How advertising can get back to creating culture

Relevance is the biggest elephant in the room for brands today. Every marketer knows that being relevant drives consumer attention, which keeps your brand front of mind, consideration high and drives action at the moment of need.  

However, gaining relevance and retaining it is easier said than done. It’s why “How can we embed our brand in culture?” is perhaps the most frequent question we get from clients today. 

Gaining relevance is easier said than done. It’s why “How can we embed our brand in culture?” is perhaps the most frequent question we get from clients.

What makes a brand culturally relevant is changing. Agencies used to talk about “not making advertising, but making culture” and that, in the past, was possible. In a world with a limited number of media channels that was dominated by TV, one brilliant piece of creative could really cut through into popular culture and common parlance. I’m sure we all have nostalgic feelings for our favourite characters, from Smash Martians to Aleksander the meerkat, or have found ourselves greeting friends with a “whatsuuuuup?”; or have felt that Christmas feeling the first time we clap eyes on the new John Lewis ad.

But those days are rapidly fading and the success of that type of marketing is fading with them. 

Above: Budweiser's Whassup campaign was a culture-impacting campaign. 

TV no longer dominates consumer consciousness, especially for younger people. According to Offcom, Gen Z in the UK spend less than an hour a day watching broadcast TV. In contrast, they spend more than 10 hours a day on social media. Not only that, they are even turning away from more traditional forms of digital channels, with 40% choosing to search on TikTok or Instagram before they turn to Google. 

Consumers decide what a 'quality' brand looks and behaves like, not the brands themselves.

Social media is undeniably the platform for mass audience attention, and this is having a fundamental impact on the way marketing and advertising works. Brands are no longer just up against their direct competitors for attention, they are competing against every brand, every media owner and every human being – not just in their local market, but on Earth. 

This means brand identity and perception is being built by consumers, regardless of the brand engaging with them or not. As a result, consumers decide what a 'quality' brand looks and behaves like, not the brands themselves. So, it’s no wonder brands want to infiltrate culture. It’s essential they are part of the dialogue. However, social media is changing our understanding of culture too. 

Above: Social media has altered the way culture and communities appear and grow. 

In the past, cultures were created and grew organically in small, localised scenes, occasionally brought to the world when a spotlight was shone on them by mass mediums such as cinema, records or TV. As a result homogenous, mass popular culture ruled. However, social and digital media has changed the game. Today, new cultures and communities appear and grow overnight as social media helps people share their passions and connect with like-minded individuals across the globe, creating new trends, behaviours and beliefs along the way. 

This fragmentation of culture makes it increasingly difficult to tap into and embed themselves in culture.

A recent report from Horizon Media shows that not only do Gen Z not care about mass-media, they don’t care for mainstream pop culture either – with 91% of 18-25-year-olds believing mainstream pop culture is a thing of the past. Instead, they identify with multiple niche cultures which ignite their passions; sub-cultures inspired by make-up, gaming, streetwear and multiple other interest areas. 

For marketers, this fragmentation of culture makes it increasingly difficult to tap into and embed themselves in culture. It’s not one thing, it’s multiple things, all happening at the same time. Constantly growing and fading away on a daily basis. No wonder it’s keeping so many marketers awake at night. So, how do brands make themselves more culturally relevant in this new world?