Pop Culture: The Secret to Making Your Brand Relevant

There are many examples of pop culture marketing success stories involving product placement, endorsements, and capitalization of brands with societal trends, sports, art, and celebrities.

Pop culture is simply defined as “commercial culture based on popular taste.

Let’s explore how embracing pop culture can shake up your marketing game.

1. Become a connoisseur of pop culture conferences

Trade your industry events for pop culture extravaganzas like Comic-Con, SXSW, or Cannes Film Festival.

Absorb the energy, and mingle with creatives and fandoms to uncover fresh perspectives and tactics.

2. Binge on Ad Land’s Finest

Swap traditional industry publications for the Adweek Creative 100, Communication Arts, or Lürzer’s Archive. Check out the state of music advertising in the 21st Century, immerse yourself in bold campaigns that inspire you, and let the creative juices flow.

3. Stalk the stars of social media

See how pop culture icons market themselves on social media. Take a film star like Ryan Reynolds who is always funny on Twitter. Dissect their posts, memes, and stories to understand what drives engagement and adapt it for your brand if you want to have customers following you in their droves.

4. Host an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) with your audience

Ditch conventional customer surveys for an AMA session on Reddit or Instagram Live.

Let your audience spill their hearts out, and tap into their desires and frustrations.

You’ll get asked some pretty leftfield questions, amongst the usual stuff people want to know about brands, but if you are willing to answer them in the spirit they are asked and you come up with some funny lines, you will find yourself building a following in no time at all.

5. Fuse forces with unlikely allies

Collaborate with musicians, artists, or influencers.

The fusion of unexpected talents can lead to marketing magic that transcends traditional boundaries.

The more creative people you can talk to from as many different disciplines as possible, the better the end product of your business marketing is likely to be.

6. Explore the world of memes and viral content

Take a deep dive into the world of memes and viral content to understand the secret sauce behind their contagious nature.

Keep an eye on trending topics and learn how to incorporate them into your campaigns in a way that resonates with your audience.

7. Embrace nostalgia marketing

Leverage nostalgia to create powerful emotional connections with your target audience.

Revisit successful campaigns from the past and revamp them with a contemporary twist, or reference pop culture moments that evoke fond memories for your audience such as nods to classic films like Dirty Dancing or Back to the Future that everyone loves.

Finally,

Stay current with popular culture.

Use this knowledge to create timely, relevant content that captures the zeitgeist and sparks excitement in your audience.

Pop culture can transform your marketing.