Netflix and memes: why big companies like Uber and Hinge are turning to Instagram meme accounts to draw in Generation Z

Instagram influencers may still garner thousands of likes, but it is meme accounts that big businesses are turning to

Major companies are increasingly investing time and money on drawing in the next big consumer market – Gen Z

Reading Time:4 minutes

Companies like Uber and Hinge are turning to Instagram meme accounts to draw in Generation Z users. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:00pm, 29 Nov 2019Updated: 6:00pm, 29 Nov 2019

Big brands usually take their ad campaigns very seriously. But sometimes they don’t.

In their latest attempt to win over Generation Z, companies from Uber to Netflix are laughing at themselves in sponsored memes, or funny vignettes, on Instagram. Meme accounts compile text and images or short videos that poke fun at a cultural symbol or social idea. They’re funny, can be curated by a 12-year-old or an ad agency, and rack up millions of followers.

“As a brand, if you’re able to tap into these really topical memes in an authentic way, I think it’s a really powerful tool to show Gen Zs and millennials what your brand stands for, and also that you’re a brand that gets them and their lifestyle,” said Carrie Dino, media director at creative advertising agency Mekanism.

Meme accounts are a way for brands to reach a powerful audience that doesn’t consume media in the same way their parents and grandparents did.

Uber is one of the big companies turning to meme accounts for promotion.

Gen Z, roughly between the ages of seven and 22, is the biggest consumer cohort globally, with spending power to the tune of more than US$143 billion in the US alone. And, while Instagram remains the most popular social platform among teenagers, Dino said meme accounts are one of the fastest growing parts of Instagram.

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