When was the last time you made an automatic purchase? When you didn’t think about whether you needed it, how much it cost, or if the purchase made sense? You just bought it and felt good.
This type of impulse-buy usually happens when we are in a particular frame of mind. Sometimes it can be caused by circumstances or euphoria, but more often than not, it is because we have bought into the culture of a company.
What do I mean by culture?
Culture is the invisible layer of beliefs, habits, and actions that a particular group of people adopts. Each country of the world has its own culture, as does every city. Every family and group of friends even has a culture.
Businesses have a culture.
The smartest ones consciously incorporate their culture into their brand.
The very best marketing goes beyond stories, sales techniques or pricing. When marketing is informed by culture it sells at an almost unconscious level:
Fanboys lining up around the block for an iPhone release.
Thrill-seekers performing
Angsty teenage boys buying and reselling Supreme clothes.
Other well-known brands that have been able to elevate themselves into culture: Vans, Lululemon, Ferrari, Starbucks, Tiffanys. (The list is a lot longer, but you get the idea.)
The culture of hip-hop has used this approach for decades. Since the early 80s, hip-hop has been over about how brands are a part of their lifestyle. Over time, brands like Adidas, Gucci, DKNY and many more have all become synonymous with the culture of hip-hop. These brands represent a lifestyle choice, and hence they sell like crazy inside that culture.
The culture of each brand is built first by imitating the values and habits of a group of people and soon starts to take over the leading of it. Soon, owning the products and using the services of a brand demonstrates that you are part of the culture.
No matter how small a brand is, if you have a group of people who believe in the lifestyle that surrounds it, they will buy from it.
How can you use culture in your marketing?
Think about the ethos of your brand, what it represents to the world and why it matters. If you can’t find a clear reason straight away, then maybe you need to rework the products and services so that they do matter.
Once you know why people want and need what you have, and how it impacts their life, then find ways to integrate the lifestyle into the branding and marketing.
A great example of this strategy was the She Runs the Night campaign that brought together 3200 female runners in Sydney Australia. This approach elevated the Nike branded event into a cultural experience that brought together people and product for something unique and shareable.
Your brand can do this too – and it starts at a cultural level. Capturing the ethos of your customers, or a group of people and then being overt about how you embrace what they believe. As Seth Godin eloquently states in This is Marketing, “Your tactics can make a difference, but your strategy – your commitment to a way of being and a story to be told and a promise to be made – can change everything. If you want to make a change, begin by making culture. Begin by organizing a tightly knit group. Begin by getting people in sync. Culture beats strategy – so that much that culture is
Begin with culture. It will take care of attracting the people, and they will buy from you.