Trending and timely is one of our favorite combinations for creating savvy social media buzz and newsworthy content. But when trending, timely AND tact come together, they create a trifecta worth buzzing about! Unfortunately too many brands make tact the third wheel and find themselves in some trouble, much like the Golf Channel did this past week.
On Wednesday, @GolfChannel attempted to news jack by making a monumental event about them. Tsk tsk. News jacking can be a beautiful thing when carefully thought out, but it almost NEVER works when brands attempt to take trending topics, events, holidays, and disasters and use them to sell.

Take Kenneth Cole for example, which has shown us how ugly news jacking can get. In 2011, @KennethCole tweeted that “Millions are in an uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is available online…” Needless to say, it backfired. Both @GolfChannel and @KennethCole apologized to their networks after experiencing backlash.

Together as remarkable fresh produce marketers, we can prevent poor news jacking. Let’s take a pledge to remember: it’s not always about you or your business! On Wednesday we shared with you valuable insights we gleaned from marketer Seth Godin: no one wants to do business with entities and people who are selfish and not all content needs to sell. With this in mind, we can achieve the trending, timely AND tactful trifecta like these brands have:

Oreo’s Super Bowl Blackout Win:

Starbucks’s Royal Congratulatory Tweet:

Special K’s Red Carpet Revelation:

Have you “news jacked” in a way that creates the perfect trifecta? Share your thoughts and examples with us!