By Jed Hallam, Co-Founder & MD of CultureLab, a first-of-its kind cultural intelligence platform built to help brands harness the power of culture.
“Hey we should do something with that 7 rings song from TikTok.” “Did we put ‘cutesy and demure’ in the social copy this week?” “What dance challenge could our brand start?” These are all phrases I’ve heard in the last six months from marketers, either directly or indirectly. I’m sure you’ve heard (or *shock* said) your own versions of these statements too.
And there’s no shame in it.
We all want our brand to be that brand that seems like it’s ahead of the game, part of the zeitgeist and truly integrated into popular culture.
So, why is it so damn difficult? Why, in the golden age of data, does culture still feel like magic?
I believe it’s because we’re trying to apply a ‘vibes based’ model while ignoring the science of culture. If we look outside a lot of the pseudo-science of marketing, it turns out that sociologists and anthropologists have built a long and evidence-based library of work that at least provides a framework for understanding culture. When we combine aspects of this work with Big Data and machine learning, we can start to make real progress in our efforts to dispel the myth of culture marketing.
Let me give you a helpful example, one that borrows a really simple framework from French sociologist Emile Durkheim who gives us a hierarchy of how culture works. Culture is made up of different elements, each one building on the other. Any given community in popular culture is bonded by values that in turn give rise to rituals, all of which help people express themselves using signs, symbols, and language.
I can hear you groaning at the back. But what brands often focus – too intensely – on is the fast moving ephemera of popular culture; the signs, symbols, and language, as per my example in the opening paragraph. This is the stuff that trends on TikTok, is heard in pubs and playgrounds, and moves very quickly, making it difficult for brands to react without looking like they’re pulling out their best dad dancing moves.
Now, the values and rituals of a given area of popular culture; they’re more difficult to find. But they also move much more slowly. And if you can demonstrate that your brand also holds those same values, and can add value to those same rituals…well that’s how you become that brand.
