Brand positioning: meme’s the word

This paper illustrates how memetics, the Darwinian science of culture and creativity, can be used to enhance brand positioning. Using a simple but powerful technique of memetic analysis, it is shown how marketers can unpack how brands are actually positioned in the minds of consumers in terms of their component memes, that is, their “genes of meaning”. A demonstration of the validity and reliability of memetic analysis is given through an investigation of how the notion of “healthy living” is positioned in the minds of consumers. The practical utility of memetic analysis in brand positioning is discussed, and the possibility is raised of using the analytical tool to increase profitability by “memetically modifying” brands with true, unique and compelling consumer values.