Positioning a brand as an internet meme: The case study of Supreme

Abstract

This paper develops the idea of how brands can be positioned as internet memes and why the strategy is even more timely and relevant in the current marketing landscape. A meme is defined as a unit of cultural transmission that evolves and mutates as it replicates from person to person. An internet meme is of great relevance today owing to the shareable aspect of social media and from the latter’s dominance among the youth. Companies that manage to position their brands as successful memes stand to gain positive externalities. Instead of engaging in expensive push marketing, they can co-opt the volition and creativity of the brand followers themselves to adapt and transmit the brand’s symbols and beliefs to their peers in the online space and further popularise the brand. The strategy can also backfire since the company perforce has to relinquish control over the brand’s interpretations and symbolism to the online users. The example of the youth fashion brand Supreme is offered as a case study to highlight online memetic positioning tactics and their resulting benefits and challenges. The paper concludes by providing implications for marketing managers from this contemporaneous approach to brand positioning.