Is Ragebait A Viable Marketing Strategy?

Welcome to Marketing Brew Weekly! This week we’re discussing Oxford University’s Word of the Year: Ragebait. From Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle campaign to E.l.f. Choosing to partner with Matt Rife, were these marketing moves worth it for the brands? We touch on controversial Skims products and Coca-Cola using AI in their ads, and discuss which campaigns were fueled by bots — and wonder if it even matters as long as that stock price is up? We also discuss the risk vs. reward of employing this method, and share a brand that seemed to lean into the moment correctly. 

00:00: Intro

00:35: What is Ragebait? 

02:33: Biggest examples of Ragebait this year

05:20: Why are brands engaging 

07:12: How brands do (or don’t acknowledge) using this tactic 

08:38: Campaigns that don’t anticipate Ragebait and bots

16:10: How can social listening really be measured now 

17:40: What impact will Ragebait campaigns have long-term 

19:30: Does Ragebait work?

25:00: The Ordinary’s use of “gentle outrage”

This episode was sponsored by ActiveCampaign. For more information, go to http://www.activecampaign.com 

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Marketing Brew Weekly gives marketing professionals insightful analysis and a lively conversation on the latest trending topics in the world of media and advertising, from the Marketing Brew reporters who know the industry best.

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