Culture. It’s trend. It’s lifestyle. It’s values. It encompasses everything from the way we speak to the music we enjoy, the clothes we wear, and the traditions we practice. The waves that ripple through culture provide an opportunity for brands to join the conversation and create movements. In this issue of Trend Tap, we break down culture, from its elements to ways brands can tap into and leverage culture to stay relevant. Inside The Culture Issue: -The four elements of culture and ways they come to life -How to tap into culture by finding the right partner -Best practices for engaging in cultural moments, including best-in-class examples -How to uncover micro communities that already exist within your brand's fanbase Brought to you by The Social Lights, an award-winning social media marketing agency based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Visit us: thesociallights.com.

1. Culture:
What Your Brand Needs to
Know to Stay Relevant
TREND
TAP
A quarterly trend publication
unfolding all things social content,
data, and perspectives by
THECULTUREISSUE

2. Culture: It transcends the major moments, holidays, and
experiences we share. It encompasses everything from the way we
speak to the music we enjoy, the clothes we wear, and the
traditions we practice.
In this issue, we dive into culture and the brands that have tapped
into it seamlessly by understanding their audiences and knowing
when (and when not) to join in on a cultural conversation. There’s
always a risk involved, but when you hit it just right, magic
happens.
So how do you marry culture to your brand without making it look
like you’re trying too hard? We'll take you through the steps to
identify and leverage untapped opportunities in culture that your
company can begin incorporating into your social strategy.
MARTHA MCCARTHY KRUEGER
CO-FOUNDER + CEO
2
The Social Lights is an innovative social media consultancy that partners with leading
consumer companies to grow their audience and achieve their desired business results.
A NOTE FROM
THE EDITOR

3. TABLE OF
CONTENTS
3
UNTAPPED OPPORTUNITIES
COMMUNITIES + MICRO COMMUNITIES
LEVERAGING MOMENTS IN CULTURE
CULTURE: WHAT + WHY2 mins.
8 mins.
8 mins.
2 mins.
TAPPING INTO CULTURE8 mins.

4. CULTURE:WHAT+WHY

5. STEPHANIE STEINER
Community Manager,
The Social Lights
“
5
Culture.
It’s a part of
what people feel,
what they’ve experienced,
who they are,
who they want to be,
and everything in between.
The waves that ripple through culture
provide an opportunity for brands to
join the conversation…
and create movements.”
It’s trend. It’s lifestyle. It’s values. It’s the
name of Offset and Cardi B’s child (but
spelled with a ‘K’ to avoid being #basic).

6. NIKE JUST DID IT
Nike took a stance with their 30th anniversary
edition of the “Just Do It” ad campaign,
resulting in a major impact on social.
TL;DR
■ Support
■ Boycotts
■ Political debates
■ Humor via meme creation
■ Going viral
REACTIONS ON SOCIAL
WHY IT WORKED
Nike took a stance on an issue near and dear to
the hearts of their audience.
Here’s why it worked:
■ The move was on-brand for Nike. This wasn’t
the first time they’ve spoken to a social issue or
used a controversial figure in an ad.
■ It was timely, around the start of the NFL
season, and polarizing, which naturally gets
attention.
■ It was easy to remix the slogan and photo
style into an endless variety of memes, which
increased the popularity of the campaign
online.
6
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Despite some negativity, Nike garnered more
than two million mentions in one day.
Brandwatch; September 7, 2018

7. ELEMENTS OF
CULTURE
Have you ever wondered why certain social posts catch 🔥 and
others fall flat? It’s levels to it. If the post doesn't resonate with who
people are or who they want to be, it likely won’t make it through
the weeds. The elements of culture help elevate certain posts and
their success.
VALUES.
PRINCIPLES.
WAYS OF THINKING.
7
BELIEFS1
TOOLS.
CLOTHES.
SYMBOLS.
DECORATIONS.
ARTIFACTS 2
RITUALS3
LANGUAGE 4
TRADITIONS.
CEREMONIES.
SOCIAL RULES.
SONG.
DIALECT.
LEXICON.
For The Culture; Marcus Collins; 2016

