Dr. Marcus Collins is an award-winning marketer and cultural translator, the former chief strategy officer at Wieden+Kennedy, New York, and a marketing professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.

Marcus knows how to build an enthusiastic culture around brands and products and services. He ran digital strategy for the pop star Beyoncé, worked on iTunes + Nike sports music initiatives at Apple, including Beats by Dr. Dre. He is an inductee into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Achievement and a recipient of the Thinkers50 Radar Distinguished Achievement Award for the idea most likely to shape the future of business management. His strategies and creative contributions have led to the launch and success of McDonald’s cultural resurgence, Google’s “Real Tone” technology, and the “Made In America” music festival.

Marcus’ work centers squarely that linkage between brand and culture. In this podcast, we dive deep into highlights from his best-selling book, For The Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be.

We discuss:

The impact of culture on consumption, and how businesses can leverage this to influence behaviors
How people align behaviors with self-identity—making ideological alignment a key factor in brand adoption (think Apple, Nike)
Some key tactics—such as targeting fringe groups to create network effects that impact behaviors organically—to reach more audiences
The role that beliefs, artifacts, language, and behaviors play in shaping culture

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Episode Timeline:
00:00—Highlight from today's episode
00:49—Introducing Marcus + the topic of today’s episode
03:45—What's the definition of culture?
05:00—How and why do brands like Nike use culture as a tool for their customer base
08:23—The three systems that define culture
12:58—How organizations can successfully build internal cultural identity
16:31—Creating an inclusive identity
20:11—Leveraging network effects and cultural production
23:32—Finding early adopters for cultural diffusion
25:05—Brand loyalty vs. transactional relationships
27:35—Building a cultural movement and avoiding the targeting trap
30:31—How can people follow you and continue learning from you?
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Additional Resources:
Personal website: www.marctothec.com
Link to book: For The Culture
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/marctothec
X: marctothec

Thank you to our guest, our executive producer Zach Ness, our editor James Pearce, and the Outthinker team. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, download, and subscribe. I’m your host, Kaihan Krippendorff—thank you for listening.

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Episode 259 - The Glorious Problem of You