We Must Redefine—and Deepen Our Sense of—Culture

Twenty years ago, Jay-Z made a declaration in his 2001 classic, “Izzo (H.O.V.A.).” It established a phrase that would become a mainstay in the hip-hop vernacular. The implication of these words, however, is far-reaching, particularly with regard to marketing, and perhaps even more important today than ever before.

The pandemic has relegated most of our social interactions to the Facebooks of the world, whose platforms are algorithmically designed to curate our media diets to represent the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of people like us. The content that our people share essentially acts as receipts of community membership—including everything from political affiliation to sports fandom.

Therefore, the extent to which we are introduced to new ideas, new products and the like is predominately based upon—and colored by—what our communities deem acceptable. This means that today’s marketers have to be even more mindful of the cultural characteristics that govern these communities if they want their brands to be discussed and adopted by the community. The first step to achieving this requires that we widen our perspective on how we define culture and deepen our understanding of the community members who engage in these cultural acts so that we might tailor our marketing activities accordingly.

From introductory marketing courses to agency life, marketers have long espoused the importance of understanding culture regarding consumer insights. Be that as it may, most marketers don’t fully understand the complexity and nuance of culture. Though we often use the word “culture” in our briefs and daily conversations, particularly in relation to media, celebrity and popular products, we lack the needed sophisticated understanding of culture that enables our marketing activities to harness its power as a vehicle for commerce. 

The term “culture” finds a home in a broad array of literature but tends to cumulate as a system of symbols, beliefs and values from which a group of people and their corresponding roles and norms are established and governed. Through this lens, culture consists of four distinct yet interrelated elemental characteristics: beliefs, artifacts, behaviors and language.

The alchemy of these characteristics is said to represent one’s culture. We see it demonstrated in our ethnicities, nationalities, religions and the passion points whereby we invest ourselves. For instance, if you subscribe to sneaker culture, then there are beliefs, artifacts, behaviors and language that are expected of you to be counted among the community of sneakerheads. Whether you’re into skating, gaming, collecting comics or performing cosplay, each of these collectives has cultural characteristics that are normalized within the community and expected of those who self-identify as such. Therefore, those who see themselves as a member of the community subsequently adhere to these norms to promote social solidarity among the community and remain in lockstep with its members. 

Consumption, by its very nature, is a cultural act. These characteristics also impact how we consume. What we buy, where we go, what we eat, how we vacation—all of these things are informed by what is normal to the cultures by which we self-identify. And the truth is, just like Jay-Z, we are all doing it for the culture—the unique culture to which we self-identify.

Therefore, as marketers, we have to deepen our concept of culture beyond the colloquial if we are to fully harness the power of culture and its influence on the products we consume and the brands we consecrate. The better we understand these cultural characteristics, the richer our consumer insights become, which will ultimately inspire creative work that leads to more predictable consumer outcomes. Now, who doesn’t want that?