1. Will people care? Is it timely right now? 
2. Does my brand play a clear role? 
3. Is the juice worth the squeeze? 

Those three simple questions give us the courage to take the leap or abandon. And if we take the leap, continuing to remind ourselves of these questions will only make our ideas stronger.

Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard CMO

First and foremost, to connect with consumers effectively you must understand them. Listening to them and learning about who they are is what will ultimately lead to a better consumer journey. In doing this, brands get closer to people and their needs, and people are more likely to embrace brands and fold them meaningfully into their lives. A great example of this is our ‘Where to Settle’ platform. In a time where millions of Ukrainian refugees fled their homes to find safety from the war, we heard their calls and stepped up.

The Where to Settle platform presents the current cost of living and subsistence in selected cities and towns in Poland, as well as housing and employment opportunities in a given location. We’re proud to say that the platform is recommended to immigrants by the local Poland government, and hundreds of thousands of those who found refuge in Poland used the Where to Settle platform. By listening intently, we used our resources and tools to solve a real issue felt by thousands of people.

Morgan Flatley, McDonald’s Global CMO and Head of New Business Ventures:

Creating a culture of creative bravery is key. Lean into your brand’s magic while taking bold creative leaps to connect with your audience and drive cultural relevance. Start with ‘fan truths’ to celebrate what fans love most about your brand and share the creative pen with the community. When we relinquish some creative control, the brand becomes a borderless force that unites fans over shared passions.

Jeff Klein, Popeye’s CMO

In today’s fragmented media environment it’s close to table stakes. Building a brand is not a one-way dialogue, it’s about cultivating conversations. And while it might not always look like it, brands that permeate pop culture and have real cultural relevance are not by accident – they are carefully planned. Developing culturally, timely work alongside a timeless narrative is a key part of the job. It’s why a clear definition of brand purpose and positioning is vital. 

Andrea Brimmer, Ally Financial CMO

You need to be a student of culture and commerce—and be constantly curious. Not just in your category, but in the world at large. Maintain a very aggressive learning agenda—reach out to brands and people that inspire you. Find inspiration in everything, from music, to fashion, to art. 

Listen, spend time with people, read everything you can. Dissect brands that have hit the ultimate cultural relevance, you will discover in most cases they have become inextricably linked to the ecosystem of the users life, and show up in meaningful and real ways. The pace of change is only getting faster, and there is not one definition of cultural relevance anymore. You must recognize that and adapt with it in ways that are meaningful for your customers in order for them to remain loyal to your brand. 

Brad Hiranaga, Cotopaxi Chief Brand Officer

Good brands draft off culture, great brands shape culture. We all learn that advertising and marketing must be rooted in a consumer insight to inform how your brand adds value. And that’s still critical. But you can supercharge growth by combining that insight with what’s happening in culture. Culture sets the context for everything around it, and when you’re missing that, you won’t be able to fully leverage the opportunity. Make it your brand aspiration to shape culture in a meaningful way and be a part of a movement that shapes something positive in the world. 

Evan Jones, Fender Musical Instrument Corporation CMO

Building lasting cultural relevance for a brand takes time! Obviously so much comes down to the product itself, understanding where its true equity lies, the practical and emotional value the product experience delivers to the user and finally remaining authentic in your message. As we all know, authentic brand marketing builds trust and lasting connections with our communities.

Gabrielle Wesley, Mars Wrigley North America CMO

At Mars Wrigley, our job is to make sure our iconic brands are as culturally relevant today and for the next 100 years as they were 50, 60, 80 years ago. So for me, it’s my job to continually empower and challenge my team of Associates to think boldly about how, when and where our brands show up in culture. As marketers, we must have our finger on the pulse of culture, be prepared to lean in with confidence and embrace getting comfortable with taking calculated risks in service of driving business and brands forward.

Kathryn McKeon, Vital Farms CMO

For us, it starts with knowing who we are and being confident in that. We know where it makes sense to show up and where it doesn’t. We’re always watching and listening, and when the right moment comes along, we move quickly and we show up in a bullshit-free way. When the eggflation conversation was happening earlier (last) year, we didn’t shy away from talking about pricing and industry shortages. We helped shape the narrative with transparency.

Julie Uhrman, Angel City FC Cofounder and President

First, you need to clearly define who you are and map out the actions and steps you’ll take to live those values in all decisions you make. Then, it’s all about your community. Who are you representing? Who do you want to foster and convert into being a fan? As you build, then foster your cultural relevance, you need to be committed to engaging with your community often. It’s important to make them part of your process and get feedback as you go. You also need to be steadfast to your beliefs.

