A Formula for Memes

Memes used to mirror culture.

But something changed.

They are now so omnipresent that memes are culture.

We are drowning in memes, with conservative estimates suggesting that there are over one million shared every day.

But why have they become so commonplace?

And is there a formula to create them?

Let’s dig into why this is important.

Memes Define Seasons

If you need evidence for how big memes have become, just look at how they have been used for Kamala Harris’ election campaign.

But memes aren’t just helping to decide the next President; they are also defining different seasons as we move through the year.

As Wired writes:

“The end of ‘Brat Summer’ doesn’t mean what you think. Yes, it means we’re moving into Demure Autumn or even PSL Time, but it also indicates seasons themselves are getting warped by meme culture.”

The the article ends by saying, “My brain tries to find the meme in every thing” and I don’t think this is a strictly journalistic tendency; anyone under the age of 40 does it.

Culture Is Flat

Why have memes become so culture-defining?

In short, because the algorithms have completely flipped culture, especially what we see online. What was once niche is now mainstream, almost instantly. But, to bastardise a phrase, what burns brighter, burns faster.

To quote another newsletter:

“The internet - once a beautiful space for play and discovery - is now flattening culture, one core, advert, echo chamber and algorithm at a time. We’re all-too-familiar with the never-ending treadmill of the attention economy, forever getting in the way of our ability to think deeply, or act on what’s important to us (goodbye, latest abandoned creative project…)”

A Formula for Memes

Some memes last the distance, most do not.

But is there a formula? Yes, according to this Airmail article (paywall):

Edible/erotic word + Aesthetic + Noun

(E.g. Peach Americana Nails).

What does this mean for marketers?

Leveraging a meme for too long has the opposite effect to what is intended: the brand looks completely out-of-touch with the most on-trend among its target audience.

But however long they last, they remain relatively cost-effective ways to grab attention, which evidence tells us is closely related to brand outcomes.

While the formula above is of course firmly tongue-in-cheek, there are definitely hints in here that can help inform social media content for a trend-setting audience:

Make it sound aspirational, fleeting and… somewhat confusing.

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*Think: the ‘Distracted Boyfriend’ meme, where a man looks at another woman while his partner looks on disapprovingly. For years, it has been a popular way to represent various forms of distraction or temptation in relationships. Could this suggest a trend of dissatisfaction in modern, dating app-driven relationships? Maybe that’s a stretch, but you could argue it that way.

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Bonus Link: All music lovers should check the latest meme here