Cultural Marketing - An Introduction.

Have you ever seen an ad that totally gets you? Like, it uses all these inside jokes and references that only people from your background would understand? That's cultural marketing in action! It's basically marketing that's customized for a specific culture, using things like language, traditions, or beliefs to connect with people on an emotional level.

Why is cultural marketing important?

Well, for starters, it makes people pay attention. If an ad references something familiar from your culture, you're more likely to stop and take notice. Plus, it creates a feeling of connection. It shows that the brand understands your world and cares about the things you care about. This can lead to some pretty awesome benefits:

Increased participation:?

By referring to? cultural values, people are more likely to engage or respond to marketing messages as they are familiar with the references to their culture.

Emotional Resonance:

Cultural marketing communicates an idea in a manner that the audience can understand. It helps greatly to build trust and connection by sparking emotions. When brands understand the world of the audience, the latter gets the feeling that they are being valued.

Brand Loyalty:

An effective cultural marketing campaign can help build trust and value in the brand. When consumers feel that a brand respects their cultural values and beliefs, they are drawn toward the product or service offered by the brand.

Minimizes risks:

Cultural marketing avoids pitfalls by learning about the nuances of a culture in detail. It helps to avoid insensitive or offensive communication. This too helps build trust and avoids alienating potential customers.

AjmalBismi - Renumber

In 2023, we, Passio, created a cultural marketing campaign for our esteemed client, AjmalBismi. It was for Kerala Day (Kerala Piravi). As a leading consumer retail brand, AjmalBismi was more than happy to get this campaign running.?

The power of the campaign lies in its simplicity. Interactive in nature, the campaign took Malayalis back to their roots. It was a journey of rediscovering the past and unearthing its hidden treasures.

Titled ‘Renumber’, this campaign reintroduced forgotten Malayalam numerals. Intriguing placards were displayed in various key locations which made the public take notice of unfamiliar Malayalam characters. People were asked to identify these characters and they were involved in simple exercises that solved the riddle. The same exercises were extended to the AjmalBismi showrooms and customers were invited to participate. Those who cracked the test were amply rewarded and those who could not win learned something new.

Takeaway

This is a shining example of how cultural marketing can be used as a tool to get closer to consumers. ‘Renumber’ worked in two ways; it allowed the consumers to have a glimpse of their culture, and, the brand could take the role of an ambassador of the rich heritage of the state. In short, cultural marketing doesn’t just work for a brand, it works wonders for the brand.?