They say there are only seven stories in fiction. There’s ‘overcoming the monster’, ‘rags to riches’, ‘the quest’, ‘voyage and return’, ‘comedy’, ‘tragedy’ and ‘rebirth’ – and that’s it. Increasingly, it feels the same is true for brands. Most still draw from a hand full of familiar places: heritage (Coca-Cola, say), product (Apple), founder (KFC) or audience (Nike).
These tried-and-tested sources have served brands well for decades, there’s nothing wrong with using them still (we do it ourselves often for clients). But as brand-building becomes more fluid and participatory, these stories are starting to feel limited.
A new kind of storytelling is emerging – one shaped by cultural intelligence. Instead of chasing macro trends or relying solely on traditional narratives, the smartest brands are also paying attention to the smaller cultural moments and conversations that reveal where people’s attention truly sits. These are often overlooked by traditional strategies, or businesses and brand teams are not set up to capitalise on them. But they are increasingly where brands can connect with audiences in ways that feel authentic, relevant and emotionally resonant.
You can see this shift in AB InBev’s upcoming collaboration with Netflix – a great example of a brand joining cultural conversations rather than trying to author them.
Identify and leverage micro moments
The partnership is a prime example of cultural intelligence – identifying cultural sparks that capture people’s attention in real time. It’s about knowing where to look for that smaller, more immediate cultural capital and storytelling nugget that resonates deeply with specific communities – the IYKYK fringe musician with the unique POV or the obscure reference in an iconic movie, perhaps. Brands that tap into these can find fresh stories that create connections that feel personal and timely.
This approach goes beyond traditional product placement. As the AB InBev-Netflix partnership shows, it allows the brand to create activations that feel participatory and relevant – immersive experiences, limited-edition packaging or other quick-turnaround lean-ins that add to a given story in an intriguing way.
Similarly, Airbnb’s ‘Icons’ campaign showed how brands can create experiences that allow audiences to access culture in a novel and immersive way, rather than simply advertising to them. It invited people into culturally significant locations like the Louvre or the floating house from the movie ‘Up’ - uplifting experiences that say so much more than a carefully scripted brand film.
How to build a culture-responsive brand
To truly embrace cultural intelligence in this way, businesses need to rethink their creative processes and storytelling.
Knowing where to look is crucial. Today’s cultural intelligence requires more than trend reports. It means being permanently online, scanning platforms like Reddit, Substack, and TikTok for unfiltered consumer opinions and emerging cultural shifts – more reactive, quicker, two-way conversations are good places to look. Offline, it means scanning the key global cities that drive global relevance, observing where brands are showing up and how they’re investing to be seen. This blend of insight, instinct, and immersion allows businesses to stay ahead of the curve.
But then, it’s not enough to merely react to moments in culture (entertainment, art, food, travel); brands must also be able to anticipate and engage with them. This requires agility, curiosity and a willingness to explore less obvious sources of inspiration.
For example, Soda brand Poppi built a whole campaign focused on Alix Earle, to launch its new lemon-lime flavour at the Coachella festival last year. It created a branded house for Earle and her friends to spend time in, rather than flooding the event with multiple creator activations. With the bravery to back one culturally relevant up-and-comer, the brand was widely deemed to have ‘won Coachella’.
In our work with Belvedere, meanwhile, we created an influencer unboxing experience for its Belvedere 10 release. It turned an intricate secret handshake in the campaign film by Taika Waititi into real-life form (the limited-edition pack presented an intriguing puzzle based on the handshake gestures to ‘unlock’ it). Such activations are culturally resonant, sparking conversations that extend far beyond the products themselves – it’s what made the Barbie movie such a rich event for brands (Zara’s Barbie capsule collection, for example, allowed its audience to dress up and be part of something, not just buy an item).
There is also a skill in knowing what is actually culturally relevant. And let's be honest, the 50-year-old white marketing man is unlikely the best arbiter. So, looking at your team with this in mind is an important step here too.
Focus on emotional connection
Finally, we always need to remember that emotion is at the heart of brands – research has repeatedly highlighted its importance in advertising and brand creation. That’s why stories work so well, they help you drive emotional responses. Cadbury has been doing this well recently, with its storytelling homing in on magical family moments that many will recognise.
So, having emotions front of mind, looking at micro moments through the lens of what will spark desire, excitement and curiosity – and amplifying that across channels - will help you uncover the stories that resonate most.
As brand storytelling evolves, the most successful brands will be those that embrace cultural intelligence, creating narratives that are fluid, participatory and deeply connected to the world around them. By focusing on micro moments, building responsive creative processes, and prioritising emotional resonance, brands can move beyond the ‘seven stories’ and write entirely new ones.
Steve Pearce is Managing Director at LOVE, a culture-first brand design and experience agency. A believer in the big ideas, Steve champions brands brave enough to be disruptive and has helped the likes of Jaguar, Land Rover, LVMH and Nike achieve commercial success.