We understand, and even state it as one of our values, that not everyone is going to like us and that’s ok. We know we’re going to do the work and accept that those who believe as we do will support us and that’s where we’ll focus our energy. Lastly, we don’t do it alone. In addition to working with our community, we actively seek out partners, both profit and not-for-profit organizations that have similar values and can amplify our impact.

Jeff Pillet-Shore, Allegash Brewing Company Marketing Director

Be authentic. Go deep. Your brand is not your ads; your brand is the conversation your most junior staff have about you when no one else is around. The content of that conversation is normally much more around what you do as a company, rather than what you say. Whatever your purpose, focus first and relentlessly on how your company makes a positive impact in the world. Don’t worry initially about how that “builds your brand.” The more good work you do in the dark, the more resilient your message will be, the more respect you’ll garner as a brand, and the more resonant your impact will be. 

Diana Barnes, Munchkin Inc. Chief Brand Officer

You must be a voracious consumer of media and stay abreast of current global happenings. You must balance your knowledge of world events with your brand identity and mission (both of which should be well-established) to be relevant while remaining authentic. Consumers weed out brands that don’t stand steadfastly behind a brand purpose and indicate as much with their wallets. Cultural relevance is aligning your brand with the zeitgeist without forcing or faking it. Cultural events can inspire brand relevance, but it should not lead.

HOW TO BE A MODERN CMO

The role of chief marketing officer has evolved significantly over the past decade, beyond creative and performance marketing. Here brand leaders give their best advice to CMOs and aspiring CMOs on how to thrive in the job.

Andréa Mallard, Pinterest Global Chief Marketing and Communications Officer

I would tell [current or aspiring CMOS] to become the product team’s best friend. They need to understand the product (the insights, processes, and outcomes that inform each new feature) as deeply as they understand their own function. Once you show that level of literacy and empathy, you’ll be in a far better position to positively and holistically influence the product roadmap. Cultural relevance is more than coming up with a new catchphrase or going viral once. It’s about keeping the people who use your products in mind first and being able to uniquely deliver an experience that is true to your brand, time and time again.

Morgan Flatley, McDonald’s Global CMO and Head of New Business Ventures

love this quote by Mark Twain that says, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” Looking back, some of my most memorable achievements were born out of moments when I took a chance – even when people told me I was crazy and especially when it scared me. Playing it safe might ensure consistency, but it rarely leads to greatness. So, my nugget of wisdom is this: Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, take some risks, and challenge the status quo. And if you’re a risk-averse CMO, start with a step, a leap, anything—just don’t stand still. The biggest risk is doing nothing at all. 

Manu Orssaud, Duolingo CMO

I’d say that planning is everything, but plans are useless. What I mean is that it’s important to set goals and do the work to build the narrative for what you want to achieve and use it to guide the “why” to get buy-in across the organization. But, you have to balance this with flexibility and the ability to react spontaneously. Some of our biggest marketing successes for Duolingo were not part of our plans the year before, but because we have stayed agile and adaptable, we’re able to throw out an old plan and capitalize on new opportunities, in particular those that relate to culture and what people care about in the here and now.

Sofia Colucci, Molson Coors CMO

First: Your Finance and Sales Leads are your best friends. Yes, part of our job as CMOs is to build brands that people want to reach for and do this in creatively effective ways. But you will never thrive without understanding all the different marketing levers to drive success that require deep collaboration across all functional areas—particularly the commercial ones. Being able to balance the commercial and creative part of the business is critical for a CMO. 

Second: Never stop learning. The best leaders surround themselves with smart people and collectively challenge themselves to push on innovation and find new ways of doing things. You can never be satisfied.

Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard CMO

For CMOs to maintain a seat at the table, it is crucial to broaden our expertise and skill sets beyond just marketing. CMOs need to think like Leonardo da Vinci. We cannot just be creatives. We need to be analytical and get ahead of inevitable trends and emerging technologies. When we do, we put ourselves in the position to connect with consumers in innovative and impactful ways, thus reinforcing the importance of the role and proving to other business leaders the value marketing can unlock for their organizations. 

Jeff Klein, Popeye’s CMO

Understand it is critical to balance building the brand, with building the business. Your role is absolutely to be a steward of the brand, but you are also accountable for consistent growth. 

