by By: Riley Behm
Back in August, Taylor Swift announced her 12th album “The Life of a Showgirl” within hours brands began posting ads on social media; all trying to garner some of the attention the album announcement was receiving. Brands were desperately trying to cling on to Swifts relevancy. Every brand took over “The Life of a Showgirl” making it their own such as local pizzerias posting “The Life of a Pizza Girl”. Everyone’s feeds became covered in teal and orange glitter and forced puns.
Many different brands and companies hopped onto this trend the Empire State Building even lighting up glittery orange. Many brands created fun experiences for consumers such as Spotify who hosted a multiple day event to celebrate the release. Uber Eats even got in on the trend and had a pop-up in a few different cities that was orange and glittery and in honor of Taylor has cats to cuddle or even adopt. TikTok had interactive feature in its app for a month and also hosted a pop-up event which was an immersive experience of the behind the scenes of “The Life of a Showgirl”. Some companies did do a good job of integrating the “trend” into their content and making it feel natural and authentic.
Some brands tried trendjacking the album release and simply missed the mark because it doesn’t make sense alongside their brands. Dunkin also shared a post about their logo switching to a glittery orange. There was no relevant content they just slapped glitter on their logo. One example I saw was a law firm post “Life of a Litigation Girl” it just doesn’t align with the more serious nature of their businesses and feels inauthentic. Many swifties saw through the companies just trying to gain relevancy from the album release that some companies faced backlash because their posts were cringey. The thing that companies care about though is engagement eyes on your company are good wether negative or positive when it comes to a lighter subject such as an album release.
Whenever Taylor Swift releases anything, there’s massive media attention, and inevitably brands want to jump on the trend to capture some of that spotlight. But it has to make sense. The content has to stay true to the brand’s social media personality as a whole, or it feels overly performative. The brands that succeeded with “The Life of a Showgirl” were the ones who either had a natural connection to the theme (entertainment, fashion, music) or who created genuinely engaging experiences rather than just slapping orange glitter on their logo and calling it a day.
The lesson? Relevance without authenticity is just noise. In an era where every brand thinks they need to comment on every cultural moment, sometimes the smartest move is knowing when to sit one out.
This was such a fun read — and honestly, you captured the chaos of that announcement day perfectly. I love how you pointed out the difference between brands that actually joined the moment versus the ones that clearly panicked and threw some glitter on a logo hoping it would stick. The Spotify and TikTok examples really stood out too — they didn’t just hop on the trend, they built real experiences that made sense for their audience.
This was really cool to learn about because I don’t keep up with Taylor Swift at all. She is for sure one of the personalities that can gain engagement just by including her name. Hearing about how the Empire State Building lit up is really crazy and I bet in New York everywhere you went you saw an ad for her.
Hi Riley!
This was an interesting perspective! It’s crazy how fast brands reacted to Taylor Swift’s album announcement and how everyone wanted to be part of the trend. Some of the ideas, like Spotify’s event or Uber Eats having cats to cuddle, actually sounded creative and made sense. But other brands just added glitter or tried to force the theme, which made their posts feel kinda cringey.
Hi Riley!
I really enjoyed reading your blog! When this album was announced, I also noticed how instantly brands began integrating it into their content. This shows how quickly brands work to follow trends to try and connect with specific audiences. I think your point on how relevance without authenticity is just noise is important. If a brand doesn’t come across as genuine, it’s going to be more difficult for them to leave a lasting impression with consumers and build trusted relationships.
Hi Riley!
I really liked this post. I am a Taylor Swift fan myself, and I think it’s quite fascinating how quickly the “Taylor effect” spreads. Immediately after Taylor Swift releases anything new, it gains such expansive media attention. I completely agree that many brands trying to incorporate Taylor Swift into their unrelated brand feel a bit forced. Oftentimes, when there is no connection to the new record, music, or Swift herself, it feels quite inauthentic. I think that Swift’s marketing with this album release was rather interesting as well. I almost feel like it wasn’t as cohesive of a marketing package as other works she has created. Do you agree?
Hi Riley! Great post! Your insight to creating ad noise was super interesting and I think can also backfire super quickly if a brand jumps onto a trend that their audience dislikes. Just another reason to keep track of audience behavior!