Elevating Your Brand Strategy with Cultural Intelligence

Anastasia Kārkliņa Gabriel is the author of Cultural Intelligence for Marketers: Building an Inclusive Marketing Strategy. She is a cultural theorist, writer, social critic, and strategist specializing in inclusivity within marketing, media, and tech. Currently a senior insights lead at Reddit, she earned her PhD in cultural studies from Duke University and went on to consult for the world’s top brands, including Nike, Samsung, Disney, Ulta Beauty, and AMEX, at global agencies like Wieden+Kennedy, Dentsu Creative, McCann New York, among others. Dr. Gabriel helps brands ignite cultural innovation and leverage the power of media for good. Academically, she spent a decade being trained as a scholar of culture and identity, with expertise in cultural theory, Black critical theory, critical race studies, Black feminist theory, and gender and sexuality studies. Her commercial work in cultural research and brand strategy deliberately draws on the power of interdisciplinary knowledge and rigor. To issues of cultural relevance, she brings a principled discernment that bridges commercial advantage and critical thinking.

ABOUT THE BOOK: Brands not only reflect culture but actively shape societal norms and values. Move beyond performative inclusive marketing and drive the cultural conversation.

A brand today can build a marketing strategy that effectively resonates with audiences and meaningfully impacts society at large. Learn how to produce inclusive marketing using an approach grounded in critical perspectives on society and the impact brands wield in shaping it. In this book, cultural theorist and strategist Anastasia Kārkliņa Gabriel draws on social analysis, media theory, and semiotics to help marketers improve cultural fluency and future-proof brand strategy by embedding equity and inclusion into every aspect of marketing. Cultural Intelligence for Marketers explains how to create an inclusive marketing strategy using an actionable approach that draws on advanced insights into culture, identity, representation, and the power of media in driving social change.

The book offers an in-depth dive into the urgent need for cultural competence in marketing using a framework rooted in the 4Cs: Culture, communication, critical consciousness, and community. It delves into practical aspects of conscious marketing, inclusive innovation, cultural insights, brand activism, social impact, and responsibility in business. It features insights from current and former marketing leaders at Wieden+Kennedy, Mindshare, Dentsu, and Saatchi & Saatchi, among others. Based on case studies from brands actively pursuing inclusive marketing strategies, including Microsoft, Pinterest, Billie, and REI, Gabriel outlines deploying cultural intelligence to attain commercial advantage while transforming society for the better.