It’s impossible to forget how people were hunting for the Viral Popeyes Chicken Sandwich from the fast food chain Popeyes in 2019. Interestingly, the subsequent spread of memes on this topic was not an initiative of the brand, but rather of its audience. Since everyone was talking about it both in real life and on social media, more and more people wanted to try these crispy chicken sandwiches. Thanks to this promotion without a budget, Popeyes earned about $65 million.
Of course, seeing the free publicity that came from potential customers, Popeyes also got into the meme-making game. For example, when the infamous bananas taped to the wall at Art Basel Miami became a meme, the restaurant chain (along with many other brands) created its own take on the trendy chicken sandwich-taped-to-the-wall installation.
Bad Examples of Instagram Memes
During the 2020 presidential chile cell phone number list campaign, Michael Bloomberg’s team reached out to some of Instagram’s biggest meme accounts to post sponsored content to promote their candidate.
The reaction from followers was mixed: some were delighted, others were indifferent, but the vast majority of people were angry about this approach. When it comes to meme marketing, one thing to remember is that people want to see organic and funny content, not forced advertising.
Bloomberg’s innovative political campaign
Even prompted a policy update at the hottest b2b topics Instagram. Just hours after the memes appeared in users’ feeds, the company changed its advertising rules to require influencers to label posts sponsored by political campaigns as “Paid Partnership.”
Using humor and memes isn’t as simple as taking inspiration from a compelling campaign on a competitor’s website. To be funny, you have to, unsurprisingly, actually be funny. When brands try to use memes or humor and miss the mark, it can be awkward and annoying.
If you want to make sure your meme isn’t offensive or inappropriate, check out Twitter’s Brands Saying Bae section for some bad examples in this space.
How to create memes for a brand?
When planning to use memes in your line data marketing campaigns, make sure you choose something that is truly popular. You can use sites like KnowYourMeme or Meme Generator to find out more about the most popular memes.
Some memes become outdated very quickly, while others have a longer life cycle. However, you should avoid constantly posting viral entertainment content to avoid overexposing your audience.