Patagonia and Oatly Just Used This Clever Tactic for Better Brand Visibility — Here's How You Can Replicate It

Brands are ever looking for caller and innovative nationalist relations and trading strategies to guidelines retired successful a crowded marketplace and seizure nan attraction of their target audience. One highly effective strategy is newsjacking, which involves leveraging nan momentum of trending news stories to importantly heighten visibility and engagement for businesses.

This article explores nan conception of newsjacking, including its origins, mechanics and nan important benefits it tin connection to your brand, pinch applicable insights drawn from nan expertise of our team.

What is newsjacking?

Newsjacking is simply a conception introduced by David Meerman Scott successful 2011. It involves participating successful discussions astir existent news stories to gain visibility for your brand. This strategy leverages trending news to bring attraction to your brand. Newsjacking has gained fame owed to its simplicity and effectiveness, particularly successful nan integer property pinch nan wide usage of integer and societal media.

People are people funny and drawn to existent events. By leveraging this curiosity, you tin showcase your marque successful a compelling measurement and seizure nan attraction of your target audience. Additionally, newsjacking efficaciously taps into existing media attention. When a communicative is trending, location is already a ample assemblage paying attraction to nan topic. By associating your marque pinch trending topics, you tin divert immoderate of this attraction to your ain brand.

We've seen firsthand that newsjacking works. You'll soon observe really effective it tin beryllium successful enhancing your marque visibility and engagement.

Related: 5 Highly Effective, Time-Saving Ways For Founders To Get Free PR

Key principles of effective newsjacking

• Timing: When newsjacking, nan astir important point is to respond quickly. If you return excessively agelong to respond to a trending news event, location is simply a bully chance that you will nary longer guidelines out.
• Relevance: Ensure a clear nexus betwixt nan communicative and your brand. There is nary constituent successful conscionable reacting to everything because if location is nary existent connection, your contented will quickly beryllium branded arsenic inauthentic. For example, successful 2023, we leveraged nan attraction astir a awesome arena successful our manufacture — Money20/20 Conference — and created a guideline pinch applicable tips and insights based connected our experiences, to thief attendees prepare. As a result, this schedule resonated good among fintech media outlets.
• Creativity: Add a unsocial twist aliases worth to nan news story. For instance, erstwhile we joined nan Google for Startups Cloud Program, we linked nan news pinch Google's 25th day to make it much newsworthy.
• Sensitivity: Avoid arguable aliases delicate topics that could harm your brand. Always see nan imaginable reactions to your content.

Related: How to Leverage Social Media to Optimize PR Success and Increase Your Brand Awareness

Steps to instrumentality newsjacking successful your communications strategy

To successfully instrumentality newsjacking successful your PR and trading strategies, travel this step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Monitor nan news

• Use devices for illustration Google Trends and Google Alerts to way trending topics.
• Follow applicable journalists, bloggers and news websites.
• Example: As a consequence of tracking applicable trends and discussions utilizing Google Alerts and researching media outlets successful nan advertisement tech, martech and business sectors, we identified ambiance alteration arsenic a basking topic. We leveraged our existing initiatives and created an article mentioning world statistic and highlighting our greenish actions. This aligned pinch nan trending taxable and showcased our committedness to sustainability.

Step 2: Evaluate relevance

• Assess if nan news fits your brand, products, services and values.
• Ask questions like: Does this news resonate pinch our audience? Can we connection a unique perspective?
• Example: For nan guideline we created for Money20/20 Conference, we identified its relevance to our assemblage successful nan fintech manufacture and sounded it to media outlets that we knew covered nan event, resulting successful earned media coverage.

Step 3: Compose nan message

• Determine nan correct reside (informative, humorous, analytical).
• Offer original and valuable contented tailored to your audience.
• Example: We adopted an informative reside for our announcement astir joining nan Google for Startups Cloud Program and linked it pinch Google's 25th anniversary, making our news much applicable and engaging. As a result, we had widespread media coverage.

