![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.headlandconsultancy.com\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/Drake-election-meme.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joking to the converted?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social media is once again a key election battleground \u2013 unsurprising given how much time we spend on the big platforms, and how much of our news we read there. Social is seen as particularly important for reaching younger audiences who are much less likely to consume mainstream media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, these voters are in fact the least likely to be undecided (8% of 18-24 year olds versus 16% of 45-54 year olds), and according to the latest Survation<\/a> polling, the majority of under 35s are planning to back Labour at this stage. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Conservatives and Liberal Democrats therefore have a lot to gain taking the meme-route to social media campaigning. You could question whether this same approach will provide much benefit to Labour, who will be speaking to a demographic amongst which they already have overwhelming support. However, with Labour\u2019s internal mantra being to avoid complacency, and concerns that young people aren\u2019t as engaged with Starmer\u2019s Labour, they might see it as an important way of shoring up the young vote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, how are memes being used (and how are audiences responding to them)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Labour appears to have given its social media team free reign to make memes disparaging the Tories, which are broadly landing well with Gen Z on social. It\u2019s clearly getting to the Conservative Party, which Labour claims has been working to get popular posts removed. Unsurprisingly, pop-culture references feature among Labour\u2019s best-performing content \u2013 including the likes of 80s TV show \u2018Surprise Surprise\u2019 and the \u2018is this a pigeon?\u2019 meme. It\u2019s worth saying that they don\u2019t get everything right \u2013 the \u201cfootballer National Service POV<\/a>\u201d video was comparatively poorly received by users who felt it was out of touch with the average voter. The party is receiving more negative feedback from users on other platforms, such as X, where users are \u201cbegging\u201d for more serious content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.headlandconsultancy.com\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/meme-2.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In contrast, the Conservative approach to memes remains just that (small \u2018c\u2019 conservative). Opting away from short-form vertical video but instead pushing humour-led content on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. The Tory \u2018hero\u2019 content was \u201cEvery Colour of Keir<\/a>\u201d \u2013 a jab at Sir Keir\u2019s perceived lack of commitment to policy. Of course, how people respond across platforms reflects who is actually on these platforms. Where LinkedIn users immediately asked the Conservative party to keep politics off the professional platform, Facebook users have been more receptive. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Lib Dems have opted for a different approach altogether, using self-deprecation to laugh at their own leader and bringing more attention to Ed Davey\u2019s photo-ops, showing that there might be space to have a sense of humour in this year\u2019s general election. It makes their mockery of Sunak<\/a>, with the help of a soundbite from Peep Show, seem much better-natured and helped them on the way to over 1.3m views. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Natty Serv: Tory rage bait?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are the Tories using the national service policy as a way to get people to engage with the election? Say what you want about the policy, it got people talking. In fact, it prompted 539,000 mentions on Reddit and X in the past week as people took to social media to air frustrations, question Tory rationale and naturally, engage with memes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Conservatives are trying to exploit wedge issues for the Labour Party at the same time as showing that their voters shouldn\u2019t go with Reform. They may view controversial announcements as a way of taking attention away from their opponents, taking a page out of the online troll playbook. With Sunak\u2019s digitally savvy team, who helped to establish \u2018brand Rishi\u2019 in the first place, it\u2019s hard not to think that they are aware of the online splash that unconventional policies will cause. Farage\u2019s entry into the fray will only encourage them to redouble their efforts, and we shouldn\u2019t expect this to be the last announcement that surprises the public, nor the last one that the Conservatives invest in promoting on social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What can we learn from this?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that the parties have kicked off their meme strategies, we shouldn\u2019t expect them to stop. You should be prepared to laugh, groan, and despair at their output over the next four weeks, potentially all in the span of one doom scroll, but there are also some key things we can learn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For anyone envying Labour\u2019s output on social and wanting to replicate it, the clear lesson is that its social media team has been given freedom to operate quickly, jumping on trends and responding to opposition. This trust in a social media team is essential, and any future viral success will rely on this quick thinking (particularly as the novelty of memes being posted by a political party wear off). