Meme’s the word

Social Panga’s meme for Moglix

Every day, we see countless new memes circulating on the Internet. While they were originally crafted for recreational purpose, memes are now a legit currency for brands and advertising agencies. In fact, the Met Gala red carpet had a new addition this year: A meme correspondent. Saint Hoax, an influencer with more than 2.8 million followers on Instagram, was roped in to do the job. Using the hashtags #ReelMetIcons and #MemetheMet, Hoax and other meme-influencers provided live commentary and reels around some of the carpet's iconic looks.

Dictionary.com defines meme as a cultural item in the form of an image, video or phrase that is spread via the internet and often altered in a creative or humorous way.

As a digital partner for Ishq FM, Schbang's purpose is to push out relatable content to the audience

According to Akash Kumwat, creative and digital strategist at Social Panga, a digital marketing agency, India has accepted memes faster than most other countries. "There are many agencies that have openings for a meme creator. It's rare to find this outside [India]," he says. Whether an idea has the potential to turn into a meme is something most brands have begun to consider, shares Dheeraj Sinha, CEO and chief strategy officer South Asia of global advertising agency Leo Burnett. "You need to figure if the idea can float on its own and whether it is relatable or shareable." The reason for this is that, memes are a great way for brands to get "earned media". The term refers to attention that is organically generated for your brand's content.

Akash Kumawat

While memes are being used to sell products or services, some agencies are merely putting out "relatable" memes to garner traction on their page. Aleena Gandhi, founder and CEO of Social Media Dissect, an online platform that reviews and showcases social media content, says its usage hinges on what the brand wants to achieve. "For instance, Instagram promotes content which is more saveable and shareable. So, if a brand wants to grow organically and get more saves, they will focus on putting out more memes, but if a brand wants to sell their product, a targeted ad would be a better option." In India, agencies often take a global meme template and tweak it. "For instance, the famous Drake meme [a two-panel template, which says, Drake does not like/Drake likes] was taken and integrated the Irrfan Khan meme [the same Drake meme was replace by Irrfan Khan's picture,]" says Kumawat.

Madhurika Banerjee, Dheeraj Sinha and Aleena Gandhi

So, what makes a good meme? There are 3 Cs, says Kumawat - creativity, conversation and comprehension. "It boils down to how creatively the brand can communicate to its audience and draw their attention," he says. Madhurika Banerjee, senior group solutions manager at Schbang, a holistic marketing solutions agency, thinks the audience should always be at the centre while planning any sort of content strategy.

Picking the right meme for the brand is critical. With both, Indian and Western meme templates available, choosing a suitable fit can be a challenge. "If your audience is tier-one, they will relate to international content, but if it is tier two or three, a Hera Pheri meme, for instance, would work better than a MET Gala meme," explains Gandhi. While hopping on the meme bandwagon is well and good, it will translate into something larger only if you do it right. Choose your trend wisely, say experts. "We've always been told, pick your moment. But I strongly feel ‘pick your meme' should be preached in marketing," says Kumawat.

That said, memes should be used sparingly and thoughtfully, he adds. "[Memes] should just be one booster for a recall option to get engagement. Use one in a creative manner and get back to your original content. The focus should always be original content."