Why Culture-Driven Commerce Is the Right Play for CPG Brands
Pop culture is no longer just entertainment—it’s now infrastructure for modern commerce. From Lady Gaga’s Coachella revival to the rise of TikTok-fueled micro-trends like “trashcore” - an aesthetic based around decaying, abandoned buildings and general garbage - cultural signals are shaping what gets bought, at what velocity, and from where. For CPG brands, both the old guard brands and the up and coming shelf pirates, this isn’t just noise—it’s a sales signal.
CPG Commerce Implications:
- Culture creates demand before the shelf does.
A backstage moment at Coachella or a viral haul on TikTok can move inventory before your planogram even updates. When Lady Gaga’s glitter eyeshadow pops on stage, audiences don’t wait—they seek, find, and buy. And they're surgical about it. So, are your product pages and retail channels ready to catch the spike? - Retail media has to catch up to cultural speed.
Your Amazon DSP plan won’t wait for a quarterly refresh. Culture moves too fast—and your commerce strategy should too. The smartest CPG brands are syncing social signals with retail media buys, turning trends into shoppable moments across Target, Walmart, and Instacart. - Snackable content = snackable goods.
Trashcore fashion may look chaotic, but its logic can apply to many CPG brands: linking messy, real-life moments and consumer needs to CPG products that are staples in our everyday lives. Think: imperfect UGC, short-form recipes, unexpected pairings. When consumers discover a new chip flavor in a "mukbang" - online content where individuals eat large quantities of food in front of a camera for the entertainment of viewers - or see a limited-edition soda on a creator’s nightstand, it’s not an ad—it’s a trigger. Make sure you’re injecting your brand into the right cultural conversations.
Bottom line:
If you're a CPG brand waiting for the planogram to update or the agency brief to drop, you're already too late. Commerce today is omnichannel, omnipresent, and always-on. And the brands that show up in culture, not just commerce, are the ones that win.
We help brands plug into pop culture with purpose—and drive conversion with creativity. Let’s build something culturally relevant (and retail-ready) together.