Why bravery means business

If you scroll through most industry announcements today, whether it be  fashion, tech or entertainment, it’s striking how quickly everything starts to blur together. The same aesthetics, tone of voice and polished brand behaviour designed to appeal to the masses and offend…  nobody.

For years brands have been told that consistency and brand appeal are safe routes to success, that avoiding sharp edges will win out in the long run. But today's cultural landscape is so fragmented and crowded with content, creators and conversations, that brands are competing with culture itself rather than simply with each other. 

When people feel they are participating in a culture rather than consuming a product, spending becomes part of the experience.

In that environment, what makes brands disappear is the lack of a defined point of view. Audiences are gravitating towards brands that feel distinctive and culturally relevant.

The shift is visible far beyond brands. In music, some of today’s biggest stars have succeeded not by appealing to everyone, but by creating worlds that people actively want to belong to.

Harry Styles has shown how individuality and self-expression can evolve into something much bigger than the artists themselves. His concerts have become rituals of participation, where feather boas, sequins and heart-shaped sunglasses are as much a part of the experience as the music itself. Fans are stepping into a cultural world built around flamboyance, playfulness and self-expression. 

Above: Dove has spent two decades pushing for a wider definition of female beauty. It’s a message that has endured as well as the refreshingly mature models featured in this 2024 spot.

It's little surprise that attendees at Styles’s UK tour dates are expected to outspend those at Taylor Swift or Oasis concerts. When people feel they are participating in a culture rather than consuming a product, spending becomes part of the experience.

cultural relevance doesn't come from watering down your identity to reach more people.

But perhaps the strongest example of cultural bravery comes from Bad Bunny. Rather than adapting himself for the mainstream, he has consistently made the mainstream adapt to him. From bringing Puerto Rican culture to a global audience to debunking long-established industry norms, he has built his success by doubling down on authenticity rather than compromise. His recent Super Bowl halftime performance, delivered entirely in Spanish, was a powerful statement that cultural relevance doesn't come from watering down your identity to reach more people, but in expressing it genuinely with enough conviction that others want to join in.

Having a point of view doesn't necessarily mean chasing the latest trend or being deliberately provocative.

Both artists demonstrate the same principle. Modern audiences buy into identities, communities and cultural moments that reflect how they want to feel. The most culturally relevant brands understand that people increasingly value participation over passive consumption and personality over polish. In a crowded culture, what makes something resonate is the confidence to stand for something distinctive.

You can see this in the rise of brands leaning harder into distinct identities rather than mass-market neutrality. But having a point of view doesn't necessarily mean chasing the latest trend or being deliberately provocative. Sometimes, it means staying committed to the same belief for decades.

Dove is perhaps one of the clearest examples of this. For more than 20 years, its Real Beauty platform has challenged beauty standards and championed a broader representation of women. Long before purpose became fashionable, Dove had established a clear perspective and stuck with it. While campaigns and channels have evolved, their underlying core values have remained consistent, proving that bravery is about having the confidence to stand for something over time.