Hasta La Creative!

It’s no coincidence that in a year when “culture” was named Merriam-Webster’s word of the year, the success of brands is increasingly being measured by their ability to gain cultural traction. This year, as the marketing landscape continues to evolve with the explosion of mobile and social media, so too will the conversation about how brands can leverage media to get into culture. If a product or service can participate in culture, suddenly it becomes much more interesting and relevant. Here are seven opportunities for marketers to tap into culture as it becomes increasingly critical to customer engagement and brand-building in 2015:

1. The connection economy. Of the approximately 600,000 people who traveled to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup, more than 100,000 booked their lodging through Airbnb and other home-sharing sites. Uber is disrupting traditional taxi transportation everywhere. I consider both of these startups to be “media” companies. Why? Because they do not own physical assets — they own intrinsic connections between customers and existing assets. 2015 will be the year when traditional giants recognize that their biggest threat — and opportunity — lies in using media differently to compete against these business models that are based on human connections and cultural nuances that are taking the world by storm.

2. Trading in trust and transparency. Consumers trust their peers more than they trust brands or companies. Corporate wrongdoing is found out and punished quickly by consumers. Hollow innovations barely launch before negative online reviews lead to their demise. 2015 will be the year that brands recognize and account for the fact that trust isn’t just a “brand variable,” it’s actually the basis of doing business. A major focus of media agencies in the year ahead will be building trust through communications, and helping brands engage in a trusted dialog with consumers

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