8. TAPPINGINTOCULTURE

9. 9
FOCUS ON YOUR COMMUNITY
Look to what members of your social audience
already love. Check out influencers and other
brands your audience already follows and
engages with for partnership opportunities.
FIND THE RIGHT FIT
DON’T SHAKE YOUR BRAND PILLARS
Keep your brand purpose, voice, tone, and
core values in mind when you step into a
partnership. If you’re considering a partnership
and any of these brand pillars feel
compromised, it may not be the best fit for
your brand.
TAPPING INTO CULTURE
USING PARTNERSHIPS
Partnerships with brands and influencers
present an opportunity for brands to
interact authentically with current culture.
MAKE SURE IT’S A NATURAL FIT
Aesthetically, you want to make sure you can
create a partnership with another brand or
influencer that feels like it fits with your existing
content. Avoid partnerships that are visually
inconsistent or don’t fit the feed your brand
has created.

10. TAP INTO YOUR
COMMUNITY
INTERESTS
Reese’s Puffs Cereal took a clear understanding of
their social communities and used it to find the
perfect partnership with NBA 2K19.
Why this partnership? Reese’s Puffs and NBA 2K19
share communities between their social audiences.
Reese’s Puffs found their audience both loved
basketball and gaming; specifically, they identified
as e-sports gamers. The brand had already done a
great job of shaping their social content for that
community, so pushing the NBA 2K19 partnership
through organic and paid social felt natural. The
partnership was so successful in its first year that
they brought it back to life for round two.
Lesson: Tap into the communities your social
audience already loves for a perfect partnership
opportunity.
BEST-IN-CLASS PARTNERSHIPS
REESE’S PUFFS CEREAL
10

11. Influencer posts about partnership
FIND A FACE FOR
YOUR CAMPAIGN
This summer, Sprite partnered with popular
influencers, creators, and artists to feature their faces
on bottles and cans. Taking things to the next level on
social, they created a wealth of unique content with
each influencer to share across Sprite’s social channels
and the channels of each person showcased on their
products for the campaign.
Scrolling through Sprite’s (or any of the partners')
feeds, you can see this content was a natural fit. It
stood out in terms of engagement by activating the
love fans already had for the partners and turning
some of that love to Sprite.
Lesson: Tap into influencers and artists that are a
natural fit for your brand to win over some of their
super fans.
BEST-IN-CLASS PARTNERSHIPS
SPRITE
11
CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE CLICK HERE

12. LEVERAGINGMOMENTSINCULTURE

13. 13
KNOW YOUR BRAND
You can’t authentically participate in cultural
moments unless you know your brand. What
does your brand stand for? (Note: This doesn’t
have to be something political.) What are your
brand’s values? Know your brand before
creating or joining a cultural conversation.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
You need to know which cultural moments your
audience cares about, what your audience
believes, and their perception of your brand.
This knowledge keeps people from asking: why
is [brand] tweeting about [trending topic]?
BEST PRACTICES
DON’T FORCE IT
Just because you can share something doesn’t
mean you should. When a tragedy or celebrity
death is trending, well-intentioned participation
from brands often backfires by appearing to
exploit the situation for cheap impressions.
TAKE CALCULATED RISKS
(AND PREPARE FOR EVERY RESPONSE)
You don’t have to play it completely safe. The
unexpected gets attention. There are countless
examples of brands participating in cultural
moments that seemed risky before they
ultimately paid off. Know the potential risks
and prepare for handling them before
engaging in a cultural moment.
OWN YOUR
CULTURAL MOMENT
Every year, brands find new ways to
participate in cultural moments, from live-
tweeting the Super Bowl to putting a new
spin on a holiday.

