Timmy Bankole, CultureSync Media Q&A

"We meet CultureSync Media founder Timmy Bankole, formerly of SCMP, discusses why cultural insight and audience understanding are fast becoming the most valuable currencies in modern advertising... Timmy Bankole has a wide range of experience across the ad tech spectrum, counting roles at Blis, PHD and South China Morning Post, and has recently founded agency CultureSync Media. In this Q&A, Timmy shares how agencies can move beyond generic targeting to uncover the deeper cultural codes shaping consumer behaviour."

"For us, cultural relevance is about creating work that feels genuinely rooted in the lived realities, values, and tensions of the audiences we serve, so the idea doesn't just reach people; it belongs to their world. It means understanding the cultural codes beneath behaviour: how people talk, what they joke about, what they're sensitive to, and how history and identity shape the way they read a message, not just who they are on a media plan."

"As of 2024, an estimated 304 million people, or about 3.7% of the world's population, live outside their country of birth, nearly double the number of international migrants in 1990. Between 1990 and 2020 alone, the number of people living outside their birth country grew by roughly 83%, far outpacing global population growth. For brands, this means that almost every audience is now shaped by migration, travel, and multicultural identities; you're rarely speaking to just one culture at a time."

Timmy Bankole defines cultural relevance as creating work rooted in audiences' lived realities, values, and tensions so ideas belong to their world. He highlights the need to understand cultural codes beneath behaviour: language, humour, sensitivities, and how history and identity shape message reading beyond demographic labels. Rapid migration and growing multicultural identities mean audiences are often shaped by multiple cultures simultaneously. Failure to grasp that complexity produces public missteps and reputational risk, illustrated by racially insensitive campaigns. Bankole advocates moving beyond generic targeting to uncover deeper cultural drivers that genuinely connect with people.

Read at Exchangewire