How to shift communication design from target audiences to target cultures

The festive season provides a golden opportunity for brands to emotionally connect with consumers. As brands aim to establish deeper connections with consumers, understanding culture has become a pivotal factor in communication design. Moving beyond the traditional approach of targeting broad audience demographics, there’s a growing recognition that embedding cultural relevance into design can lead to more meaningful engagement. Brands are now seeing the importance of creating campaigns that resonate with the cultural values, behaviours, and nuances of specific communities, not just generic target groups.

This shift in perspective is exactly what experts like Harshil Karia, Founder and MD of Schbang, Co-Founders of AddiktSchbang, Barry Schwarz and Koen Van Ovoorde, advocate for. At Social Samosa’s Festive Marketing Camp 2024, the trio shared their take on design thinking for different cultures in their masterclass on ‘Communication Design For Target Cultures Instead Of Target Audiences.’ The discussion focused on the importance of cultural relevance in design thinking and how targeting specific cultures can foster better creative outcomes.

Key Takeaways from the session: 

Design thinking as a problem-solving tool

• Design thinking goes beyond aesthetics, it’s a method of problem-solving. 

• Before you design, you need to start thinking about the solution to the client’s problem.

• The design process begins by understanding the problem, for which context is essential. 

• In this context-driven approach, the focus is not just on delivering a product but also on crafting solutions that address real-world challenges while ensuring cultural relevance.

Target audience vs. Target culture

• The traditional concept of 'target audience,' needs to be replaced with 'target culture.' 

• Rather than simply segmenting an audience by demographics or purchasing power, the idea of ‘target culture’ considers the values, behaviors, and lifestyle of a group. 

• There are many contexts for cultures everywhere, be it a lifestyle culture, sub-culture, or beyond. 

• By understanding cultural subtleties, brands can create designs that resonate on a deeper, more personal level with their consumers.

Why culture matters in design

• Culture is more than just a backdrop for creative work, it actively shapes it. 

• Culture creates creative work. Culture really fosters the output.

• Designing for a target culture involves more than just appealing to current trends; it requires diving into the history, behaviors, and values that make up a group’s identity. 

• Brands that understand these aspects can create communication that feels authentic and resonates emotionally with the people it’s intended for.

Cultural relevance drives connection

• Before you start brand design, you need to look at what is the mentality of the brand. 

• By aligning a brand's communication with cultural nuances, it ensures that the message not only stands out but also deeply connects with the audience. 

• This shift from surface-level marketing to understanding deeper cultural nuances allows brands to weave a cohesive narrative that consumers can relate to.

Solving problems through cultural context

• Design has the power to address cultural divisions and foster unity. 

• True cultural context is about division, and design can solve that.

• When design is built around understanding one cultural context and translating it into a broader narrative, it can bridge gaps, create meaningful conversations, and bring about social relevance in communication.

The future of communication design lies in understanding target cultures, not just target audiences. As brands compete in an increasingly saturated and diverse market, cultural relevance will be the key to creating designs that stand apart and foster genuine connections. By integrating design thinking with cultural insights, brands can move from merely broadcasting messages to creating lasting impact within specific communities.

We'd also like to thank all our partners for supporting this endeavor:

Co Powered By: 

• ShareChat & Moj 

Associate Partner:

• Shemaroo
  

Lanyard Parter: 

• Lemma 

Gifting Partners:

• 1868 by Tata Tea
• Fiore
• Osaa perfumes
• Damensch

Streaming Partner:

• 24Frames Digital