14. In 2015, Black Friday reached peak insanity with
stores opening earlier and earlier, creeping into
Thanksgiving afternoon territory. REI saw the trend
and went in the opposite direction: closing all of
its stores on the busiest shopping day of the
year.
It was counterintuitive and risky but also brilliant.
The campaign went viral. In the first year, the
#OptOutside campaign earned 6.7 BILLION
media impressions. Over 150 businesses followed.
Lesson: Everything seeks balance. When people
take a good thing too far, there might be an
opportunity on the other end of the spectrum. REI
capitalized on a cultural moment that was a perfect
fit with their brand.
COUNTERCULTURE SUCCESS
REI
14
SEE A TREND?
DO THE OPPOSITE

15. MOONSHOT
MOMENT
There are certain holidays and cultural moments that are a natural
fit for specific brands. Cereal brands “own” National Cereal Day,
cookie brands “own” National Cookie Day, and so on. But often,
brands stretch for relevance to include themselves in a cultural
moment.
If MoonPie owns any cultural moment, it is an eclipse. So when
Hostess stretched to name themselves the official snack of the
solar eclipse, MoonPie quote tweeted with a simple, “Lol ok.” The
tweet went viral, earning millions of impressions both on Twitter
and through hundreds of news articles.
OWNING YOUR MOMENT
MOONPIE
15
Lessons: Be ready to
participate in cultural moments.
Preparation isn’t just about
what you’ll share on social
media, it’s also about how you
interact with fans and even
other brands.
When you find something that
works, lean into it. From this
viral tweet onward, the brand
has focused exclusively on
humorous tweets.

16. A SURPRISINGLY
PERFECT MATCH
By the time the 2016 presidential debates were
underway, most people were already tired of the long,
exhausting campaign. From being overwhelmed by ads,
rants from friends on Facebook, and the politicization of
everything—the political pressure cooker was ready to
burst. This could have been a terrible time for a brand to
participate in culture, but Excedrin took a risk.
Excedrin seized the pent-up stress with a campaign
aimed at relieving the debate headache. Their
#DebateHeadache Twitter campaign resonated with
both sides and was a huge success, earning 7.86M
Tweet impressions and 79.3K hashtag uses.
Lesson: Brands can participate in polarizing cultural
moments without being political, though it’s tricky to find
the right fit. One thought-starter question to ask: To
what problem is your brand or product the surprisingly
perfect solution? Excedrin found that perfect fit and in
doing so provided everyone with a little relief.
BIPARTISAN BRILLIANCE
EXCEDRIN
16

17. COMMUNITIES+MICROCOMMUNITIES

18. 18
FIND YOUR BRAND’S UNIQUE
COMMUNITIES ON SOCIAL
You may know who your audience is IRL, but
are you paying attention to who’s interacting
with you online? They may be two different
communities—and both are important.
LISTEN TO WHAT THEY CARE ABOUT
Use your social channels to listen to what your
community members are talking about and
expressing interest in. This will allow you to
hone in on some of those interests as a brand.
BEST PRACTICES
CUSTOMIZE YOUR CONTENT
ACCORDINGLY
Create content centered around topics relevant
to your audience as well as current happenings
in culture. This will give them even more of a
reason to love your brand and become a stan.
Your brand’s communities and micro
communities offer a lens into the elements of
culture they use to form their identities.
YOUR AUDIENCE IS
YOUR CULTURE VISION
MICRO COMMUNITIES,
DEFINED
Micro communities are defined as
products, services, and interests that
appeal to a small, specialized section of
the population.

