Translating Culture with Marcus Collins
b"Marcus Collins is head of strategy at Wieden+Kennedy New York and author of the new book For the Culture. In addition to his work as an award-winning marketer and cultural translator, he also teaches marketing at the University of Michigan\\u2019s Ross School of Business. We discussed all of this and more this week on the On Brand podcast.\\n\\nAbout Marcus Collins\\nDr. Marcus Collins is an award-winning marketer and cultural translator. He currently serves as the head of strategy at Wieden+Kennedy New York and as a clinical assistant professor of marketing at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. Prior to his advertising tenure, Marcus worked on iTunes + Nike sport music initiatives at Apple and ran digital strategy for Beyonc\\xe9. Marcus holds a doctorate in marketing from Temple University, where he studied social contagion and meaning-making. He received an MBA with an emphasis on strategic brand marketing from the University of Michigan, where he also earned his undergraduate degree in Material Science Engineering.\\n\\nEpisode Highlights\\nWhat does a cultural translator do for brands? \\u201cMy role is to translate the culture of a part of a group of people to a brand.\\u201d This draws on Marcus\\u2019s background as an engineer looking to build bridges of trust between culture and brands.\\n\\u201cTrust is a mechanism that absorbs uncertainty.\\u201d This starts with answering questions about how a brand sees the world and the kinetics of how a brand moves through the world. As Marcus notes, \\u201cYou gotta walk it like you talk it.\\u201d\\nFor the Culture is for the people. \\u201cIt's not a marketing book. It's a people book,\\u201d Marcus shared as he explained the need for his new book. \\u201cYou ask about culture and you\\u2019re going to get 35 different answers. We need better language.\\u201d\\nSpeaking of definitions and language ... I love Marcus\\u2019s definition of a brand. \\u201cA brand is a vessel of meaning. And that meaning is not fixed.\\u201d\\nWhat brand has made Marcus smile recently? \\u201cIt might be a bit of a chat as it's a client but I didn't work on it.\\u201d Marcus shared his love of the nostalgia evoked by McDonald's in their recent campaign celebrating Grimace\\u2019s birthday. Still no word yet on what Grimace is exactly ...\\nTo learn more, look for Marcus on all of the socials at \\u201cMarc to the C.\\u201d Here he is on LinkedIn and Instagram.\\nAs We Wrap \\u2026\\n\\n\\nListen and subscribe\\xa0at\\xa0Apple Podcasts,\\xa0Spotify,\\xa0Amazon/Audible,\\xa0Google Play,\\xa0Stitcher,\\xa0TuneIn,\\xa0iHeart,\\xa0YouTube, and\\xa0RSS.\\n\\n\\nRate and review the show\\u2014If you like what you\\u2019re hearing, be sure to head over to\\xa0Apple Podcasts\\xa0and click the 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review to help others find the show.\\n\\n\\nDid you hear something you liked on this episode or another?\\xa0Do you have a question you\\u2019d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.\\n\\n\\nOn Brand is a part of the\\xa0Marketing Podcast Network.\\n\\n\\nUntil next week, I\\u2019ll see you on the Internet!\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices"