If you have ever used the internet in your life, chances are that you have seen a meme. They are among the most ubiquitous aspects of internet culture, and they have also evolved dramatically and adopted a wide array of different styles with all things having been considered and taken into account. With marketers constantly on the lookout for new and better ways to reach customers, could they start using memes to achieve more favorable results? A survey from Global Web Index attempted to ascertain just that.
Since memes are a part of internet culture, it would be reasonable to assume that younger audiences would be a lot more receptive to them. In spite of the fact that this is the case, this survey revealed that even Baby Boomers are aware of what memes are, even if they don’t interact with them on a day to day basis. 27% of baby boomers saw a meme online in the past week, and 23% shared these memes with their friends and loved ones. 8% even went as far as to follow meme accounts on social media.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Gen Z and Millennials are definitely more in tune with meme culture. 56% of Gen Z and 45% of Millennials saw a meme online at some point during the span of a week. 52% of Gen Z and 42% of Millennials shared these memes with others, and 34% and 24% respectively followed social media accounts solely for the memes that they shared.
As for sharing memes on their own accounts, 26% of both Gen Z and Millennials said that they did this over the past week. This number fell to 17% for Gen X and 11% for Baby Boomers, but that still suggests that they take memes quite seriously. Making original memes was a popular choice for 15% of Gen Z, 11% of Millennials, 7% of Gen X and 4% of Baby Boomers.
This study showed that using memes in marketing could make the ad campaigns more effective than might have been the case otherwise. 59% of all consumers said that they liked seeing memes being used for marketing because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making the ads more relatable. The numbers are also spread surprisingly evenly across the board. 64% of Gen Z, 62% of Millennials, 52% of Gen X and 41% of Baby Boomers liked the idea of memes appearing in marketing.
For younger people in particular, memes may help brands appear more youthful and bold. 35% of Gen Z people who responded to this survey said that they wanted to see brands in such a light, and the sharing of memes would definitely help to create such a perception in their minds.
Not all niches will be benefited by using memes. Sober institutions such as banks should offer a more adult image to their audiences. However, most brands would want to seem like they cater to a younger crowd, so the use of memes in marketing campaigns can generally be seen to have a rather positive effect in most cases.
Read next: The Most Popular Passwords Reveal the Sorry State of Cybersecurity
Since memes are a part of internet culture, it would be reasonable to assume that younger audiences would be a lot more receptive to them. In spite of the fact that this is the case, this survey revealed that even Baby Boomers are aware of what memes are, even if they don’t interact with them on a day to day basis. 27% of baby boomers saw a meme online in the past week, and 23% shared these memes with their friends and loved ones. 8% even went as far as to follow meme accounts on social media.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Gen Z and Millennials are definitely more in tune with meme culture. 56% of Gen Z and 45% of Millennials saw a meme online at some point during the span of a week. 52% of Gen Z and 42% of Millennials shared these memes with others, and 34% and 24% respectively followed social media accounts solely for the memes that they shared.
As for sharing memes on their own accounts, 26% of both Gen Z and Millennials said that they did this over the past week. This number fell to 17% for Gen X and 11% for Baby Boomers, but that still suggests that they take memes quite seriously. Making original memes was a popular choice for 15% of Gen Z, 11% of Millennials, 7% of Gen X and 4% of Baby Boomers.
This study showed that using memes in marketing could make the ad campaigns more effective than might have been the case otherwise. 59% of all consumers said that they liked seeing memes being used for marketing because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making the ads more relatable. The numbers are also spread surprisingly evenly across the board. 64% of Gen Z, 62% of Millennials, 52% of Gen X and 41% of Baby Boomers liked the idea of memes appearing in marketing.
For younger people in particular, memes may help brands appear more youthful and bold. 35% of Gen Z people who responded to this survey said that they wanted to see brands in such a light, and the sharing of memes would definitely help to create such a perception in their minds.
Not all niches will be benefited by using memes. Sober institutions such as banks should offer a more adult image to their audiences. However, most brands would want to seem like they cater to a younger crowd, so the use of memes in marketing campaigns can generally be seen to have a rather positive effect in most cases.
Read next: The Most Popular Passwords Reveal the Sorry State of Cybersecurity
