Huma Siraj
Would you like to make a single meme that brings in millions of dollars without investing any money in advertising? Saratoga Spring Water experienced that, and it wasn’t even the cause of the meme. A fitness influencer posted a video of his morning ritual a few days ago, in which he dips his face into cold water that coincidentally comes from Saratoga’s recognizable glass bottles. There was no cooperation agreement, thus Saratoga did not pay the man. However, Saratoga gained $1.8 million in earned media value from just one video, which turned into meme marketing gold. Saratoga’s parent company, Primo Brands, enjoyed a 16% increase in its stock price. Additionally, there was a 1,379% increase in Google searches, which peaked at 100, the platform’s highest index.
Amazing! Just one meme. Worth millions. No advertising expenditure.
In 2025, a well-timed meme can be more valuable than a Super Bowl commercial. And truthfully? When we’re attempting to cut through this absurdly dense digital noise, competing against firms with enormous ad expenditures, and making the most of every marketing dollar, that’s good news. However, memes are, after all, jokes. They lack professionalism. You can’t use them for marketing, surely.
See, I understand. That’s what I used to think. What you’re missing, though, is this: Memes are much more than just amusement. You might find that meme marketing is one of the most economical ways to increase brand loyalty and spur development you’ve ever seen if you approach it with a real strategy, knowledge of meme psychology, and a sincere desire to create community.
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Why Meme Marketing is more effective than Paid Advertisements
Conventional advertising targets consumers. They are invited into an internal joke using memes. One such example is Duolingo. The language-learning software may have ignored the harsh reminder emails from Duo the Owl when users began making memes about them, such as “Your streak is in danger!” and “The owl is disappointed in you.” remained dressed. continued to be instructive.
However, it is not what the Duo team did. They firmly embraced the joke, transforming Duo’s “menacing” image into a brand-defining characteristic. After then, they witnessed the internet’s explosion. Numerous additional signups began to arrive via TikTok and YouTube. Duolingo’s postings continue to outperform those of other category influencers in its industry.
Those outcomes are not the consequence of chance. The reason behind this is psychology.
It is supported by research. Compared to people who read regular brand promotional content, people who encounter meme content from a brand feel far more connected to it. This is due to the fact that memes generate what scholars refer to as “shared understanding and identity.”
Memes are essentially a psychological quick cut to trust. We are in dire need of such shortcut. A lot of business messaging comes out as utterly untrue. Brands who use meme marketing report engagement rates of up to 60%, which is understandable given that standard marketing imagery only yields 5%.
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Co-founder of Whitefriar Miguel Heinonen, who specializes in the psychology of memes, understands why individuals (and brands) adore them. “Memes work by using familiar visual patterns alongside emotional resonance,” according to him. “When a meme captures someone’s emotions or experiences, it helps build authentic connection and community.”
But this is what drew my attention: Heinonen warns against overworking oneself. “Brands often prioritize the ability to go viral over authenticity,” according to him. “A meme that feels like an over-polished ad will defeat the purpose.”
That brings us to the balance. Do it correctly? Memes have the power to transform consumers into insiders who “get it.” They forge tribal ties that rivals with larger advertising expenditures are unable to purchase. They convert one time customers into advocates. Did you do it incorrectly? Your time has been wasted.
However, there is a distinction between doing and knowing. Here’s where a meme marketing plan can help.
How experts generate viral moments using meme marketing
I’ll confess that for years, I’ve been a little fixated on memes and viral marketing. However, Tanner Kesel and Daniel Pessin from the viral marketing firm Aroma Media were the first people I had ever encountered who genuinely had a system for it.
These folks claim to have produced billions of views for their customers. Not because they hurled spaghetti at the wall until something stuck, or because of some fortunate coincidence. When they figured out how to treat memes like cultural currency, the views came in. as well as how to spend it.
