CULTURE RIPPLING / BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RELATIONSHIPS WITH CONSUMERS

To create new ideas that last beyond a nanosecond with today's 'on-demand generation', brands have to create ideas and experiences that are authentically rooted in culture and also be 'Cultural Facilitators' in society. For a brand to become a Cultural Facilitator it requires a deep understanding of its audiences' behaviours and lifestyles, the mining of sustainable trends that are emerging in culture and a new perspective to look at the brand through a cultural lens. I call this approach to developing ideas, communications and experiences, Culture Rippling.

Culture Rippling at Work

Only a few organisations have moved from the viewpoint of the brand as a static monolithic entity to that of a Cultural Facilitator and delivery vehicle for new consumer experiences. Brands like Nike, Apple, Puma and Method delight people on a deep visceral level through design, their values and the consumer experiences they create that ripple culture. These Brands practice some form of this philosophy as a core principle in their organisations. Moving from branding and brand-centric thinking, to Culture Rippling and culture centric thinking sets off a chain of 'ripples'; benefits for brands. Cultural utility leads to products and communications that are more authentic, foster more passionate audiences, and leads to quicker adoption and deeper relevance with audiences, which ultimately sustains and drives future business results. Moreover, thanks to technology, people also have the freedom to add their thoughts and inputs, thus creating a continuous viral feedback wave that spreads through digital and analogue networks.

Puma puts it into practice

Puma is a brand that that uses Culture Rippling with great expertise. As part of its Legends of Unity campaign, Puma commissioned celebrated artist Kehinde Wiley to develop an Africa Unity Kit, limited edition sneakers a range of clothing, coupled with original artworks as a build up to the World Cup in South Africa. To enhance the authenticity of his products, he took an anthropological approach and travelled to West Africa to get a better understanding of the lives and culture of star footballers, Johnny Mensah, Emmanuel Eboue and Samuel Eto'o. A short film was produced and distributed online that chronicled the process. Events also took place in New York, Berlin and around the world. To create added context, the experiences were held in unique environments for the creative community, incorporating the artworks, products and live music by Zozo Afrobeat.
http://rupturereport.tumblr.com/search/kehinde+wiley

It takes a diverse village

Helping brands become Cultural Facilitators is at the heart of RUPTUREstudio, a marketing consultancy and collaborative network of creative problem-solvers that have experience of developing innovative communication programmes for global brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, and HBO. At RUPTUREstudio, we leverage the Culture Rippling approach as an authenticator, accelerator and amplifier for our client's products and services. We've invented tools to bring rigor to the process, like RUPTUREroundtable for research & insights, and RUPTUREroll call as a creative network. These tools gives us the ability to collaborate with diverse thinkers and doers from media, art/design, technology and emerging culture, that will continually foster fresh thinking which allows us to create powerful Culture Rippling strategies for our clients.

Chuck Welch is Founder and Cultural Brand Strategist at RUPTUREstudio, Brooklyn