Following our Human to Meme SEED, we look at which brands get it - with SSENSE being the perfect example. In early 2023, the e-commerce platform began a subtle shift, blending meme culture with luxury fashion to create the playful, social-first approach we now associate with the brand.
Early posts tentatively waded into the conversations of its audience, each one more refined than the last, until memes, e-commerce shots and fashion-forward campaigns became inseparable parts of its strategy. By observing how customers were using the platform, what they were buying and how they were discussing it, SSENSE traded purely polished brand imagery for content that felt alive, relevant and shareable.
Instagram and TikTok are where culture happens in real time – they are the digital water coolers of our generation – and brands that participate in those conversations can become part of the cultural flow. Even unexpected businesses have found their voice with memes – check out Ryanair’s savage X roasts. But for every success, there are thousands of failures: most brands chase virality without nuance, producing memes that fall flat.
So, we asked SEED CLUB what makes memes move and what makes them matter:
Do memes shape culture or are we letting culture rot into memes?
Protein AGENCY provides insight, foresight and strategy for global brands that's rooted in culture and the collective knowledge of SEED CLUB - our decentralised research community of 450+ global experts.