The meme marketing concept
Kesel sees cultural currency as the cornerstone of Aroma Media’s operations. “We don’t force brands to go viral,” he states. “Instead, we create moments that allow them to slip into the feed like locals, not tourists.”
That analogy is fantastic. The local-versus-tourist strategy entails having such a thorough awareness of platform culture that your material appears to have been produced by locals rather than visitors. “When you show up as a local, people don’t feel like they’re being marketed to,” Kesel explains. “They feel like they’re seeing content from someone who gets their world.”
Read More: Ultimate Guide to Meme Marketing
However, without the second pillar community building the strategy is pointless, according to Dan Pessin, Kesel’s co founder. He adds that most brands completely overlook this.
“Lots of brands try to go viral, but very few try to build a community,” according to him. “Trust and community are the most important things to establish on digital channels because they lead to views, likes, shares, and most importantly for business follows.”
The secret sauce of meme marketing is this twin notion of establishing a real community while also appearing as locals. Every time, it’s about a genuine connection.
The three step method for meme marketing
How is meme marketing implemented by the Aroma Media team? This is where things get useful. Although the notion sounds good, let’s break it down into three specific actions that any brand, whether you’re a small business owner or managing a larger workforce, can take.
First step: forensic examination
Team Aroma goes into full detective mode to investigate what already exists before producing anything new. Consider CSI, but with more substance. “First thing, we look at the brand and its niche, competitors, and existing content,” Kesel explains. “We want to identify what’s worked before to use as our building blocks.”
This stage frequently shows that a brand is unaware that it is sitting on viral gold. “We’ve seen it so many times where a brand has content that could totally convert if edited properly or given a real shot,” Kesel explains.
See More: What is meme marketing & how to use it?
A true shot, by the way, isn’t just one TikTok post, twelve views, and a statement that social media “doesn’t work for my industry.”
Where is this secret treasure, then? Perhaps you never considered following up on a post you made six months ago that astonished you by receiving a lot of attention. It’s also possible that your Google reviews, which you haven’t checked in months, include amusing, meme-worthy information. Or perhaps the secret treasure is that truly amusing behind-the-scenes video you once shared to crickets, but no one ever saw.
It’s not always necessary to provide original stuff. You may be in possession of treasures that merit recognition.
Step 2: Translation of the platform dialect
Let’s take a moment to discuss accents. It’s where a lot of brands make terrible mistakes while publishing on social media.
The issue is that you can’t just copy and paste your stuff anyplace. Vernacular, culture, and unwritten standards of beauty are unique to each platform. If you’re not familiar with lingo, you may sound like your dad. “That’s pretty yeet, huh son?”
The bottom line is that you might be politely ignored on LinkedIn for doing something that TikTok fans find funny. Additionally, TikTokers may acquire kinks in their necks from physically recoiling from what makes them feel excited on LinkedIn.
Step 3: Needs for creative freedom
The last phase is to let creativity run wild, even though Kesel claims that many potential initiatives fail here. Don’t worry if you operate alone. You are the creator as well as the approver. However, in order to prevent corporate committees and approval processes from stifling or killing your creative, you might need to engage in some internal politicking if you work for a major business.
Creative freedom is essential when it comes to memes. “Maybe a brand has no content, no social presence, or they haven’t identified what works,” Kesel explains. In that scenario, we instead concentrate on parameters how imaginative we can be with the material. That is, are we permitted to cook?
There is no compromise on creative freedom. According to Kesel, it distinguishes between companies that use meme marketing successfully and those that don’t. “That’s the reason we choose our partners so carefully. We are unlikely to be a suitable fit if the cook question is answered “no” that is, if a brand grants us no creative control.”
A case study on meme marketing using the Stereo app
I was given an overview of Kesel and Pessin’s work with Stereo, a social app that prioritizes audio. And truthfully? It’s excellent.
According to Kesel, “Stereo is one of my favorite case studies,” “We conducted a number of meme-focused ads on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. User generated content was promoted in the videos, which were watermarked with Stereo’s branding.
