From Every Corner of Creativity: Insights From Mashers.
Cultural fluency is key to an incredible and impactful campaign. This means a deep understanding from the inside of all the nuance of each sub-culture you are connecting with.
To help you tap into how our best creative minds deliver high-level cultural understanding, we are launching a new series from some of our most dynamic Mashers. From a list of 10 questions, they have each selected five to give you their thoughts on the secret sauce: Cultural Effectiveness. ?
Meet Kristy: Shaping Brand Narratives.
How do you define the role of culture in shaping a brand's identity?
I see cultural relevance as an opportunity for brand storytelling. The narratives a brand creates and shares are shaped by cultural stories. This then allows for impactful visual identity and design and an evolved messaging and communication style. Culture significantly impacts a brand's identity by guiding its values, storytelling, visual and communication style. The challenge? Skilfully and effectively integrating cultural elements into the brand’s identity. When executed well, the brand is unstoppable.
What methods or tools do you use to identify emerging cultural trends that could impact branding strategies?
Being in the social media space for around 8 years has led to having an in-built desire to keep an eye on influencers, celebrities, and thought leaders across various platforms! They help me identify emerging trends and can provide insights into what’s forecasted. An extension of this is doing regular deep dives into online forums and community platforms (Reddit, or niche social platforms) as they can offer unfiltered insights into what topics and trends are resonating with people.
Of course, I subscribe to publications and insight emails, but I‘ve always found going straight to the community provides the most accurate information.
How do you measure the success of a campaign or creative project in terms of its cultural impact?
Shareability and Virality! The extent a campaign is shared across social media platforms is my primary indicator of its cultural resonance. High shareability of a campaign shows its ability to tap into current cultural trends, emotions, or values that resonate with the intended audience.?Things to look out for are increased User-Generated Content (UGC), engagement with trending sounds or challenges on platforms, longevity and memetic potential of the same or similar content, cross platform influence and audience sentiment.
What advice would you give to brands looking to become more culturally relevant in their marketing efforts?
Value Research! ?Allocate time for research and curiosity within your team, which may not directly contribute to billable hours but is crucial for understanding and tapping into cultural trends.
How do you foresee the evolution of cultural relevance in branding and creative work in the next decade?
An interesting one I’ve been thinking about lately is personalisation at scale. With advancements in data analytics and AI, brands will be able to offer more personalised experiences that will be more tailored to individual cultural backgrounds, preferences, and behaviours. With the rise of AI and machine learning, AI will play a significant role in understanding and predicting consumer behaviour, helping brands stay ahead of cultural trends.?There will always be a need for a human touch to ensure sensitivity and appropriateness in cultural contexts, but as new cultural trends and movements emerge, brands will need to be quick to predict ?these shifts to stay relevant and personally resonate with audiences.
Meet Tana: Comically Creative
What advice would you give to brands looking to become more culturally relevant in their marketing efforts?
Most of the time knowing the market is good, but respecting the market is much better. Don’t look down upon them like a fish you want to net. Engage with them like a friend you can ask advice from, authentically and in a respectful way. ?
If your creative process had a soundtrack, what three songs would be on it, and why?I value context so instead of a song, I’ll put the whole album!
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What methods or tools do you use to identify emerging cultural trends that could impact branding strategies?
First, submerge yourself in the culture you are looking to understand. Try to get as close to their point of view as possible. Only then can you start building and asking questions.?
How do you measure the success of a campaign or creative project in terms of its cultural impact??? ???
Feedback from the actual people you want to impact – not a co-worker, not a friend, not an expert. See how much of the conversation is being generated around the work you did, and how much of that stays true to what you set out to achieve.?
If you could teleport to experience any cultural event or festival for inspiration, where would you go and why?
Wigstock, 1984. To see what it was like in the grim period for the LGBTQ+ of the 80s and how Wigstock kept the community bright, fun, and happy in a time when they needed it the most.?
Meet Teresa: The Authentic on Film
How do you foresee the evolution of cultural relevance in branding and creative work in the next decade?
What stands out to me is an increased awareness of diversity and sustainability. Authenticity matters; I think brands will be held much more accountable than in the past, and need to increase transparency and develop better communication about processes, like supply chains.?
How do you define the role of culture in shaping a brand's identity?
A successful brand identity has to be relatable and authentic. To be that, a brand has to align with the culture of its audience in visuals (colours & symbols) and the message it sends (language & tone). ??
What methods or tools do you use to identify emerging cultural trends that could impact branding strategies?
I spend a significant amount of time deeply immersing myself into the sub-culture that I have been hired to speak to. This isn’t just desktop research, but being in places where they hang out, reading and viewing content they read and view; having conversations with the very people I need to communicate with visually.?
What advice would you give to brands looking to become more culturally relevant in their marketing efforts?
Be real and authentic, have open ears, eyes and hearts and be willing to understand and learn.
Where would you go and why if you could teleport to experience any cultural event or festival for inspiration?
Holi! For the colours, the food and good vibes!?