The Power of Culture in Branding and Advertising

In branding and advertising, where the stakes are high and budgets even higher, it’s not enough to simply produce creative content. To truly resonate with your audience, it’s imperative to infuse strategy into the creative process. Our mantra, “Inspired by imagination, guided by insight,” encapsulates this philosophy. 

By grounding our creativity in deep human insights, we can develop brands and campaigns that not only capture attention but also solve real human needs and problems.

So how do we find the insight that propels our creative work? While it’s part intuition and experience, it also is predicated on the 4Cs framework. 

From macro to micro, we use the 4Cs framework to understand the relationship between outside and inside factors that all contribute to the final output of the campaign. 

• Culture: What sociocultural shifts are we experiencing and noticing today? Why does this matter to the world or to society?
• Category/Competition: How are competitors activating on cultural shifts? What are other brands doing to stay ahead or to compete?
• Consumer: How are people talking about the category, the cultural shifts, or the brand? Is there opportunity to talk to new people or to focus on new messaging points? 
• Company/Brand: What is true about the brand? What can it own or improve?

Now that we covered that, let’s dive into the first C: culture. 

Culture is the first of the 4Cs in our strategic framework. It encompasses the beliefs, values, and practices that define a society or group. To create compelling and relevant brands, we need to deeply understand the cultural context in which our audience operates.

Finding the Deep Human Insight

The cornerstone of any successful brand or campaign is a profound understanding of human behavior. This involves identifying the main angle—an insight that powers our imagination and drives the creative process. By solving a human need through insights, we ensure our work is not only imaginative but also impactful and relevant.

A Culturally-In-Tune Campaign Example

People can see through the BS more than ever these days. They know many companies are simply trying to sell sell sell, and they’re quick to check them on a campaign that’s ingenuine. It’s more important than ever to break the mold and say something shockingly different.

The first time we saw Sun Bum’s campaign slogan “we don’t care if you use ours, just use sunscreen”, it made us stop and smile. How often do you see marketing saying “we don’t care if you choose us”? How come when they’re not begging for our business, we want them more? They’re playing hard to get, and it’s working.

From a strategic viewpoint, major brownie points. This quick message shows you the brand is part of a bigger movement that’s in the best interest of the consumer: inspiring them to wear sunscreen to protect themselves. Whether you go with their product, or not. (Unspoken truth we all felt after this: you’d be cooler if you did choose them.)

To illustrate the importance of culture in branding, consider how we approached the campaign for Skrewball Whiskey. 

By immersing ourselves in the subculture of how and why the brand was conceived, we were able to identify key trends and values that influenced our creative direction. Ocean beach + hipster Asian Pho + an organic back of house recipe lead us to the insight surrounding the desire for novelty and breaking away from tradition. This insight identifies a growing consumer trend towards experimenting with unconventional flavors and experiences in the spirits industry.

We quickly recognized that many consumers, particularly millennials and younger generations, crave something different from the usual offerings. They are looking for a drink that stands out, a beverage that challenges the status quo and adds a sense of fun and rebellion to their drinking experience. This audience is tired of traditional whiskey brands that stick to classic flavors and conventional marketing.

This insight allowed us to create a campaign that felt authentic and resonated strongly with our target audience.

Auditing culture involves a systematic examination of cultural trends, values, and behaviors. Here’s how we do it:

1. Trend Analysis: We stay updated on the latest trends by monitoring social media, attending cultural events, and subscribing to industry reports.
2. Consumer Research: Conducting surveys, focus groups, and interviews helps us understand the attitudes and behaviors of our target audience.
3. Ethnographic Studies: Immersing ourselves in the daily lives of our audience provides invaluable insights into their cultural context.

1. Stay Curious: Always be on the lookout for emerging trends and shifts in cultural dynamics.
2. Engage with Communities: Participate in online forums, attend local events, and interact with different communities to gain firsthand insights.
3. Leverage Technology: Use tools like social media listening platforms and trend analysis software to gather and analyze cultural data.
4. Collaborate with Experts: Partner with cultural analysts, anthropologists, and sociologists to deepen your understanding.

 

By focusing on culture, we lay the foundation for creating brands and campaigns that are not only imaginative but also deeply rooted in the realities of our audience’s lives. 

In the next part of this series, we will explore the importance of understanding the competitive landscape—Category/Competition—and how it shapes our strategic approach.

Stay tuned and stay moving!

⚡️