5 Ways to Make Your Brand Culturally Relevant

How we build brands has changed dramatically.  Marketing departments are thinly staffed, saddled with higher expectations and less time to meet them.  Most likely, you've become blinded by the process of brand building and lost sight of what excited you about this business in the first place.

Successful brands can no longer rely on data alone to dictate what consumers want and how to satisfy their needs.  Cultural relevancy is a critical variable, the layer of authenticity brands must penetrate to have long term viability.

I'm referring to the cultural roots, the core values, the traditions, that mold how consumers view and interact with their favorite brands.  More important than ever, understanding these cultural nuances and idiosyncrasies is the difference-maker in consumer relationship building.

Take the New Heartland cultural segment, for example.  60% of US consumers live there and are defined by a shared set of core values.  Although similar values are found in pockets on the Coasts, values such as faith, community and family are deeply rooted here. 


The New Heartland is a culture unto its own.  Combine the things that make this region unique with individual cultural influences in the South or from African American or Hispanic traditions and you have a whole lot of culture going on.



Ways To Make Your Brand Culturally Relevant: 

1. Define the Culture You Want to Speak to-  Many brands and their agencies make the mistake of not defining the culture they're targeting.  They have a great understanding of the demo they're trying to reach but don't account for the impact culture has on the same consumer in different regions.  A national ad campaign is one-to-all messaging that will resonate with a lot of people.  The same campaign in San Diego won't translate in St. Louis.  Different culture.  Different values.  Different language. 

 2. Engage a Cultural Specialist to Guide You-Don't try this on your own; you're not qualified.  It's like going to a black tie dinner in daisy dukes and a tube top... you think it looks good on you, but you'll be negatively conspicuous, to say the least.  I was recently working with a client on a New Heartland initiative, at their request, when a senior person at their LA-based agency went nuts. In her mind, she was the Heartland specialist by virtue of the fact that she served that role for other clients.  Forget that she had never lived east of LA, she was the expert because of all of the research at her disposal.  It was an unfortunate and ultimately embarrassing attempt to maintain turf vs. serving the client's needs.

  3. Immerse Yourself in All Aspects- Don't rely on your insights team to tell you what to think.  Use their data as a guide, but get out of your office and get deep into the culture of your target consumer.  Chunk your Blackberry for a couple of days and hang out with the people you want to build relationships with.  Eat at the Soul Food Cafe, go to a Saturday morning kid soccer game, hang out at a hip hop show, go to Sunday service at a small church.  If you do it right, you're life as a brand builder will change.  The more senior you are, the more urgent immersion is. 

4.  Acknowledge Core Values-  Know them; respect them.  Each culture has core values that are unique.  Many cultures share core values and traditions.  This is the most apparent in the New Heartland.  The New Heartland consists of the Midwest, Southwest and parts of the Southeast and needs to be on your radar as an underserved cultural segment.  Core values are behind the outrage of hot news topics such as Occupy Wall Street and the Penn State scandle. 

5.  Speak American-  Know the language of the cultural group you’re trying to reach.  Make sure your agency is turning out creative that not only connects culturally but takes into account different dialects and pronunciations. 

Lost in Translation: Cultural Disconnects

  • Lumina, Nokia's new Windows Phone, caused a bit of confusion – especially in the Spanish speaking world: Lumia can be found in the Spanish slang and it basically refers to prostitutes.
  • While the world waited on the release of Apple's brand new iPhone 5, it also made the company's naming choice for its new intelligent personal assistant, Siri, look a little culturally ignorant. In Japan, "Siri" sounds a lot like "shiri" — which means buttocks.
  • An Iranian company named Paxan Corp. produces a line of soaps and detergents under the name "Barf." This word has a positive and clean meaning of "snow" in Iran.
  •  A Japanese sports drink "Pocari Sweat" was exported to the United States, how many English speakers would choose to drink "Sweat"?

What challenges/successes have you had in helping brands become culturally relevant?  What did I miss?

 I challenge anyone reading this to clear your schedule for a couple of days, put on comfortable clothes and get to know your consumer's culture.  You are personally invited to come to Nashville and I'll show you around.  Seriously.
