Event Recap: Tapping Into Trends: A Step-by-Step Guide to Assess Trend Relevance & Brand Fit

Presented by Kat Graham and Bri Ugalde of Hiebing | August 19, 2026 at StartingBlock Madison

Every social team knows the meeting. Someone walks in, phone already out, and says: “I saw this trending TikTok — how do we get in on this?” At August’s Social Media Breakfast, held during ForwardFest, Kat Graham and Bri Ugalde of Hiebing made the case that the question is backwards. They asked for a show of hands from anyone who’d sat in that meeting, and hands went up across the room.Graham and Ugalde work across social, content and PR for brands including Culver’s, ABC Supply Co., Impro Corporation and ITW Welding — a roster spanning QSR, manufacturing and industrial, which means they’ve had to answer the trend question in wildly different contexts.

Their argument: brands don’t drive culture anymore, people do, and audiences are very good at spotting a brand that’s trying too hard. Which is why, as the slide behind them put it, the biggest risk on social isn’t missing a trend — it’s forcing one.

What they offered instead was a three-step framework — reframe, evaluate, decide — fast enough to keep up with social, rigorous enough that you can defend the answer either way. Download the presentation deck here > Tapping Trends SMB Presentation_8.19.26.

Trends Are a Lever, Not a Strategy

Step one is a mindset shift, and everything else depends on it. A trend can signal cultural relevance, extend the reach of a message, increase engagement and accelerate a strategy already in motion. What a trend cannot do is tell you who your audience is, decide what your brand stands for, or serve as the strategy itself.

Think of a trend less as a destination and more as a vehicle: the strategy determines where you’re going, the trend is just a way to get there. When the foundation underneath — purpose, audience insight, values, brand voice, long-term strategy — is solid, trends reinforce who you already are. When it’s weak, they start dictating who you’re trying to become.

That’s why two brands can do the same trend and land in completely different places. Take the fall 2023 moment when Taylor Swift was photographed at a Chiefs game eating chicken tenders with “ketchup and seemingly ranch.” Plenty of brands posted about it; Heinz turned it into limited-edition bottles — not because Taylor was trending, but because condiments were. Ugalde noted in the Q&A that Heinz already had a nearly identical product on shelves that had gone nowhere, so the moment gave a stalled item a reason to exist and filled a real business gap. Gap’s Katseye denim campaign worked the same way, pairing a Gen Z act with Millennial nostalgia and landing, the speakers said, as one of the brand’s most viral and most positively received campaigns ever — while a competing American Eagle campaign dominated headlines for all the wrong reasons.

The gut-check they left the room with: if the trend disappeared tomorrow, would your reason for participating still make sense? If yes, strategy was driving. If no, the trend was.

The Fast Fit Check

Step two is the filter, and it’s built to run in minutes, not meetings. Three questions, in order:

Start with the target. Would your audience actually care? Does the trend connect to something you already know about them — a passion area, a behavior, an insight?
Then look at brand positioning. Does this support or conflict with what you stand for? Would it feel authentic in your voice? Is there a real hook — a product application, an area of expertise, a point of view?
Then the moment. Can you add something distinctive that makes your participation feel intentional rather than obligatory?

Miss the intersection of trend, target and brand, and involvement reads as inauthentic or tone-deaf.

Layered on top is the SPIN test for whether your execution has an actual idea in it: Specific to the brand, Provides value or perspective, Insight-led, and Not interchangeable. That last one is the sharpest. If another brand could swap logos and post the same thing, the idea needs a stronger spin.

Same Moment, Two Different Answers

The most useful part of the session was watching the framework produce opposite — and equally correct — calls on the same cultural moment.

When Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement, brands flooded social with puns. Miller Welding, a Hiebing client, asked about jumping in. The team ran the fit check first: the audience would get the reference, but the trend had no tie to why welders follow Miller. No relevance, no permission, no spin. They passed and put the effort into content Miller’s audience actually wanted. The framing on the slide: knowing quickly that a moment isn’t yours is a win — the check protected credibility instead of borrowing impressions.

Petmate, another Hiebing client, landed on the opposite side of the same moment, posting the same day and reimagining the couple as two of their products — a Chuckit! football and a feathered cat toy — captioned “when your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.” Playful pet humor is already what Petmate does, so the post read as an extension of the feed rather than a reach.

Scrub Daddy’s “unhinged brand” content works for the same reason: a goofy smiling sponge was always going to be at home in absurd scenarios. Loverboy editing its logo onto the banner two daredevils hung off the Empire State Building did not — fast, but no value, no entertainment, no reason. Fast doesn’t beat fit.

Make the Call — and Stand Behind It

Step three is about confidence. Timing can be everything. Look at what competitors are doing if you can see it. And watch public reaction both before and after you publish, so you don’t get dragged into a conversation you don’t want to be in.

