Brands and the new cultural imperative

Stephen Whiteside

This article addresses why brands should broaden their traditional understanding of culture if they want to tap into changing consumer wants and needs.

Brands and the new cultural imperative

Stephen WhitesideWarc

Think "culture-driven marketing", and visions of pops stars as brand ambassadors and your-name-goes-here sporting events come to mind.

But according to Tasha Space – managing director at research, strategy and innovation consultancy CS Space, and an adjunct professor teaching on Columbia University's Master's in Strategic Communications – such tactics may represent expressions of culture, but they do not mean brands have developed real cultural savvy.

According to Space, cultural savvy is, in fact, the manifestation of a deeply complex ecosystem that underpins the attitudes, choices and behaviour made by brands and...

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