How to cook a meme: exploring content strategies in brand and user-generated memes on Instagram

Abstract

In the realm of marketing, capturing the attention of Millennials and Generation Z individuals, known for their short attention spans and ad-skipping tendencies, presents a formidable challenge for marketers. Memes have emerged as a short form of content infused with humour, allowing brands to captivate their audience. Regardless of their popularity and effectiveness, memes are a nuanced and intricate marketing tool. Understanding the specific types of meme content that generate engagement is critical. Memes are not only expressions but also a platform for voicing opinions. This study compares brand-generated and user-generated memes from food delivery apps on Instagram (n = 813), using the uses and gratifications theory as an analytical framework. The findings reveal notable differences between these two categories of memes, offering valuable insights for brand managers seeking to craft compelling and impactful meme-based campaigns.

Keywords:

• Social media
• Instagram
• memes
• brand-generated
• user-generated
• content strategy

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• Len Tiu Wright, De Montfort University Faculty of Business and Law, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

SUBJECTS:

• Business, Management and Accounting
• Economics
• Technology

Authors’ contributions

Ms. Ashima Agrawal: Conceptualization and Design, Drafting the paper (Original Draft), Addressing the comments, Dr. Daneshwar Sharma: Conceptualization and Design, Reviewing and Editing, Final approval of the manuscript, Dr. Manoj Kumar Mishra: Research Methodology, Analysis of Data, Interpretation of Data, Dr. Mohd. Asif Shah: Reviewing and Editing, Dr. Alam Mumtaz: Revision and Addressing the comments, Dr. Vinay Khandelwal: Drafting the paper (Original Draft), Revising the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that supports the findings of the study is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Ashima Agrawal

Ashima Agrawal is an FPM fellow at the Jaipuria Institute of Management, Jaipur, India. Prior to this, she was working with one of the Big 4 US consultancy firms. Her research interests are brand communication, marketing, social media communication, business and professional communication.

Daneshwar Sharma

Daneshwar Sharma is the dean of Student Affairs and professor of Business Communication at Jaipuria Institute of Management, Jaipur. His research interests are human communication, marketing and branding communication, leadership, language teaching, literature in life, sacred texts, and gender studies. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, and he is on the editorial board of the Journal of Poetry Therapy.

Manoj Kumar Mishra

Manoj Kumar Mishra is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the School of Management at OP Jindal University, Raigarh. He is pursuing his Ph.D from Jagannath University Jaipur, India on “Green Entrepreneurship”. He did his MBA from VTU with a specialization in marketing and graduated from AKTU. He has presented several research papers at many national and international conferences including presentations at IITs and IIMs. His twelve papers are published in various journals of National Repute which include Scopus-indexed, ABDC, and UGC –Care Listed Journals. Mr. Mishra has conducted ten workshops and twelve FDPs on research methodology, entrepreneurship, and green entrepreneurship across different institutes in India.

Mohd Asif Shah

Mohd Asif Shah is currently working as a Dean of Economics at Kardan University, Kabul, Afghanistan. He was previously working as an Associate Professor of Economics at Kebri Dehar University, Ethiopia, and an Associate Professor in Economics at Bakhtar University (IACBE Accredited), Kabul, Afghanistan. He has been earlier working as an Assistant Professor of Economics at FBS Business School, Bangalore, Karnataka India, and Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India (AACSB Accredited). He has also served as a lecturer at the Jamia College of Education, Srinagar, India. He has completed his master’s (M.A.), bachelor’s (B. A), and doctorate degree (Ph.D.) in Economics, with more than nine years of teaching and research experience at Higher Educational Institutions across several countries like India, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia. He has published research papers in several reputed journals and has many patents in his name. He has attended more than fifty workshops and faculty development programs sponsored by the Government of India, and has been the keynote speaker for many international conferences and seminars.

Mumtaz Alam

Mumtaz Alam, currently serving as Associate Professor in Social Science and Director of Centre for Graduate Studies at Fiji National University, obtained his PhD from Aligarh Muslim University. His research focuses on medical history across Southeast Asia and the Pacific, exploring their intersections with colonial and post-colonial contexts. Dr. Alam’s work uniquely combines social and medical history, incorporating oral testimonies and written records. He authored books ‘Health, Medicine, and Encounter of Cultures in India in 2022 and ‘Rethinking Nationalism: Exploring Its Roots, Varieties, and Theories in 2023. As an active researcher and member of prestigious associations like IHC, PHA, AHA, and ANZSHM, Dr. Alam has received accolades, including the Best Paper Prize in Science and Technology at the Indian History Congress in 2011. His diverse research portfolio spans Venereal Diseases, Smallpox vaccination, Social Policy, Environmental History, Climate Change, Gender, and Ecotourism. Holding editorial roles in distinguished international journals, Dr. Alam contributes significantly to historical scholarship.

Vinay Khandelwal

Vinay Khandelwal is a faculty of finance and analytics. He is currently associated with the ICFAI Business School, ICFAI University Jaipur as an assistant professor. Dr. Khandelwal is also associated with University of Stirling as an adjunct faculty to the students of MSc Finance. He holds his doctorate in finance from Jaipuria Institute of Management. Dr. Khandelwal holds his expertise over subjects such as Corporate Finance, Investment and Portfolio Management, Financial Derivatives, Sustainability Reporting, and Quantitative Methods in Finance. His research interests include ESG Reporting, Asset Pricing, IPO Underpricing, and Corporate Greenwashing.