The Game of Memes

‘The science of humor is no joke!: A statement that you will be convinced with, at the end of this article!

A study conducted by the management at the Australian National University concluded that short exposure to humorous stimuli improves the perseverance of people in completing tedious tasks. The group under study, watching humorous content, completed their task in almost half the time as against the other group, watching positive motivational content! Surprising isn’t it?

Various researchers have also concluded that humor not only provides a ‘mental-break’ but also boosts the immune system and helps to recover from stressful situations. This pretty much explains the essential human need for fun and laughter; and what is a better source of humorous content than the internet itself?

Marketers worldwide have used creative ways to feed our various needs and we cannot help but say the same when it comes to fulfilling this psychological need for humor. Enter: Meme Marketing or Memevertising!

Before we jump to the concept of Meme Marketing, let’s understand how memes originated?

Firstly, where did the word 'meme' come from?

The word 'meme' was first used by Richard Dawkins in 1976, in his book 'The Selfish Gene'. 'Meme' was derived from a 'Greek' word 'mimeme', meaning 'that which is imitated'. As of course, memes are imitated. He described it as "a piece of cultural information or concept that spreads across a culture like a wildfire."

In today’s context, memes have become a unique and fun way of communicating feelings, attitudes, and events/situations. Because of this ease and popularity that comes along with memes, every brand today wishes to increase its brand engagement through this medium! Here’s a graph showing the ‘Interest Trend’ of ‘memes’ that has grown in the Indian sub-continent, over the past 5 years.

Now that we know what memes are, let’s understand Meme Marketing!

Meme Marketing refers to an indirect selling strategy, wherein marketers use humor, to buy space in the client’s mind and successfully create a positive brand image, while they were only ‘joking-around’. This strategy has by far proven to be the best marketing strategy to connect with the GenZ, as it creates a win-win situation, for both, the companies and its target audience. Here’s how…

First of all, let’s be honest, millennials are the most ad-averse target audience. Didn’t quite understand? What better way to explain, than a meme!!