Every audience already has a language. Numbers that mean more than their face value. Music genres that carry an entire identity. Sports metaphors that land harder than any brand claim. Words that only they use. The brands that earn cultural credibility think in that language from the start. Here are eight creative tactics from the Get Into Culture Engine that make the audience feel as if the brand has always been one of them.
- Speak in their numbers
- Speak their music
- Speak their sport
- Create the word they're missing
- Remove the word to show what's absent
- Speak through the body
- Speak through universal symbols
- Speak their values back to them
1. Speak in Their Numbers
Find the number that already means something to your audience — and make it do your work.
NZ Says '39' — Tourism New Zealand, Special Group, 2020
Japanese tourists were visiting New Zealand less and less, despite being a key tourism market. Research revealed that Japanese visitors would be more likely to return if they saw their own culture reflected in Kiwi culture — and both cultures share a deep value around being a good host. Tourism New Zealand decided to thank Japan for hosting the 2019 Rugby World Cup. In Japan, the number 39 is shorthand for "thank you." The New Zealand rugby team arrived in Japan with 39 on their jerseys and took the gesture to the field. The campaign achieved an estimated $41.1 million NZD in ad value and 14 million views across social media.
The NZ Blood Service's World's Biggest Reserve Bench (YoungShand, 2019) used a different numerical logic: in sport, the reserve bench is what makes the team unbreakable. Blood donation framed as joining the bench — the campaign resulted in 96,000 new donation enquiries, with 6,000 people signing up in the first three days.
2. Speak Their Music
Use the audience's genre as the medium — and make the brand message the lyric.
Pack Yer Bags — Yorkshire Tea, Lucky Generals, 2023
Yorkshire Tea noticed a genuine cultural behaviour: young Brits were taking Yorkshire Tea on holiday so they could get a proper brew abroad. Lucky Generals and Ninja Tune turned this into a full Ibiza dancefloor banger — written, produced, and released as a real track. The music video took every cliché of a first holiday with mates and replaced the usual Ibiza content with tea. "Sambuca shot. Tequila shot. Rather have a Yorkshire tea in a teapot." "Cabin crew to doors for arrival, the local time is tea time." The campaign ran with paid media support and was available on Spotify. It worked because it didn't use music to soundtrack an ad — it was the music.
Black Business Beats (Mercado Livre/State of the Arts, BBDO, 2022) used hip hop's established tradition of brand name-dropping — 73% of hip hop songs mention a brand — and redirected it: for Black History Month, Brazil's biggest rap stars created a track that name-dropped only small Black-owned businesses instead of Gucci, Dior, and Balenciaga. Pony Malta's #BeatTheBullying (MullenLowe, 2021) used freestyle rap to empower Colombian teenagers to respond to cyberbullying in real time — using the genre's tradition of improvised comebacks as the campaign mechanic.
