By Marcus Billingham-Yuen

Client Strategy Manager

News Corp Australia

Sydney, Australia

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Post-pandemic, we've become more polarised and divided, sequestered into smaller personal tribes of immediate friends and family.

From movies to politics and news to books, "bubble-up" culture has exponentially increased. Smaller communities have emerged for every interest, and this culture has slowly become mainstream.

For brands, these niche tribes present a rich opportunity to connect with new audiences. Or, they are a risk if handled incorrectly.

Here are two examples illustrating the dilemma.

Exhibit A: Taylor Swift and Vegemite

In Australia, international superstar Taylor Swift was greeted by the local spread loved by the nation. Through a cheeky billboard in Swifts' touring cities, an endearing greeting - "From one icon to another, welcome to Australia" - earned the praise of Australian and international Swifties.

The Vegemite ad connected well with Taylor Swift fans.

The stunt earned full marks: It was a smart calculated play that embedded the brand's place into the culture movement of the Eras Tour, and extended Vegemite's appeal to the global stage. It also affirmed its larrikin origins within Australia

Exhibit B: The Budweiser debacle with Dylan Mulvaney

This social media contest was born with good intentions to connect the beer brand to a newer, progressive audience. However, it quickly went astray with the large conservative base of the brand furious at the seemingly "woke activation."

In an attempt to attract new audiences, Budweiser alienated others.

I won't expand heavily on the details that came after, but instead of tapping into a new tribe and adding to its audience, Bud Light alienated its existing core base leading to declining sales and share price.

Even worse, it failed to capture its new audience because it back-flipped on the promotion, pulling the visible competition.

The point is that understanding the role a brand plays in your customers' lives by being cognisant of where your brand fits is a must. Gaining access as the "outsider" requires brands to act, behave, and earn the tribe's trust as "insiders."

We've defined the benefits and perils of embedding a brand into communities and bringing them into the fold of loyalists, but how do we go about finding them?

We could start with Reddit, X, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Discord - the endless platforms.

The communities and fandoms here are a good indicator of this bubble-up culture growing. What is interesting is there are often localised branches that have their own nuances and ways of engaging with an interest or topic.

Going back to a music example with Sabrina Carpenter this time, an anecdotal way of demonstrating this localisation is how she changes the lyrical riff in her song "Nonsense." In each country she performs in, she adapts the lyrics to include the native language spoken or highlights a topical issue for the place, so every performance gets a unique version.

Not only is this comedic, but it shows a personal touch that built the groundswell for a following she now capitalises on with her string of recent hits.

Niche communities highlight the potential to find a new audience to extend your brand's relevance. As brands, engaging these fandoms directly by being insiders instead of outsiders, sticking to your identity, and aligning to what is important to them is the way to scale up your presence, especially in cluttered markets.

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About Marcus Billingham-Yuen

Marcus Billingham-Yuen is a client strategy manager at News Corp Australia in Sydney, Australia. Marcus can be reached at [email protected].

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