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@article{204995,
        author = {Sakshi Rohilla and Dr. Rakesh Kumar Chaudhary},
        title = {Meme as a Marketing Tool: Enhancing Brands in the Indian Digital Landscape},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {1},
        pages = {5070-5076},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=204995},
        abstract = {As the Internet in India undergoes rapid transformation, a new undertheorized form of brand communication has appeared that is internet memes. This paper examines how Indian brands leverage meme culture to contruct and differentiate brand identity across social media platforms. Based on participatory culture theory (Jenkin, 2006), memetics (Shifman, 2014), and brand identity frameworks (Aaker, 1996; Kapferer, 2008), this paper develops a conceptual framework of Cultural Resonance - defined as the alignment between a meme's semiotic content and its audience's shared cultural knowledge, operationalized through linguistic congruence, referential familiarity, and humour register alignment. Using a mixed-methods design combining systematic content analysis with a structured consumer survey, the study analysis of ten Indian brand campaigns. The findings indicate that culturally congruent memes - invoking Hinglish registers, recognisable formats, and community-aligned humour - yield stronger brand recall, more coherent brand personality attribution, and higher engagement than less congruent campaign types. This paper also indicates how emerging reputation risk may arise from the digital space in India, given the political sensitivity of its landscape and discusses implications for future empirical research on meme-based brand communication.},
        keywords = {meme marketing, brand identity, cultural resonance, Indian digital landscape, participatory culture, social media.},
        month = {June},
        }