“Meme” comes from a Greek word. In marketing terms, the word describes a “package” of information that is instantly understandable. To eliminate the noise and confusion of today’s advertising, only the most compelling and easy-to-understand “packages” succeed.

Marketing memes are real. They are a mind control device. This is not science fiction stuff. Geoff Ayling in his book “Rapid Response Advertising” tells all about it. It is one of my favorite books.

Memes are a kind of “instant recall” template in our brains. Sometimes a meme is a catchphrase, sometimes it’s a jingle, sometimes it’s a visual association. Whatever the form, a successful advertising meme gets under our skin and embeds itself in our subconscious mind from where it influences our actions.

Creepy, right?

Maybe. But I think I can convince you that a meme can be used as a force for good… and that developing the right meme for your business or product could be the difference between struggling to succeed year after year and getting dirty. rich.

Here’s a classic meme:

“I like Ike!”

What’s not to like about Ike? The image of him was congruent, at least in public he managed to be likeable in two elections … partly due to his charisma, appearance and credibility, but it was all tied together by the simple three words: listen to him, say him. -the same. Ike won overwhelmingly in 1953, ending a 20-year Democratic White House, even though he had NEVER held elected office and was therefore not an experienced legislator.

Ike’s election was a great triumph of populism… and it might have gone well even without the “I line Ike!” There is no denying the power or associations that the catchphrase brings.

Other famous memes include:

“Hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less or it’s free!”

“We are number 2. We try harder.”

In both cases, the company name isn’t even included in the meme, but the associations are so powerful that most Americans recognize these memes even if they haven’t seen the ads in years.

Here’s another:

“Take up Pepsi’s challenge!”

I remember it from the ’70s and early ’80s. I was a kid. I liked Coke better, but I tried Pepsi, as did most Coke drinkers… and Coke lost a huge market share to Pepsi in the space of a few years. Pepsi repositioned Coca-Cola as old-fashioned and uncool. The damage to Coca-Cola was brutal and the company spent incredible amounts of money trying to get the business back. One of the great marketing moves in history.

Let’s face it, the chances of your product or company ever having a meme as successful as these are slim. Memes are also powerful in more subtle contexts. Ideally, a meme will create a deep and compelling “reason” in your customers’ minds to buy from you. You can even use a combination of layered memes to create the impression that your product or service is profoundly different from your competition, even though it really isn’t.

The differentiation between what you sell and what your competition sells is in the MIND of the people who experience your products or your advertising. Many business owners would be surprised at how oblivious the public is to the value of their products and how easily their advertising is forgotten.

By understanding and using Memes in your marketing messages, you stand a chance of standing out in a sea of ​​”me too” marketing… which is, despite your pride in your current marketing, probably what you’re doing right now. .

There are not many great memes visible in marketing today. However, some of the companies that have them have succeeded in the market. The Avis Car Rental Meme “We’re #2, We Try Harder” actually catapulted that failed company to the #2 position…the Meme actually created the reality they were looking for.

The Marlboro Man is another successful meme. The tagline is “Come where the flavor is – Marlboro Country,” and that’s fine, but the real power comes with the overlapping of associated images of male power and tough Americanism. The memes embedded themselves in America’s collective consciousness and took Marlboro from number 22 to number one in cigarette sales. He took a mediocre and failed brand and created a multi-million dollar brand.

I wouldn’t want to get involved with a poisonous product like cigarettes, but I have to admit that the meme is really powerful and worth studying. Various spirits companies have attempted to borrow from the Marlboro meme with some success. At its core, whiskey is, to most drinkers, quite similar, but effective memetic marketing has created brand preferences in the minds of consumers that allow a few brands to dominate. When he shows up at a bar with 20 brands of whiskey, the drinker knows what he likes. He has a preference which, in fact, is based less on his actual personal preference and more on the effective mind-control marketing of the memetic brand.

Powerful stuff indeed.