The audience pushed hard here, and the answers were some of the best material of the morning:

On knowing a trend is building: watch whether the conversation is getting louder and how fast momentum is climbing. When the same audio, format or meme keeps resurfacing in your scroll, that’s the signal to pause and assess — not to post.
On missing the window: if a trend is tied to a holiday or a specific moment, it’s gone. If it’s more durable — people will always be eating ketchup and ranch — you probably still have room.
On which platform to watch: most trends still originate on TikTok, but Ugalde recommended matching the source to your audience — TikTok for younger or more niche brands, Meta’s Reels for older, wholesome or DIY-leaning audiences. Graham flagged YouTube Shorts as an increasingly worthwhile place to look.
On hashtags (yes, someone asked): still relevant, but less is more. Use the keywords your audience is actually searching.
On multi-team friction: an idea goes to the wider team, then to the client, backed by historical reporting on what’s performed. It slows things down — and the speakers argued that’s a feature, because it surfaces the angles a single person would miss.
On trend-shy clients: keep bringing ideas back, and don’t give up when the first several get shot down. For manufacturing and trades especially, lead with quantitative data and competitive proof points. A client asking “why Instagram?” deserves a real answer, not enthusiasm.

Where to Find Trends: Accounts Worth Following

One attendee asked which creators the speakers rely on to keep up, and Graham promised to send the list along for this recap. Here it is — Instagram accounts that regularly post about trends, content ideas and how brands can show up on social:

The Takeaway: Saying No Is a Strategy, Too

Reframe trends as a lever, not a plan. Evaluate them against audience, brand and moment before you spend a single hour on production. Then decide — and be able to say out loud why.

The line that closed the deck is the one worth pinning above your desk: saying no to a trend can be just as strategic as jumping in.

About the Speakers

Kat Graham, Account Executive, PR, Social & Content — Hiebing A Chicago-area native, Kat has built her career around storytelling, digital culture and strategic problem-solving. She graduated from Gonzaga University in 2020 with a degree in public relations and holds a UX/UI design certification from Northwestern University, bringing a user-centered lens to her social and content work. She joined Hiebing’s PR, Social & Content team in 2024, leading social media strategy, PR, content development and community management for national brands across construction, manufacturing and industrial industries. Outside of work, she’s active in Madison’s music and creative community.

Bri Ugalde, Senior Account Executive, PR, Social & Content — Hiebing A Southwest Wisconsin native, Bri has built her career around storytelling, culture and the way people connect with brands. She graduated from Edgewood College with a degree in Communication, emphasis in Message in the Media, and a minor in Business. She joined Hiebing in March 2025 on the brand development team’s B2B side and has since returned to her roots in social and content, where she now leads social and content strategy in the B2C space. Outside of work, she paints, shoots portrait photography and finds inspiration through travel and visual storytelling.

Nonprofit Spotlight: FairShare CSA Coalition

This month we welcomed FairShare CSA Coalition, a nonprofit building a resilient food community by investing in farmers and empowering eaters — a natural fit in a region defined by its farmland. Their annual Bike the Barns ride takes place in September. Learn more and get involved at csacoalition.org.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

A huge thank you to StartingBlock Madison, our venue and host, and to True Coffee Roasters for keeping the room caffeinated. Thanks to Ethical Trade Co. for the gift card giveaway, and to our sponsors and creative partners who make these mornings possible: Live Well Video, Melissa Carlson Creative, Suttle-Straus, Serendipity Labs and Talent CPA. This event was proud to be part of ForwardFest, Wisconsin’s largest festival for creative professionals and entrepreneurs — one of roughly 60 events across five days.

We also said thank you and goodbye to Faith Dey, a longtime board member and creative in-kind sponsor stepping back this year and welcomed Dustin as our new board secretary.

Coming Up

Better Shots, Better Content: A Hands-On Mobile Photography Workshop — September 9 at StartingBlock with Josh Feyen. Ninety minutes on shooting better photo and video with the phone you already carry.
Reviews and Reputation Management: Building Trust, Visibility & Growth — September 16, our next monthly breakfast.
Madison Social Media Marketing Awards — nominations are open now, voting takes place in September, and winners will be revealed October 21 at Serendipity Labs. Know someone crushing it on social or in their newsletter? Nominate them.
Non-Profit Audit Application — Each year, Social Media Breakfast Madison invites local nonprofit organizations to share their biggest social media challenges. From the pool of applicants, one nonprofit will be selected to receive a free, in-depth audit of their digital presence—live at our November event.
Speak in 2027 — we’re building next year’s roster. If you’re an expert in social or digital marketing, connect with us.
Join the board or volunteer — we’re actively looking for event and volunteer coordinators, content writers, and sponsors.

Aug 19, 2026 Joe Ballard