Are brands killing trends?

For years it’s been drilled into marketers that jumping on trends will help you relate to your audience. But now the tides are shifting. 

Consumers are being fed over 10,000 ads a day, and when hundreds of brands are approaching the same trend in the same way, people notice. 

Using trends in the wrong way can negatively impact your brand’s social presence. So, let’s discover how you can use trend-based marketing to get the results you want. 

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Here’s an example

The recent “demure” trend is an excellent example of why brands should be careful when hopping on a bandwagon. We’ll look at how some brands fell short of consumer expectations when integrating this trend into their marketing. 

But firstly, let's catch you up on why the term “demure” went viral last month. 

At the start of August, TikToker Jools Lebron became an internet sensation after posting a video about her demure work outfit and mindful make-up. Jools’ calm approach to discussing being respectful in the workplace – and, more specifically, her use of the words “very demure, very mindful” – resulted in overnight virality. Here’s the video if you want a closer look. 

The TikTok video has since racked up over 50 million views. Since then, Jools has become so well-known she’s even appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and quit her checkout job. 

The phrase “very demure, very mindful” has since been used in videos across the internet. The #demure hashtag has over 500k videos attached to it on TikTok, and the phrase has seeped into in-person conversations. 

We used Brandwatch Consumer Research to track the virality of the word demure. And as you can see, it skyrocketed to internet fame.

The trend peaked on August 17, when almost 200k unique authors used the word “demure” across the internet. Since then, the popularity of the term has declined, but it’s still being used regularly. 

We’re yet to see the lasting impact of this trend, but the term will likely be used as part of the internet’s lexicon for months – or even years – to come. 

Now we’re familiar with the trend, let’s see how consumers have reacted to brands getting involved. 

Plenty of brands tried to jump aboard the demure bandwagon. From posting TikTok videos to using the phrase in email copy, many companies benefited from tapping into the trend. But some fell short.

With so many brands getting involved, there was an oversaturation of the term “demure” in marketing materials. Some people began snubbing companies for their inauthenticity when hopping on the demure trend. 

The X post below is a great example of an oversaturation of the trend, showing an excess of the use of the term “demure” in email copy across brands. 

In the replies to this post, some consumers commented on how brands are killing meme culture. 

One online commentator said: “When everything is “very demure” and “very mindful,” it all starts to sound like nothing. It’s just empty marketing at this point.” 

The combination of an oversaturation of the term in consumer marketing, combined with the downturn of the trend’s popularity, means that brands who are late to the trend might come across unfavorably.

Let’s not ignore that trends have their place. Using popular memes to relate to a large audience is how many of the biggest brands on social media grew their followings. We know that trend-based marketing works – but it seems that hopping on trends at the right time is equally as crucial. 

As with most trends, brands who got involved in the demure trend early benefited the most. But as people got overfamiliar with the term, its efficacy in marketing reduced – and people got fed up. 

So, let’s look at how brands can get the most benefit when hopping on internet trends. 

How to actually benefit from trend-based marketing

There are a few ways brands can maximize returns when riding the trend wave – and to avoid doing so distastefully. Firstly: originality. 

Being the first to show familiarity with a trend is always advantageous – especially if you’re approaching a trend in a new, interesting way. Avoid copying competitors or doing trend-based marketing because you feel like you should. Instead, keep it on-brand while leaning into what your audience would respond to. 

For example, ridesharing company Lyft worked with creator Jools Lebron after the demure trend peaked on TikTok. The brand saw plenty of success due to the partnership – with the video gaining over 500k views. 

This leads us onto the second way you can benefit from trend-based marketing: speed. Hopping on trends early is vital for dodging repetition and avoiding oversaturation. 

Social listening can help you follow trends as they happen, so you can identify when your audience is most open to your brand getting involved. And more importantly, social listening can help you discover when a trend is losing interest. Of course, there’s an internal governance element to this too – setting up social media teams to act with agility and get sign off from leadership fast is vital. 

Lastly, brands can gain better traction from their trend-based marketing through authenticity. 

One of the biggest predicted trends in digital marketing for 2024 was authenticity. Consumers are demanding authentic marketing – they want to create genuine relationships with the brands they purchase from. Yet, while 80% of brands think they deliver authentic content, only 37% of consumers actually agree. 

Not all trends will be relevant to your brand. And by keeping the customer – and the current social media landscape – in mind when following trends, you can make sure your brand values shine through your social presence. 

Using trends in your social media marketing is an art. So keep originality, authenticity, and speed in mind when deciding if a trend is right for you. After all, there’s definitely a sweet spot. 

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