Once upon a time, brands could broadcast messages and expect the world to respond. The louder, flashier, and more emotionally charged the campaign, the better. But those days? Gone. Today, culture moves too fast, and consumers are too savvy. The question is no longer “How do we get attention?”—it’s “How do we stay in conversation?”

And that means brands need to stop talking at the culture—and start listening to it.

Why Culture Is the New Playing Field

Culture isn't a backdrop for branding. It's the context that defines whether your message lands—or gets dragged.

According to Edelman's 2023 Trust Barometer, 63% of consumers say they buy based on beliefs (1). That doesn’t mean they want brands to pick every side—it means they want brands to understand the conversation they’re walking into.

Cultural fluency—the ability to engage with social moments, identities, and values in a relevant way—is becoming a core branding skill. Not just for “purpose-driven” companies, but for everyone.

Signs Your Brand Is Just Talking at the Culture

Not sure where your brand stands? Here are some red flags:

Jumping on trends without context.
A meme doesn't make you relevant. Neither does using slang or aesthetics without honoring where they come from.
Performative allyship.
Slapping a rainbow on your logo in June without systemic internal support is now instantly detectable.
Outsourcing authenticity.
If you need an agency to translate your message to Gen Z, you might have missed the point.

As strategist Marcus Collins writes in For the Culture, “Consumers no longer want brands to just reflect culture. They expect them to participate in it—with respect.” (2)

What Listening Looks Like

Listening to culture isn’t just about monitoring hashtags. It’s about embedding curiosity into your brand’s DNA.

Some examples:

Duolingo hired Gen Z creators and gave them freedom to build their chaotic, hilarious TikTok voice. The result? 6M+ followers, with cultural relevance baked in.
Ben & Jerry’s doesn’t just speak about social justice—they have clear stances, internal policies, and donate millions. Their activism is strategy, not accessory.
Netflix tailors content marketing based on local cultural insights. From São Paulo to Seoul, they understand that global scale demands local fluency.

It’s not about being everywhere. It’s about being real where you show up.

Strategic Moves: How to Actually Listen to Culture

If you’re ready to make the shift, here’s where to start:

Move	Why It Matters
Invest in cultural research, not just market research	Know the nuances, not just the numbers.
Build diverse, cross-generational creative teams	Relevance comes from within, not outsourced copy.
Create feedback loops	UGC, community events, Discords, DMs—hear what people really are saying.
Pause before posting	Ask: Is this empathetic? Relevant? Needed?
Reward internal curiosity	Train teams to track signals from art, gaming, music, politics—not just competitors.

Here’s the truth: Culture doesn’t need your brand. Your brand needs culture. When brands genuinely listen—through the right people, tools, and mindset—they earn the permission to speak. And that’s where resonance lives. Because in 2025 and beyond, it’s not about being viral. It’s about being valuable—to the conversations that matter.

✔️ Checklist for your brand
We research cultural trends beyond just social media (art, music, politics, identity).
Our creative team reflects real diversity across race, gender, and generation.
We consult communities, not just agencies, when creating culturally resonant content.
We’ve paused or pulled content when it didn’t feel culturally appropriate.
We have feedback loops in place (comments, DMs, community channels) and we listen.
Our brand voice is flexible enough to respond to current events with empathy.
We’ve said “no” to trends that didn’t align with our values.
We reward curiosity and learning inside our team.
We’ve invested in long-term cultural intelligence, not just campaign “moments.”
We understand the difference between amplification and appropriation.

References

Edelman (2023). Trust Barometer Special Report: The Belief-Driven Buyer.
Collins, M. (2023). For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be. Portfolio.

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