Meme Marketing: How Do Memes Influence Customer Perception and Awareness of The Brand
Abstract
This study aims to explore the responses of Generation Z working in the creative industry to meme-based marketing, identify factors influencing their engagement, and analyze strategies that can optimize meme content to increase brand awareness. This study used a qualitative research design with a phenomenological approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight Gen Z professionals in creative fields such as content creation, social media, and digital marketing. The study concluded that Generation Z exhibits a positive attitude toward meme marketing, especially when the content is humorous, relevant, and emotionally authentic. Memes that resemble casual peer communication are more effective in attracting attention and avoiding rejection of promotional messages. This study identified five main factors influencing Gen Z engagement with meme content: humor, emotional connection, trend awareness, simplicity, and authenticity.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Ashley, C., Tuten, T., 2015, Creative Strategies in Social Media Marketing: An Exploratory Study of Branded Social Content and Consumer Engagement. Psychology & Marketing, 32, 15-27.
Alhabash, S., McAlister, A. R., Quilliam, E. T., Richards, J., Lou, C., 2014. Alcohol's Getting a Bit more Social: When Alcohol Marketing Messages on Facebook Motivate Young Adults to Imbibe. Mass Communication & Society. Online.
Aleem, A., Loureiro, S. M. C., Schivinski, B., Aguiar, M., 2024. What if utilitarian products are regarded as high-status? The moderate role of iconic and popular as two dimensions of brand Coolness. Journal of Marketing Communications, 30(4), 508–528.
Aspers, P., Corte, U., 2019. What Is Qualitative in Qualitative Research. Qualitative Sociology, 42, 139-160.
Alza, T. M. F., Linando, J. A., 2025. Analysis of the Suitability of Pasarind Marketing Strategy with Customer Perception. Research Horizon, 5(2), 109–118. h
Bowo, F. A., Anisah, Marthalia, L., 2024. Meme Marketing: Generation Z Consumer Behavior on Social Media. Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Sains, 5(02), 188–201.
Benaim, M., 2018. From symbolic values to symbolic innovation: Internet memes and innovation. Research Policy, 47(5), 901–910.
Chan, F. F. Y., Lowe, B., 2021. Placing products in humorous scenes: Its impact on brand perceptions. European Journal of Marketing, 55(3), 649–670.
Chuah, K., Kabilan, M. K., 2022. The Development of Mobile Applications for Language Learning: A Systematic Review of Theoretical Frameworks. International Journal of Learning Teaching and Educational Research. 21(8). 253-270..
Eisend, M., 2022. The influence of humor in advertising: Explaining the effects of humor in two‐sided messsages. Psychology & Marketing, 39(5), 962–973.
Guest, G., Bunce, A., Johnson, L, 2006. How Many Interviews Are Enough?: An Experiment with Data Saturation and Variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59–82.
Hennink, M., Kaiser, B. N., 2022. Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical tests. Social Science & Medicine, 292, 114523.
Kumar, R., Sah, D., Ranjan, A. R., Verma, R., Gupta, D., Kumar, A., 2024, Improved Irrigation and Crop Establishment Techniques for Enhancing Water Use Efficiency in Rice, The Science World, 4(5), 1992-1996
Lubis, A. Y., Santoso, P. Y., Fitrianto, B. Y., 2021. Utilizing Meme as Digital Marketing Strategy. ICCD, 3(1), 432–437.
Malodia, S., Dhir, A., Bilgihan, A., Sinha, P., Tikoo, T., 2022. Meme marketing: How can marketers drive better engagement using viral memes? Psychology & Marketing, 39(9), 1775–1801.
Meer, A. S., Khan, R. A., Kanwal, S., 2022. Meme marketing and purchasing behavior: A study of active social media users. Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, 59(3), 216.
Neubauer, B. E., Witkop, C. T., Varpio, L., 2019. How phenomenology can help us learn from the experiences of others. Perspectives on Medical Education, 8(2), 90–97.
Ngo, T. M., 2021. Meme Marketing: How Viral Marketing Adapts to The Internet Culture. Theses. University of Northern Iowa
Otterbring, T., 2021. Evolutionary psychology in marketing: Deep, debated, but fancier with fieldwork. Psychology & Marketing, 38(2), 229–238.
Rathi, N., Jain, P., 2023. Impact of meme marketing on consumer purchase intention: Examining the mediating role of consumer engagement. Innovative Marketing, 20(1), 1–16.
Ruslin, R., Mashuri, S., Abdul Rasak, M. S., Alhabsyi, F., Syam, H., 2022. Semi-structured Interview: A Methodological Reflection on the Development of a Qualitative Research Instrument in Educational Studies. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education (IOSR-JRME), 22–29.
Shifman, L. 2013. Memes in a Digital World: Reconciling with a Conceptual Troublemaker. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 18(3), 362–377.
Siddique, M., 2024. Meme marketing among Indian Gen Z: An analysis of Swiggy and Zomato’s memes as instruments of economic sustainability.
Wielki, J., 2020. Analysis of the Role of Digital Influencers and Their Impact on the Functioning of the Contemporary On-Line Promotional System and Its Sustainable Development. Sustainability, 12(17), 7138.
Wu, Y., Ardley, B., 2007. Brand strategy and brand evolution: Welcome to the world of the meme. The Marketing Review, 7(3), 301–310.
Zulli, D., Zulli, D. J., 2022. Extending the Internet meme: Conceptualizing technological mimesis and imitation publics on the TikTok platform. New Media & Society, 24(8), 1872–1890.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33087/ekonomis.v9i2.2705
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Ekonomis: Journal of Economics and Business Published by Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat |
