Marketing Creates Culture
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Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss how major companies have shaped cultural norms and traditions through strategic marketing campaigns, which they call "cultural shift marketing" or "tradition hijacking."
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Major Cultural Shifts Created by Marketing:
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Casual Friday
- Created by Levi's and Dockers in the 1990s
- Sent guides to 40,000 HR executives
- Established HR hotline for dress code questions
- Helped revive American apparel industry
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Diamond Engagement Rings
- De Beers' "Diamond is Forever" campaign in 1940s
- Created 2-3 months salary expectation for ring cost
- Established diamond gifts for anniversaries
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Common Daily Practices
- Breakfast as "most important meal" - invented by Kellogg
- Spring cleaning - created by Lysol
- Tooth brushing - marketing increased from 6% to 70-80% of population
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Social Traditions
- Baby showers - started by Johnson & Johnson
- Wedding registries - created by Macy's
- Both designed to drive product sales
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Impact of Marketing on Society:
- Single marketing campaigns can shift entire societal behaviors
- Many "traditions" were actually created by companies
- Marketing professionals can fundamentally change how people live
- These campaigns often solve business problems by creating new cultural norms
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Why This Matters:
- Shows how businesses can create lasting cultural change
- Reveals the hidden origins of common practices
- Demonstrates the power of strategic marketing
- Proves that cultural norms can be intentionally shaped
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.