Towards an understanding of meme marketing: conceptualisation and empirical evidence

ABSTRACT

Meme marketing taps into the potential of digital culture. Despite considerable practitioner interest, meme marketing is under-researched. The present study aims to fulfil two purposes. First, to conceptualise meme marketing, we draw on speech act theory and the theory of consumption values to define meme marketing. On this basis, we differentiate meme marketing from relevant digital marketing constructs, including e-WOM, digital content marketing, and viral marketing. Second, to validate the proposed definition, we empirically perform a qualitative content analysis to taxonomize meme marketing speech acts. Based on the content analysis of 699 meme marketing posts, we found that meme marketing serves as a rich communication source, sending intentions of the brand through single (i.e. assertive, directive, expressive) as well as combined (i.e. assertive entailing expressive, assertive entailing directive) speech acts that provide customers with epistemic, emotional, and social values. Important theoretical and managerial implications for academic researchers and marketers are also discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Meme marketing
• internet memes
• speech act theory
• theory of consumption values
• contextual knowledge
• customer engagement

View correction statement:

Correction

Acknowledgment

This work did not receive financial support or a grant from any university or organization.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Note: knowyourmeme.com is a website dedicated to internet memes.

2. Note: The background contextual knowledge and meaning of the internet meme ‘Galaxy Brain’ was obtained by consulting the largest internet meme directory knowyourmeme.com.

3. Note: The background contextual knowledge and meaning of the internet meme ‘Lest exit 12 off-ramp’ was obtained by consulting the largest internet meme directory knowyourmeme.com.

4. Note: The background contextual knowledge and meaning of the internet meme ‘How is started vs. How it’s going’ was obtained by consulting the largest internet meme directory knowyourmeme.com.

5. Note: The background contextual knowledge and meaning of the internet meme ‘The mini heart attack when you can’t find these in your pocket’ was obtained by consulting the largest internet meme directory knowyourmeme.com.

6. Note: The background contextual knowledge and meaning of the internet meme ‘You vs. the guy she told you not to worry about’ was obtained by consulting the largest internet meme directory knowyourmeme.com.

7. Bernie Sanders meme refers to a photograph of Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator seated during the inauguration of Joe Biden and wearing a face mask and distinctive mittens.

8. Salt Bae meme is named after famous Turkish chef Nusret, who fancifully cuts and put salt on the meat.

9. Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock meme refers to a moment from the 2022 Oscars in which actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock over a joke he made about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

10. Ice Bucket Challenge is a viral dare game in which the participant must pour a bucket of ice water over his or her head and nominate any three individuals to perform the same challenge within the next 24 hours.

11. Note: The background contextual knowledge and meaning of the internet meme ‘Skipping Stairs’ was obtained by consulting the largest internet meme directory knowyourmeme.com.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ali Razzaq

Ali Razzaq is currently enrolled as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Marketing at Griffith University, Gold Coast campus. His research interests mainly revolve around broader fields of consumer behaviour, marketing communications, sustainable marketing, consumer boycott, advertising, and tourism marketing. As an aspiring young scholar, his research work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Journal of Vacation Marketing and Journal of Global Marketing.

Wei Shao

Dr. Wei Shao is a senior lecturer in Marketing at the Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia. Her research interests include social media marketing, branding and consumer behaviour. She has published in reputed A and A* journals (ABDC) such as European Journal of Marketing, Australasian Marketing Journal, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Young Consumers, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Journal of Product & Brand Management.

Sara Quach

Dr. Sara Quach is a senior lecturer in Marketing at the Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia. She has been recognized as the Rising Star in the Marketing Discipline 2020 by The Australian and has recently won the 2022 Emerging Marketing Researcher of the Year Award at The Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy (ANZMAC). Her research has been published in A* and A ranked journal articles (ABDC) including but not limited to the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Industrial Marketing Management, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Journal of Strategic Marketing, and Marketing Intelligence and Planning.