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second key takeaway is that there\u2019s a time and a place for everything. As we\u2019ve shown, opinion is divided on whether humorous takes from a party that wants to govern are appropriate, and businesses will have to be even more careful. We\u2019re almost certainly going to see a corporate social media account issue an apology for its failed attempt to join in with a political joke before the election is up, so make sure your organisation isn\u2019t trying to jump in on trends that don\u2019t fit with your tone of voice or purpose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parties still have some work to do to find the balance between the more serious policy-led posts, and the more playful content that is grabbing attention across ideological divides. Will any of these social media efforts spell success? While we can\u2019t predict the future, it\u2019s fair to say that memes are inspiring engagement from across the generations, and no party will take that for granted in a competition for attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nHeadland has partnered with LabourList<\/a>, one of the leading authorities on the Labour Party to launch the first UK constituency map of Labour\u2019s General Election candidates. View the map here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats therefore have a lot to gain taking the meme-route to social media campaigning. You could question whether this same approach will provide much benefit to Labour, who will be speaking to a demographic amongst which they already have overwhelming support. However, with Labour\u2019s internal mantra being to avoid complacency, and concerns that young people aren\u2019t as engaged with Starmer\u2019s Labour, they might see it as an important way of shoring up the young vote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, how are memes being used (and how are audiences responding to them)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Labour appears to have given its social media team free reign to make memes disparaging the Tories, which are broadly landing well with Gen Z on social. It\u2019s clearly getting to the Conservative Party, which Labour claims has been working to get popular posts removed. Unsurprisingly, pop-culture references feature among Labour\u2019s best-performing content \u2013 including the likes of 80s TV show \u2018Surprise Surprise\u2019 and the \u2018is this a pigeon?\u2019 meme. It\u2019s worth saying that they don\u2019t get everything right \u2013 the \u201cfootballer National Service POV<\/a>\u201d video was comparatively poorly received by users who felt it was out of touch with the average voter. The party is receiving more negative feedback from users on other platforms, such as X, where users are \u201cbegging\u201d for more serious content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In contrast, the Conservative approach to memes remains just that (small \u2018c\u2019 conservative). Opting away from short-form vertical video but instead pushing humour-led content on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. The Tory \u2018hero\u2019 content was \u201cEvery Colour of Keir<\/a>\u201d \u2013 a jab at Sir Keir\u2019s perceived lack of commitment to policy. Of course, how people respond across platforms reflects who is actually on these platforms. Where LinkedIn users immediately asked the Conservative party to keep politics off the professional platform, Facebook users have been more receptive. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Lib Dems have opted for a different approach altogether, using self-deprecation to laugh at their own leader and bringing more attention to Ed Davey\u2019s photo-ops, showing that there might be space to have a sense of humour in this year\u2019s general election. It makes their mockery of Sunak<\/a>, with the help of a soundbite from Peep Show, seem much better-natured and helped them on the way to over 1.3m views. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Natty Serv: Tory rage bait?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are the Tories using the national service policy as a way to get people to engage with the election? Say what you want about the policy, it got people talking. In fact, it prompted 539,000 mentions on Reddit and X in the past week as people took to social media to air frustrations, question Tory rationale and naturally, engage with memes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Conservatives are trying to exploit wedge issues for the Labour Party at the same time as showing that their voters shouldn\u2019t go with Reform. They may view controversial announcements as a way of taking attention away from their opponents, taking a page out of the online troll playbook. With Sunak\u2019s digitally savvy team, who helped to establish \u2018brand Rishi\u2019 in the first place, it\u2019s hard not to think that they are aware of the online splash that unconventional policies will cause. Farage\u2019s entry into the fray will only encourage them to redouble their efforts, and we shouldn\u2019t expect this to be the last announcement that surprises the public, nor the last one that the Conservatives invest in promoting on social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What can we learn from this?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that the parties have kicked off their meme strategies, we shouldn\u2019t expect them to stop. You should be prepared to laugh, groan, and despair at their output over the next four weeks, potentially all in the span of one doom scroll, but there are also some key things we can learn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For anyone envying Labour\u2019s output on social and wanting to replicate it, the clear lesson is that its social media team has been given freedom to operate quickly, jumping on trends and responding to opposition. This trust in a social media team is essential, and any future viral success will rely on this quick thinking (particularly as the novelty of memes being posted by a political party wear off). