‘I have a meme for that’: Can this low-cost promotional tool replace traditional ads?
In today’s attention-driven world, conventional marketing methods are losing their spark. Audiences scroll past and brands struggle to stay relevant — that’s where meme marketing comes in
After the film 'Utshob' was released in June this year, various memes made using its scenes as templates started circulating on social media, such as, "You don't have to go abroad just because you got a 7 in IELTS, Jasmin," or "You don't have to study engineering just because you're good at maths, Jasmin."
Engineering students and international students, each in their own way, found these memes relatable and kept sharing them. In the process, the movie received free and organic promo. Even those who had no idea about the film became curious about it after coming across the meme templates.
But beyond this organic trend, brands themselves sometimes jump aboard the meme train as an alternative marketing tool.
OTT platform Chorki, a co-producer of Utshob, had earlier itself relied upon memes to promote a different series.
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In 2023, when they released 'Myself Allen Swapan', a particularly creative element of the promotion was a 'meme competition' that drew massive audience engagement.
Chorki partnered with Rantages, a Bangladeshi meme-sharing platform, to host the competition as a way of celebrating the release of the show. At that time, social media was flooded with memes created using different scenes from the series as templates.
Faisal Rahman, head of Marketing and Growth at Chorki, noted that this meme marketing culture began with Myself Allen Swapan.
"After seeing its impact, we did it for more shows — most recently for Utshob. It has now become a common practice. Other brands are also thinking in their own ways about how to use humour to connect with the young generation," he told TBS.
Indeed, it is no longer just Chorki's strategy. Many other brands in the country are turning to memes to promote their products.
A prominent example is bKash. Every Eid, its campaign 'Eider chand aakashe, salami den bKashe' circulates widely across social platforms, with people spontaneously participating with their own memes as if it has become an essential part of their Eid celebrations.
Furthermore, the use of memes for promotional purposes is not a new phenomenon in the global context. Netflix, the most popular streaming service in the world, has a meme page that produces content specifically for their TV shows and films to increase audience engagement.
For decades, marketing in Bangladesh has followed a familiar path — glossy billboards, TV commercials, and routine social media posts. But in today's attention-driven world, those methods are losing their spark. Audiences scroll past and brands struggle to stay relevant.
A 2024 study titled 'Understanding the use and application of meme marketing in strategic communications in Bangladesh' suggests that businesses in food, delivery, and e-commerce sectors heavily utilise memes for advertising nowadays.
How the market works
"We create most of our memes in-house. We have an energetic young team who can read the pulse of the generation. Then we collaborate with meme groups like Rantages to circulate them. There, we just make use of their community," Faisal said.
"However, meme marketing isn't easy — or even suitable — for all brands or all types of products. Some brands might simply lack the element of fun. It's important to understand what kind of content the audience finds humorous and what they consider emotional," he added.
Ashick Saad, a memer who worked with Rantages, said the market is still largely unsaturated. "Brands are testing it as a new strategy. But the number of meme communities and groups is increasing."
Brands usually collaborate with meme platforms, and the pricing varies depending on several factors.
"The larger the brand, the higher the charge usually is. It also depends on the number of memes. Sometimes payments are made per meme, sometimes it's for a full campaign. The price also depends on the follower base and engagement levels of the pages or groups that share the memes on behalf of the brands," Saad added.
"However, brands still prefer short-term deals, they see lengthy campaigns as risky. The payment depends on many factors. Currently, the market rate is Tk5,000–10,000 per static meme and Tk10,000–Tk20,000 per dynamic meme," Saad mentioned.
What makes memes so powerful?
Tasfin Ayman Bhuiyan, chief marketing officer at Sus Studios, the country's first meme marketing agency, said that the meme community has been around for over a decade.
"Since the pandemic, the number of memers in our community has grown rapidly, and the community itself has become much stronger," he added.
The community even stood united during the July Uprising through memes. Tasfin and his team realised that if this community could help reshape the country, it could certainly transform the corporate world too.
"Before this, memers were earning individually, but only small amounts. At most, around 20 communities could make money from memes, and very few had the chance to work with big clients. This was because many in the corporate sector didn't understand the impact and reliability of meme marketing, while those who did couldn't connect with the meme community," he said.
Memes allow brands to build a more personal, emotional, and relatable connection with their audience. By blending humour with pop culture references, it creates a sense of inclusivity and shared understanding that traditional advertising often lacks.
Dr Rafiuddin Ahmed, professor at the Department of Marketing and International Business at North South University, explained why the use of memes on social media has skyrocketed in recent years.
"Meme marketing means using ideas, images, or trends that spread rapidly online to build brand awareness, connect with audiences, and promote products or services in a way that feels organic and natural to users."
According to him, meme marketing offers several major advantages.
"It allows brands to achieve massive reach at a low cost since a single viral meme can spread widely with minimal effort as the audience itself drives the sharing. It also helps brands appear more human and relatable, breaking the barrier between corporations and consumers."
Moreover, he said, memes resonate particularly well with younger audiences like Gen Z and millennials, who naturally engage with this form of content. As a result, meme posts often attract far more likes, comments, and shares compared to traditional promotional materials.
"Unlike traditional advertising, it's less about making a direct sales pitch and more about becoming part of online culture. By using humour and relatable content, brands can create stronger engagement with their target audiences and often make their campaigns go viral. It reaches a large number of people within a short time," Dr Ahmed added.
However, he warned that meme marketing also comes with risks.
"If brands try too hard to appear trendy, their efforts can backfire and seem inauthentic. Misinterpreting a meme or overlooking its deeper meaning can also spark public backlash. If the tone of a meme doesn't align with the brand's values, it may confuse the audience rather than engage them," he further said.
Dr Ahmed believes that memes should complement, not replace, a broader marketing strategy — they are excellent for awareness and engagement but less effective for driving direct sales.
