For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be

The architect of some of the most famous ad campaigns of the last decade argues that culture is the most powerful vehicle for influencing behavior, and shows readers how to harness culture to inspire other people to share their vision.

We all try to influence others in our daily lives. Whether you are a manager motivating your team, an employee making a big presentation, an activist staging a protest, or an artist promoting your music, you are in the business of getting people to take action. In For the Culture, Marcus Collins argues true cultural engagement is the most powerful vehicle for influencing behavior. If you want to get people to move, you must first understand the underlying cultural forces that make them tick.

Collins uses stories from his own work as an award-winning marketer--from spearheading digital strategy for Beyoncé, to working on Apple and Nike collaborations, to the successful launch of the Brooklyn Nets NBA team--to break down the ways in which culture influences behavior and how readers can do the same. With a deep perspective, and built on a century’s worth of data, For the Culture gives readers the tools they need to inspire collective change by leveraging the cheat codes used by some of the biggest brands in the world. This is the only book you’ll need if you want to influence people to take action.

Marcus Collins is an award-winning marketer and cultural translator. His deep understanding of brand strategy and consumer behavior has helped him bridge the academic-practitioner gap for blue-chip brands and startups alike. He is a recipient of Advertising Age’s 40 Under 40 award and Crain’s Business 40 Under 40 award, and a recent inductee to the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Achievement. He has worked for several top ad agencies, and his strategies and creative contributions have led to the success of Budweiser’s ＂Made In America＂ music festival, the launch of the Brooklyn Nets (Hello Brooklyn!), and State Farm’s ＂Cliff Paul＂ campaign--among others. Prior to his advertising tenure, Marcus worked on iTunes + Nike sport music initiatives at Apple and ran digital strategy for Beyoncé. He is a marketing professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and the faculty director for the school’s executive education partnership with Google. He is also a faculty member at the Harvard Extension School and the Boston University Questrom School of Business. Marcus delivers keynote talks across the globe for companies and conferences such as Cannes Lions International Festival for Creativity, SXSW, Social Media Week, Adcolor, Hyper Island, TEDx, and Talks at Google. He holds an MBA with an emphasis on strategic brand marketing from the University of Michigan. He is a proud Detroit native, a devoted husband, and loving father to Georgia and Ivy.