The rules of Cultural Movement Marketing

Posted on 5th Oct 2011 by Scott Goodson in Tips and Tricks

Once a brand has a successful Cultural Movement, it can achieve anything.

But for a Cultural Movement to truly work, there are some key golden rules you have to follow:

Start from within: The very core of a Cultural Movement should always come from within the brand itself. It should be relevant to the brand’s ideals and what it stands for, and add real value. Otherwise, every brand would simply jump on the bandwagon of the latest rising trend, regardless of relevance to itself, which would make consumers question it from the start - ruining the trust and authenticity needed for consumers to truly believe in a Movement.

Buy in: Once an idea for a Movement has been identified, the brand has to live and breathe it. Everyone – from the top down – needs to support it and spread the message.

No hard-sell: Cultural Movements aren’t about selling. The message isn’t ‘we support this, so if you feel the same then buy this’. In fact, Cultural Movements need to talk about anything but the products themselves. People don’t want to be sold to – they want to be engaged with. Buying the product is a natural side-effect as they become loyal brand followers through joining a Cultural Movement.

Excite people: Cultural Movements are about a two-way conversation. Brands can’t dictate the message, they have to engage and involve people in it. Make a movement stimulating, exciting and current, and people will want to belong to it and feel inspired to involve others in it, too.

Keep it kinetic: So you’ve rolled out the initial part of your Cultural Movement, now what? Cultural Movements in their very nature are not static. You need to fuel them. They’re not a one-trick marketing gimmick. Once a Movement gets going, it grows. Each great idea leads to the next, each motivation creates more. It’s a sustained way of constantly talking to your consumers and involving them in your brand – hence a smart way to spend marketing dollars.

Image Credit: Songquan Deng / Shutterstock.com