The tactic was brilliant since it expanded Stereo’s user base around the app’s central tenet authentic voice-based connection while demonstrating how platform dialects actually function.
Taking use of TikTok’s ridiculous accent through meme marketing
Kesel’s team first collaborated with 250 of the largest theme pages, which are enormous accounts that distribute and curate content related to particular subjects. They discovered an already popular format as a result of their forensic analysis: people reading Reddit tales out loud while playing Subway Surfers or Minecraft in the background.
Here’s the twist, though. The team used Stereo’s app interface to produce what appeared to be voice messages rather than having someone read out random Reddit articles. “We knew this format was getting millions of views consistently,” Kesel explains. “But instead of just copying it, we made it feel native to Stereo’s voice-first experience.”
Thus, TikTokers continued to see the well-liked gameplay videos they were accustomed to seeing. However, they listened to audio that seemed to originate from Stereo users discussing wild, hilarious stories, rather than hearing someone read text based Reddit stories. The content gently promoted Stereo’s voice-based social interaction while adhering to TikTok’s popular absurdist formula. Stereo’s watermark was added to each video, marking the whole thing.
“For TikTok’s brain-rot loving audience, we applied the familiar absurdity but made it feel native to Stereo,” Kesel explains. “Stereo’s community grew because the videos made viewers feel like they were discovering a cool app where people share entertaining stories.”
Using Instagram’s visual language to promote memes
The team then used what Kesel cheekily refers to as the WTF factor to target Instagram.
“We teamed up with influential theme pages on Instagram to promote screen recordings of real conversations happening inside the Stereo app,” according to him. Users were drawn to captions like ‘The people on Stereo say the strangest things!’ so much. Additionally, we maintained a clean visual appeal while providing shock value for Instagram users who prioritize aesthetics.
According to Kesel, the discussions they highlighted were completely ridiculous. WTF factor is high, as promised. “The whole goal was to make people feel like they were missing out if they weren’t on Stereo,” according to him. “We built community by creating FOMO around the interesting conversations happening on the platform.”
Celebrating billions of views and counting, all because to meme marketing
The TikTok strategy received over a billion views in just two months, a figure that would make traditional advertisers cry with jealousy.
And the WTF factor campaign on Instagram? It produced the highest cost-per-install results of any campaign Aroma Media performed for Stereo, demonstrating that, when done well, shock value translates into tangible commercial results.
Take note Business measurements, not vanity metrics, is what I meant. Every piece of content led with Stereo’s value proposition, seemed natural on its platform, and was adapted from popular forms. “We achieved billions of views by applying creative twists to existing trends,” explains Kesel. “No new meme forms were developed by us. We took over pre-existing ones and made them feel like they belonged on each platform.
Speaking about outcomes, Pessin claims he is sick of hearing that they aren’t influenced by meme marketing. “Lots of people assume meme marketing doesn’t lead to sales,” according to him. Furthermore, although it can be challenging to directly credit findings, the assumption is completely false. Some of the biggest ROIs I’ve ever seen are found in successful meme campaigns.
Just keep in mind that community development and viral moments are two sides of the same coin. “Almost anyone can go viral,” Pessin asserts. However, it’s important to remember that the objective is to profit by turning a viral event into a devoted fan base. In turn, that following will establish a long lasting barrier between you and your rivals.
Strategy and execution are covered by Aroma’s methodical methodology. However, timing is another factor that may make or ruin even the most well thought out meme campaign.
Why Speed Beats Quality in Meme Marketing
Emily Reynolds understands. She started posting memes on social media around a year ago. She is the founder and CEO of R Public Relations. The outcomes? She claims that they were noticeable right away, with 90% more followers and 68% increased engagement.
She did, however, find something that will prevent you from appearing like a total tourist attempting to blend in. When she says, “It’s speed,” “Speed is the most crucial element. Your posts may cause more harm than good if they follow a trend even a day later.
