The previous Lightbox Loves article spoke about the importance of brands being a part of culture. But, how do marketers and brands know how to embed themselves in culture and be a part of the conversation?
This challenge is compounded by the fact there has been an increasing amount of literature declaring the ‘death of monoculture.’ What this theory suggests is that there are fewer obvious ‘watercooler’ moments in modern times and a fragmentation of content and attention, largely driven by the explosion in algorithm-driven personalised feeds on social media. In practice, this means the decline of traditional tentpole events such as TV show finales (e.g., Game of Thrones) in favour of 100s of trending TikTok trends every day. This is heightened by growing partisanship and individualism, which in turn means consumers now expect more personalised interactions.
However, this view is overly reductive given we can see that now all culture is fractured. There are still many moments that unify audiences. Some recent examples include the Lionesses’ win at the Women's Euros this summer, the Oasis reunion tour, or even Brat summer. Something these moments have in common is they successfully tap into something universal, whether that’s a desire for nostalgia, identity or collective pride. One way to identify some of these wider themes is by exploring our previous thought leadership on Cultural Codes.
But for now, coming back to the question posed at the start, what do marketers and brands do? Firstly, it’s important to understand that chasing virality and the next trending topic in culture is not sustainable. Instead, it is vital for brands to understand their own audience, and therefore what matters for them. Are they nostalgic, tribal, or passionate about emerging culture and niche communities?
The solution for this is developing a wider cultural awareness and/or understanding programme. This is all about listening more to your consumers. For example, use social listening platforms to map what matters most to your audience – analyse the volume, theme and sentiment of conversations. In an ideal world, combine this with active customer understanding – speak to them directly through different types of qualitative research. For example, our online video community, The Street, allows us to quickly speak to consumers and understand what’s happening in their lives. What this enables brands to do is be smart amount not just what topics to tap into and/or align with, but also understand the context and timing, which allows them to be more successful.
So, what does this all mean? Monoculture isn’t dead, it’s just splintered. But for marketers willing to dig deeper, meaningful participation is more possible than ever. The question isn’t “What’s trending? “ it’s “What matters to our audience?” That’s how brands stay relevant, even if monoculture is less apparent than previously.
Source: Business Insider, Forbes, the7stars Cultural Codes
