Pareesa Afreen 
Oct 30, 2024
In Pakistan’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, where technological innovation fuels business transformation, one entrepreneur is carving a unique path in the world of marketing. Arham Imtiaz, a visionary leader in meme marketing, is redefining how brands connect with audiences by blending humour, culture, and creativity.
With Pakistan boasting 141 million digital users, the opportunities for innovation in marketing strategies are extensive. Imtiaz shared his remarkable journey with Gadinsider, providing insights into the future of digital marketing, where meme marketing plays a significant role and is driven by creativity, technology, and cultural relevance.
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is a multi-channel approach to promoting products, brands, or services through various channels, including social media, search engines, email, and websites.
It involves creating and distributing engaging content to the target audience to increase brand awareness and sales potential. This multifaceted strategy encompasses content marketing, influencer marketing, and paid advertising.
What is Meme Marketing?
Meme marketing is a subset of digital marketing that uses humorous or relatable content to reach audiences, drawing on cultural references that quickly go viral online. Effective meme marketing requires an understanding of audience preferences, creative content, strategic social media use, and analytics tools for measuring success.
For Imtiaz, interest in digital marketing came from observing how rapidly the world is evolving. "Witnessing how quickly the world is evolving sparked my interest in digital marketing," he recalls. After managing meme pages for 8–10 years, he monetised them through branded content. "Life has been humbling, and I’m grateful for how far I’ve come." Imtiaz’s journey from hobby to profession reflects his dedication and resilience.
Meme marketing has gained significant traction in Pakistan, with brands recognising it as an effective audience-targeting strategy. Jazz’s "Sab Keh Do" campaign stands out, using humour to connect with customers. Similarly, Foodpanda Pakistan leverages memes to engage users on social media, while Daraz Pakistan uses memes to promote online shopping convenience.
When asked how he selects the right memes for brands, the seven times Pakistan Digital Awards winner told Gadinsider: "We subtly integrate the campaign objectives with the target audience, aiming to create memes that feel natural rather than forced."
His approach ensures authenticity, resonating with audiences. "Our goal is to keep the content organic and relatable." By aligning meme templates with campaign objectives, Imtiaz captures attention in ways traditional posts often cannot.
Research backs Imtiaz’s strategy. Studies on the "Impact of Meme Marketing on Consumer Purchase Intention" reveal engagement rates nearly five times higher than traditional methods. According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (2022), an impressive 70% of internet users in Pakistan consume memes daily, underlining the growing need for engaging content.
Brandsynario — a leading portal that caters to the happenings in the advertising industry — reported that meme marketing significantly outperforms traditional marketing, boasting a 5x engagement rate, with 60% of Pakistani brands now adopting it.
According to Hootsuite — a social media marketing and management tool — Facebook holds the largest market share at 40%, followed by Instagram at 30%, Twitter at 20%, TikTok at 10%, and YouTube at 5%. This variety of platforms highlights the importance of targeted strategies to make the most of meme marketing.
"Meme marketing influences public opinion and behaviours," said Imtiaz. "Brands use memes to connect with audiences, reflecting and driving culture." Memes spread rapidly across social media, making them potent influencers of opinion. Brandsynario highlights meme marketing’s effectiveness for Pakistani brands aiming for viral reach due to its high engagement, cost-efficiency, and broad scope.
Imtiaz uses Inshot to create memes and measures campaign success by cost per reach. "Inshot is the most convenient tool I use to create memes." He underscores the importance of tracking engagement metrics.
Meme marketing has yielded excellent results in Pakistan, where awareness reaches 40%, effectively introducing brands. Engagement stands at 30%, with attention reaching 20%, influencing purchasing decisions. Notably, 10% of users convert, underscoring memes’ significant impact on sales. Retention rates hit 100%, ensuring lasting brand loyalty.
According to Giphy, key trends in meme marketing include AI-generated memes, influencer partnerships, cultural sensitivity, video content, and integration with traditional strategies.
"Meme marketing succeeds with audience understanding and relatable content," Imtiaz emphasised. Effectively leveraging platforms and creating engaging content drives awareness, engagement, and conversions for Pakistani businesses. Imtiaz sees AI as a powerful tool for meme creation.
"AI can be effectively used to generate memes by providing it with a well-crafted prompt." This mix of creativity and technology magnifies meme marketing’s effectiveness.
Other Pakistani brands are also embracing meme marketing. OLX Pakistan’s "Meme Bazaar" campaign uses humour to promote classifieds, creating brand attachment. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also connects with cricket fans using relatable and humorous content.
These examples demonstrate that meme marketing has proven genuinely effective in Pakistan, helping brands enhance online presence, boost engagement, and even drive consumer action. Imtiaz’s success in meme marketing highlights how brands can innovate and thrive in Pakistan’s digital landscape.
"The biggest challenge is ensuring memes don’t feel forced," Imtiaz noted. For memes to resonate in the long run, they must authentically connect with audiences. Avoiding cultural insensitivity and staying authentic is essential.
Imtiaz advocates responsible marketing, avoiding harmful stereotypes, and respecting diverse audiences. "Memes should avoid perpetuating harmful stereotypes or offending specific groups." Balancing humour with respect is essential to success.
