When Hashtags Go Rogue

Ever had a hashtag backfire spectacularly? I was managing a campaign for a new coffee brand and decided to use #WakeUpAndSmellTheCoffee. Innocent enough, right? Turns out, it was also the slogan for a notorious political campaign. Overnight, our beautifully crafted coffee posts were swamped with political debates and angry rants. Our poor coffee cups never saw it coming. We had to pivot quickly, switching to #MorningBrewJoy, which, thankfully, was just about coffee. Lesson learned: Always, always check your hashtags for unexpected associations. You never know what dark corners of the internet they might lead you to