How Brands Use Moment Marketing & How Can You Succeed?

Moment marketing for brands has become a mainstream phenomenon in the past few years. And while many people assume that moment marketing is a new communication approach we dreamt up in recent years, they’re mistaken. Right from 1966, when the Utterly Butterly Amul girl gave her quirky take on the horseracing season, this form of topical branded content has been well received and enjoyed by audiences. 

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In recent years, the topical trend has taken on a life of its own and evolved dynamically. It’s not uncommon to wake up and find your Instagram or Twitter feed full of brands’ and individuals’ takes on a topic, format, or trend. Be it the ‘Monisha Beta’ meme, ‘Rasode me Kaun tha‘, or the ‘Art & Artist’ format, micro-moments on social media, when a particular topic or movement gains mass attention and engagement, are the perfect opportunities to draw audience attention towards your brand.

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What Is Moment Marketing Exactly? 

One of the most crucial elements in creating a successful piece of branded communication is timing. It’s true when they say that timing is everything. Of course, design, copy, and other creative specifications matter, but if you don’t choose the right time to share your content, it’s challenging to get the desired results.

On the other hand, by communicating your brand’s ethos while touching upon topics that are trending at the moment, you can launch a successful communication piece that garners higher engagement. All because you chose to join a conversation that is relevant and interesting to your target groups. 

Moment marketing, in short, refers to any piece of topical content that aims at keeping the conversation going with audiences. When more and more brands are looking for long-term returns and growth, moment marketing’s ease and simplicity act as an instant fix for gaining favour among audiences.

India’s most popular brands, including Zomato, Tinder, Durex, McDonald’s, KFC, Dunzo, FeviKwik, or even severe brands like HDFC Bank, PayTm and Mumbai Police, have started actively participating in moment marketing trends. The returns on these efforts are superb! 

Step To Succeed At Moment Marketing for Brands 

1. Keep an Eye Out For Trends

As social media executives and digital marketers, we are already tuned into audiences’ collective consciousness on social media platforms. This connectedness makes it easier to spot trends and learn about important news within minutes or hours. However, while you may already be attuned to spotting trends on social media, you still need to keep an eye out for those trends that can be used as a part of moment marketing for brands you handle. 

For example, by listening to your audiences and identifying what trends capture their interest, you can insert your brand into audience conversations. Even if you don’t immediately notice a connection between your brand and whatever the latest trend is, it pays to dig deeper and try to add your brand’s spin on the latest conversations. 

2. Make Humor Central To Your Communication

Let’s be honest; humour is central to virality in today’s day and age. Whatever the trend may be, brands that manage to capture a lighter side are usually rewarded with higher engagements, growth in followers, or even paid media mentions. 

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Brands like Zomato understand the power of a humorous take on current topics, and if you see their social media pages, you’ll realize that this approach works incredibly well for them. Be it the time Rahul Tewatia won the match for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020, or when Elon Musk shared his newborn’s name with the world, Zomato was ready with a hot (and funny) take on the subject.

When it comes to crafting creative moment marketing for brands you handle, remember to be funny without being offensive and adding your brand’s ethos within your communication. For example, although Zomato shares topical content, it will always add references to food, food delivery, hunger, etc., to keep the conversation within the realm of its brand’s goals. 

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3. Pop Culture All The Way 

Pop culture references are the best way to grab (and keep) your audiences’ attention. Remember the time when you couldn’t scroll through any social media platform without running into a reference about Gangs of Wasseypur? What about timeless connections like those from Star Wars or any of the popular superhero movies? By capitalizing on the collective obsession of TV shows, movies, etc., your brand can create posts that have the feel of an inside joke, all while sharing your brand’s ethos and subtly building affinity within your target audience. 

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When it comes to an effective moment marketing strategy for brands, make sure your copy and design include pop culture elements. This helps build an inherent virality factor to your topical posts and makes for successful marketing for brands.

4. Stay True To Your Brand Without Being Pushy 

There’s a fine line between effortless moment marketing for brands and the kind that looks like a brand’s lame attempt to be cool or relevant. To make sure your efforts don’t fall into the latter category, keep your brand’s core values at the forefront of all your moment marketing activities. Whatever the trending topic of discussion may be, try to plug in your brand’s USPs, core messaging, features, etc. However, while doing so, be careful not to seem like you’re trying too hard. 

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This moment marketing creative by Dunzo talks about the Whatsapp-Signal privacy dilemma, all while reinforcing their safer delivery feature. Nor does it look like they’re trying too hard to come up with a quirky take on the subject, nor are they losing out on communicating Dunzo’s strengths to their target audience.

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5. Let Some Trends Go Without Commenting On Them

As a brand, not every trend, incident, or event will resonate with your brand’s personality, and neither should you try and insert your brand into every trending topic out there. When the trends of the day talk about religion, politics, controversies, or other sensitive issues, it’s best to keep a distance as you wouldn’t want your brand being associated with anything that’s even remotely controversial or offensive. 

This means that moment marketing for brands requires a certain level of constraint and self-regulation on its brand custodians. If you don’t see a strong connection between your brand’s core values and a particular trend, it’s wise to let the opportunity go. Mostly because it was a weak opportunity, to begin with. With regular practice and a little bit of experience, you’ll surely learn how to ace the moment marketing game for brands. 

Related: Color Pyschology in Marketing & Branding

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Conclusion

Moment marketing for brands is a novel and fun way to engage with your customers and create micro-moments of interaction with your target group. While these may seem like simple and straightforward creatives, it takes a lot of time, effort, skill, practice, and experience to become a pro at it. 

If you want to hone your digital marketing, social media, advertising, or even content marketing skills, check out MICA and upGrad’s PG in Digital Marketing and Communications. This course is designed to familiarize you with essential concepts and help you become an expert at subjects like moment marketing, trend advertising, copywriting, media planning, and much more.

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