Abstract:
This article will outline what memevertizing is and how advertising to millennials in this post modern internet age will continue to shift and grow with it. We will look at case studies of how memevertizing began, case studies in how it has grown, as well as figures that prove it to be a very valid form of marketing.
Memevertizing is a thriving market, and, although it will not stay the same and is not for everyone, it will persist through the coming years. Richard Dawkins was the first to coin the term meme in his book “The Selfish Gene”. He describes memes as “tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches. Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperms or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation” (192.) Much like Dawkins’ meme, the internet meme is reproduced over and over again by various users who elaborate on a single joke or statement being made. Internet memes often take the form of images linked to text and often stem from popular culture. What internet memes essentially do is make reference to a particular feeling, headspace, joke, or cultural moment that they can relate to over the web. They are humorous and always absurd. This, coupled with the fast spreading nature of the internet, is what allowed them to rise in popularity among our generation, and it is also the reason they appeal to marketing teams so much. With the inclusion of the meme into offline spaces such as billboards, shirts, and television shows, internet memes have transcended the internet and have grown to exist outside this space. Memevertizing is the use of internet memes in advertising. It targets the millennial demographic by attempting to be part of internet culture. Meme-jacking is a specific marketing trend that directly repurposes memes in order to piggyback off their notoriety and circulate the web. Although this method of advertising has proven it’s potential for both making and breaking companies, the potential for success will keep this trend going into the foreseeable future.
The reason memevertizing will persist is that it targets a thriving demographic. Millennials are the workforce of tomorrow, and as the years pass it will be them who have buying power in the economy. Memes have grown very popular among millennials, and in doing so, have provided a much desired point of insertion for advertisers. Brands have been linking themselves to culturally important icons since the 1760’s, so it should not come as a surprise that with the rise of internet culture in the mainstream, memes are being used to perpetuate this trend. Meme-jacking is just another case of this. The memes act as a gateway into creating relatable content for millennials. Plus, they take little effort to be rebranded for positive commercial attention. Successful meme-jacking can be seen at work in ‘Wonderful Pistachios’ ‘Get Crackin’ ad campaign. Simply by making minor edits to much loved video memes such as ‘keyboard cat’ and ‘honey badger’ (adding a pistachio into the mix and following it up with the short tagline “Get Crackin”) these ads were able to boost the sales of the company immensely. According to their website’s official report “the “Get Crackin” campaign [which] was launched in 2010 as a $20‐million national advertising campaign [was] responsible for a 233 percent sales increase for the Wonderful Pistachios brand in the launch year of the campaign.” Not only has this technique been used to promote already established brands, but to bring small companies into the spotlight.
In 2011 Pete Curley, founder of HipChat, rented a billboard for a discounted price along the side of highway 101 in Northern California to promote his small messenger app. On this billboard he posted an advertisement that consisted of the very popular ‘rage face’ Y U NO guy with the caption “Y U NO USE HIPCHAT?”. This early stunt of memevertizing garnered quite the attention online. In a post by Curley, he describes the sudden explosion of traffic he was seeing online due to the billboard. Over the next month Pete saw an 1100% increase in google searches for his product as well as “a lot of new, happy customers”. Although there was a backlash of internet users claiming that hipchat was ruining memes with capitalistic intent, the brand’s media attention was enough to push it far past the negative attention’s damage. This is an example of exposure being more important than positive press, one of the major advantages of early memevertizing.
Those cases were from 2011 and both companies have done well, but the formula used could not work forever. With a growing market for memes, more and more companies attempted to utilize them, and in doing so memevertizments lost their novelty. However, memevertizing has evolved in an effective way to become more sustainable. By pushing humour rather than blatant product selling, society is more likely to turn a blind eye to the fact that they are being sold a product in order to enjoy the comedy. They will likely accept, enjoy, and share the advertisement in question, as it satiates their thirst for something humorous and relatable. An example of this being “The Harlem Shake” or “Call Me Maybe” covers and parodies that spread through the internet in 2013. By latching onto memes and doing self promotion, rather than selling a product, companies such as were able to promote an image that was both hip and light-hearted. Sesame Street took advantage of this by releasing their own parody of “Call Me Maybe” in which the cookie monster chases after cookies. This gained mass popularity with the millennial generation and garnered over 19 million views. Memevertizing is best when it does not feel like it is overtly trying to sell you something. That said memevertizing is not applicable for all brands. In cases where memes are used to push political agendas, such as the HHS’ use of “doge” for Obamacare, the backlash can be enough to completely halt the campaign. The reason for this is that HHS did not realize that meme-jacking had changed. They were implementing the 2011 model as well as using it to promote something that did not benefit from the branding of a meme’s light hearted goofiness. The meme itself felt out of touch with the younger generation and inappropriate for a topic as serious as health care. Companies need to take into consideration the product or service that they are selling. Politically charged campaigns should not use light-hearted memes, whereas something as inconsequential and relatable as Denny’s restaurant can fully take advantage of memevertizing. Denny’s tumblr page has chosen to riff off memes and pop culture references at a rapid pace in a way that is bizarre enough for the internet. It is still early to judge Denny’s on its business plan, but so far in the last quarter it has done better than comparable fast food diners.
Memevertizing does not match the face of every brand, but for those who wish to cultivate a light hearted approachable image, it can be a great option. As memes develop so will the cultures surrounding it, and the way advertisers operate in relation to memes. With memevertizing being a proven source of revenue, companies will surely look to make use of its potential in upcoming years. Furthermore, as internet culture becomes mainstream culture and as millennials become the leaders of tomorrow, the power of the internet will only grow.
Works Cited:
Curley, Peter. “A Tale of a Ridiculous Billboard.” HipChat Blog. HipChat, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
Dawkins, Richard. The Selfish Gene. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1989. Print.
“Wonderful® Pistachios’ “Get Crackin’” Summer Advertising Campaign Drives Record Sales Increase in Pistachio Category.” Get Crackin’ Wonderful Pistachios, 21 June 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
“Sesame Street: Share It Maybe.” YouTube. Sesame Street, 10 July 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qTIGg3I5y8>.
New Media Illustration Review 