Andrea Brimmer, Ally Financial CMO

First, do not lead from a position of fear. As soon as you buy into that narrative, you make every decision from the back of your heels, which is when we make our worst decisions. Bravery in marketing is paramount to shaping the best marketers. This does not mean taking irresponsible risks. It does mean being on the leading edge of consumer trends and you can’t do that when you are constantly looking over your shoulder. Second, ensure you are aligned with your CEO’s vision and expectations and partner across the C-Suite. Marketers don’t own the brand; the best brands shine because the entire enterprise is aligned, brings the value of the brand to life in every interaction, and truly believes in the purpose. 

Evan Jones, Fender Musical Instrument Corporation CMO

While my job is first and foremost to be a consumer and brand advocate, I think it’s incredibly important that the CMOs, if not the entire marketing function, understands how to drive growth and how to deliver value to the business. It’s important the organization views marketing as a strategic business partner, go-to-market partner, and problem solver within the organization. It’s always rewarding to see great marketing generate a positive consumer response, but at the end of the day, it takes an entire team to build a brand and marketing is just one piece of that team.

Julie Uhrman, Angel City FC Cofounder and President

As a CMO, you truly “own” your brand purpose and identity. Never be rigid or slow to act. The world and consumer behavior changes often so stay in touch with your community. Yes, look at data but also talk to your audience. Data only tells you one story. Most importantly, never lose sight of your brand purpose and incorporate it into everything you do—from hiring to partnerships to campaigns—the more authentic you are, the more you’ll be able to deepen your relationship with your audience and grow your fanbase.

Brad Hiranaga, Cotopaxi Chief Brand Officer

Fundamentally, a CMO’s job isn’t creating campaigns and ads, it’s creating growth. Revenue and profit. If a CMO orients around that idea, everything else comes into perspective. In addition, marketing is at the tip of the spear for a company because we deeply understand the consumer and their motivations, and we have our fingers on the pulse of culture. The CMO should be the champion for the brand and consumer in every interaction with their leadership team. 

Finally, because every function plays a role in building a brand, a CMO’s responsibility is to help orchestrate the entire C-suite to ensure that every brand experience for a consumer is remarkable. To successfully do that, it is key for a CMO to have a deep operational understanding of the business drivers, decisions, and goals, which steer all the brand’s actions. 

HOW DO YOU MEASURE A BRAND’S CULTURAL IMPACT OR RELEVANCE?

Much like the definition of brand purpose, the metrics, data, and information that leading marketers say illustrate the cultural impact or relevance of their work varies. 

Manu Orssaud, Duolingo CMO

We care about organic impressions and Word of Mouth as a primary driver of growth. When we create good and relevant content, that content will find its way to more people, therefore increasing the reach and exposure of our brand. The good news is that we’ve observed a clear link between our brand going viral and spikes in user growth as a direct result of our social content strategy.

We’re always looking for ways to jump into brand-relevant, trending cultural moments like the Barbie movie or April Fools and have found success in that strategy. When we have a viral hit on TikTok or another social media platform, we often see that show up in our HDYHAU (How Did You Hear About Us) survey. A great overview metric for a brand’s cultural relevance is to see how many social impressions are driven by your own content vs. content about your brand created by your audience. The increase in third-party content impressions is a great metric to track over time and is the best way to measure your brand flywheel. 

Sofia Colucci, Molson Coors CMO

This is the age-old question and it’s not “one size fits all.” We measure cultural impact at a total brand level along with tracking specific initiatives we launch in culture. There are three key things we look at: 

1. Long-term brand health with our core and growth consumers (consideration and brand equity) 
2. Social media sentiment 
3. How are cultural influencers talking about us? And to be clear, this isn’t just about PR impressions. Yes, we want to drive scale in our ideas, but we also track who is talking about us and what they are saying.

Jeff Klein, Popeye’s CMO

Impressions are impressive, but to me, engagement is more interesting and shows real impact. Who is talking about our brand? Where are they talking about it? Who is listening? You know you’ve won when consumers themselves become your most powerful GRPs. Top-of-mind awareness is critical to a brand’s success in QSR, where guest loyalty isn’t reliable, so we aim to be nimble and be a digital water-cooler of sorts.

For example, we had an incredible opportunity when Dieunerst Colin, also known as the Popeyes Kid, rallied fans on social media to get our attention and consider signing him for an NIL (name, image, and likeness) deal. We had never done an NIL deal and had no metrics to compare it to, but our first-ever NIL partnership subsequent “Memes to Dreams” campaign and promotion in February brought us the highest amount of engagement on Instagram and TikTok in brand history.

