Wickedly intelligent: How Innocent Drinks are the masters of reactive marketing

There’s nothing quite like a viral marketing campaign and Innocent Drinks are consistently taking reactive marketing to the next level 🔥

Never one to be afraid of standing out from the crowd, the drinks brand consistently hits the mark when it comes to jumping on the bandwagon – often with such persistent panache that they could be accused of driving it! But how do they do it?

Whether they’re cooking up creative alternatives to pancakes, serving us endless Great British Bake Off commentary or teasingly trolling other big names – the brand is always at the forefront of reactive marketing on social media.

Their most recent reactive marketing masterpiece was showcased on Facebook, when they jumped on the annual Mean Girls trend that resurfaces every October 3rd. With Global Smoothie Day conveniently falling on October 3rd as well, Innocent’s social team used the trend to their advantage to market their new fruit and veg smoothie range – with the caption “It’s October the 3rd. But more importantly we’ve got new fruit and veg smoothies in store. They’re packed with veg and taste great. And our boss totally didn’t make us write this.”

The caption perfectly embodies the impish, mischievous tone that pervades the brand’s entire online persona – and it’s one that businesses could learn from.

The creatives behind the iconic Innocent accounts are fantastic at what they do; delivering brilliantly clever, witty, sometimes political – and always funny – reactive content. 

What is reactive marketing?

Simply put, it’s marketing – such as social media posts – that actively reacts to current trends. So, how can other brands follow suit?

The most vital part of any reactive marketing campaign is time. Reacting to news within minutes, jumping on trends as soon as they appear and responding to comments while they’re still relevant is essential. As Richard Cook says, social moves quickly – trends can come and go in just a few hours and being a day late is often worse than not getting involved at all. You need to get your content out there fast.

Social monitoring is a huge part of the reactive marketing process. Your marketing or social team should be following the latest news relevant to your industry, as well as taking inspiration from big names and using them in their own content plan. In order to be reactive, you need to seek the opportunities. And in order to seek the opportunities, you need to be monitoring social accounts and relevant news – and following the right people and brands on these platforms.

Finding your angle is equally as essential. There’s no point responding to a trend which has absolutely no relevance to your brand. Some things just won’t apply to you whatsoever and other times there may be a way in, even if it might not seem obvious at first. Share your ideas with your team before you get sign off, to ensure you’re not going to fall flat with a bad idea – or worse – a great idea poorly executed. 

There’s no denying that reactive social media campaigns give brands the opportunity to be part of ongoing conversations taking place in real time. Not only does this keep your brand relevant, but it also allows you to showcase your knowledge and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, enhancing your brand reputation. That’s if you can be quick, concise and canny with how you engage with them.

We’ve seen a massive rise in the number of brands showing their ‘personality’ on social media over the last few years and it’s definitely something we can expect to see more of in the future.

If you’re after some social media inspiration to develop your business, get in touch. We’re not Innocent, but we promise we’ve got the bottle to build your brand!