How Cultural Fluency Wins in a Polarized America

Marketing leaders from Hyundai Motor America, the National Football League (NFL) and Translation + United Masters joined Collage Group and Disney Advertising for a CMO panel discussion designed to share how leaders from America’s most iconic brands are navigating the evolution of the modern American consumer and winning in a polarized America.

The panel was included as part of Collage Group’s annual flagship event this fall: the 2023 Cultural Fluency Summit, held in partnership with Disney Advertising in New York City. As part of the event, we came together with our members to share an exclusive look at the latest actionable cultural insights to help brands authentically engage today’s diverse America, including our presentations “America Now: 2023” and “Overcoming the Backlash Risk.”

The most important concept learned at the event: there is no clear playbook to success in the marketplace, and best practices are just emerging. Brands have no choice but to weigh in, break through the noise, and carefully manage and anticipate potential backlash.

Joining us for our panel was:

Marissa Solis, Senior Vice President of Global Brand and Consumer Marketing at the National Football League (NFL), who leads all global brand and consumer marketing initiatives, including national advertising, both traditional and digital media initiatives, in-stadium marketing, and new fan development.

Angela Zepeda, Chief Marketing Officer at Hyundai Motor America, who oversees all U.S. marketing and advertising activities ranging from strategic direction and brand development to national and regional advertising, among many other responsibilities.

Chaucer Barnes, Chief Marketing Officer at Translation + United Masters, which is the parent company of award-winning creative agency Translation, and artist services platform UnitedMasters.

The panel was moderated by John Campbell, Senior Vice President of Client Partnerships at The Walt Disney Company, who oversees teams across Disney Advertising Sales that range from providing everyday solutions to enterprise-wide initiatives.

Here are the top-level insights shared from this meaningful conversation:

• Engagement is about commitment: brands must make their stories authentic to the basic human experience to connect with diverse American consumers.
• Brands must listen to more signals than ever before: by connecting current events and consumer behavior, marketers can distinguish between a momentary trend and a cultural staple in waiting.
• The world is not a place that’s “out there,” it’s in your own backyard: where brands play and how they play is the big difference for how marketers decide what to do.

Diverse consumers are the growth engine of this country given the continued and certain demographic landscape shift taking place in America now and for years to come. As our country becomes more diverse, more fragmented, and more polarized, winning consumers hearts and minds also become more complex. It’s clear that conventional wisdom is no longer reliable, and that the role of data, insights, and analytics is paramount in winning the consumer resonance space.

At Collage Group, our mission is to support iconic American brands in your efforts to unleash the power of culture to drive brand growth. Our data has shown that when used right, culture is powerful. When overlooked, it is a hugely missed opportunity. And when mis-used, the price is high. Our aim is to help you drive cultural fluency by simplifying this complexity and drive brand growth.

Contact us today learn how you can partner with us on the journey to cultural fluency and engaging diverse America.