FROM MOVIE RELEASE TO VIRAL MEME
Straight Outta Compton. Straight Outta Philadelphia. Straight Outta Jacksonville. Straight Outta My Parents' Basement. Straight Outta Money. Straight Outta Ideas.
Chances are, you've seen internet users everywhere using the Straight Outta Compton model to take pride in their hometowns and create their own satirical statements. Like any other viral phenomenon, this film-influenced meme has become a perfect platform for brands to start conversations and get attention. We take a look at how brands have benefitted from digital media trends inspired by entertainment.
Development Of The Trend
Immediately prior to the film's release, Dr. Dre and his marketing team launched the wildly popular website StraightOuttaSomewhere to allow users to interact with the film's title by inserting their own photos and text. Aside from driving awareness of the movie through the roof, this meme generator acted as an excuse to get people talking. Respondents have been fans, nonprofits, activists, humorous curators, and of course, brands.
Digital Content Is Free Marketing
Digital content based on a current trend is set to spread on its own through social media chatter. Brands that stay up to date on current trends and have strong content creators have the immediate advantage of easy, free digital media branding. A single brand's #StraightOutta meme shared with hundreds of thousands of social media followers starts a chain of engagement that the brand remains tied to. This particular meme has really tapped into the millennial audience and allows for humor and engaging responses.
How The Brands Have Responded
Interestingly enough, there was a high concentration of food industry brands partaking in this trend. The lack of participation from some other brands could be a simple oversight missed opportunity, or just a general fear of overkill of the trend. Those brands that jumped on the bandwagon either used this meme to tell their connected fans where they were from or used it to tout their products' assets.
But The Big Winner Is...
Beats by Dre, now owned by Apple, has become the industry giant in fashionable headphones in recent years. With the Beats brand directly tied to the Hollywood film's story, the logo organically fits into not only the original movie artwork but the meme that everyone is spreading. Beats gets another advertising "touch" every single time one of these memes is created and shared, and branding doesn't get much better than that!
Make Your Brand A Star
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