Ep. 159 - UM Worldwide’s Oscar Allain on Brand Innovation Through Cultural Conversations

Oscar Allain is Vice President of Cross-Cultural Strategy and Research at UM Worldwide. He focuses on reaching the rapidly changing multicultural audiences in the US. Oscar talks with Brian Ardinger, Inside Outside Innovation founder, about brands being part of the cultural conversation and doing it the right way. 

Key Points
- WAVE is UM’s annual study to gain a better understanding of the digital world. This year they decided to quantify the Remix cultures. 
- Remix Culture studies the movements within cultures that are being influenced by ethic or minorities such as Hispanics, Asians and LGBT communities. They want to understand what the implications are for certain businesses.  
- ReMix’s four cultural pillars - Resist, Retrograde, Re-globallize, Recreate
- Latinos have changed over past 20 years from need to assimilate to amping up on sense of identity. 
- Ethnic Cultures are part of movement/generations that speak up against things that don’t align with values, ability to retro-culturate, have a cultural mindset that impacts mainstream culture, and maintains an entrepreneurial spirit. 
- Quantify Remix mindset - Not generational. In Nigeria it’s 16-24 year olds, in China it’s 25-34 year olds, and in US it’s 16-44 year olds. These are groups leading the conversation and are the agents of change. 
- How do brands play in conversation? - eg - Nike (Resist), Netflix (Retrograde), Uniqlo (Reglo), Starbucks (Recreate)
- Brands are encouraged to be a part of the cultural conversation and doing it the right way. 
- Best Brands are true and authentic to the brand and consumer. Need to recognize new movements like LantinX and keep focused on changing cultures. 

For More Information
For more information on Oscar, Remix Culture, and UM Worldwide check out umww.com

For similar podcasts, check out:

Ep. 134 – Paramount Pictures’ Futurist Ted Schilowitz on VR, AR & Mixed Reality
Ep. 130 – Canopy Insight’s Victoria Gerstman on Culture’s Influence on Brands & Semiotics
Ep. 122 – Jeff Rohrs, Yext CEO and Author of Audience: Marketing in the age of subscribers, fans and followers

Find this episode of Inside Outside Innovation at insideoutside.io. You can also listen on Acast, iTunes, Sticher, Spotify, and Google Play.
 

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