Memelab intro

MARKETING REINVENTED

Introducing Memelab in 20 minutes

CONTENTS reading time OUR METHOD 10 mins OUR STORY 3 mins OUR MANAGEMENT 2 mins OUR TOOLS 5 mins

Traditional advertising is dead.

Brand Positioning models, which worked well for one way communication channels, are out of context now.

Media is redefined day by day.

The interaction between brands and audiences is constantly changing due to emerging technology, media tools and corresponding consumer behavior. When it comes to communication spendings, a predictable Return On Investment is only a dream of business leaders in this chaotic situation. Professionals are trying to answer the challenge.

Many new positioning models appear.

The problem with most of those models is that they were built to work in present circumstances. But nowadays present becomes past too fast, so they have to be modified frequently. What is our solution? Instead of coming up with yet another methodology to define the Brand Positioning, we decided to say goodbye to it altogether.

OUR METHOD

Introducing the

BRAND STORY

The Brand Story is a new way to define a long term communication strategy. It is based on the eternal principles of human thinking and the timeless rules of storytelling.

The Brand Story is stable enough to inspire consistent communication, but also flexible enough to survive in future circumstances we can’t even imagine now. The Brand Story helps marketeers plan and execute effective and measurable activities in a constantly changing communication environment.

The Brand Story can be told a thousand different ways over and over again but still transmitting similar memes.

THE FORMULA OF OUR METHOD

MEMES + ARCHETYPES + STORYTELLING = BRAND STORY

1. MEMES Constructing the memetic map of the brand 2. ARCHETYPES

Definition of resonating consumer archetypes

3. STORYTELLING Creating the brand story based on archetypical values

1 MEMES

The word „meme” is a meme itself. Many people use it but only a few know that it actually has two meanings. The everyday meaning of the word is „something funny spreading on the net”. Like Gangnam Style. But there is a much broader meaning which is used by memetic scientists. Whenever we talk about memes, we refer to the scientific definition of the word as follows:

Memes are those smallest units of thoughts that make sense on their own, that are not genetically defined, and that can copy themselves reliably enough and prolifically enough from one human brain to another. (Definition by Prof. László Mérő)

Memes are the „genes of thoughts”. They control what you say and what you do. If they are strong enough, they are transmitted to other people, if they are weak, they will be forgotten. Just like genes, memes are difficult to map. We use special methods to catch memes, and then define the memetic dimensions of the brand by factor analysis.

To get a clear picture of brands, we create the memetic map: a summary of what actually drives consumers’ thinking in a category or about a brand. Then, after we learn what exactly is in the heads, we can have a much better idea of how we can change it.

2 ARCHETYPES

What do Harry Potter, Batman and Conan the Barbarian have in common? OK, they are all heroes. But there is something else: they all lost their parents when they were young. Some characters can be found in both ancient myths and contemporary stories. Also in real life, people belong to certain types, so their actions and reactions can be forecasted based on their value preferences.

Archetypes entered the field of marketing theories a few years ago. Many books have been published about how brands can and should be described as archetypes. Memelab has launched a new paradigm, because we think that one of the most important changes in 21st century marketing is: the hero of the Brand Story is not the brand anymore, but the consumer.

We know that most brands have a solid archetypical character, but we do not stop there. Instead of only considering the brand as an archetype, we define consumer archetypes based on value preferences of the target group.

3 STORYTELLING

Lion King is Hamlet played by animals. Michael Corleone is the Cinderella of the Godfather's family. Ancient religious myths, Greek dramas, fairytales and Hollywood movies have lots of similarities, and it's not an accident. Effective storytelling needs some talent that can't be learned, but also has certain rules that apply to all stories since the dawn of mankind.

MemeLab uses a unique story development tool that was created after a thorough analysis of 450 classic movies. This tool helps us build an effective Brand Story that highlights the authentic archetypical values of the potential consumer, so identification with the hero is strong, thus the selected memes can be transmitted in an open state of mind.

