Power to the People
A global uprising is underway, and it’s been initiated by consumers in social media.In the past two years we’ve witnessed a polarity shift in the way that brands and entertainment properties are perceived in culture.
For decades society has relied on mass media to provide a cultural foundation of attitudes, aesthetics and beliefs – because communities were otherwise isolated and fragmented. However, social & digital platforms have now become the primary platform for human interaction, connecting over two billion people around the world. That’s allowed us all to unify, and connect to the things that truly matter to us.
No longer as influenced by mass media, people are free to aggregate the most relevant and vital cultural ideas themselves – and test them across their network. The traditional media and marketing model is not designed to deal with such a connected, opinionated and mobilized audience. Technology has empowered the global consumer to become a dominant force.
theAudience is a ‘cultural media’ company, structured specifically to address the new challenges that brands face today. While a lot of our end services may look similar to other agencies – our approach is radically different. The company consists of a ‘Culture Lab’ that maps the cultural landscape existing between a brand and its consumers, and Hummingbird Studios – a content studio that develops stories, initiatives and communities, based upon this enlightened perspective.
The Social Ecosystem
Social media is a living ecosystem. It conforms to the laws of nature and human behavior, rather than those of media and marketing. We surround ourselves with friends, family, celebrities, influencers, entertainment properties, brands, places and passion points. These all contribute to our sense of self. A brand exists as part of a complex cultural mosaic of entities that help define who we are.
In social, people don’t really care about physical brands. We only care about the metaphysical values those brands represent. It’s those values that resonate with us, and enable us to make a connection. In turn the feedback we receive (in the form of likes, comments and shares) validates the cultural choices we’re making.
It’s vitally important to understand the part brands play to enrich this ecosystem, because it’s a dynamic that’s driving culture forward. From now on the people won’t buy your products, until they buy into your brand as an integral part of their cultural identity.
Our Approach
As theAudience weaves brands into popular culture, we not only tell stories and collaborate with art and entertainment properties, we also tap into the most influential personalities, identify geographical hotspots for live activations, and collaborate with similarly aligned brands.
Our approach is radical, but the results speak for themselves. We see four times the engagement, and far greater brand affinity than a traditional marketing approach. But what’s more important is that this process leads an authentic and tangible relationship with customers.
We make brands matter – at a time when consumers are demanding more from the cultural entities they align themselves with.