How to build meaningful iconic brands that are connected to culture

Culture in marketing is often reduced to what’s popular and trending. But cultural participation requires clarity, credibility, and commitment. Iconic brands evolve by staying connected to culture while still reinforcing core brand associations.

Kantar BrandZ reveals that brands with high cultural relevance grow faster. This is because emotion plays a critical role in decision making. Powerful brands with a high consumer predisposition tap deep into the heart of the drivers of consumer choice.

This requires brands to become more culturally connected yet still speak out in a way that is consistent with their DNA. Brands need to understand the cultural values at play to make their way into – and remain in – the hearts and minds of consumers.

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The Kantar Human & Cultural Insights team took a thought-provoking look into the brand world to learn how to truly build cultural capital.

We looked at culture through the eyes of Tyla, the first South African solo musician on the Billboard Hot 100 in 55 years. Earlier this year, and at the age of just 22, she won a Grammy in the best African music performance category for her hit single Water. Worth an impressive $45m, she has built cultural capital in a way that marketers can learn from.

Tyla’s rise to fame illustrates three key principles for brands:

1. Listen in and connect to cultural conversations

In an already charged diversity and inclusion landscape, Tyla first emerged on the US music scene and announced that she identified as coloured. This announcement sparked endless dialogue about race, identity, accents, authenticity, and acceptance. Her identity became an intriguing talking point on social media which she used to her advantage, embracing conversations about race and identity. This was further fuelled by the hashtag #WhoIsTyla and #TylaIsColoured.

A brand that does this well consistently is Nando’s – always connected to cultural conversations and quick to take a point of view and get involved.

2. Discover the sweet spot between your brand equities and what is happening in culture

Tyla has been very intentional about her unique style of music – a combination of R&B, pop and amapiano which has taken the world by storm with more than two billion streams in 2022 – a 143% increase in Spotify streams. Tyla found the sweet spot and combined amapiano with pop and R&B, almost guaranteeing broad cross-continent appeal.

Nike also gets this right. With innovation like the running hijab, Nike have revolutionised its product offerings in the sweet spot of sport and inclusivity.

3. Activate with consistency but have a fresh point of view

We all know TikTok builds virality, but Tyla found a fresh and distinctive way to stand out. She partnered with Spotify on their emerging talent programme and then pre-released Water to a small audience. Her TikTok dance challenge led to one million streams in a single day with the #TylaWaterChallenge ultimately garnering a combined 448.6 million views. The song has been used in over 500,000 videos on TikTok and her hit single Water gained 100 million streams on Spotify within three months.

A brand which gets this right is Apple which continuously builds an almost cult-like following. Timeless in its iconic simplicity, Apple is also timely through its breakthrough innovation and a distinctive fresh point of view year after year.

Leveraging these three principles, we see iconic brands being connected to culture in a way that is timely yet timeless, progressive yet original, and authentic yet relevant. They evolve by staying connected to culture while still reinforcing core brand associations. They clarify their point of difference for today and activate with consistency to build memory for long term structures.

At Kantar, we interact with culture in a way that drives brand growth. Get in touch with our team of experts to get closer to culture with our cutting-edge frameworks and thinking that brings intelligence from the edge of culture - Yasmin Kathoria and Lerato Kgatla.

Want more? Find out how to drive growth through brand inclusion. Brand inclusion is no longer just a nice-to-have; it is essential for brands to stay relevant. This is even more true given the generational shift that has opened the door to a wider range of identities, creating a new culture that demands everyone be welcomed and understood.

Register for our Brand Inclusion Index webinar on 17 September. This first-of-its-kind report features insights from Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria - three markets where diversity and inclusion are reshaping brand-consumer relationships.

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