Kamala Harris’s social media presence has skyrocketed in the past week in a way that no one predicted.
Having secured enough delegates for the Democratic nomination after Joe Biden stepped aside, her social platforms are currently riding a green tidal wave of enthusiasm and engagement.
And much of that’s from voters intent on endorsing a younger and more relatable candidate.
Within 24 hours of its launch, Harris’s campaign saw an $81 million surge in donations – the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle. The combination of the much-called-for step down of Biden and viral social posts saw more than 500,000 grassroot donors making their first contribution of the campaign cycle.
But how else is social media re-energising the Democratic campaign? And what does it tell us about engaging new audiences?
From a wealth of user-generated content, a savvy Gen-Z marketing team and a striking chartreuse-green aesthetic, social media is redefining Harris's campaign. This innovative approach leverages viral trends, memes and riffs on pop culture references to connect with younger voters, creating a dynamic and energetic online presence that sets her campaign apart.
kamala IS brat
The Democratic presidential campaign has turned lime green as Harris HQ is riding ‘brat girl summer’ into a brat girl election season.
But what is ‘Brat’ (other than Kamala)?
‘Brat Summer’ is inspired by British pop star Charli XCX's latest album Brat – released on 7 June, and the trend has dominated my TikTok fyp ever since.
Charli defined brat as a girl “who feels like herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of like parties through it, is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat”.
However, due to the way trends accelerate on social media, the meaning of brat has morphed into, well really whatever anyone wants. As it gained momentum, the trend evolved and expanded, and is now a flexible concept users adapt to their own experiences.
My best friend and I have been using ‘brat girl summer’ ever since the album was released – to justify anything from buying that pair of New Balances to having that extra pint.
Charli XCX’s tacit endorsement of Harris changed the game for the campaign’s marketing strategy, with her "kamala is brat" tweet generating more than 400K engagements.
The Harris HQ team jumped on the tweet straight away, changing their banner on X to chartreuse green, with a bio blurb reading: “providing context”, a reference to the now-ubiquitous ‘coconut tree’ memes.
This quick action laid the foundations for a social strategy that opened up the political campaign to Gen-Z, who until then hadn’t been represented (like at all).
And what does that look like? Millions of user-generated edits of Harris on TikTok, creating memes and tweets galore.
One tweet from Charli XCX turned brat girl summer into something no one could have anticipated… It started off with a vibe, but could it end up at the White House? ✨
The ‘memeification’ of marketing, comms and politics
Memes, shi*posting and unfiltered satire have become prevalent content formats for sharing messages in today’s digital age.
These content forms serve as strategic tools for anyone – from marketers to politicians – to engage with their target audiences, convey ideas and influence opinion.
With their ability to quickly capture attention and go viral on social media platforms, memes are harnessed by political parties to promote their policies or candidates in a way that’s both relatable and shareable.
While this election cycle is certainly not the first to utilise memes, Harris’s may be the first to have sky-rocketed at such a rate. The tag #KamalaHarris on TikTok reached more than 101 million views and 9,000 posts in a week.
Harris has long been a source of internet conversations and memes, but Harris HQ has harnessed it to make it feel like she is ‘everywhere’ – and she truly is ✨everywhere✨ at the moment.
Edits of Harris’s famous coconut tree speech are going viral on TikTok, with millions of views on social. The quote stems from a speech in which she shares what her mother used to say to her:
“I don't know what's wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
The viral clip has been remixed into multiple pop songs on TikTok – from Taylor Swift’s ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ to Chappel Roan’s ‘Good Luck, Babe’, furthering reach, accelerating engagement and dominating the algorithm.
Even Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz has fed into the meme culture surrounding her campaign with his tweet reading “Madam Vice-President, we are ready to help” pulling nearly 4 million views.
Multiple celebrities and prominent figures have stepped forward to endorse Harris, but the emergence of these viral memes has almost surpassed the power of their support.
Harris now has an online fandom – the “KHive” – who are not only producing free content and driving engagement, but – if the TikTok comments section is anything to go by – are shifting public opinion.
Could they also secure votes come November?
The individuals, brands and businesses that leverage the power of memes to influence and convert are likely to see success over those that stay in the comfort zone of traditional marketing tactics.
There is no playbook anymore... I see the future of marketing, particularly on platforms like TikTok, becoming increasingly unpredictable but exceptionally more delicious to consume.
A Gen X candidate with Gen Z energy. Or at the very least, the energy of Gen Z behind her.
Gen Z are quickly becoming the decision-makers and the ones with the purchasing power.
But the way they approach, consume and elevate marketing strategies is different to anything that has ‘worked’ before. With the emphasis on personality and vibes as opposed to the traditional best practices of old, marketers need to adapt to the shifts already happening at a million miles per hour.
The same applies to the election cycle. More content is being created by users on social platforms than we can comprehend. New ‘Kamala coconut’ edits are being posted (and becoming more unhinged) every second – the reason the campaign is doing so well right now is the quick action of Harris HQ to respond, engage and adapt.
It’s an incredibly exciting time to be politically minded, active on social and hopeful about an era where the younger generation are truly participating – and empowered to engage in ways relevant to them…
And for Harris? She has truly fallen out of the coconut tree – of what was a stale and uninspiring (even alarming) contest – into the context of all which came before her and is now all to play for.
Senator Schatz (of Coconut Tree lore) has said, in support of Harris, that what Gen Z wants is not necessarily a candidate of their same age, but someone who is “in the pop culture mainstream… Politics is definitely about policy, but it’s also about vibes, and the vibes, as the kids say, are immaculate".
Author: Meg Jones
