From the Don’t Rush challenge, Renaissance Painting, Buss It challenge to Vroom Vroom, different trends take the internet by storm every day. People across the world follow and participate in these trends. Given the captive audiences, these are a goldmine for brands to leverage to their benefit. So how do these viral trends convert into marketing opportunities? Remember when Fevicol hilariously participated in the 10 Year Challenge, or when Fastrack launched special Game of Thrones merchandise at a time when the show had taken over our lives, or when Coca-Cola changed its logo by spacing out the words when social distancing became a way of life? These are all perfect examples of striking the iron while it’s still hot. These are termed fluid marketing moments, and the success of the above-mentioned brands makes a strong case for why brands should bet on the concept.

What is fluid moment marketing?

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of fluid moment marketing and the benefits it can bring to the table, let’s first learn its definition.

Fluid moment marketing is a brand’s ability to stay on the pulse of ongoing events and trends and use them to its advantage. Brands can do this by creating marketing communications in real-time around the said happenings to stay relevant and effectively engage with their target customers.

Fluid marketing moments are a good way for brands to be part of conversations and create top-of-mind recall. Brands can tap into fluid marketing moments with content marketing efforts such as advertisements, videos, tweets, Facebook and Instagram posts, and more.

How can brands benefit from fluid moment marketing?

It captures user attention: With huge amounts of content being pushed onto the internet every minute, it is challenging to stand out. Participating in the latest trends gives brands an opportunity to make noise, stand out, and ensure brand recall. Netflix does this really well. Whether there is a lockdown, traffic jam, or torrential rains, Netflix uses every moment possible to turn it into a marketing message.

It brings relevance to the brand: There is a race among brands to be young, edgy, and relevant. Being on point with their messaging is a great way to be relevant to people of all ages and cultural backgrounds. Amul and Fevicol are some of the oldest brands in India, but they are still market leaders because they have been leveraging fluid marketing moments from even before the term was coined.

It encourages conversations: The idea behind branded content is to engage the audience and drive conversations. Fluid marketing moments do that beautifully. Some time ago, Rahul Bose posted on social media about being charged Rs 442.50 for two bananas by a five-star hotel in Chandigarh. To say that brands went bananas over this viral moment would not be an exaggeration. Other hotels and even supermarkets jumped in to use this moment to say they would never charge such an inflated price, attracting customers with this unique positioning.

It helps the brand go viral: When marketing teams are striving to become viral, using fluid marketing moments increases their chances substantially. Of course, it can only happen when brands are really smart about it. If done well, such communication can extend a brand’s visibility beyond a certain moment, helping it reach more customers and increasing its bottom line. Paytm is a good example. It aligned its digital wallet offering with the government’s demonetization and Digital India agenda, gaining the trust of the masses by telling them that the company is here to make life easier.

It is cost-effective: Marketing efforts can run into millions of rupees. However, using fluid marketing moments is extremely easy on the pocket. All you need is the right message for the right moment. A simple social media post, a short advertisement, or even a catchy meme is all it takes to make waves.

If you wish to leverage fluid marketing moments, it is imperative to be smart, keep an ear to the ground, and wait for the next opportunity to present itself.

Relevant Links:

1. https://ads.google.com/intl/en_in/home/resources/moment-marketing-in-your-google-ads-campaign/

2. https://scatter.co.in/category/content-calendars/

Contributors: Minal, Sanchea and Preethi