Digital platforms contain a lot of filler.

To be digital is to be present in this day and age, and with Ai and the metaverse staring us down, there’s no escaping continued digital transformation. But what’s the point of digital really? The truth is if you do away with all the trending, algorithms, and app hopping. It’s still about connection and the best form of connection is through culture.

The culture of connection, the culture of societies and the culture of brands. Digital is still just a platform.

And it’s in this playpen, that the real magic happens. Ai when matched with a cultural idea, becomes something genuinely interesting. A brand can spread its wings when a spokesperson that is cultural appears on out mini screens. It might be Sam Kerr, or the purple Wiggle. Or Sport you love can appear with you at the train station, and athletes can appear on mini screen on your couch. It’s an algorithm, but one that connects because it brings relevance to our lives. Take Prime energy drink for example, a global marketing phenomenon, driven by culture, driven by digital. Founded by YouTubers, and consumed by digital natives. 

Culture plays with us digitally.

It brings out a side of us that extends who we are, what we love and how we want to be. It might be music, or art, or fashion. It’s the thing that touches us in a way that is still authentically us. 
Brands that partner with culture, and amplify it digitally have the ability to be welcomed rather than ‘pushed past’. We follow what we like and in digital that can give us that authentically through being likeable in a ‘real world’ sort of way.

Becoming cultural through digital might be about telling real stories, or partnering with authentic influencers that really care about a product or brand. It might be a musician that aligns with a maker, or an athlete that believes in a vision. It might be big Hollywood culture or small backyard culture.

Digital is the vehicle and brands are the platforms to connect what is loved, with those who love it.

Next time you are thinking about the best way to appear in digital channels, maybe it’s more about thinking about what people want in their lives. What they love and what they admire, what makes being human better and what makes us all more interested. I’d suggest its still what binds us all together.

The culture we share.

Connecting genuinely is digital at its best.