BASIC STRUCTURE OF OUR BRAND STORY MODEL

ULTIMATE GOAL

MOTIVATION VALUE DRIVE VALUE

DILEMMA

CONSUMER HERO OF

A CERTAIN ARCHETYPE

BRAND

The Dilemma Story Model by Csaba Szekeres

OUR STORY

Once upon a time, a tall man with a small beard and a velvety voice understood the calling of times to answer the challenges of modern marketing. He decided to start a journey and gather communication professionals with different backgrounds to create a think tank that tackles tasks many have tried to solve but failed.

After a succession of business meetings and accidental bumps into old friends, he realized that a new company has been formed by itself. Using their undisputed expertise in network research, marketing strategy, creative concepts and storytelling, the knights are off for a great quest: they decided to help brands develop a long standing communication strategy that doesn't wear out in our era of constant change.

We have a strong background in science: our sister company, Darwins Marketing Evolution, established in 2002 by Prof. László Mérő and Lazlo B. Karafiath, was probably the first memetic brand consultancy in the world. While Darwins specializes in research that reveals memes and dimensions, Memelab is focusing on how memes can be spread and planted in consumers minds.

Memelab offers a modular consulting package: • memetic in-depth interviews, • social media mining, • market and competition memes analysis, • consumer insights and archetype definition, • brand story development and • communication concepts.

Our first two offices are in San Francisco, California, and Budapest, Hungary. We are planning to open soon in Sao Paulo, Brasil and in Mumbai, India.

OUR MANAGEMENT

Adam Dobos Marketing Consultant

Adam Dobos Started at Philip Morris, worked at VNU Publishing House as marketing manager, became Regional Marketing director and later Managing Director at Imperial Tobacco. Today he is leading his own creative agency. Has 17 years of experience and a proven success leading strategy, developing new business, managing brands and portfolios and launching over 100 SKUs in 4 different markets.

Lazlo B. Karafiath Memetic Consultant

Lazlo B. Karafiath After co-founding one of Europe’s biggest music and arts festival, in 1997 he created Carnation, a digital consulting and marketing company now with revenues over $10 million. Was a Yale World Fellow and has ten years of university teaching experience. Designed a course in the field of Emergence covering evolutionary theory, networkology, memetics, studies of cooperation and internetology. He is a regular speaker and publisher on these topics. He lives in San Francisco managing the US branches of Darwins and Memelab.

Csaba Szekeres Storytelling Consultant

Csaba Szekeres Many TV and cinema successes are linked to Csaba's name as a screenwriter and a director. Received Best Director Award at the Hungarian Film Festival, his work has also been appreciated in New York, Los Angeles, Germany and the UK. In his films, human relations are represented with a delicate sensibility. On top of his writing and directing jobs, he has developed a special storytelling method, replacing the traditional character-based model to a value-based model. In his view, this system will not only help writers but also everyday people to see their own stories in a slightly different light.

Attila Nyéki Creative Consultant

Attila Nyeki Began as a copywriter, promoted to Creative Director and later Chief Creative Officer. In the last 20 years he has worked in top positions of international ad agencies and creative boutiques, and founded a strategic consultancy. Attila has won all Hungarian creative awards, his work was also appreciated at Cannes Lions and Cresta Awards. Among others, he worked on brands in financial services, telecom, FMCG, pharmaceutical and automotive. Sang in a rock band, published a photo album, lived in Budapest, Madrid, Amsterdam and Sao Paulo.

OUR TOOLS

QMR Qualitative Memetic Research

(powered by Darwins Marketing Evolution)

Reveals the meme set of the target group, creates memetic dimensions and the memetic map of the brand. Helps define possible business development and communication directions. SOURCE: in-depth interviews, factor analysis

SMM Social Meme Mining

(powered by Vortio) Monitoring social media channels to identify memes currently being spread about the given brand, category or any measurable subject. SOURCE: Artificial intelligence and semantic computation formulas that enables big data analysis of conversations.

CAC Consumer Archetype Compass

Archetypical segmentation of current and target consumers, revealing business potential of archetypes. SOURCE: Secondary analysis of available data and research material, tailored research projects.

MQ Meme Quantifier Quantifying the penetration of identified memes in the target group. SOURCE: Online research, panel solutions.

MER Meme Environment ReviewTM Revealing the memetic factors of competing messages, defining the memetic environment in which the brand will exist. SOURCE: KantarMedia, AGB Nielsen, existing media data, Gemius, ROI studies

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