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Brands are always looking for new and innovative public relations and marketing strategies to stand out in a crowded marketplace and capture the attention of their target audience. One highly effective strategy is newsjacking, which involves leveraging the momentum of trending news stories to significantly enhance visibility and engagement for businesses.
This article explores the concept of newsjacking, including its origins, mechanics and the substantial benefits it can offer to your brand, with practical insights drawn from the expertise of our team.
What is newsjacking?
Newsjacking is a concept introduced by David Meerman Scott in 2011. It involves participating in discussions about current news stories to gain visibility for your brand. This strategy leverages trending news to bring attention to your brand. Newsjacking has gained popularity due to its simplicity and effectiveness, especially in the digital age with the widespread use of digital and social media.
People are naturally curious and drawn to current events. By leveraging this curiosity, you can showcase your brand in a compelling way and capture the attention of your target audience. Additionally, newsjacking effectively taps into existing media attention. When a story is trending, there is already a large audience paying attention to the topic. By associating your brand with trending topics, you can divert some of this attention to your own brand.
We’ve seen firsthand that newsjacking works. You’ll soon discover how effective it can be in enhancing your brand visibility and engagement.
Related: 5 Highly Effective, Time-Saving Ways For Founders To Get Free PR
Key principles of effective newsjacking
- Timing: When newsjacking, the most important thing is to respond quickly. If you take too long to respond to a trending news event, there is a good chance that you will no longer stand out.
- Relevance: Ensure a clear link between the story and your brand. There is no point in just reacting to everything because if there is no true connection, your content will quickly be labeled as inauthentic. For example, in 2023, we leveraged the attention around a major event in our industry — Money20/20 Conference — and created a guide with practical tips and insights based on our experiences, to help attendees prepare. As a result, this agenda resonated well among fintech media outlets.
- Creativity: Add a unique twist or value to the news story. For instance, when we joined the Google for Startups Cloud Program, we linked the news with Google’s 25th anniversary to make it more newsworthy.
- Sensitivity: Avoid controversial or sensitive topics that could harm your brand. Always consider the potential reactions to your content.
Related: How to Leverage Social Media to Optimize PR Success and Increase Your Brand Awareness
Steps to implement newsjacking in your communications strategy
To successfully implement newsjacking in your PR and marketing strategies, follow this step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Monitor the news
- Use tools like Google Trends and Google Alerts to track trending topics.
- Follow relevant journalists, bloggers and news websites.
- Example: As a result of tracking relevant trends and discussions using Google Alerts and researching media outlets in the ad tech, martech and business sectors, we identified climate change as a hot topic. We leveraged our existing initiatives and created an article mentioning global statistics and highlighting our green actions. This aligned with the trending subject and showcased our commitment to sustainability.
Step 2: Evaluate relevance
- Assess if the news fits your brand, products, services and values.
- Ask questions like: Does this news resonate with our audience? Can we offer a unique perspective?
- Example: For the guide we created for Money20/20 Conference, we identified its relevance to our audience in the fintech industry and pitched it to media outlets that we knew covered the event, resulting in earned media coverage.
Step 3: Compose the message
- Determine the right tone (informative, humorous, analytical).
- Offer original and valuable content tailored to your audience.
- Example: We adopted an informative tone for our announcement about joining the Google for Startups Cloud Program and linked it with Google’s 25th anniversary, making our news more relevant and engaging. As a result, we had widespread media coverage.
Step 4: Distribute
- Share your message across multiple platforms.
- Use a combination of social media, press releases, blog posts, emails and online communities frequented by your target audience.
- Example: Our climate change article was pitched to various media outlets, resulting in publication in both startup and business sectors, amplifying our reach.
Major brands use newsjacking, too
Case study 1: Oatly and Patagonia Mobilize EU citizens to vote for the planet
In May/June 2024, Oatly and Patagonia joined forces to mobilize EU citizens to vote for the environment during the European Parliament elections. The two companies released their combined 1,000 EU employees to vote and organized educational programs to emphasize the importance of voting.
They also called on other companies to encourage their teams to vote for the planet. This campaign demonstrated their shared commitment to environmental protection.
Effectiveness: The campaign emphasized shared values and encouraged active participation. This strengthened brand loyalty and positioned both companies as leaders in environmental protection.
Lessons: Connect your brand to relevant social issues to highlight your values and reach a broader audience.
Case study 2: British Heart Foundation’s ‘Til I Died campaign
In the run-up to UEFA Euros 2024, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) launched the ‘Til I Died campaign, in partnership with Saatchi & Saatchi. The campaign featured huge murals commemorating young football fans who died due to heart disease. The murals were strategically placed in nine cities across the U.K. to maximize visibility during the European Championships and were accompanied by a wider media campaign on social media and radio.
Effectiveness: This campaign connected the upcoming sporting event to a major health issue, increasing visibility and awareness of heart disease in youth.
Lessons: Two seemingly unrelated topics, football and heart disease, can be cleverly linked to convey a powerful message.
Related: 5 Ways You Can Get Publicity in 5 Minutes
Potential pitfalls of newsjacking and how to avoid them
There are a few mistakes you can make when newsjacking, such as responding too late, choosing irrelevant stories or being too promotional. This can make your brand seem opportunistic and uninspiring.
Another common mistake is posting inappropriate or sensitive content without fully understanding the context. This can lead to public outrage and negative reactions, like with the recent Fashion Nova campaign about body positivity.
If you get backlash or negative reactions to your newsjacking campaign, it is important to respond quickly and effectively. You must be willing to acknowledge mistakes and take responsibility, even when you make a move that centers on a sensitive and divisive topic. According to a survey conducted by Salesforce, 90% of customers say how a company acts during a crisis reveals its trustworthiness.
Showing empathy and offering solutions can help restore the situation and regain public trust. One good example of this is the Unilever ‘Lost the Pot’ campaign of October 2022, where they used all the negative consumer feedback in their new campaign.
Conclusion
Newsjacking is a powerful strategy that allows you to capitalize on trending news to put your brand in the spotlight. As demonstrated in this article, connecting your brand with current events can resonate deeply with your audience and highlight your values. Conversely, potential pitfalls, such as engaging with irrelevant or sensitive topics, can lead to negative publicity.
But most importantly, newsjacking isn’t just for large enterprises with massive budgets and extensive strategies. As our own experiences show, even small and medium-sized companies can effectively leverage newsjacking, resulting in significant media coverage and audience engagement, despite limited resources. This demonstrates that with timely, relevant and creative approaches, newsjacking can be a valuable tool for any company looking to enhance its reach and impact.
In summary, when executed thoughtfully and strategically, newsjacking offers a unique opportunity to align your brand with trending topics, thereby enhancing your reach and impact. By following best practices and learning from past examples, you can effectively harness the power of newsjacking to benefit your brand, no matter the size of your company or budget.
