“Culture moves both fast and slow,” says Rhonda Hiatt, global chief executive officer, M+C Saatchi Consulting, in a moment that cuts to the heart of modern brand strategy. In a world of 24/7 trends and fragmented platforms, how can a brand stay relevant without chasing every meme? The answer is both high-tech and deeply human.
In this unmissable session, following the launch of its new ‘Cultural Power’ strategic proposition, M+C Saatchi unveils its Cultural Power Index - an AI-powered diagnostic tool developed in partnership with Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. It’s designed to measure how embedded a brand is in culture, and how that correlates to commercial performance.
“Cultural power isn’t about culture-jacking,” Hiatt says, when describing what drives desire and demand: “It’s about showing up in authentic ways.” She breaks down the four pillars of cultural power - desire, influence, presence, and momentum - and how brands can wield them strategically rather than reactively.
“What we really want to get to is, how do you quantify [cultural power]?” she adds: “How do you use it to drive desire and demand? Not just take a leap of faith and hope that you get it right?”
Underlining the fact that authenticity needs to be a benchmark, not just a buzzword, Andrew Stephen, deputy dean for faculty and research & L’Oréal professor of marketing at Säid Business School, University of Oxford, says: “We’re not talking about how a brand piggybacks off a cultural phenomenon… to try and look relevant…it’s much more rigorous, much more grounded in strategy.”
For CMOs struggling with short tenures and even shorter attention spans, he offers a challenge: “Let’s understand where we currently fit culturally. What is our current cultural power? …And then figure out how we get there and recognize it’s going to take time and investment.”
Together, they present a compelling case: cultural power is the ultimate growth lever. But it needs to be measured, managed, and understood at scale.
Want to know how this framework can help your brand show up meaningfully in culture - and prove it to your C-suite? Watch the full video now to see how AI, academia, and brand strategy converge to reshape the future of marketing.
Advertisement
M+C Saatchi Group
M+C Saatchi Group is a global creative solutions company and the world’s largest independent creative network. We connect specialist expertise, powered...