Is ‘In Culture’ Actually Out of Touch?

In an article recently published by The Drum as part of its Deep Dive series into ‘Marketing and the Marginalized,’ PMG’s Head of Strategic Planning and Insights Angela Seits challenges marketers to take a more inclusive approach to marketing, beyond checking off boxes of representation, by investing in and committing to using human insights to create more diverse, equitable and inclusive advertising. 

According to Seits, the phrase “in culture” is a way of saying what’s cool, what’s trending, and what’s embraced by tastemakers. At its best, “in culture” has always been shorthand for advertisers to say what’s popular among young people of any given generation, and at its worst, it’s sometimes a way in which brands appropriate Black culture and commodify it for commercial gain. But with new statistics predicting the U.S. will become “majority-minority” by 2045, and a post-pandemic era that demands more inclusivity than ever before, it’s time for advertisers to rethink approaches and develop a truly human-centric approach to advertising.

Read Angela’s article via The Drum.