Death Wish Coffee Shares the Secrets Behind Their Widely Popular Memes on Social Media

One of the great things about social media is that you can rely on it to cheer you up if you’re ever having a bad day. There are all sorts of weird and wonderful videos, animated GIFs, and memes to brighten up your mood if you’re feeling glum.

When it comes to Internet memes, one fact about them is the good ones get spread to all corners of the planet. Death Wish Coffee’s marketing department likes to post hilarious memes to its audience of coffee lovers giving the brand a unique personality on social media that its audience relates to.

Instant Human = Just Add Coffee

If you have a not-so-secret love for good coffee, you’ve probably expressed that by sharing some funny and witty memes on the topic. In one city in New York state, one coffee house loves to share topical memes.

The Death Wish Coffee Company, based in Saratoga County, NY, has been helping people get their fix of decent coffee since 2012. They first started life as a small coffee shop but are now well known throughout the U.S. as a producer of the “world’s strongest coffee”!

https://www.facebook.com/deathwishcoffee/photos/a.165109766879657/3039720889418516/?type=3&theater

It’s not just their coffee that makes them a well-known brand throughout America. Take a look at their Facebook page, for example, and you’ll see they post a lot of coffee-related memes. You’ll also notice how they get thousands of likes and shares!

One of the most popular memes that they’ve shared across social media to date reads “at least wearing a mask hides the perpetual look of annoyance I have for most people.” But what’s the formula for creating such popular memes?

https://www.facebook.com/deathwishcoffee/photos/a.165109766879657/3016836458373626/?type=3&theater

The above topical example is COVID-19 related and connects with coffee lovers that perhaps have a low tolerance level for people that annoy them! Death Wish Coffee’s marketing team has clearly found that using topical humor helps connect the brand to its audience! 

Unique Style, Tailored Messaging, and Pop Culture References

Death Wish Coffee’s memes have a unique style that has become recognizable and synonymous with their brand. They use big fonts with an easy-to-read text. Nobody likes to have to squint or zoom in. They regularly reference pop culture and tailor the message to their audience’s likes and preferences. Find out what’s trending by looking at sites where memes are most often posted (Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, and Twitter). Then post about it by putting your own company’s messaging into the meme. Take note of this meme they did for “Star Wars Day” on May the 4th.

Broke but Not Busted

Right now, New York’s in lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many service workers have now found themselves without a job and their bills piling up.

Death Wish Coffee joined forces with the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce to launch a $75,000 fundraiser for laid-off service industry staff in the Capital Region area of New York. Dubbed “Broke but not Busted” its aim is to provide financial help to those that need it most.

New York’s leading coffee roaster turned to its collection of memes and drew upon it for inspiration for one of the two styles of T-shirt designs getting sold as part of the Broke but not Busted program.

The first design features a hilarious meme, “When this is all over, please continue to stay at least 6 feet away from me” printed on the front of a black color T-shirt with the brand’s logo.

For the other design, Death Wish Coffee teamed up with tattoo artist Melanie Lucia-Clarke from Albany-based tattoo parlor The Dead Presidents Lounge. The design features images that represent the various service industry sectors affected by the COVID-19 shutdown.

We reached out to Death Wish Coffee Social Media Marketing Manager, Sophia Abbasi to help us understand what makes their memes so relatable and how a meme turned into a social into movement.

“Our memes are a reflection of ourselves and our community – the sarcastic, cynical coffee-drinking misfits that run on the world’s strongest coffee, and this meme was inspired from our community and preserving that voice. It’s amazing to see that this meme that was inspired by our community is being used to raise funds for those struggling without work in our own hometown,” said, Abbasi.

The best memes not only make people laugh, but they inspire them to take action.

Both T-shirts cost $25 each and are available in sizes XS to 5XL, and 100% of the proceeds will go directly to out-of-work service workers that need financial help the most. You can buy both T-shirt designs from www.deathwishcoffee.com/notbusted.