From Disruption to Contribution: Why Brands Must Earn Their Place in Culture

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Brands no longer have a captive audience. To stay relevant, they must build culture—not interrupt it—and rethink their right to be noticed.

Advertising used to be about interruption. In a fragmented media environment, it must now be about invitation. The brands cutting through the noise are not shouting louder—they’re building relevance by embedding themselves in culture.

At the recent Possible conference, a pointed provocation was floated: “Stop assuming people care about your brand.” In an age where attention is the rarest currency, audiences no longer tolerate irrelevance. Today’s dominant cultural forces—creators, communities, subcultures—are built from the ground up. Brands that seek to piggyback must contribute, not co-opt.

This requires humility. Legacy advertisers must move from messaging to meaning, from campaigns to conversations. Rather than treating platforms like TikTok or Twitch as channels, they must treat them as communities—with norms, values, and creators who shape the conversation. Surrendering to culture means letting go of control, and that’s uncomfortable for many.

Some, however, are adapting. Nike doesn’t just advertise in sport—it invests in movements. Duolingo isn’t marketing on TikTok—it is TikTok, through native, irreverent content. These brands earn their attention by behaving like participants, not sponsors.

The future of marketing lies in cultural legitimacy. Brands must ask themselves the hardest question of all: Why do we deserve to exist in this moment? Only when that answer is clear can they shift from being ignored to being indispensable.