7 minutes
Last Updated on Apr 25, 2025
In this fast-moving digital world, conventional advertising is loosing its pace, particularly among younger generations. And then came Meme Marketing, where humor and cultural currency get the attention and drive the engagement. Memes are proving to be an increasingly valuable and cost-effective way for brands to reach customers, specifically Gen Z and Millennials.
It refers to humor or content that is aimed at a particular market and plays upon popular cliche’s and attitudes. Memes aren't like traditional adverts: they are shareable by design, potentially going viral for little cost, and so spreading the reach of a brand without much spending. The Most Common Digital Marketing Meme About How The Most Recent Person To Share That Meme Will Be Your Next Successful Campaign. According to a HubSpot report, 98% of marketers reported using memes in campaigns, and 78% saw marginal improvement in social engagement.
Cards: Memes can introduce a feeling that can be related to, and are used to express shared experiences or emotions.
Shareable: The nature of how quick and laugh- or scowl-inducing these captions are, users are likely to share them for free, organic reach woo!
Cost-Effective: Producing memes is quite cost-effective as compared to traditional advertising.
Cultural Relevance: Memes enable brands to engage in the current dialogue and become more relevant.
Ashwin Sivakumar from the Doodles of Destiny project led the design and art direction on all the campaign's visual imagery.
Swiggy’s ‘Multiverse of Memes’ campaign was joined by popular internet icons like Puneet Superstar, Vadapav Girl, Yashraj Mukhate, and others to popularize the Group Ordering feature. Set on group food order mayhem, the ad struck a cord with viewers and racked up over 6 million views and 900,000 shares in just 24 hours.
Zomato always scores big with its meme marketing tactics. With viral memes and amusing shares as part of its social media strategy, Zomato has succeeded in making the brand far more relatable and upping the customer engagement.
If the TV show and movie culture in India had a face, Netflix India would be that face.
Netflix India does a tremendous job of leveraging memes to market its shows by combining pop culture sensibilities with local jokes. For example, when “Money Heist” Season 5 premiered the Indian subsidiary of Netflix created a series of memes using Indian ransomed notes and Bollywood mashups.
Know your fans: Adjust memes based on your audience's favorite things and their humor.
Keep it up-to-date: Make sure you stay relevant by remaining up to date with trending topics and formats.
Stay on Brand: Make sure the humor stays true to the brand.
Measure Performance: Keep tabs on interaction statistics to determine what's working and tweak your approach.
As advantageous as meme marketing can be, it’s important to leverage it carefully:
Stay Away from Forced Humor: Inauthentic or off-the-mark memes can fail spectacularly.
Be Culturally Cognizant: Don't offend or alienate some of your audience with your content.
Keep Current: Outmoded memes make a brand seem like it’s out of touch.
Meme marketing has become one of the most effective methods for brands to resonate with their customers. When brands use humor and relevance in their advertising, it helps to engage, get noticed, and connect with consumers in a more genuine way. As the internet continues to develop, using memes in your marketing strategy is an absolute game changer.
