Cultural Capital Is the Flex

By Roberto Ramos – Group President, Chief Transformation Officer at Culture + Group & CIEN +

3 Models Brands Must Master to Lead in Culture (Not Just Market in It)

 Culture moves everything.

It drives how people see themselves, who they connect with, and what they buy. It shapes language, aesthetics, rituals, desire. From Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl show to Bad Bunny’s Puerto Rican manifesto in album form, culture isn’t riding shotgun—it’s driving the whole car.

Yet many brands are stalling, caught in hesitation. Culture feels volatile, politicized, risky. There’s been a conflation of culture with controversy, and of DEI with danger—causing some to retreat from real relevance.

But that’s a misread. Shifting the conversation toward the contagious power of culture—its role as a demographic driver, an innovation catalyst, and a commercial engine—is the reset we need.

The audiences shaping culture—Black, Latino, Asian, multiracial, Gen Z—drive 100% of U.S. population growth. These groups aren’t just influencing trends—they’re defining the entire next era of business.

Culture isn’t a liability. It’s the advantage. – – – But only if you know how to build cultural capital.

What Is Cultural Capital?

Cultural capital is your brand’s earned permission to move through culture with trust, fluency, and influence.
It’s not a one-liner in a campaign. It’s the long game of relevance.

• It’s what gives you the confidence to speak—and the credibility to be heard.
• It’s what turns participation into loyalty, and presence into leadership.

And just like financial capital, you earn it, invest it, diversify it, and grow it.

Here are 3 strategic models for building it—each one a provocation and a blueprint.

1. Signal Brands

The IP + Identity Model

These brands build cultural capital by becoming symbols of self-expression. They don’t just sell products—they shape taste, tribe, and emotional resonance.

Think: Fenty, e.l.f. Beauty, On (the Swiss performance brand that redefined movement and minimalism while Nike chased nostalgia). These brands have swagger because they reflect a new worldview—through product, design, and attitude.

• Content: Craft mythologies. Tell stories that reflect identity, not just benefits.
• Commerce: Treat drops and collabs as cultural events.
• Community: Turn audiences into style systems—movements, not markets.

2. Stage Brands

The Platform + Participation Model

These brands build capital by hosting culture, not owning it. They open space for remixing, creativity, and shared authorship. Their power lies in cultural fluidity.

Think: TikTok, LEGO, Duolingo. From multilingual memes to queer-coded brick worlds, these brands thrive on community expression—not brand control.

• Content: Be modular. Let culture write the story.
• Commerce: Design utility that turns into user-driven meaning.
• Community: Empower micro-scenes and niche fandoms. Don’t flatten—amplify.

3. Stand Brands

The Purpose + Provocation Model

These are the brands that show up in culture with a clear POV—and aren’t afraid of complexity. They build capital through moral clarity, storytelling, and sustained action.

Think: Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, Dove. They don’t just align with values—they activate them, even when it’s uncomfortable.

• Content: Be specific, not safe. Culture respects clarity.
• Commerce: Align your business model with your belief system.
• Community: Build with voices already in the movement—real ones, not just verified ones.

What They All Share: Systems > Stunts

You can’t build cultural capital by reacting to culture.
You build it by designing systems that move with it.

• Are your insights grounded in lived experiences, not legacy metrics?
• Are your teams, creators, and partners representative of the culture you seek to serve?
• Can your org adapt to new cultural flows—fast, flexibly, and with depth?

At Culture+, we help brands do just that—decode culture, build internal fluency, and create systems that turn insight into influence, and resonance into results.

Because culture isn’t a side channel.

It’s the playing field, the main stage, and the ultimate form of connection.

You don’t rent culture.

You build