We live in an age where Social Media pretty much runs businesses, organizations and freelancers. There are various tools and techniques in this field that can be used for engagement, marketing, showcasing and selling. One vital technique to promote your brand image and spread your brand footprint over the globe is Meme Marketing. Memes are that part of your feed that gives you a break from the usual information and pretty pictures. We know that around 70% of Social Media users are youngsters (aged below 25); the reality is that memes catch the attention of youngsters more than any other age group. They also share, re post and tag fellow youngsters which ultimately fulfills the brand’s goal of reach and engagement. This is what is Meme Marketing.
Now, Meme Marketing can be done in different ways and for different reasons. Depending on your audience, purpose and aim, you can create memes with a required level of humor and a catchy visual which helps the users relate to the brand and to the need of it in their lives. Memes are the simplest way to provide the value of entertainment to a specific user.
Best Examples of Digital Meme Marketing strategy
Big Bazaar
Big Bazaar, India’s leading online/offline platform to shop everything a home would need. They have used Meme marketing very wisely for all their ‘mega’ blockbuster sales. They know their target audience is Indians, so, they use images of sportsmen like Virat Kohli, politicians like Modi and of celebrities like Akshay Kumar. Big Bazaar used some humorous captions in various local languages that would surely catch the eye of a range of audiences. Over two years ago, my wife stumbled upon a meme that shows Indian actor Akshay Kumar’s face with a pink turban and a solid full fledged teeth flashing smile, his eyebrows are compressed, and he’s got an expression which made her look at the meme for a good 10 seconds. It read something like, “C’mon let’s impress my girlfriend’s mother” and on the top it said, “50% off on Dinner sets only at Big Bazaar.” She laughed it off and found herself purchasing a dinner set for her own mother and shared the meme time and again because it was funny. Big Bazaar clearly knows how to get a hold of us Indians.
Tinder
Tinder, being an application developed especially for youngsters, was the ideal fit for adopting the technique of Meme Marketing. Success is inevitable in a case where the product is for youngsters and Meme Marketing is put into effect. Tinder would use appealing pictures of Hollywood celebrities such as Nicolas Cage and also famous trending musicians. Their most successful meme was the one which mentioned, ‘Adulting can wait’ with a boy holding a glass of champagne. The masses get influenced and turned on in a subtle manner when they see such famed faces, which leads them to venture onto Tinder’s path and also tell their friends about the same. A very simple image with a couple witty words, both these attributes are made to relate to the user as something that excites them and that’s how the Meme plague begins.
Disney channel and Netflix have both amassed a massive number of subscribers for their respective streaming channels via making use of the Meme Marketing strategy.
Netflix
The term ‘Netflixing’ has been used several times in memes along with a visual of a youngster or a tired working adult three fourths under the blanket with a cup of a coffee in the hand. The expression on their eyes in these memes are one of an intrigued person, you will see the meme and probably get your Netflix subscription immediately or simply log in and begin ‘Binge watching’ shows.
Disney Channel
Disney channel on the other hand puts up nostalgic images of childhood shows and characters such as Mickey Mouse, Timon, Pumba, etc, and puts up text reading “Imagine if Disney Channel had a throwback week.” People would not be generally aware that Disney channel is actually having such an event, but as we know an average person spends 90 minutes on social media every day; while scrolling through their feed, they would definitely see this Disney Channel Meme and be aware of the happenings on the streaming platform. This is how Disney easily manages to get its brand name and events out in the open despite consumers having access to a dozen other platforms.
All being done and said, Meme marketing strategy is a game changer and can boost your engagement and brand reach drastically if used wisely and in a correct manner. You can clearly see how the entertainment giants have stepped into the Meme marketing field and are making clever and witty content that can be viewed in a glance. In the near future, if any of you guys plan to build a startup, do not forget to adopt this strategy.
