The comments we received from these long-term latent audiences were truly goosebump-inducing, as for the first time, this community felt seen, heard and celebrated by a brand that was already deeply embedded in their culture. Added to that was how the project surpassed the traditional metrics and benchmarks, achieving 59% over planned reach, which was the main brand-set KPI for the campaign. The results are clear, a brand can have both reach and relevance; this is where culture marketing wins.

Cultural relevance as a growth driver

Now imagine if this approach moved from marketing activity to business strategy.

Your employees are also part of cultures and communities. We know the new generation of incoming intersectional talent wants to work for brands and companies that have a point of view on the world and stand up for what they believe.

Done right, cultural relevance will foster curiosity about what is happening in the world and the credible role that the brand has to play in it. It will encourage creative new ways of working and drive innovative ideas, updating processes and systems to make them fit for purpose for the 21st century to build resilience (can help in decision paralysis and concern around call-out culture). And lastly, it will achieve resonance by credibly engaging with existing, latent and employee communities and consumers.

Such an approach could ultimately future-proof the business and the brand.

But it’s not enough to simply add the word cultural to your title. It can only work if you know how to or bring the right people in to help evolve the traditional marketing and business playbook to make it fit for purpose today.

It’s time to embrace cultural relevance as a powerful force that can shape the trajectory of brands in the 21st century.