For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do and Who We Want to Be

From Marcus Collins, strategist to Apple, Nike and Beyoncé, discover how you can harness the most powerful vehicle for influencing behaviour: true cultural engagement. 'Compelling and vivid' - Robert Cialdini, author of Pre-Suasian We all try to influence others in our daily lives. We are all marketers, whether you are a manager motivating your team, an employee making a big presentation, an activist staging a protest or a company executive selling the next big thing. In For the Culture, Marcus Collins argues that to inspire communities, we first need to think hard about how we appeal to their values and what we will contribute to their culture. With a deep perspective based on a century's worth of data, Collins breaks down the many ways in which culture influences behaviour. Using captivating stories from his own life as a top marketer - including spearheading digital strategy for Beyoncé, working with iTunes and Nike+ on their collaboration, and designing ads for McDonalds - he shows how you can do the same. Full of memorable examples, from 1960s hippy culture to the enduring success of Patagonia, For the Culture offers the essential tools for creating lasting engagement and influence. 'Some people seem to intuitively 'get it.' Most do not. Collins articulates 'it' for the rest of us and provides not just an understanding, but a guide for how to actually engage and influence culture' - Steve Huffman, co-founder and CEO, Reddit

About the Author :
Marcus Collins is an award-winning marketer and cultural translator who has worked for several top ad agencies. His deep understanding of brand strategy and consumer behaviour has helped him bridge the academic-practitioner gap for blue-chip brands and start-ups alike. He is a recipient of the Advertising Age 40 Under 40 award and Crain's Business 40 Under 40 award, and a recent inductee into the American Advertising Federation's Hall of Achievement. He has worked on iTunes and Nike+ sport music initiatives at Apple and ran digital strategy for Beyoncé. He is a marketing professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and the faculty director for the school's executive education partnership with Google. He is also a faculty member at the Harvard Extension School and the Boston University Questrom School of Business. For the Culture is his first book.

Review :
Compelling and vivid. Collins identifies the concept of culture as a key driver of human behaviour – and he beautifully dissects and knits it back together for readers like a skilled surgeon Engrossing. You might be up all night reading it Some people seem to intuitively “get it”. Most do not. Collins articulates “it” for the rest of us and provides not just an understanding, but a guide for how to actually engage and influence culture Insightful and enlightening. Diving deeply into what moves real people, not personas and archetypes, Dr. Collins gives us a look into cultural nuances we can use to make meaningful connections and drive action We all know culture can be a vehicle for influence, but in For the Culture, Collins shows us how. He provides fascinating deep-dives into the power of cultural community and illustrates how we can use it to change minds and inspire action Containing rich examples from entertainment, sports and technology with deep dives into his own advertising campaigns and his inspirational personal story, Marcus Collins’s beautifully written book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand today’s trillion-dollar dance of brands and culture Collins is a comet moving effortlessly through branding, marketing, engagement, advertising, social media and meaning-making, giving new life, clarity and purpose to them all. My advice: read this book! It will transform you, your career and how you see the world The new bible for anyone who wants to understand how to influence behaviour through culture . . . Uniquely compelling After reading Collins’s well-crafted gem, you will never go about marketing, advertising or building communities in quite the same way What is culture, exactly? Mr. Collins calls it the operating system by which we live, and includes identity, shared language, social norms, and cultural production—art, movies, fashion, and branded products. To help develop this picture he hauls in the big guns of social psychology, anthropology, and even French philosophy, marshaling such forces in an elegantly friendly writing style Perceptive . . . Collins has a knack for delivering his smart ideas in accessible prose. This is a superior program on how the business world can use the interplay between culture, consumption and identity to their advantage