19. &PIZZA COMES
THROUGH DRIPPIN’
Deeming themselves more than a pizza shop,
&pizza uses their social presence to show they care
about their community. They’ve pinpointed an
audience they want to reach in their social content
and focused on topics such as hip-hop music and
streetwear.
The brand proved their cultural awareness in their
#1of1 campaign partnership with The Trevor
Project to combat anti-LGBTQ bias, where they
used social to raise money as well as let their
employees speak out on the topic.
Lesson: Identify a community your brand can tailor
social content to in tandem with cultural
happenings.
BEST-IN-CLASS COMMUNITIES
&pizza
#1OF1EMPLOYEE
FEATURES
19

20. EVERLANE FOR
EVERYONE
Everlane has their sights set on making a difference
in everything they do, with social media being no
exception. They use their platforms to express their
stance on important issues, knowing their
community will respond and want to be a part of
the conversation.
In their Human Together social campaign, they
encourage their community to post on Instagram
using the hashtag #HumanTogether and, in turn,
promise to donate $1 toward human rights for
every post shared.
Lesson: Taking a stance on cultural issues relevant
to your community and giving them an opportunity
to join the movement can help your brand grow
while adding meaning to your consumers’ lives.
BEST-IN-CLASS COMMUNITIES
Everlane
COMMUNITY
SUBMISSIONS
+2,650
MORE
20

21. CHATBOOKS
CONNECTS WITH
REAL MOMS
The life of a mom is almost never like the idyllic
snippet that people and brands display on social
media and TV. Chatbooks understood this. Instead
of showcasing the unobtainable perfect in their
marketing, they decided to speak to the real life of
moms — and the payoff was huge.
Two years after they launched the video on social
media, they have earned over 72 million views
just on Facebook. The campaign paid for itself in
less than a week.
Lesson: Everyone has a core desire to feel
understood. Get to really know your community so
you can speak to them in a way that connects on a
deep, relatable level.
BEST-IN-CLASS COMMUNITIES
Chatbooks
REALTALKTO
REALMOMS
21

22. UNTAPPEDOPPORTUNITIES

23. BRIDGING THE GAP
Standing for something doesn't have
to be a political statement. It can be
something as simple as amplifying a
core attribute, like humor, to connect
with their audience. By doing so, a
brand deepens its position, relevancy,
and accessibility with its consumers. A
human relationship is imperative to
having a successful engagement with
new and old consumers.
Taking action is necessary. There are
ways to build relevancy in a noisy
world.
LET’S GET TO IT.
The days of successful brands being
introspective and only talking about the
attributes of their product or service are nothing
more than whispers in academia. Now more than
ever, brands need to be purposeful when
embracing the culture that's buzzing around
them — in entertainment, in fashion, in the news,
even in social movements — and be self-aware
enough to position themselves in the world.
23

24. UNTAPPED BRAND
OPPORTUNITIES
GET TO KNOW YOUR SOCIAL AUDIENCES
Tap into the communities that make up your social
audiences and find influencers, artists, or other
brands they already love that could create a perfect
partnership opportunity.
KNOW YOUR BRAND BEFORE
PARTICIPATING IN CULTURAL MOMENTS
The biggest blunders come from brands that lack
simple self-awareness. When participating in
cultural moments, perception trumps intention.
Know your brand’s values and perception before
finding a moment to capitalize on.
LET YOUR COMMUNITY JOIN YOUR
CULTURAL MOVEMENTS
Use social to take a stance on current issues. This
will allow your community to join your movement
and tell their stories, as well as prove your brand’s
cultural awareness.
CONSIDER DOING THE OPPOSITE
When a trend becomes saturated, there’s likely an
opportunity to do the opposite (if it fits with your
brand). When retailers took Black Friday too far, REI
won by doing the opposite. When every social
media post felt divisive during the election,
Excedrin won over both sides.
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GAIN CULTURE VISION THROUGH YOUR
COMMUNITY
Use your communities and micro communities as a
lens into what your audience cares about. From
there, you’ll be able to create content that
resonates in tandem with cultural happenings.

25. YOU’RE
WELCOME.
CONTRIBUTORS
Emily Pritchard
Martha McCarthy Krueger
Ben Nesvig
Tedi O’Brien
Stephanie Steiner
Jasmine Graper
Kimberly Johnson
Hanna Leadstrom
Mollie Cook
CONTACT US
25
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