Heineken: The right kind of hi-jacking

Speaking of Protein World...

Companies can ride off another topic’s buzz, attracting conversations about their own brand by associating their products with socially relevant events.

And one company which managed to do this very successfully - with the help of a good joke - was Heineken.

Riding off the back of the (negative) Twitter storm created by Protein World and its ‘Are you beach ready?’ advert, Heineken asked asked its followers ‘Are you beer body ready?’

But brands should be careful, warned James Lovejoy, content researcher at Brandwatch. The practice is known as hi-jacking and if it’s not done the right way companies risk being derided.

“It has to be done in a tasteful way. If it’s obvious you’re branding then it could come across as being disingenuous. [Companies] are kind of walking on eggshells here and there are certain topics that should be avoided,” ​he said.