They say there are only seven stories in fiction. There’s ‘overcoming the monster’, ‘rags to riches’, ‘the quest’, ‘voyage and return’, ‘comedy’, ‘tragedy’ and ‘rebirth’ – and that’s it. Increasingly, it feels the same is true for brands. Most still draw from a hand full of familiar places: heritage (Coca-Cola, say), product (Apple), founder (KFC) or audience (Nike).
These tried-and-tested sources have served brands well for decades, there’s nothing wrong with using them still (we do it ourselves often for clients). But as brand-building becomes more fluid and participatory, these stories are starting to feel limited.
A new kind of storytelling is emerging – one shaped by cultural intelligence. Instead of chasing macro trends or relying solely on traditional narratives, the smartest brands are also paying attention to the smaller cultural moments and conversations that reveal where people’s attention truly sits. These are often overlooked by traditional strategies, or businesses and brand teams are not set up to capitalise on them. But they are increasingly where brands can connect with audiences in ways that feel authentic, relevant and emotionally resonant.
You can see this shift in AB InBev’s upcoming collaboration with Netflix – a great example of a brand joining cultural conversations rather than trying to author them.
Identify and leverage micro moments
The partnership is a prime example of cultural intelligence – identifying cultural sparks that capture people’s attention in real time. It’s about knowing where to look for that smaller, more immediate cultural capital and storytelling nugget that resonates deeply with specific communities – the IYKYK fringe musician with the unique POV or the obscure reference in an iconic movie, perhaps. Brands that tap into these can find fresh stories that create connections that feel personal and timely.
This approach goes beyond traditional product placement. As the AB InBev-Netflix partnership shows, it allows the brand to create activations that feel participatory and relevant – immersive experiences, limited-edition packaging or other quick-turnaround lean-ins that add to a given story in an intriguing way.
Similarly, Airbnb’s ‘Icons’ campaign showed how brands can create experiences that allow audiences to access culture in a novel and immersive way, rather than simply advertising to them. It invited people into culturally significant locations like the Louvre or the floating house from the movie ‘Up’ - uplifting experiences that say so much more than a carefully scripted brand film.
How to build a culture-responsive brand
To truly embrace cultural intelligence in this way, businesses need to rethink their creative processes and storytelling.
Knowing where to look is crucial. Today’s cultural intelligence requires more than trend reports. It means being permanently online, scanning platforms like Reddit, Substack, and TikTok for unfiltered consumer opinions and emerging cultural shifts – more reactive, quicker, two-way conversations are good places to look. Offline, it means scanning the key global cities that drive global relevance, observing where brands are showing up and how they’re investing to be seen. This blend of insight, instinct, and immersion allows businesses to stay ahead of the curve.
But then, it’s not enough to merely react to moments in culture (entertainment, art, food, travel); brands must also be able to anticipate and engage with them. This requires agility, curiosity and a willingness to explore less obvious sources of inspiration.
For example, Soda brand Poppi built a whole campaign focused on Alix Earle, to launch its new lemon-lime flavour at the Coachella festival last year. It created a branded house for Earle and her friends to spend time in, rather than flooding the event with multiple creator activations. With the bravery to back one culturally relevant up-and-comer, the brand was widely deemed to have ‘won Coachella’.
In our work with Belvedere, meanwhile, we created an influencer unboxing experience for its Belvedere 10 release. It turned an intricate secret handshake in the campaign film by Taika Waititi into real-life form (the limited-edition pack presented an intriguing puzzle based on the handshake gestures to ‘unlock’ it). Such activations are culturally resonant, sparking conversations that extend far beyond the products themselves – it’s what made the Barbie movie such a rich event for brands (Zara’s Barbie capsule collection, for example, allowed its audience to dress up and be part of something, not just buy an item).
There is also a skill in knowing what is actually culturally relevant. And let's be honest, the 50-year-old white marketing man is unlikely the best arbiter. So, looking at your team with this in mind is an important step here too.
Focus on emotional connection
Finally, we always need to remember that emotion is at the heart of brands – research has repeatedly highlighted its importance in advertising and brand creation. That’s why stories work so well, they help you drive emotional responses. Cadbury has been doing this well recently, with its storytelling homing in on magical family moments that many will recognise.
So, having emotions front of mind, looking at micro moments through the lens of what will spark desire, excitement and curiosity – and amplifying that across channels - will help you uncover the stories that resonate most.
As brand storytelling evolves, the most successful brands will be those that embrace cultural intelligence, creating narratives that are fluid, participatory and deeply connected to the world around them. By focusing on micro moments, building responsive creative processes, and prioritising emotional resonance, brands can move beyond the ‘seven stories’ and write entirely new ones.
Steve Pearce is Managing Director at LOVE, a culture-first brand design and experience agency. A believer in the big ideas, Steve champions brands brave enough to be disruptive and has helped the likes of Jaguar, Land Rover, LVMH and Nike achieve commercial success.
