Establishing your brand as a culture brand is the holy grail.
It’s a mark that your brand has reached fame, affinity and relevance.
But how the heck do you measure it?
Well, forget brand tracking.
Forget awards.
Forget content likes.
They are arbitrary.
The best data point to evaluate if your brand is an icon of culture is behaviour.
Here are 28 new cultural measures to aim for:
1. Your limited edition product is being resold on eBay (for more than it was originally sold for at retail)
This was something we achieved on Johnnie Walker in my previous agency with the Blade Runner 2049 limited edition.
2. People have your logo tattooed on their body; or shaved into their head
The ultimate in fan culture hey?
3. People re-appropriate your product for something completely different
Mentos is actually now rocket fuel
4. People use your end line as part of their vernacular
Does exactly what it says on a tin!
5. You’re ad campaign gets turned into a giff/Meme
Not only was Dos Equis’ ‘most interesting man in the world’ campaign a commercial hit from a sales perspective, it continues to be the gift that keeps on giving in meme culture
6. People create fan art on social media with your brand
The ultimate compliment
7. You’re brand organically gets a mention in a song, film or TV series
From 2pac to A$AP Rocky Mercedes Benz is a brand engrained in hip-hop culture with thousands of mentions and hundreds of appearances in videos, so much so that it’s one of the most used brands in the world of hip-hop.
8. You’re packaging gets Instagrammed over and over again
Is your packaging purposefully Instagrammable? Or does it just look nice?
Like NYC’s Supermoon bakery, it is famed for its amazing packaging, proving even small independent businesses know how to get more out of your packaging.
9. Some other brand imitates you
We all remember the Colin the Caterpillar saga?
10. There is a queue around the block for your products
Supreme’s limited releases and seasonal weekly Thursday product drops have created a legion of fans who are eager to queue for products.
Hell, one hardcore fan even sent their gran to get in line to ensure they snagged some limited goods.
11. People are buying two of something (one to use, one to keep)
Fuelled by a love for the brand and an obsession for limited release.
Die hard collectors can’t just have one pair, they need a pair for feet and a pair for the collection.
12. People seek you out in a virtual world or game
Fortnite x Balenciaga, when luxury fashion collided with the gaming world.
13. People have created their own hashtag for you
Welcome to the world of #malibuwithaview where young Malibu fans were photographing their Malibu on holiday
14. There is a hot black market for fakes of your product
With a reported 300,000+ annual searches around the globe for ‘fake Rolex’. Making it one of the most in-demand ‘fake’ products on the planet.
15. People are dressing up as your brand at fancy dress or halloween
Go google your favourite brand!!
16. Your main competitor is poking fun at you
Remember the time Burger King admitted to trolling McDonalds for an entire year, without anyone realising?
17. Your brand gets cited in books
Did you know the original choice of transport for secret agent 007 James Bond was a Benltey, a Bentley Blower to be precise?
But that all changed with the introduction of the Aston Martin D.B.III or BD Mark III, an evolution of the DB2 in James Fleming’s 1959 Goldfinger novel.
Beginning what would become possibly one of the most iconic brand duos in history
18. People have extreme relationships with your product
For Japanese skincare brand SK-ii there was a story of a super wealthy lady who took baths in their age defying Miracle Water to keep her skin looking young.
At $200 a bottle, that is one expensive bath.
19. Your brand gets an approach by another brand in culture
Ben & Jerry’s and Tony’s Chocolonely entered into a “chocolate love-a-fair” falling “bar over spoons for each other”. But the partnership wasn’t about driving sales or to create buzz (even if it did), but it was about impact, especially for Ben & Jerry’s.
With the partnership focusing on the cocoa supply chain and seeing the ice cream brand join Tony’s Chocolonely mission in making chocolate 100% slave free
20. Your brand creates something that gets a genuine cultural review
15 years ago I launched Stella Artois Black through an immersive theatre experience with Punch Drunk that got a genuine 4 star review from a theatre critic
21. Your brand gets a dance named after it
Reebok Dance, is named after you guessed it, Reebok.
According to some it’s a move which became popular just as the brand was taking over the shelves during the 1980s.
22. Your products are customised and remixed
Thanks to a bucket load of jibbitz, charms, patterns and array of colours Crocs allows you to customise and remix their shoe to match your personality.
23. People keep your packaging pride of place
Hendricks Gin is the perfect candle holder for your mantelpiece
24. People enact your advertising
Whatsuuuuuuuuuuupppppp!!
25. People complain about your advertising and want to get it banned
The bonkers MoneySuperMarkert.com’s ‘Epic Strut’ advert received 1,513 complaints. Viewers complained the ad was offensive due to its “overtly sexual content”.
You can’t please everybody
26. You get approached by celebs who want to invest
Through his Casa Verde Capital fund Snoop Dogg became more than just the face of Klarnas marketing campaign he became a minority investor too.
27. Your stock price rockets when you do something big
When Nike launched their believe campaign across America it’s value rocketed by 30% before the end of the month
28. The consumer has created their own ritual around the product
Netflix and chill the consumer ritual coined by users and embarrassed by the brand itself.
Ready to get your brand embedded in culture?
- Click the link
- Book a FREE 1 to 1 BRAND APPRAISAL
- Let’s talk brands in culture
Go for culture
Neil
