty rare for Tommy Hilfiger to leverage social media trends. Which makes it all the more impactful when they do join the conversation.

2. Stardust by Allie Founder Shares Day In the Life

While LinkedIn might be the most obvious social media platform for sharing business-related content, it’s surprisingly popular on TikTok too. Indeed, almost 36 million TikTok posts have the hashtag #smallbusiness.

This day-in-the-life video was shared by Allie Merwin, founder of the tech accessories brand Stardust by Allie: The combination of posting about her small business and giving her content an ASMR feel helped Allie rack up 15+ million views on this video.

Why It Worked

Lots of us dream of becoming our own boss. Indeed, a Gallup survey of 40,000 US adults revealed that 62% would prefer to be their own boss, with 52% of aspiring entrepreneurs saying they’d be willing to accept at least a fair amount of financial risk to do so. This means there’s a big audience for content that lifts the lid on life as a small business owner.

3. Nike Does ASMR

I’ll level with you: I don’t get the ASMR thing. It goes right through me.
However, I’m clearly in the minority, because it’s been a trend for well over a decade now – and it’s showing no signs of slowing down:

Why It Worked

ASMR is a huge trend, with 38.7 million tagged posts on TikTok alone at time of writing. Nike’s sky-high production values meant this video was always going to hit the mark, racking up over 56 million views.

4. Samsung Reacts to Apple’s Hated “Crush” Campaign

Apple’s advertisements always attract a lot of attention. Normally, that attention is positive. But they missed the mark somewhat with their “Crush” campaign, in which a hydraulic press destroys a bunch of books, cameras, musical instruments, and other creative tools:

People didn’t like the idea that technology would take the place of natural human creativity. Actor Hugh Grant even called the ad “the destruction of the human experience.” All of which was music to the ears of Samsung. Apple’s bitter rival quickly joined the conversation by releasing a response video in which creative tools are celebrated, not destroyed:

Why It Worked

This was an absolute slam dunk for Samsung. Everyone hated the original ad, so Samsung managed to look like the “good guy” while joining the anti-Apple pile-on.

5. Scrub Daddy Does 4th of July

If you and I were to play a game of word association on the Fourth of July, I would guess that the word “hot dog” would come up almost immediately. Take note of the annual spike in searches for everyone’s favorite food with bread and sausage: