Memes as Marketing Tools

One of the smartest brand-building strategies I’ve seen is what Amul has done over the years. Every time something happened - big or small - Amul had a take on it. Through their iconic comic strip, they depict current events, pop culture, politics, and whatever was buzzing. And in doing that consistently, they made Amul feel relevant. A brand that had a voice. A point of view. A sense of humour. A contemporary brand. That fascinated me. So when we were building BEWAKOOF®, we didn’t have the kind of marketing money that big brands did. We were a small team with big dreams and even bigger limitations. But we thought - what if we used Amul’s strategy? Except this time, we weren’t limited to billboards or newspapers. Back in 2013, Social media was just taking off- Facebook and Instagram were blowing up. And meme culture was on the rise. People had started consuming news and trends not through newspapers, but through memes. Memes became the new way to find out what was going on. If something went viral, a meme told you first. They were faster than the news. Funnier than a press release. So we latched onto that. We decided to become hyper-contemporary. Amul used to do this once a week, because it meant: - getting a sketch made, - writing the copy, - printing it, - and distributing it through hoardings and newspapers. We could do this multiple times a day. Budget announced in the morning? We had something to say about it by noon, memed and delivered with humour. India is playing a match at night? We were on it, reacting and creating while the match was on. And slowly, it worked. In 2016, we became one of the top Facebook pages in India, with 4.5 million followers. On Instagram, we grew to 1.7 million followers. All organic. All real. All built with zero media speed No ad budget. Just paid attention to what was happening in the world and a will to be part of it. THAT'S how we cracked awareness. And honestly, awareness is the first step in brand-building. It’s what tells people you exist. It’s what gets people to care. We didn’t have the money to buy attention. So we earned it - by showing up every day, in the moment, with a voice. That was our Amul strategy. But in the age of memes.

Memes work. Just ask The New York Public Library. Earlier this year, they launched a meme campaign to get library funding restored. It was a success—with people attributing the restoration of over $58M to the social team's strategy. When I asked NYPL Social Media Manager Victoria Reis why they leaned into memes (a format they typically avoided) during one of the most consequential moments in the library’s history, she said: "We needed New Yorkers to know what was going on and I was able to use memes as a quick and punchy way to communicate the seriousness of the situation in a format that’s easy to digest and travels well online... ...As the series continued it changed the way we approach social media overall. For the first time, our posts were a super organic two-way outlet for the library and our audience to connect over this mutually devastating situation."

Before using a meme to make a point, ask yourself: Do you understand how humor works in influence and advertising? Without that knowledge, sh*tposting is just that—noise. The two oldest features of human cognition are (1) numbers and (2) humor. Both bypass the brain’s frontal-lobe biasing mechanisms. Laughter, for instance, is not a controllable reflex—babies develop the ability to laugh long before they develop a Theory of Mind. Laughter is inherently complex. For someone to laugh, their brain must recognize the social norm, understand how the input relates to it, and perceive why it deviates just enough to provoke humor. When used strategically, humor (or memes) can influence social norms precisely because it bypasses the mental filters people use to reject certain messages. A well-crafted joke or meme sneaks past defenses, exposing the audience to ideas they might otherwise resist. Laughter also serves as a valuable feedback mechanism—it reveals where someone stands on social norms while simultaneously exposing them to messaging. With repeated exposure, their perspectives can begin to shift. Comedians do this intuitively. But that’s also why they attract fans who align with their worldview; humor isn’t universally effective. It resonates with those who share—or are open to—a specific perspective. Memes work similarly, but here’s the catch: most meme usage is unsophisticated sh*tposting. Take the UKR conflict, for example—much of the meme activity is hit-or-miss because it lacks strategy, data, or a coherent plan. If you’re leveraging humor or memes in your messaging, make it intentional. Otherwise, you’re just adding to the noise.

Memes aren’t just jokes anymore - they’re media companies. A meme is the MVP of modern media. It’s the fastest, cheapest way to test if a community exists... and if they care. You’re not just building jokes. You’re testing content-audience fit. Once it clicks, you can scale up: newsletters, partnerships, short-form content, even IP. This is the blueprint: → Start with memes → Build trust through inside jokes. Show industry expertise → Layer in resources → Monetize without selling out Examples: Litquidity - finance memes → events, media, recruiting Assistants vs. Agents (AvA) - a meme page started by Warner Bailey while working as an agency assistant in Hollywood What began as inside jokes led to strong media brands. There’s power in starting from one role or job function and creating from within it. Still untapped opportunities (for the taking) • A meme page for first-year lawyers • A parody account from the POV of a junior product manager • An HR newsletter called 'Red Flag Fridays' • A short-form series on chaotic client emails • 'Not in my bank yet' (a parody of Accounts Receivable pain) Start funny. Start real. Start small. Because once a meme hits? It means your audience feels seen. People think memes are low-level content... but a good meme, created by someone who knows the game, is the highest-ROI content format out there.

What if your “doomscrolling” intern could be the secret to your next viral campaign? Gen Z professionals are being hired to watch reels and write captions for them. It sounds odd, but it’s the smartest form of insight mining for real-time marketing. Recently, Viraj Sheth posted about hiring doom-scrollers at Monk-E. The skills needed? 6+ hours of screen time on Instagram and YouTube. For brands, this isn’t about gimmicks. It’s about decoding where consumer attention is moving and responding in real time. Here’s how doomscrolling becomes your unfair advantage: → You predict emerging meme language and content formats → You identify emotional triggers in real-time (not from last month’s report) → You plug your brand into conversations already happening In a world where “culture moves faster than strategy,” you need someone who can translate micro-moments into meaningful brand action. Call it what you want: Chief Meme Officer, Scroll Analyst, Viral Whisperer. But one thing’s clear: This isn’t just a new role. It’s a new muscle for marketing teams. Are you building it yet, or do you think it's just a fad? #genz #marketingtrends #doomscrolling

Honest Truth: The best B2B marketers just steal from B2C. B2B marketing is 4-5 years behind B2C. - The quality. - The creativity. - The execution. It’s years behind where B2C is at. While B2C are building cult followings , most B2B marketers are just figuring out what social media is. But this isn’t the downfall of B2B marketing. ↳ It’s a massive opportunity. Here are 7 B2C tactics every B2B marketer can steal from B2C: 1/ Build Faces Into the Brand B2C has influencers. B2B has employees. How to do it: - Pick 3-5 key employees - Support their personal brands - Amplify their voices (not your logo) - Let them share authentic experiences ——— 2/ Use Repeatable Content Series B2C marketers have formats. - “Hot Ones” - “Day in the life” vlogs - “Get ready with me”s B2B needs its own. - “Good vs Bad Content” - “3 Things I’d Fix On Your Website” - “This Post = That Lead Magnet” Pick one angle. Repeat it weekly. Make it a thing. ——— 3/ Build a “Meme Layer” Into Your Brand B2C brands like Duolingo and Liquid Death expect their content to be meme-worthy. Try this in B2B: - Build meme-style graphics into your content plan - Comment on industry trends with humour - Create an internal “meme vault” for reactive posting Memes are just emotions in a picture. B2B has emotions too. ——— 4/ Launch Seasonal Campaigns B2C runs drops. B2B runs drip feeds. You need drops. - Q1: Industry Trends Report - Q2: Podcast Series Launch - Q3: Lead Magnet + Video Series - Q4: State of the Industry Campaign One big push per quarter. All channels. All in. ——— 5/ Entertain before educating B2C brands lead with entertainment. Then sneak in the value. Think: - Duolingo’s TikTok. - Gymshark’s YouTube. - Barbie’s launch campaign. In B2B? Wrap your message in humour. Make people feel something. Then they’ll listen. ——— 6/ Launch “Drops” Instead of Products B2C brands hype releases. B2B just uploads a PDF. Flip it: - Build a waitlist - Tease the launch in advance - Use a countdown - Only promote it for 7 days Turns your lead magnet into a limited-time event. ——— 7/ Campaigns > Content Cycles Stop the content treadmill: - Random blog posts - Daily social updates - Generic newsletters Instead, launch campaigns: - Find your ICP's biggest pain - Create the ultimate solution - Push across all channels B2C have been doing this for years. If you’re in B2B, the cheat code is right in front of you. Steal from B2C. Apply it smartly. And you’ll instantly be 3 years ahead of your competitors. Which tactic are you stealing first? —— Follow me for more B2B marketing Niall Ratcliffe

Is using meme creatives to lower the campaign CPM a good idea? Meme creative gets high CTR. Often, it is not the link-click-CTR but the overall CTR. However, an increased engagement rate would lower your campaign's CPM. Lately, even B2B brands have started trying it. Of course, it works for a few brands, especially those with little to lose in terms of their brand image. However, there are three common problems with this approach. 1. Irrelevant targeting Today, campaign engines usually use creatives as a targeting tool. As the individual audience-based data providing behavior information was reduced, contextual targeting took the front seat. This means meme creatives attract irrelevant audiences to the advertiser's site. This brings me to the second point. 2. Conversion rate(CR) drops When you bring in less relevant users, your site's conversion rate drops. If your CPM decrease is not proportional to your CR drop, you will eventually pay more for the same outcomes. But the last point is more important. -Distorted learning When a creative starts performing well, the campaign directs most of the budget to that creative. All of its learning will be based on that creative, and your campaigns require more high-engagement creative(meme) to continue performing. Most of the time, simple and curious creative works the best. For sustained success, make the user decide on your platform rather than on the marketing platform.

When Marketing leaders think Memes, they think of a few things: 1) Brand risk 2) Raunchiness 3) Lack of strategy 4) Easy to execute As an agency we wholeheartedly disagree with all 4 and I dare you to convince us otherwise. On the surface it might look like Memes lack fundamentals, they might seem like the crack of the industry, something you use for a quick hit. We see them as something different. Memes are the most strategic piece of content you can create, levels above your blog posts, deep research, and Hollywood-grade commercial shoots. A well-crafted meme conveys a deep message in a fraction of the time that your highly-produced product-focused content can do. There’s 2 paths you can take as a brand if implementing Memes (we only work with brands on getting them to path 2): Path 1: Become the class clown, make your brand become a joke. Example brands: Duolingo, Ryan Air, Slim Jim Works in certain markets, but you? In B2B? Ha. No. Path 2: Conveying intelligence and signal understanding of your target audience's biggest pains without your service in their life. Example brands: Trainual, Apollo, Vista Social Path 2 is rooted in fundamentals. It starts with clearly identified customer profiles. Then shifts to levels of research understanding their pains. Then morphs into messaging that relates to their shared experiences. Then builds creative that your ICP can visualize themselves through. And ends up as a piece of content that leaves your customers with another level of trust with your brand. Explaining complex topics via Memes is the ultimate form of mastery of understanding who you’re targeting, why, and how your service can make their work life better.

Should meme marketing be part of your brand strategy? Meme marketing is extremely engaging But here’s the catch: most of it isn’t legal.   Most memes originate from copyrighted material like famous images or videos, such as the “Distracted Boyfriend” or “Grumpy Cat.” Using these in marketing without permission violates copyright laws, exposing brands to legal risks. Grumpy Cat was not grumpy at all after winning $710,000 copyright infringement verdict. Brands like Stuart Weitzman and FJerry have faced lawsuits for using memes in their marketing without permission, demonstrating that even a single tweet or Instagram post could land a company in legal hot water.   How to Avoid Trouble: ✅ Stick to legally licensed images ✅ Create original memes with AI ✅ Avoid using copyrighted memes without explicit permission. ✅ Understand that both organic and paid posts are subject to the same legal scrutiny.   While memes are a popular and engaging tool, brands should be aware of the potential legal risks. It’s all fun and games—until the lawsuits roll in.    #Marketing #MemeMarketing #SocialMedia #LegalRisks #BrandStrategy

How We Approach Marketing at Crumble When we started we didn’t want to be just another food page posting pictures of cookies with captions about how great they are. No one really cares about how good you bake cookies or how you make the dough. We also had no budget for Meta ads, so relying on paid marketing was never an option. Instead of acting like a cookie brand we acted like a content creator. The idea was simple, make content people actually want to see. Memes, trends, whatever was relevant at the time. Ramadan, political news, viral movie scenes. If people were talking about it we found a way to make it ours. Branding was subtle, sometimes barely there, because the goal wasn’t to sell, it was to make people engage, share, and remember us. In fact this Ramadan we hit our highest reach ever, 92 million. And it worked. People started reposting our content, tagging their friends, and Crumble became part of their daily feed. The reach, the followers, the engagement, it all grew naturally not because we pushed our product but because we were part of the conversation. Being a content creator rather than just a brand gives you an edge. People don’t just see your posts, they come back to check what you’ve posted next. And now even our boring cookie content gets reach simply because it doesn’t suit us. Good marketing doesn’t feel like marketing. Hope the marketing gurus approve.