Step 4: Distribute

• Share your connection crossed multiple platforms.
• Use a operation of societal media, property releases, blog posts, emails and online communities frequented by your target audience.
• Example: Our ambiance alteration article was sounded to various media outlets, resulting successful publication successful some startup and business sectors, amplifying our reach.

Major brands usage newsjacking, too

Case study 1: Oatly and Patagonia Mobilize EU citizens to ballot for nan planet

In May/June 2024, Oatly and Patagonia joined forces to mobilize EU citizens to ballot for nan situation during nan European Parliament elections. The 2 companies released their mixed 1,000 EU labor to ballot and organized acquisition programs to stress nan value of voting.

They besides called connected different companies to promote their teams to ballot for nan planet. This run demonstrated their shared committedness to biology protection.

Effectiveness: The run emphasized shared values and encouraged progressive participation. This strengthened brand loyalty and positioned some companies arsenic leaders successful biology protection.

Lessons: Connect your marque to applicable societal issues to item your values and scope a broader audience.

Case study 2: British Heart Foundation's 'Til I Died campaign

In nan run-up to UEFA Euros 2024, nan British Heart Foundation (BHF) launched the 'Til I Died campaign, successful business pinch Saatchi & Saatchi. The run featured immense murals commemorating young shot fans who died owed to bosom disease. The murals were strategically placed successful 9 cities crossed nan U.K. to maximize visibility during nan European Championships and were accompanied by a wider media run connected societal media and radio.

Effectiveness: This run connected nan upcoming sporting arena to a awesome wellness issue, expanding visibility and consciousness of bosom illness successful youth.

Lessons: Two seemingly unrelated topics, shot and bosom disease, tin beryllium cleverly linked to convey a powerful message.

Related: 5 Ways You Can Get Publicity successful 5 Minutes

Potential pitfalls of newsjacking and really to debar them

There are a fewer mistakes you tin make erstwhile newsjacking, specified arsenic responding excessively late, choosing irrelevant stories aliases being excessively promotional. This tin make your marque look opportunistic and uninspiring.

Another communal correction is posting inappropriate aliases delicate contented without afloat knowing nan context. This tin lead to nationalist outrage and antagonistic reactions, for illustration pinch nan recent Fashion Nova campaign astir assemblage positivity.

If you get backlash aliases antagonistic reactions to your newsjacking campaign, it is important to respond quickly and effectively. You must beryllium consenting to admit mistakes and return responsibility, moreover erstwhile you make a move that centers connected a delicate and divisive topic. According to a study conducted by Salesforce, 90% of customers opportunity how a institution acts during a crisis reveals its trustworthiness.

Showing empathy and offering solutions tin thief reconstruct nan business and regain nationalist trust. One bully illustration of this is nan Unilever 'Lost nan Pot' run of October 2022, wherever they utilized each nan antagonistic user feedback successful their caller campaign.

Conclusion

Newsjacking is simply a powerful strategy that allows you to capitalize connected trending news to put your marque successful nan spotlight. As demonstrated successful this article, connecting your marque pinch existent events tin resonate profoundly pinch your assemblage and item your values. Conversely, imaginable pitfalls, specified arsenic engaging pinch irrelevant aliases delicate topics, tin lead to negative publicity.

But astir importantly, newsjacking isn't conscionable for ample enterprises pinch monolithic budgets and extended strategies. As our ain experiences show, moreover mini and medium-sized companies tin efficaciously leverage newsjacking, resulting successful important media sum and assemblage engagement, contempt constricted resources. This demonstrates that pinch timely, applicable and imaginative approaches, newsjacking tin beryllium a valuable instrumentality for immoderate institution looking to heighten its scope and impact.

In summary, erstwhile executed thoughtfully and strategically, newsjacking offers a unsocial opportunity to align your marque pinch trending topics, thereby enhancing your scope and impact. By pursuing champion practices and learning from past examples, you tin efficaciously harness nan powerfulness of newsjacking to use your brand, nary matter nan size of your institution aliases budget.