Julie Uhrman, Angel City FC Cofounder and President

We look at our brand culture’s relevance in three ways: impact on our community, impact on our business, and impact on the global game. We look at audience sentiment, growth, and retention on social media, with our ticket holders, and with our customers. We also look at who we’re partnering with and who wants to partner with us. Are we getting inbound interest? Then we see how we’ve influenced others to lead differently. 

Evan Jones, Fender Musical Instrument Corporation CMO

In Fender’s case, there are the traditional KPIs: unaided brand awareness, share of voice, and other brand perception metrics. And while I think those are all valuable, one of the things we’ve looked at is how many artists use our products onstage? And is our brand evolving with them, to help them discover and communicate new forms of musical expression?

We also look at the overall growth and demographic shift in who is paying attention to us through our channels, and not only have those exponentially increased in size, but the demographic makeup of those audiences has shifted substantially to more completely reflect what the entirety of the world of guitar looks like today; in its diversity, in its youthfulness, and in its geographic distribution. 

Diana Barnes, Munchkin Inc. Chief Brand Officer

A brand’s cultural impact goes beyond sales and social media followers. While these metrics matter, it’s equally vital to consider our deeper connections with customers. Our commitment to maintaining four-star and above ratings reflects our focus on customer satisfaction and cultural relevance. Our 92% brand awareness among our target audience validates our reach and connection. Our brand purpose extends beyond products; it’s about enhancing parenting, communicated through packaging, education, and platforms like our podcast, StrollerCoaster. 

WHAT BRANDS MATTER TO YOU MOST

It takes one to know one. These are the brands that have made fans out of these world-leading marketers. 

Manu Orssaud, Duolingo CMO

Being born and raised in France, I grew up in an environment where food culture is at the center of the family and shapes identity and shared moments of happiness. I love brands like Le Creuset that have managed to become heritage brands with products that pass the test of time and bring back memories. I have dishes from my grandmother I still use to cook at home.

Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard CMO

There is not one specific brand that I connect with above the rest, but there are several brands that I admire. Take Patagonia, for instance. They are a brand that projects their values brightly onto everything they do, and this has become something that genuinely connects them to their customers. It is always admirable to see brands stand up for their purpose, and I hope we continue to see more of this from brands in the future.

Julie Uhrman, Angel City FC Cofounder and President

Second to Angel City FC, Nike holds great personal significance for me. Nike is more than a shoe company. More than an athletic clothing company. They live their values, consistently championing social and cultural causes. Their long-standing “Just Do It” ethos captures why Angel City exists in the first place. We didn’t see other sports owners like us (three women) but we didn’t let that stop us. Stop us from building an organization where passion and purpose can lead to profitability. Where we could use sports to bend the curve to equity. 

Jeff Pillet-Shore, Allegash Brewing Company Marketing

I’m a parent of three and the LEGO brand brings me as much joy now as it did when I was my kids’ age. As the steward of a nearly three-decade old brand, I am in awe of how they have mastered the art of constantly evolving while staying consistent and stable—their values are rooted in the joy of play since day one (and even their logo has barely changed in 50 years). Every touch with them as a brand is impeccable (missing a piece from a set? They’ll send it for free) and they live their values in every aspect of their brand, with inclusive messaging dating back decades before other brands.

Brad Hiranaga, Cotopaxi Chief Brand Officer

As a fellow outdoor brand, Patagonia is one of the first brands to establish an authentic brand purpose to save the planet—and continuously act behind it. I admire the conviction and dedication they have as a company to protecting the environment.

Although Cotopaxi competes with Patagonia in the outdoor category, our focus is on championing human sustainability and supporting millions of people affected by poverty. Our bigger aspiration as a brand is for more companies to do good and make capitalism better. That is the movement we are trying to create, which is why we cheer on all other brands—even competitors—who are striving to do good.

Morgan Flatley, McDonald’s Global CMO and Head of New Business Ventures

As a parent of three, with two daughters, Dove stands out to me. Their “Real Beauty” campaign challenges beauty stereotypes, celebrates diversity, and promotes self-esteem. Dove’s initiatives like the Self-Esteem Project empower young people to embrace their individuality, which is what I hope to inspire in my own kids. And their “Turn Your Back” Campaign at Cannes [last] year speaks volumes. Dove has really emerged as a brand partner and ally in raising confident, empowered young women.