In the bustling ecosystem of modern business, a paradigm shift is quietly taking place. While conventional wisdom has long focused on marketing products, companies, or even the charismatic entrepreneurs behind them, forward-thinking innovators are recognizing a more fundamental truth: what we're really marketing is our approach.

This insight opens up a fascinating connection between business strategy and the science of memetics – the study of how ideas spread, evolve, and compete for survival in the cultural landscape.

The traditional marketing trifecta – product, company, entrepreneur – has dominated business thinking for decades. But this framework increasingly falls short in explaining why some innovations capture the imagination while others, despite technical superiority, fade into obscurity.

What differentiates Apple from countless other technology companies? Is it merely their products? Their corporate identity? Steve Jobs' legacy? While all these elements matter, what truly set Apple apart was their approach – a unique way of viewing the intersection of technology and humanity encapsulated in their "Think Different" philosophy.

This approach – a particular lens through which Apple viewed problems and solutions – became the company's most valuable asset. The products, the company structure, and even Jobs himself were ultimately carriers for this more fundamental idea.

To understand why approaches are so powerful, we need to understand memetics. Coined by Richard Dawkins in "The Selfish Gene," memes are self-replicating units of cultural information that spread from person to person. Like genes in biological evolution, successful memes propagate not necessarily because they're "true" but because they possess characteristics that make them effective at spreading.

A business approach is, at its core, a "memeplex" – a complex of interconnected ideas that forms a coherent worldview. When Tesla promotes sustainable transportation, when Airbnb champions the sharing economy, when SpaceX advances multiplanetary existence – they're not merely selling products; they're propagating approaches to fundamental problems.

These approaches function as memes, competing for limited space in our collective attention. The most successful ones possess distinct memetic advantages:

In this framework, products, companies, and entrepreneurs take on a new role – they become carriers or vectors for the approach-meme, much like books, videos, or speeches serve as carriers for ideas.

The iPhone isn't just a product; it's a physical manifestation of Apple's approach to technology. Elon Musk isn't just an entrepreneur; he's a particularly effective propagator of a specific approach to innovation and problem-solving. These elements serve as vehicles that help the approach-meme replicate and spread throughout the cultural ecosystem.

This explains why some companies can survive dramatic changes in their product lines, leadership, or even industry focus. As long as the core approach remains intact and relevant, the organization can continue to resonate with its audience.

Understanding business through the lens of memetic science offers practical implications for innovators:

The most successful approaches typically challenge status quo thinking in their domain. They don't merely improve upon existing paradigms – they question fundamental assumptions. What aspect of conventional wisdom does your approach challenge? What status quo are you disrupting?

Positioning your approach at a clear edge of the spectrum rather than in the ambiguous middle creates memetic advantage. A distinct position is more memorable, more shareable, and more likely to create emotional connection than a balanced, moderate stance.

For your approach to spread, it needs "memetic hooks" – elements that make it easily understood, remembered, and transmitted:

The most successful memes contain mechanisms that encourage their own replication. Your approach should:

Living memes evolve as they spread across different environments. Your approach must be:

This memetic perspective fundamentally changes how we should approach business strategy and marketing. Rather than focusing primarily on product features, company positioning, or founder personalities, organizations should identify, refine, and propagate their unique approach.

The questions become:

Through the lens of memetic science, the most successful businesses can be understood as "memetic organisms" – entities that effectively propagate their approaches, ideas, and perspectives across the cultural ecosystem. Their success isn't measured merely in revenue or market share, but in how effectively they change how people think.

Apple didn't just sell computers; it changed how we think about the relationship between humans and technology. Airbnb didn't just create a marketplace for short-term rentals; it propagated an approach to trust and resource utilization that challenged fundamental assumptions.

In this sense, business innovation becomes a form of cultural evolution. The companies that thrive are those whose approaches provide the best memetic fit for the evolving landscape – those that can replicate, mutate, and adapt while maintaining their essential character.

As we move deeper into an era where attention is the scarcest resource, the memetic perspective on business becomes increasingly valuable. The goal isn't just to create better products, build stronger companies, or develop more charismatic leaders – it's to cultivate approaches that resonate, spread, and evolve.

The businesses that understand this memetic dimension – that their primary role is as vectors for powerful ideas – will be the ones that shape not just markets, but culture itself. They will be the memetic organisms that define our collective future.

— Emre Doğaner
Marketer