Marketing without actually marketing

Marketing in our highly digital world may seem like a difficult task. With so much content constantly posted online, it might seem that your message may get lost in a rapidly updating online world. For some companies, however, marketing is as simple as doing absolutely nothing.

Companies can take advantage of the zeitgeist around their brand based off of memes and social media groundswell. Two examples of this come to mind.

In early 2016, a series of videos appeared on Twitter showing a high school boy, named Daniel, walking around in various pairs of Vans. Off-camera, his friend Josh filmed him and said in a silly voice, “Damn, Daniel, back at it again with the white Vans.” The videos took Twitter, and the real world for that matter, by storm. You couldn’t wear Vans without someone shouting the infamous line at you. And if your name was Daniel, you probably wished it wasn’t for a brief time.

Damn Daniel pic.twitter.com/Va10hmpePO

— J O S H (@Josholzz) February 16, 2016

During the height of the videos’ popularity, the boys appeared on an episode of the Ellen Degeneres Show, which has been viewed over 42 million times as of 2019. While on the show, Daniel and Josh both received a lifetime supply of white Vans. A few weeks after, Daniel and Josh donated several pairs to children at the Loma Linda University Children's Hospital in Southern California.

Despite this seeming like a random meme, this was a great marketing push for Vans. During this time, the Google search for Vans significantly increased. The videos reminded people about the brand, causing it to stick inside their minds by associating it with humor. Aside from reminding people about Vans, the videos made the brand look cool. They showed a stylish teenager wearing their shoes, reminding potential buyers that Vans is trendy. The boys' donation also made the brand appear charitable.

Google Trends shows how the "Damn, Daniel" videos caused a spike in searches for "Vans."

Another example of this interesting type of marketing is “Alex from Target.” In November of 2014, a Twitter account posted a photo of a handsome Target employee named Alex with the caption, “YOOOOOO.” 

The hashtag #AlexFromTarget blew up on Twitter, eventually landing the 16-year-old Target employee a spot on an episode of the Ellen Degeneres Show.

Like in the “Damn, Daniel” example, “Alex from Target” helped boost online searches for Target. With this random social media post, brand awareness of Target skyrocketed. It also gave a face to the brand. Alex became Twitter-famous because of his attractiveness, so Target became associated with that due to Alex’s good looks. 

Google Trends shows the dramatic increase in searches for "Target" after Alex's photo appeared on Twitter.

These two examples share a few things in common, like increasing searches for each brand and associating each brand with trendy, attractive teens. More importantly, the marketing was done by consumers and not the brand itself. 

People are often wary of advertising because it feels like brands are trying to exploit you for your money. This way of marketing, however, makes for a seemingly more honest approach to marketing compared to a traditional approach. Consumers likely respond better to this way because they see real people engaging with a brand in a realistic scenario.

Social media, memes, and consumers may very well be the best methods to market your brand in our online world. Social media allows for a cheap, fun, and more trustworthy way of interacting with your audience. Memes keep your brand relevant by creating good stories and buzz about the brand. Finally, if you have a good consumer base, they may even champion your brand and do a good deal of the marketing themselves.