Do you know this all too well?

Look what OZ’s Kathy Shaw made us do.

She found this Wired article about brand communities – specifically, Taylor Swift’s brand community. In a hallmark of an especially tight community, her fans have adopted a lexicon that is unfamiliar to outsiders but deeply resonant with those in the know.

In January, Senators grilling the president of Live Nation entertainment resorted to using lyrics from Swift’s songs, which, as the article points out, was both cringy and cool at the same time. 

What does this mean for other brands looking to woo Taylor Swift fans?   Could they use this kind of language in their communication?  Well, maybe. Consumers might get the joke and feel welcomed and understood. 

On the other hand, if you are perceived as an outsider, there are two risks.  The first one is that the insiders will roll their eyes at you when you use their lexicon. As one academic says, “It’s like a feigned understanding. You’re borrowing a language that you don’t really understand.”  

Kind of like how certain terms in hip-hop culture cross into the mainstream and get used by people who are straining a little too hard to sound cool (e.g. “Up in here” or “down with it.”  Or…from my youth…when the pseudo-rapper Vanilla Ice developed a fondness for blurting out “Word to Your Mother.”)  The minute a hip-hop fan hears someone perceived as outside the culture using those terms, the terms begin losing their cache and the person using the words is written off as sort of a clown.

The second risk, of course, is that other people will have no idea what you are talking about and the inside joke will go over their heads.

What do you think this means for brands that are trying to appeal to a certain niche audience?  Is there a way to use their language that isn’t painful or phony?