“Moving at the speed of culture” isn’t wrong, it’s just incomplete

The phrase “moving at the speed of culture” has become a commonly repeated idea in modern marketing.

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But as Ian Darby recently highlighted in Contagious, it also risks becoming more buzz phrase than meaningful strategy.

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His challenge? Culture doesn’t really move that fast anymore.

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And it’s true, the biggest cultural shifts are rarely overnight moments. They are built over time, shaped through sustained behaviours, communities and creativity.

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As Darby points out, Charli XCX didn’t create hyperpop in a week. Netflix didn’t suddenly discover K-pop when KPop Demon Hunters landed. These are the results of long-term cultural investment, not reactive execution.

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And yet, there’s a risk in overcorrecting.

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The False Choice Between Strategy and Reaction

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It’s easy to interpret this shift as a reason for brands to step back.

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To avoid reacting.

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To focus only on long-term cultural platforms.

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But that creates a false choice.

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The most effective brands don’t choose between strategic and reactive.

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It is precisely that their long term strategic brand building allows them to be culturally reactive in ways unique to the brand.

Culture Is Built Slowly…But Experienced in Real Time

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Take Netflix’s approach to K-pop.

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This is a clear example of long-term cultural investment - identifying a movement early, understanding it deeply, and backing it over time.

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But alongside this, we see brands successfully showing up in more immediate, seemingly reactive ways.

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Greggs leaning into the gravy trend with its KFC-inspired pastry sharing bucket.

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KitKat turning a stolen truck of product into a playful, culturally relevant moment.

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On the surface, these look reactive.

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But in reality, they are anything but.

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Because they are grounded in something far more deliberate.

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Reactive Doesn’t Mean Random

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The most effective reactive activations are not spontaneous acts of opportunism.

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They are expressions of an already defined cultural role.

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Greggs’ irreverent, culturally tuned tone leading to a KFC collab.

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KitKat’s long-standing ability to inject humour into everyday moments making light of a robbery of their product.

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The tone, the wit, the timing - all consistent with how these brands have shown up over time.

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That consistency is what makes the difference.

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Reactive moments shouldn’t feel like a brand joining culture late, or trying to create it out of nowhere.

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They should feel like a brand continuing its role within it.

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From Participation to Expectation

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When brands get this right, audiences don’t question why a brand is showing up.

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They begin to expect it.

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In some cases, they even welcome it. Because the brand has earned its place within that cultural space.

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This is where partnerships and activations start to feel inevitable rather than engineered.

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A Diet Coke x The Devil Wears Prada 2 collaboration under the tagline “That’s all".

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A Costa Coffee “Catch-a-Matcha” experience building on both a macro trend and existing product equity.

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Not necessarily obvious.

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But entirely natural.

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Designing a Strategy That Enables Both

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The implication for brands is clear.

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The goal isn’t to move faster.

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It’s to build a culture strategy strong enough to move with purpose.

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One that allows for:

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• Long-term cultural investment, building depth, credibility and meaning
• Reactive moments, maintaining relevance and real-time participation

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But crucially, both must be anchored in the same foundations:

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• A clearly defined cultural role for the brand
• Consistency in tone, behaviour and partnerships
• A deep understanding of the audiences and communities being engaged

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Without this, reactive activity risks feeling opportunistic. With it, it becomes a powerful reinforcement of relevance.

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From Speed to Intent

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“Moving at the speed of culture” isn’t wrong.

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But on its own, it’s incomplete.

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Because speed without strategy leads to noise.

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And strategy without participation risks invisibility.

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The real opportunity lies in combining both.

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Building a culture strategy that not only defines where a brand plays, but also how it shows up - consistently, credibly and with intent.

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So that when a brand does move fast, it isn’t chasing relevance…

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it’s reinforcing it.

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