Brand Factory Aces the Meme Game on Social Media

For two years now, Brand Factory, the discount retail outlet for fashion brands, has been strategically capturing its audience’s attention with witty, humour and well-timed content. No wonder they have become part of the daily internet conversations of millennials across India. How did they achieve this? Meme’s the word.

Mumbai: Brand Factory, originally positioned as a ‘365 days on discount’ retail store, had its communication centered around various offers and brand promotions. Today it has evolved to ‘Best Brands. Smart Prices.’ and is perceived as a ‘smart place to shop for brands’. To drive this change, they needed a fresh communication approach. While ads like #DontGetFooled were launched in mainline media; on digital, communication was driven through meme marketing. 

The key to marketing to millennials is to understand the primary reason they are on social media – to stay connected, to be amused and to share a laugh or two. Memes, have become a rage and has often found its way from Facebook to WhatsApp messages. They have seamlessly become part of daily youth conversations. Brand Factory threw on the saddle and joined these conversations; by creating their own memes based on current events, trending TV shows, movies, news, web series, popular videos, and more.

“With memes, the key is timing. You’re not only trying to capitalize on short-lived trends, but you need do it before the other brands. That makes ‘meme making’ a 24/7 creative exercise. And it’s always either a big hit or a lost opportunity.” – Mr. Porus Jose, Creative Head, IdeateLabs

Memes aren’t restricted to just generic content. When it comes to Indian festivals and widely celebrated ‘days’ like the New Year and Valentine’s Day, among others, Brand Factory chose to greet their audience through memes instead of traditional greetings.

All the big promos which were previously transactional in communication, also adopted the meme theme. Besides, offline campaigns are no longer adaptations on digital. Every TVC was bolstered on digital platforms with a series of memes and interactive content. 

Brand Factory’s wit and satire managed to capture the hearts of Indian millennials. In fact, it is the best organically performing content on the brand’s social handles.

“Going by our brand DNA of being smart our content strategy on social media has always been to be topical and quirky and be relevant to our TG, and memes have proven to be one of the most effective routes. We don’t operate as typical brand that like to play it safe, and thus we have given our digital agency the freedom to be as creative and take risks if necessary to engage millennials. A piece of content is successful when it’s shared without being offered freebies. Memes have been just that for us. The organic engagement rates are phenomenal and it’s a great way to ensure top of mind recall without spending big bucks.”– Roch D’Souza, Chief Marketing Officer, Brand Factory.”

About Brand Factory (http://www.brandfactoryonline.com/): Brand Factory, a Future Group concept, is India’s leading chain of fashion discount stores with 72 outlets across 30 cities in India. It offers 200+ Indian and International fashion brands at 20-70% discount, 365 days a year. It also offers a diverse range of merchandise at absolutely great prices in a refreshingly enjoyable ambience. Brand Factory stores include men’s formals, casuals, youth wear, women’s wear, sportswear, kids wear, footwear, accessories and more.

About IdeateLabs (http://ideatelabs.in/): IdeateLabs is a full-service digital marketing company with offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Dubai and a team of more than 100 Digital Marketing Professionals. With the chaotic overload of information in the digital world, Team Ideate recognizes the importance of creating relevant and interesting digital solutions. Finally, it benefits from a client roster that exceeds 50 well-known Indian and international names such as Sterling & Wilson, AutoDesk, Hiranandani Communities, Brand Factory, Future Brands, Edelweiss Tokio, Hafele, Kalpataru, Elica, Franklin Templeton to name a few.