Grassroots Corner - September 6, 2019

Where Do Memes Come From?

Have you ever seen those eye-catching magazine-grade messages superimposed on photos appearing on our FAIRtax Facebook® and Twitter® pages and wondered where they came from?  Those creations are called “memes”.  A meme, in internet-speak, is a catchphrase, or piece of media which spreads, often as mimicry for humorous purposes, via the Internet.

Our main sources of memes are Tony Leach - Oklahoma, David Boone - Minnesota, Dave Armstrong - Indiana.  Tony, David, and Dave feed the memes to  Randy Fischer AFFT - Director Marketing & Communications, who posts them on Facebook and Twitter.

Last week I caught up with Dave Armstrong on the phone and Dave spent the better part of an hour describing his concepts of creating effective memes.

Dave underscores a good meme will:
 

• Perpetuate itself.  Memes don’t work if they aren’t shared!
• Present a simple but accurate message
• Promote high standards and values
• Protect the product image (FAIRtax)

Dave identifies the following meme components the creator has to work with:
 

1. Script - quotes, statements, font and color
2. Background - patterns, colors, artwork, photos
3. Format
4. Component Coordination

The biggest MEME mistake you can make, Dave says, is not asking a FAIRtax friend to appraise and critique your new meme!

Dave’s memes start with an eye-catching image and a short message fitting the image.  Here's his 1st logo and screen layout:



Note the cook’s apron and the short message of “cooking the books”, which, of course, one cannot do with The FAIRtax.  The meme makes 1 and only 1 point.  Dave picks lettering colors which contrast with the background and does not allow text to clutter his image.

Dave once departed from his self-imposed rule of clutter with this image:



You will note Reagan’s face is clear in the background, and you as the reader see Reagan as you read through the somewhat longer message.

Here is a more recent meme of Dave’s with the new FAIRtax logo:



What could be more powerful than representing single moms with a mama cheetah!  It isn’t such of a leap at all to move from mama cheetah to single moms to how The FAIRtax supports single moms.  The message is simple and direct.  This meme illustrates how Dave’s memes take a dry, abstract, and erudite topic such as taxes and brings The FAIRtax to life.

And here is one of Dave’s not-so-subtle memes:


Dave notes, memes millennials tend to favor include more simple white text.  Dave is not critical of this approach but merely observant of the difference.  Apparently, that approach works with the millennial demographic.  His approach works with everyone else.

Next time you encounter one of these messages, you’ll know at least one of the Volunteer Grassroots Supporters to thank.

Dave Armstrong

Dave Armstrong’s career started in the field of engineering and ended in sales-marketing.  As a Product Engineer, then Regional Sales Manager, and International Sales Manager, Dave focused on solving difficult sealing applications in extremely hostile environments where common seal devices cannot exist.  Many applications were on the edge of technology, never having been attempted or never having been previously solved.  Applications were in cutting-edge industries such as: Medical, Aerospace, Electronics, Military, Energy, Chemical, Nuclear, and more.  It afforded Dave the opportunity to see future products years ahead of the general public.  It was an exciting 30+ years.

Dave has been involved with The FAIRtax for over 10 years.  He started creating memes for The FAIRtax about 2014 and has created about 1,400.  We don’t often see re-runs.
  We need more of you to send in pictures and news.  If you have anything to share, please EMAIL your material to me, text me 908-578-4975, Fax me 908-598-2888.