In marketing, brands face a key decision: invest in timeless campaigns or ride the wave of current trends. 

Trend-based campaigns drive short-term buzz, while evergreen campaigns build long-term brand awareness. 

Which approach delivers better results? 

We’ll examine five real-world case studies that compare evergreen and trend-based campaigns, revealing how these two marketing strategies work.

Examples of Evergreen Campaigns

Evergreen campaigns are marketing campaigns that creates content that will remain relevant over time, and users can always refer back to them when they need information or knowledge on a topic or product. This type of content includes: How-to guides, tips, tutorial videos, and many more. 

Here are two unique examples:

1. Hubspot-Evergreen SEO Guide (Evergreen)

Search for anything related to SEO today, and you’ll likely find HubSpot ranking on the first page of Google or featured in AI-generated answers. 

Though HubSpot is primarily a software company for marketing, sales, and customer service, its evergreen SEO guides have made it an authority in the field.

These guides cover the latest SEO developments, ranging from topics on-page and off-page optimization to technical SEO, keyword research, and link building. 

With these guides, the American software company has become a trustworthy brand, consistently attracting thousands of visitors monthly, earning ongoing backlinks and most of all, selling its software products to customers in over hundred countries. That’s the power of an evergreen campaign — when done right.

2. Kitchen Cabinet Kings (Evergreen)

Kitchen Cabinet Kings is a supplier of pre/assembled cabinetry online. They are known for creating long-form practical guides on kitchen maintenance and organization. 

Its most popular guides include: Guide to Cabinet Sizes + Dimensions, Most Popular Kitchen Cabinet Layouts and Kitchen + Bathroom Design Ideas.

This evergreen content practice has made the US-based company a top destination for people looking for help on everything kitchen related. It’s also recognised by Houzz.

The ultimate goal of consistently sharing this evergreen content is to generate qualified leads. 

Examples of Trend-Based Campaign 

A trend-based marketing campaign involves hopping in on the latest happenings, events, or seasons, to market products/services or give out information. 

Here are three unique examples:

3. Blendtec- “Will it Blend?” (Trend-based)

Blendtec is a blender manufacturing company. For over 30 years, the inventor has been putting his blenders to the test by blending things from iPads to rake handles to show the blending capacity of his product. 

That’s where the question comes in: “Will it Blend?” Capitalizing on the curiosity of people.

This inventor delivers product messaging wrapped in humor, making it not boring for people to watch, and continuing to have a long-term viral reach. 

This approach has given the product better visibility and informed knowledge on the blending power of this blender.

4. ALS  #IceBucketChallenge (Trend-based)

The Ice Bucket Challenge took to the internet in 2014, inspired by three people living with ALS, Anthony Senerchia, Pete Frates, and Pat Quin, after discovering a fundraising technique to raise awareness about ALS. 

The challenge includes pouring ice-cold water over yourself and filming it to raise awareness and funds for charity and scientific advancements.

It went viral and achieved funding success, generating $115 million for the ALS Association in just six weeks. 

The long-term effects of this viral content include generating a meaningful influx of funding to help with the research work on ALS and inspiring philanthropists to increase their support for ALS research.

This challenge caught the world’s attention, showing how collective efforts could fuel scientific research and expand care services for people living with ALS. It’s noteworthy that the challenge is still ongoing but with less traction than it began with. This shows the power of trend-based campaigns to transform into evergreen campaign when done rightly.

5. Ocean Spray Dream TikTok Moment (Trend-based)

This event started unexpectedly when Nathan Apodaca’s car broke down on his way to work. He wasn’t really prepared for the aftermath.

All he did was hop on his board, grab a bottle of Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice, and record himself lip-syncing to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” and drinking his juice. 

He posted this video on his TikTok account without thinking much of it, and boom, it gained millions of views. Ocean Spray embraced this viral moment and gained more brand awareness.

The brand also gifted Nathan Apodaca a new truck to replace the broken one.

Seizing that moment as an opportunity, Ocean Spray used the humanity and the virality of the content to their advantage, improving their brand awareness and adding a little more life span to their viral moment.

FAQs 

What is the main difference between Evergreen and Trend-Based Campaigns?

Evergreen Campaigns are designed to be relevant for an extended period, while trend-based campaigns are only valuable/relevant for a season.

Which type of campaign is more effective: Evergreen or Trend-Based?

Both evergreen and trend-based campaigns are effective when used rightly, depending on the goals.

Can a campaign be both Evergreen and Trend-Based?

Yes, a campaign can be evergreen and trend-based, just like the ALS #IceBucketChallenge and Neil Patel’s blog. Neil combines current SEO trends and everlasting tips on SEO in a blog.

How can I make my Trend-Based Campaigns more Effective?

Focus on content that resonates with your target audience, hop on relevant trends, and encourage social sharing and engagement.

Can Evergreen Campaigns be Adapted to Fit Changing Trends?

Yes, evergreen campaigns can be adapted to fit changing trends. Like Google keeps updating its search algorithm, content can be relaunched to fit this update.

What are some common mistakes to avoid in Trend-Based Campaigns?

Avoid jumping on trends that do not fit your brand, neglecting to measure campaign effectiveness, and failing to adapt to audience change preferences.

What are the benefits of Evergreen Campaigns?

Evergreen campaigns have many benefits, including a strong return on investment (ROI), consistent outflow of traffic, and many more based on their long-term value.

What are the Benefits of Trend-based Campaigns?

Trend-based campaigns drive short-term engagement, increase brand awareness, and help brands stay relevant in the face of their target audience.

Bottom Line 

While a trend-based campaign is timely, an evergreen campaign is always helpful and valuable, once it starts ranking on search engines. Even though both evergreen and trend-based campaigns are effective, knowing when to use each is very important, and knowing the trends to jump on for your brand’s success.