Want to shape culture? Stop jumping on trends.
What do you get when you combine television’s spiciest reality competition with a line-up that perfectly blends traditional celebrities with new-age social talent? Answer: The Celebrity Traitors.
Four episodes in and we’ve already been gifted a stream of “OMG, need to drop that in the group chat ASAP” moments. From Tom Daley’s (sorry – Daylee’s) Oscar-worthy eye roll to Celia Imrie’s unexpected flatulence, social feeds are being dominated by a rolling commentary of reactions, recaps and reactions to recaps.
Naturally, brands were quick to jump on the bandwagon. Low-effort memes with “relatable” captions were rolled out en masse as everyone attempted to become the talk of the town, if only for a second.
To paraphrase Kate Garroway: this has left me flabbergasted. Brands love to latch onto these ephemeral moments, thinking they will fast-track them to relevance. But here’s the thing. Yes, you can win by jumping on a trend. But there are rules of engagement that you need to follow. To really stand out, brands should shift their focus away from chasing trends – and start generating them.
Same same but not different
Let’s be honest, the main reason that trend chasing has become the de facto strategy of choice is because it’s easy. The template is formulaic, to the point that it can be distilled into one line:
Meme format + brand mention = job done.
Except the job isn’t done. Audiences have become fatigued by seeing content time and again. Every brand is relying on the same low hanging fruit (i.e. content format and cultural moment), leaving them with no identity or originality. Feeds have become a sea of surface-level commentary, a mass of copy-pasted slop mixed with AI generated content.
It’s no surprise that driving differentiation has become a challenge for even the most valuable brands.
Newsflash: a brand that jumps on anything and everything stands for nothing. And audiences aren’t falling for it; they’re more savvy than you think. This is particularly true of Gen Z. While they like a laugh as much as the next person, humour isn’t a guaranteed winner. This is a generation that prioritises authenticity above all else. They don’t want your brand in their world – unless you’ve earned it.
Cast your mind back to the countless posts that followed the engagement of ‘Tayvis’ (Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce to the uninitiated). There were plenty of ‘Love Story’ references and “funny” callbacks to the duo’s ‘English and Gym Teacher’ nicknames – but they missed the mark. Why? Because these were branded agendas being pushed under the thinly veiled guise of ‘authentic’ content, a surefire way to tank any standing you have with audiences.
If you’re not first – be best
So, what does it take to break through the white noise?
It starts by setting the pace. Although trend chasing can bring your brand into the fold (provided it’s done right), there are limitations. By joining the queue, you’re letting competing brands and influencers muddy the waters and dictate the narrative. Rather than settling for joining the conversation, use your unique personality and POV to start one.
The brands that everyone fawns over on LinkedIn don’t just react to culture – they’re engineering it, setting their own trends and shaping the conversation. For social-first brands that want to thrive in our new world, the real opportunity lies in shifting from participation to ownership.
And if you’re not going to be first, make sure you’re better than everyone else. Just ask Lidl. Like many, the grocer wanted to capitalise on Oasis’ reunion – but it didn’t want to be left looking back in anger at what could have been.
That’s why, rather than going in all guns blazing, we used Berghaus’ release of a new Liam Gallagher-promoted rain jacket as a jumping off point. It just goes to show that you don’t need to force yourself onto audiences; there are more interesting (and organic) ways to play into culture and drive engagement. Sometimes all it takes is a simple one liner.
Too often, brands become so hung up on visibility that they see no other alternative than to opt for reactive post after reactive post. However, it’s not frequency that moves the needle. Being more selective with your activations and emphasising originality helps ensure that your social activity actually delivers value.
No identity, no influence
In the immortal words of Mufasa (who said The Lion King couldn’t be relevant in 2025?!): “Remember who you are”. You can’t shape culture if you don’t know yourself – and I don’t mean what products and services you have to offer. I mean your voice, your purpose, the role you play in your audience’s lives.
Are you a playful brand that acts as a ray of light on a rainy day? Or do you prefer to keep things more grounded in reality, with comms taking a more subtle tone? If you can’t answer these questions, playing in the right trends (or potentially generating them) will become second nature. Fail and you’re not ready to lead the conversation. You’re destined to be just another brand trying to court customers with a meme – which can harm your brand and lead to you being banished.