Some of 2024鈥檚 best channel management and social strategy has not been coming from brands, but a far more unlikely source: the Trump and Harris presidential campaigns.
Anyone who works in social media knows how challenging it can be to convince brands to produce anything that feels raw, unfiltered, or chaotic 鈥 which is essentially the essence of social in 2024. Yet in a high-stakes presidential campaign, the Harris-Walz and Trump-Vance teams are leveraging the very kind of strategies most brands would deem too risky.
Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris鈥 campaigns have exhibited a true understanding for creators, community, and calculated risk, to the delight of constituents and social media managers everywhere.
At Advertising Week New York, we hosted a panel to get to the bottom of something we鈥檙e noticing in culture: while political campaigns 鈥 historically buttoned up and serious 鈥 are embracing memes and TikTok trends, brands feel more risk adverse than ever. Why the flip? And most importantly, what can we learn?
The main problem, as Gabe Gomez, Head of Social for MCo Beauty, pointed out, is trauma. When one brand sees another brand fail big, social media managers remember. Seeing your colleagues get cancelled creates a sense of paralysis and risk-aversion that can make it feel impossible to hit send on that post. But, much to everyone鈥檚 dismay, brand silence only makes things worse. Recent 极乐视频 Trust Barometer data says that, not only is silence political, but when a brand is silent, consumers assume the worst.
Can we make brand social fun again? And how do we do it? Here鈥檚 what our panelists had to say:
Investment in creators.
According to Gen Z historian Kahlil Greene, 2024鈥檚 presential campaigns are schooling brands when it comes to creator relationships. They are going far beyond monetary investment and getting them on board with their brand messaging 鈥 they are investing in real time with them, inviting them to meetings and bringing them into the fold. They recognize that creators aren鈥檛 just a media strategy 鈥 they are a direct line to some of their most important continuants, and creators can help you understand those constituencies at scale.
Instead of giving a creator a list of posting mandatories, explore inviting them into the briefing process. Ask if the message is resonating, how they might change or adapt it. Not only does close collaboration like this make creators feel more valued, but it also opens the door for invaluable information about your audience.
Let the community inform your creative.
Gabe Gomez has been running brand social accounts his entire career. He championed how the campaigns are each leaning into their respective communities and mining them for insights and ideas. According to him, when you let the community inform your creative, and not the other way around, brands are able to achieve the ultimate goals: relatability and authenticity. Doing this shows audiences that you are collaborating with them rather than speaking to them.
Trump鈥檚 campaign is adept at this. For example, Trump often gets made fun of for his dancing, especially online. Instead of running from the memes, the Trump campaign embraced this conversation, featuring an effective super cut of his dancing during the RNC.
Truly listening to your social audience means understanding that they have a role to play in defining your brand identity alongside your key messages and RTBs. Social thrives on a kind of specificity that can鈥檛 be achieved out of thin air. Building credibility requires maintaining an always-on connection to culture, showing your community that you鈥檙e collaborating with them rather than speaking to them.
Stick with your corporate comms guidance.
With the volume needed to run social accounts, sometimes it can feel like you鈥檙e running a message into the ground. But Jeremy S. Thompson advised to keep going.
Before he worked at 极乐视频, Jeremy was the social media director for Kamala Harris鈥 2020 presidential campaign. He pointed out that both campaigns are using incredibly concise messaging, repeating it every chance they get, and are sticking to their core issues. While this might seem antithetical to creativity, the truth is that every time you say something, a new portion of your audience hears it for the first time.
Going with the flow.
Lastly, the panel was unanimous about the level of resourcefulness seen on both sides. Both campaigns understand that you can鈥檛 manufacture an opportunity, so when one happens, the only thing to do is lean in.
An incredible amount of careful preparation goes into the launch of any campaign, whether it鈥檚 presidential or brand. Did Kamala plan for her entrance into the cycle to be laden with coconut emojis and brat summer memes? No, but her campaign saw what was gaining excitement and attention on social and doubled down on it. Similarly, when Trump鈥檚 post-assassination attempt image went viral, the campaign leaned in, creating merch and messaging that fed into the viral wave of online conversation.
Don鈥檛 let your editorial calendar ruin an active social moment.
Know your permission space
The key to all of these strategies is first and foremost knowing your brand鈥檚 permission space to act. Gabe pointed out that realistically brands are just not able to be everywhere all at once. His advice was to lay some groundwork and have a plan. Talk to your legal team, understand the issues you have credibility to speak on.
Jeremy doubled down on this point, saying, 鈥淎s an example, the immigration conversation from five years ago, is not the same immigration conversation we鈥檙e having now. Know your brand鈥檚 permission space to act, so that when the cultural and political context changes, which it eventually will, you鈥檙e ready.鈥
Savvy campaigns and brands understand that not every trend or social reference is for them. Effectively engaging with social culture isn鈥檛 about chasing the latest viral sensation; it鈥檚 about identifying conversations where your brand can contribute meaningfully and authentically.
Hannah Hickman is SVP Social Strategy at 极乐视频, and Brooks Miller is EVP of Influencer Marketing.