Latent audiences
One important byproduct of cultural positioning work is the identification of “latent audiences.” These are communities and consumers who already engage with, purchase products and services from and even possibly love a brand, but who are currently not part of the brand’s traditional target audience.
In many cases, the brand may not even be aware of these audiences. Think Timberland with Hip-Hop culture in the 1990s. Or sportswear brands and/or music artists in gaming culture today.
Cultural relevance does not happen in a single moment. It is earned through positive contributions to communities and genuine connections with consumers over time. It comes not from new mission statements or isolated social initiatives, but through a continuum of strategic, creative and operational decisions to address the global shifts affecting a target audience.
Tapping into and resonating with latent audiences creates previously additional and unconsidered business growth opportunities and can facilitate curiosity and an innovation mindset internally. Respectful acknowledgment of latent audiences and support can give a brand true credibility in that culture or with those communities.
For an illustration of how these concepts interconnect, consider the case of Guinness UK.
How Guinness found its flava
In 2020, the 250-plus-year-old beer maker sought Platform13’s help to become more culturally relevant and meaningful to consumers outside the brand’s traditional target audience of older white males.
Guinness had been exported to Africa and the Caribbean since the 1800s. In the UK, the movement of people from the colonies (West Indies, Africa and Southeast Asia) in the 20th century shaped the multicultural demographic that exists today. These latent communities brought with them their cultural expressions, including food, art, music and fashion, alongside their beloved Guinness.
Among the insights we gathered, one statement from a Jamaican record label owner stood out: “I thought Guinness was Jamaican. I had no idea they were Irish.”
Culturally, Jamaican culture has a massive influence on the world and on Black British culture, particularly in music and food. Given Guinness’ history in the Caribbean and West Africa, we had a unique opportunity to celebrate the stories and heritage of the elders in a way that resonated with the current generation—a reflection of the ongoing cultural and global shifts.
We launched the series by telling the story of Original Flava; a pair of brothers born in a London suburb, Croydon, who transformed their passion for flavorsome Caribbean cooking into a unifying platform that blended British and Caribbean cultures through food and flavor, with many recipes taught to them by their incredible grandmother, including the iconic Jamaican Guinness Punch.
The Guinness campaign we launched targeting the Caribbean community took place on the last long weekend of August 2021, coinciding with the end of summer and Notting Hill Carnival, an annual celebration of Caribbean culture (which had been postponed due to Covid that year) which attracts over a million attendees.
A citywide OOH campaign featuring Nanny and the Original Flava brothers, along with social content on how to make Nanny’s Guinness Punch and Original Flava’s Guinness Jerk chicken, received an overwhelmingly positive response from the Caribbean community.