Loved this, Kira! In my opinion a lot of startups, especially those working with tighter budgets, memes can be a super effective way to build a unique brand personality without spending a ton. Tapping into meme culture lets them create content that's fun, relatable, and shareable—and it can lead to way more engagement than traditional ads. Curious though—how do you think startups can strike the right balance between being meme-savvy and not coming off as trying too hard or inauthentic?
Totally. I think this comes back to teams having alignment on their core brand strategies and particularly understanding their audience(s). Where is that audience spending time? What are they seeing next to your brand? Where is there already a lot of noise and where is there white space for your brand to do something different? Authenticity is pretty overused as a buzzword, but that's essentially what it means: Are you connecting what your brand stands for to what your audience cares about? If there's a disconnect, it's probably not authentic.
Great insight. But I think there is case to be made that “unhinged” marketing can, in part, have taken its cues from politics & grown more common as a result. I was in campaigning when the Tea Party first came on the scene and then a campaign director when it really exploded & everyone in campaigning was talking about how “unhinged” their tactics were. It didn’t matter what party you were with-everyone noticed. It was clear it was all about attention, truth be damned and it seems to have proliferated the culture at this point.
Interesting point! Brands and culture are impossible to separate, which is why I'm not a fan of product or growth marketing existing in silos from brand work. The brand team is usually the one most responsible for thinking about how the company and product exist in context of everything else, and can therefore find and understand the insights about why messages resonate or don't, what messages an audience is primed to receive and what behaviors they'll accept or reject, etc. It's really helpful to look at the broader context of social norms, politics, celebrity culture, etc. to think more holistically as a brand professional.
Wow - amazing post. I really appreciate the historical context for meme culture and also the guidance for brands on whether to jump in or not. 👌👌👌
🦀🦀🦀
Loved this, Kira! In my opinion a lot of startups, especially those working with tighter budgets, memes can be a super effective way to build a unique brand personality without spending a ton. Tapping into meme culture lets them create content that's fun, relatable, and shareable—and it can lead to way more engagement than traditional ads. Curious though—how do you think startups can strike the right balance between being meme-savvy and not coming off as trying too hard or inauthentic?
Totally. I think this comes back to teams having alignment on their core brand strategies and particularly understanding their audience(s). Where is that audience spending time? What are they seeing next to your brand? Where is there already a lot of noise and where is there white space for your brand to do something different? Authenticity is pretty overused as a buzzword, but that's essentially what it means: Are you connecting what your brand stands for to what your audience cares about? If there's a disconnect, it's probably not authentic.
Great insight. But I think there is case to be made that “unhinged” marketing can, in part, have taken its cues from politics & grown more common as a result. I was in campaigning when the Tea Party first came on the scene and then a campaign director when it really exploded & everyone in campaigning was talking about how “unhinged” their tactics were. It didn’t matter what party you were with-everyone noticed. It was clear it was all about attention, truth be damned and it seems to have proliferated the culture at this point.
Interesting point! Brands and culture are impossible to separate, which is why I'm not a fan of product or growth marketing existing in silos from brand work. The brand team is usually the one most responsible for thinking about how the company and product exist in context of everything else, and can therefore find and understand the insights about why messages resonate or don't, what messages an audience is primed to receive and what behaviors they'll accept or reject, etc. It's really helpful to look at the broader context of social norms, politics, celebrity culture, etc. to think more holistically as a brand professional.