Why Culture Matters
Understanding cultural expressions and origins unlocks the most powerful motivators of consumer behavior.
The Deepest Source of Consumer Insight
Top brands secure their competitive advantage by unlocking the answer to the deepest “why” driving consumer purchase behavior and loyalty.
American consumers are in the midst of a cultural transformation not seen in generations, changing the very foundation of consumer decision-making.
Understanding culture is the solution. Culture opens us to the deepest set of norms, expectations, values and motivators. It provides the foundational “why” and “how” of consumers’ identity, behaviors and decisions.
Both shaped by and shaping individuals, culture explains “people like us:” who and where we come from, who we are, where we fit in, how we express ourselves and why we act the way we do.
The Intersection of Our Origins and Expressions
Cultural origins and expressions point the way to the deepest “why” motivating consumers.
Culture feels most real in its expressions: the changes and trends in our daily life, the games we play, our faith, rituals and observances, our fashion, music and art, the objects we live with and our homes, cities and landscapes.
But culture is more than expressions alone. Culture depends equally on the demographic identities and the shared attitudes that result. Cultural origins are the source of meaning behind cultural expressions because of shared history, locality, geographic origin, race, ethnicity, gender, age, behavior and more.
We define culture as the intersection of our shared origins and expressions through which the deepest motivators of behavior are revealed.
Unlock Culture to Win
Diving into cultural expressions and origins unlocks the “power of the why,” enabling marketers to take action.
The intersection of expressions and origins opens up powerful insights terrains that replace conventional psychographics and demographic analysis. We define culture using the following dimensions.
Expressions of Life
- Priorities and values about how we situate ourselves with one another
- Occasions, rituals and passions through which culture establishes its rhythms
- Products, services, experiences and media that bring expressions into physical reality
Origins of Identity
- Demographic characteristics that are the evidence of who we are and where we come from
- Shared attitudes and aspirations that motivate and align our behaviors
Navigate The Fluid Space Between Tradition and Growth
Culture constantly transforms with new ideas, technologies and needs – as well as through interactions with other cultures and the environment.
The more complex these interactions, the more likely it is consumers will experience cross-currents,tensions, redefinitions and dislocations.
With consumers asking brands to play a greater role in their lives and values, brands have an opportunity to be an agent and ally that enable consumers to deepen their relationships within their community in ways that overcome these inevitable tensions.
Directly Impact Action
Understanding consumers through the lens of culture is no theoretical exercise. The success of leading brands has shown decisively that understanding culture drives the actions that win.
Collage has identified 10 major action areas that leading brands take their performance to the next level. These begin with the use of these insights to guide representation and thematics in ads, campaigns and other marketing materials, reflecting respect for the cultural origins and expressions of who consumers are.
Leaders then apply these insights across a multitude of marketing actions, from assessing new needs and benefits, changing the positioning of existing benefits, bolstering retail and channel strategy, fine-tuning pricing and promotional strategies, and optimizing media spend.
Finally, leaders measure what matters to stay ahead. They monitor how they rate against competitors on the cultural factors that drive the performance of their brands and ads, while learning from the best to understand the characteristics of high performance.
Culture Matters Because Every Choice is a Cultural Choice
The greatest opportunity for brands is to drive Brand Love by unlocking culture, the deepest source of consumer insight.
How do you make consumers choose your brand and stay loyal? Cultural intelligence provides the answer by unlocking the deepest reasons why consumers make the choices they do. And it does so efficiently by replacing outdated approaches to consumer insight that rest solely on individual psychology, as if culture did not exist.
Applied to your brand, you have the power to renew consumer commitment by being their agents and allies, seeing them for who they are – not just what they want.
Arm yourself with the deepest insight into the reasons why consumers make the choices they do. Get to the top of your industry by motivating consumers to feel the deepest love and advocacy for your brand.