Pop culture can take a stale brand and make it relevant again – need proof?
Look no further than brands like McDonalds, Nike and Lego.
According to RetailDive, Lego figured this out in 1999 when it partnered with Star Wars to introduce a series of products that reinvigorated the company, and resulted in 700 different sets, five video games, several television and web series, and additional products since its original partnership.
“By opening that door to do licensed products, which was something they really hadn’t been involved with previously, it opened up a whole new world of play experiences by bringing in all of those other brands,” said James Zahn, deputy editor of The Toy Book. That eventually led to IP deals with Harry Potter, DC Comics, Marvel Comics and others. “Fast forward 25 years, and now pretty much everything pop culture you can find it in brick form.”
Celebrities, political figures, and sports teams often turn to pop culture references like The Office, Friends, Meatless Monday and Baby Yoda to stay relevant.
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According to The Marketing Sage, the link between cultural relevance and keeping consumer attention has been thoroughly studied, and research from Magna/IPG and Twitter suggests that brands need to remain culturally relevant if they want to attract their target markets’ attention.
The study mentioned 25% of those surveyed made their purchase choices based on a brand’s ‘cultural involvement’ – meaning a quarter of them were willing to buy from brands that incorporated pop culture into their marketing strategies.
Spiralytics contends that leveraging pop culture can result in real benefits for your brand, including:
- Better chances of your content gaining traffic
- Better understanding of your audience
- Increased brand loyalty
- Increased authenticity and humanization of your brand
- More soft sells!
They key to leveraging pop culture is to capitalize on a trend in way that feels natural and timely and that captures an emotion.
It can be funny, moving, or awe-inspiring but make it memorable!
If your brand has had success leveraging a pop culture trend, we’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