What did she advise? Start with what she refers to as “timeless classics” content ideas and meme structures that are timeless. Consider timeless formats like before and after comparisons and expectation versus reality content, Monday motivation pieces, or universal office humor.
“Build your confidence with content that has staying power,” she continues. “Once you’re comfortable creating and posting quickly, you can dive into real-time trend-jacking where timing is everything.”
Your action plan for meme marketing
Here, we have covered a great deal of ground:
- Memes are trust-building cognitive tricks.
- You have to blend in like a native in order to use them.
- Localize formats and content that are effective or have the potential to be effective.
- When you see a pattern to profit from, act quickly.
Create a sense of community by using your newfound reputation as a meme-worthy brand.
The exciting part is about to begin. You can now put all of your newly acquired information to use. Regardless of your financial situation or degree of annoyance with pricey ads, these strategies can assist you in using memes to build a real community. In the process, hopefully, you’ll also grow like crazy.
Become a happy archaeologist
Investigate your current material before coming up with your initial meme. There’s a good chance that you’re sitting on meme gold.
Look through previous posts that received significantly more interaction than you would have expected. Look for that old customer review that made you laugh aloud. Look through your phone for behind the scenes photos that could show your brand as a real person rather than a corporate-speaking automaton.
Sometimes the finest viral content is right in front of you.
Acquire knowledge of platform dialects
Here’s another assignment. Don’t be creepy, but spend a week lurking on each platform. Simply watch. What causes TikTok users to burst out laughing while LinkedIn users nod thoughtfully? Why do YouTube commenters make fun of people in their comments?
Pay attention to everything, including the humor, the commenting styles, and the content’s general presentation. It is similar to learning the language before relocating to a new city.
Avoid just copying and pasting the same text into every social media platform, according to another piece of advise. That’s how visitors act. Make sure your material is appropriate for the style of each platform.
Show humanity (or allow your squad to do so)
Establish unambiguous rules so that you or your group may swiftly take advantage of trends without having to wait for permission from five separate departments. In meme marketing, speed is more important than quality. Each and every time.
Fantastic if you’re a solo performer. Permission is already taken care of. However, if you work for a larger company, it could be your largest obstacle. However, it might also be your greatest chance.
Use meme marketing to target communities rather than just metrics.
You don’t have to be the class clown when you make a meme. You must, in fact, be entertaining. Making your audience feel as though you understand them is more important, though.
Prior to publishing, consider:
Does this meme address a current issue that people are facing?
Or am I merely investing in trends because I think they might go viral?
The unpleasant truth is that viral moments are short-lived. However, community endures and supports you financially.
Start small and focus on a specific specialty.
Avoid attempting to please every audience at once. Begin by making memes that relate to the adventures, joys, and sufferings of a single individual. Before aiming for the world, master a tiny portion of the internet.
I mean, it’s better to be adored by 1,000 people than to be disregarded by 100,000.
Accept the strategic embarrassment
A nice meme might occasionally make you uneasy, particularly if it features your brand as the watermark.
If you have never been hesitant to post, or if you have never received a “Hey, are we sure about this?” from your legal team,” You’re probably being far too cautious in your Slack message. You must strike a balance between being edgy and genuine, between being smart and foolish, and between making people laugh and getting them to unfollow you.
Yes, set some limits. However, make sure anything you share reflects the personality of your brand rather than just whatever you happen to think is cool. When tax season rolls around, no one wants to see dozens of screaming goat memes posted by an accounting business.
Concluding remarks regarding meme marketing
Look, both of us are aware that meme marketing carries a considerable amount of risk. Sometimes your brand may appear absurd. Your mom or your legal team may get mild heart attacks. You might need to trust that being human is more important than being gorgeous and relinquish some control.
However, as the meme gurus have discovered, companies that make people laugh, feel recognized, and want to click “share” will succeed when everyone is clamoring for attention and trust is hard to come by. One excellent method to do so is through meme marketing.
