Reggie Fils-Aime Discusses How Becoming A Meme Impacted Nintendo

Last month, former President Of Nintendo America Reggie Fils-Aime held a business and marketing lecture at the Cornell University where he shared his “Seven Principles for Next Generation Leaders“.

During the lecture’s Q&A section, one of the attendees asked Fils-Aime about how businesses decide to integrate with internet meme culture. More specifically, whether becoming an internet meme changed how Fils-Aime interacted with consumers, as well as how they measured the impact this had on sales.

You can check out Fils-Aime’s response to the question below, courtesy of user Syed Islam (with rough transcript by Nintendosoup):

Fils-Aime: It’s really difficult to try and measure the impact of one particular meme, but I will say this – I do believe that the memes I was part of, the memes Mr Iwata & Mr Miyamoto were a part of, I believe that it creates a relationship with our consumer. And in the end, having a healthy relationship with our customer drives sales.

In terms of how these memes happen, they’re not planned, and its not something you can forcibly create. These memes happen, and I believe that in the end, it’s my personality, the forthright nature and passion I have for business in the category, I think that’s what fans were excited about. Whether it was that first line at that first E3, whether its the laser beam out of the eyes, getting on the balance board and saying “My Body Is Ready”, they happen, and they become part of pop culture.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.