Brand strategy and brand evolution: welcome to the world of the meme

This paper explores the idea of the meme as it relates to branding. In evolutionary theory the meme is the cultural equivalent of the gene. Memes are seen as self replicating entities which jump from human host to human host. In a similar way to the gene in the biological world, there is a complex changing business environment where some memes are successful and others are not. This paper argues that brands are meme like entities, conforming to the dictates of evolutionary theory. An important question is also raised concerning the most appropriate way to research the meme phenomenon. Considerable existing research in branding argues that success results from the increasing complexity of brand management and strategy. The memetic approach provides a different perspective on brand success however. Memetics does not argue for sophistication and complexity as a route to success. Natural selection is based purely on the fitness of the meme. The ability of the latter to survive is depended on its fitness of reproduction in a hostile environment. This theory and its research applicability to branding is explored. Finally, another property of evolution, the concept of mutation, is also briefly examined. It is argued here that brand mutations can have both positive and negative impact on brand building. Consumers, as the hosts of brand memes, could play a vital part in the reproduction process where error copying occurs.