Create Culture or go home.

CULTURE CREATION is the key output of any successful youth brand.

Creating an amazing product or experience is essential, but the best brands do much more than that. They create culture and spark interesting and fresh conversations. They create stories.  Why do they do this? Well, for starters, youth today are über curious and love discovering new experiences which help define their identity and give them platforms for self expressions. They’re constantly searching for ‘cultural capital’ (interesting new stuff to talk about) and they’re chameleon like in behaviour in that they are always looking to dip in and out of different subcultures and try new stuff. They are fluid like in the way in which they live, they expect the same from brands. Back to how this relates to culture creation.

The best brands in the world are always one step ahead, they CREATE stuff constantly for youth, whether that be events, content, marketing embedded into products or brand utility or even new ways for youth to connect and socialise.  They define, they lead, they jam culture, they smash the status quo. They never ever ‘mimic’ or piggy back onto a current trend. If they collaborate with other brands, they create something new and fresh, redefining the rules as opposed to just sponsoring a property and plastering. It’s more than just integrating your brand into a cultural object, it’s about bringing real value to that consumer experience, creating something worth talking about which is flexible. It’s being social in nature bringing people together to connect and create conversations.  Most brand ideas are disposable, around one day, gone the next, when you create culture, you stand above this.

So, which brands are best at Culture creation?

Me at RB Hangar 7 beside Felix Baumgartners famous 'wiing' suit used to cross the English Channel

Well, first to mind is Red Bull. They are the kings of culture creation. They are a content creator, not just an energy drink manufacturer. They don’t ‘sponsor’, they constantly create events and re-invent experiences which cover the cross section of youth lifestyle. The world of Red Bull is shaped by creativity and adventure, by courage and a maxed out lust for life, populated by their athletes/ambassadors. They create culture in every foray into youth culture they attempt…from their music academies, to the Red Bull Air Race, to Felix Baumgartner BASE jumping and ‘wiing’ suiting across the English Channel, to Red Bull X fighters , to free style football competitions, to Flug Tag, to Art of the Can, to the X Alps event, to extreme freestyle snowboarding.  They continually re-invent and create stories for their fans, giving youth cultural objects to relate and aspire to.

Nike in ’08 did a great job of creating culture, their Nike Bootcamp cross digital training program helping youth ‘train like a pro’ delivered amazing utility, but what it really did was create a cultural phenomenon whereby the football community was completely interconnected and competing on an unprecedented level. Their culture creation was about connecting and inspiring the young football community.

Burger King USA continually create culture be redefining ways in which their brand fans can show their LOVE of the Whopper. Culture Creation is as much about inspiring your brand fans, giving them a platform to show their love and letting them take your idea and run with it, as it is about you doing all the work and creating properties where you do all the work. Culture creation is conversational by nature and inclusive.

Axe/Lynx creates culture by redefining and inspiring young men in the mating game. Whether that be, coming out with loofers for blokes, digital tools like the ‘Get in there’ or chocolate scented body spray, they constantly push themselves to work out how they can give young guys the edge in the mating game.

Culture Creation is a journey not a one off event your brand creates. Think about how your brand  can spark ongoing conversations, it’s not about one off campaigns that live big then are forgotten, only to be remembered as a ‘great ad’ back in ’09. You have to have a FAIL FORWARD approach, do 10 things, if 5 things work out that’s awesome. Youth will give you credit for having a go, putting yourself out there, as long as you are authentic and stay true to who you are.

Inside the Black Jersey – great Adidas sports content

Adidas have recently released ‘Inside the Black Jersey‘  – a 5 part branded content series which provides an intimate portrayal of the team and how they went about clinching the 2008 Grand Slam Tour (beating England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) – only the 3rd time the All Blacks have achieved this feat in their 100 year history. I really like this content, Yes I’m  a massive rugby nut and getting an inside look into the lives of some of their great players was great. It’s a great example of how Adidas’ really focus on the mental side of achievement with their communication and really differentiate from Nike, who are more about the external\physical preparations that goes into winning.

Filmed by a small crew of just three  women, each 10-minute episode follows a different member of the team, including ‘The Captain’, ‘The Rookie’, ‘The Character’, ‘The Coaches’ and ‘The Playmaker’. The first of these follows skipper Richie McCaw in the lead up to the opening game against Scotland – McCaw discusses how the team’s training schedule is structured, what the boys in black do to unwind as well as what the all black jersey means to him. This, along with the second episode and a promotional trailer for the series, can be viewed at adidas.tv.

http://www.adidas.tv/?channel=Rugby

It’s interesting to see that Adidas creates content which really gives people an intimate and close up look into the mind of the players and team culture whereas one could argue Nike’s approach to content is to glorify the players via big budget ads around their skills. I like the fact that Adidas really focus on getting inside the head of the player…it’s a nice angle on the ‘Impossible is Nothing’ brand idea. Nike still kicks Adidas’ butt in terms of developing branded utility (eg: Nike Bootcamp training tools) but in my view Adidas is making more real and interesting content for fans.

Youth Marketing Rule #2: Inspire me and help me achieve

Marketers need to inspire Gen C with their brand ideas, they need to stand for something and have a strong point of view on the world. We’ve just seen Barack Obama dominate in the recent American elections based on his attraction and understanding of the Gen C crowd. His whole strategy was built on ‘change’ and inspiring the youth of America. One of the most famous brands of all, Nike has always understood how to inspire youth. They typically have done it from a top down approach, buying the most famous athletes and creating big TV ads, now, they’re going bottom up and creating grassroots activity with digital at the heart of all communication and consumer involvement as a key driver. In late 2008 to follow on from the success of the ‘Take it to the next level’ campaign, they created Nike ‘Bootcamp, part of Nike Football. Bootcamp was an immersive digital training resource for Gen C to ‘train like a pro’ . They inspire young footballers, providing them with digital tools on their mobile phone to improve their football skills and most importantly compete against others around the globe via a social networking platform, the key success point for any male dominated community. Bootcamp was an awesome example of a brand providing real utility to the youth community, tapping in their need to ‘belong’ as well as ‘compete’ against others.