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As brands get busy coining six word horror stories on Twitter..
The format has been trending for over a day now on the micro blogging site.
Twitter hashtags never fail to amaze us. From #KikiChallenge to something as discussed as #MeToo or the more recent example closer to home - #JCBKiKhudai. The latest to make the trend list is #SixWordHorrorStory.
Pepsi dove in quick, taking a dig at arch-rival Coke."We don't have Pepsi, Coke OK?" reads the post. The beverage giant is seen raising a customer's relatable concern over the "much-dreaded" unavailability of the product. Soon enough, other global brands followed suit as netizens have also been sharing their versions of scary micro-stories in six words.
Two years ago, Twitter expanded its character count from 140 to 280 for user posts. Now, it's the six-word trend that both brands and netizens are experimenting with. Here at home, Google India and the Mumbai Police were also a couple of the first ones to jump onto the bandwagon.
Chetan Mane
We asked Chetan Mane, VP - business and strategy at Whyness Worldwide whether he considers these digital trends to be opportunities for brands to act on.
"In the digital medium, there are trends that last for a few hours or up to a few months. For brands who want to talk to their consumers continuously, each of these trends presents an opportunity to get their brand noticed. It is easier for brands to ride an existing wave and become visible rather than creating their own communication and pushing it with huge media spends," he responds.
He adds that since most of these digital trends are youth-oriented, most brands that talk to a younger TG should make the most of the trends if they have an intelligent creative to go with it.
We also asked him if he sees ambush marketing as the way forward, given the fact that there are ample examples to be cited by various brands in the recent past. From, consumer electronics brand Haier, taking a direct dig at rival Voltas to an adhesive brand like ResiQuick going out, guns blazing, after Fevikwik, the list is long
"I am definitely not in favour of ambush marketing since it makes the brand vulnerable to a counter-attack from competitors and most often, gets the brand to deviate from its core communication idea and positioning for short-term buzz," he shares.
Rahul Vengalil
Rahul Vengalil, founder - WhatClicks feels that ambush marketing has always been there and is not something new. "In India also I remember Swiggy and Zomato, Uber and Ola, Flipkar and Amazon taking a dig at each other."
He considers it an opportunity for brands to showcase the brand tonality and connect with the youth on digital platform. "It is like a 15 min of fame for the brand among the consumers. It gives no additional boost to engagement score. It doesn't necessarily result in any new business though. Brands who don't invest in ambush marketing is only losing out on that boost," he signs off.