Sam Corry, managing director at Taylor Herring: "It requires a complete mindset change. The agency and client PR/social team need to be given the permission, trust and mandate from the brand to behave in a reactive way. The approvals process needs to be minimal, and the team kept small...sorry, legal department. Brands do need to let their guard down, but can also have a clear line drawn in the sand defining the areas that are fair game vs. those that are not. To enable your brand to behave in a reactive way, you need the following things in place: a single-minded mission statement and strategy to how you want you to show up in culture, a distinctive tone of voice, a set of creative principles (that you always stick too), and a team that is empowered to do great work."

Samantha Allen, associate director and FMCG and lifestyle lead at The Wilful Group: "At Wilful, we’ve implemented a process where we constantly analyse social platforms for trendjacking opportunities that align with our client’s brief and communications objectives. It’s important not to spread yourself too thin. Just as you wouldn’t jump on every media opportunity, the same goes for trends, as it will come across as inauthentic. To keep things focused, we set up pillars with clients to filter the best opportunities and enable quick reactions. Clients need to be ready to jump on trends as soon as they emerge. Having a team that can quickly create content and respond is crucial, as trends can fade fast. Just like with media spokespeople, employee influencers need preparation and alignment. However, participation should be voluntary, being a brand advocate isn’t for everyone, and there should be no pressure to join in. Most importantly, PR teams need to stay ahead of emerging trends so they can flag potential opportunities as they arise."

David Frossman-Miller, global media director at W Communications: "Clients need to be honest about their internal resource. It’s not a quick job by any means, despite the speed at which these trends happen overnight. If the client can outsource the filter of ‘will this work for our brand?’ to an agency, they stand a better chance of getting it right in what is a hugely competitive but rewarding space."

Lizzie Earl, CEO of Stakked: "Championing employees as brand advocates is nothing new in PR - we’ve been doing it in earned media for years. So, it’s no surprise to see this playing out in social feeds, where standing out is harder than ever and low-fi, real content is having a moment. For brands looking to replicate this kind of viral success, authenticity has to come first. Don’t jump on a trend for the sake of it. If employee-led content makes sense for the brand, as it does for customer service-driven business like Argos , focus on evolving it rather than simply copying what’s been done before."

Lucy Ruff, senior account director, social and influencer at Frank: "Nothing is ever truly authentic in the world of social. You need to be on the lookout for trends and cultural moments around the clock. When something happens that your brand can react to, you need to be quick, and often have to try and get it past various legal teams to have the best success. The most viral posts may look simple and organic, but there often will have been a lot of work behind the scenes to get there, such as Weetabix and Beans. So yes, PR teams, and social teams, should absolutely be on the lookout for viral trends – in fact this should be a given when any brand takes on an agency, if they want to be culturally relevant."