By Kristy Hesom
When she started, there were “rules” on how to get consumers to buy your products or services. Consumers needed to be aware of you before considering you. ”Then you get them to try you, and then they use you, and then everything is great,” says Gordon. This, however, is no longer true for today’s complex consumers, who, according to Gordon, have gone from simple end users, to “being curators and innovators […] who want to be a part of your story”.
And the way modern marketers can effectively communicate with today’s complex consumers is through cultural vibrancy and cultural authenticity, believes Gordon.
“Creative vibrancy is about creating brands that are relevant, in the moment and in the culture that we live in.” Brands need to understand the world, then understand the consumer in that world. “Then they need to figure out how to really play a role,” points out Gordon.
And, while achieving cultural vibrancy and authenticity can be challenging, it is worth it for the brands that do achieve it. This is because “the ones that get it right are really creating a different relationship with consumers”, says Gordon.
Who are the brands that are getting it right? According to Gordon, some brands achieve cultural vibrancy through one campaign. Others manage to achieve it through the recognition of their brand as a whole. One local brand is Nandos, who do it day in and day out. Another is
Sanlam, whose recent campaign focused on unique challenges South Africans face. “[The] bigger challenge is not just having cultural insight in the moment, but really figuring out how your brand, over the long term, has a role to play in culture,” says Gordon. If a brand can get that right, then it becomes “bigger than a campaign”.
Dove is an example of a brand who understands the role they need to play in society. With their ‘The Power of Real Beauty’ campaign, they have “understood something about how women think about beauty, and their role is to challenge stereotypes”. And women get that. “Speak to a woman here, speak to a woman anywhere, they get that dove is about real beauty,” says Gordon. “It’s about going beyond the stereotypes. It’s about saying ‘I am beautiful’, and that speaks to women. It’s not a moment in time, it’s not a campaign, its deeply embedded in what that brand is about” she adds.
Cultural vibrancy is not only beneficial for the consumer, but also marketers: “It enables a brand to be heard more effectively, it enables them to build emotional connections in a way that can really differentiate them from other brands, and it allows for longevity because the brand actually has a role, and consumers want you there.”
But how can you gain an understanding into the world in which consumers live? It’s a lot simpler than you think. “Just be interested in the world,” says Gordon, “The most successful marketers are people who are genuinely interested in the world that consumers live in.” Gordon counts herself as one.