Meme marketing has emerged as a transformative force in digital brand communication, offering unprecedented opportunities for brands to enhance relatability, engagement, and viral reach through humor and cultural relevance. This quantitative research investigates the effectiveness of meme marketing across different social media platforms and examines its impact on consumer behavior and brand perception among digitally active audiences.

Using a descriptive and exploratory research design, data was collected through structured online surveys from 485 active social media users aged 18-35 years. Platform analysis through ANOVA (F = 17.23, p < 0.0000006) demonstrated significant differences in meme marketing effectiveness, with Instagram (mean score: 4.06/5.0) and Twitter (mean score: 3.44/5.0) substantially outperforming Facebook (2.40/5.0) and LinkedIn (2.56/5.0). Generational analysis using chi-square testing (χ² = 16.32, p < 0.05) confirmed significant associations between generation and engagement levels, with Generation Z demonstrating higher meme interaction compared to Millennials.

The findings suggest that meme marketing enhances brand relatability, its success depends on thoughtful platform optimization, generational targeting, and ethical content creation. This establishes meme marketing as a legitimate, measurable digital communication tool rather than a mere novelty, with implications for brands seeking to connect authentically with younger demographics in the evolving digital landscape.