Studios are increasingly incorporating "meme culture" into their movie marketing to engage younger audiences. Examples include Warner Brothers' Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which used viral Instagram trends featuring actor Michael Keaton, and Twisters, where cast members participated in TikTok challenges. This approach has led to significantly higher engagement rates on social media, translating into box office success. Movie marketers are now focusing on consumer-centric, culturally relevant content to make films part of the broader online conversation, similar to past successes like M3GAN and Cocaine Bear. This shift is crucial for attracting Gen Z and millennial audiences.
Marvin Cook
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Studios embrace ‘creator and meme culture’ as movies like Twisters, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice memeify marketing
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Discussion (2)
I feel like studios are starting to realize that slapping a poster on a bus stop or running a basic TV ad isn't enough to grab the attention of Gen Z and millennials. Memes and viral trends are basically part of our everyday language now, so it makes total sense that marketing teams would lean into that to promote their movies
But doesn't it concern anyone that movies are now becoming the secondary thing to the memes that promote them? I worry we're going to start seeing films crafted around "what meme will this spawn?