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second key takeaway is that there\u2019s a time and a place for everything. As we\u2019ve shown, opinion is divided on whether humorous takes from a party that wants to govern are appropriate, and businesses will have to be even more careful. We\u2019re almost certainly going to see a corporate social media account issue an apology for its failed attempt to join in with a political joke before the election is up, so make sure your organisation isn\u2019t trying to jump in on trends that don\u2019t fit with your tone of voice or purpose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parties still have some work to do to find the balance between the more serious policy-led posts, and the more playful content that is grabbing attention across ideological divides. Will any of these social media efforts spell success? While we can\u2019t predict the future, it\u2019s fair to say that memes are inspiring engagement from across the generations, and no party will take that for granted in a competition for attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nHeadland has partnered with LabourList<\/a>, one of the leading authorities on the Labour Party to launch the first UK constituency map of Labour\u2019s General Election candidates. View the map here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In contrast, the Conservative approach to memes remains just that (small \u2018c\u2019 conservative). Opting away from short-form vertical video but instead pushing humour-led content on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. The Tory \u2018hero\u2019 content was \u201cEvery Colour of Keir<\/a>\u201d \u2013 a jab at Sir Keir\u2019s perceived lack of commitment to policy. Of course, how people respond across platforms reflects who is actually on these platforms. Where LinkedIn users immediately asked the Conservative party to keep politics off the professional platform, Facebook users have been more receptive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lib Dems have opted for a different approach altogether, using self-deprecation to laugh at their own leader and bringing more attention to Ed Davey\u2019s photo-ops, showing that there might be space to have a sense of humour in this year\u2019s general election. It makes their mockery of Sunak<\/a>, with the help of a soundbite from Peep Show, seem much better-natured and helped them on the way to over 1.3m views. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Are the Tories using the national service policy as a way to get people to engage with the election? Say what you want about the policy, it got people talking. In fact, it prompted 539,000 mentions on Reddit and X in the past week as people took to social media to air frustrations, question Tory rationale and naturally, engage with memes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Conservatives are trying to exploit wedge issues for the Labour Party at the same time as showing that their voters shouldn\u2019t go with Reform. They may view controversial announcements as a way of taking attention away from their opponents, taking a page out of the online troll playbook. With Sunak\u2019s digitally savvy team, who helped to establish \u2018brand Rishi\u2019 in the first place, it\u2019s hard not to think that they are aware of the online splash that unconventional policies will cause. Farage\u2019s entry into the fray will only encourage them to redouble their efforts, and we shouldn\u2019t expect this to be the last announcement that surprises the public, nor the last one that the Conservatives invest in promoting on social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that the parties have kicked off their meme strategies, we shouldn\u2019t expect them to stop. You should be prepared to laugh, groan, and despair at their output over the next four weeks, potentially all in the span of one doom scroll, but there are also some key things we can learn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For anyone envying Labour\u2019s output on social and wanting to replicate it, the clear lesson is that its social media team has been given freedom to operate quickly, jumping on trends and responding to opposition. This trust in a social media team is essential, and any future viral success will rely on this quick thinking (particularly as the novelty of memes being posted by a political party wear off). <\/p>\n\n\n\n The second key takeaway is that there\u2019s a time and a place for everything. As we\u2019ve shown, opinion is divided on whether humorous takes from a party that wants to govern are appropriate, and businesses will have to be even more careful. We\u2019re almost certainly going to see a corporate social media account issue an apology for its failed attempt to join in with a political joke before the election is up, so make sure your organisation isn\u2019t trying to jump in on trends that don\u2019t fit with your tone of voice or purpose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Parties still have some work to do to find the balance between the more serious policy-led posts, and the more playful content that is grabbing attention across ideological divides. Will any of these social media efforts spell success? While we can\u2019t predict the future, it\u2019s fair to say that memes are inspiring engagement from across the generations, and no party will take that for granted in a competition for attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Headland has partnered with LabourList<\/a>, one of the leading authorities on the Labour Party to launch the first UK constituency map of Labour\u2019s General Election candidates. View the map here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nNatty Serv: Tory rage bait?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What can we learn from this?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n