THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING THE ‘CULTURE ‘FOR MARKETING AND ADVERTISING PURPOSE.
What is culture? Who are the culture custodians? The word Culture is broad in its true crux. According to the dictionary definition; culture is the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society.
Then, how can a brand use the ‘culture’ in their marketing strategy? Brands that understand to the core of the culture, and the people who are driving the wheels of the culture, will win in their marketing and advertising execution. But before we can conclude that by understanding the culture you stand a chance to win big than does who don’t, we need to understand the nuances of the culture. Culture doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It lives and grows in a context, and is influenced by many factors.
For the purpose of this piece, will breakdown the culture as ideas, customs, and social behaviour as per the definition. From a marketing and advertising point of view will define the behaviour and pattern of customers in terms of their consumption of brands. How they look at the brand’s involvement in their everyday life. How they look at the brands’ actions in society at large.
Culture consists of many aspects that form the whole. Ideas are some of the aspects which the culture manifest. Lifestyle emanates from the ideas of pop culture. One example of the culture is the music genre called hip-hop. Hip-hop is a culture that has a huge influence on the behaviour and social activities most young people partake.
Against this background, it is therefore imperative for brands to embrace and understand the ‘culture’, to appeal to young people in today’s market. Brands may leverage insight derived from by understanding the nuances of the culture. Some brands have used this strategy a long-time ago. When Nike collaborated with Michael Jordan in designing and producing the Nike Jordan Air sneaker, this was a deliberate and strategic move because they understood that MJ was already a part of the culture. This gives them the edge in the sneaker culture, which was then led by Converse — Chuck Tayler.
Other brands such as Reebok and Adidas, etc., have also leveraged the culture into their advantage. Although their involvement in the culture may look like that of endorsement and ambassadorship, however, their strategy to select who to work with is influenced by the culture — custom and social behaviour, of a particular figure.
Therefore, marketing strategists must immerse themselves in the culture, and understand it. For the brand to become competitive and relevant, needs to also associate with social events which are melting pot of different elements of the culture.
