Why if you’re talking about ROI you’re not talking about culture
I have been giving this quite a bit of thought over the last few years since I live firmly in the “culture space”. As the curator of a global conference, I spend most of my time attempting to understand the role that culture plays in our collective world. My attempt to do goes hand in hand with my accepting that the definition of culture stands on constantly shifting ground. Culture can mean the art and creativity of a particular community or the social conventions of an organization as well as the larger societal behavioral trends. Each of these, and more, can be relevant when discussing culture. But for simplicity, I am going to focus on culture as defined as the groundswell of music, media, and art forms that people share in a particular place or time. Institutional players, often in the form of brands (notably but not exclusively CPGs), look to gain entry into the culture space, as they believe, rightly so, it will drive consumer loyalty and engagement. Facing a wide range of options, ROI (Return on Investment) is the chosen metric most often used to assign value to a potential project. The reliance on ROI, however, to determine the value of a project is commonplace and I would argue has no place in a conversation about culture.
In my prior life, I spent years working for Goldman, Sachs. I attended business school with a focus on Finance. I left the world of Wall Street, a world filled with all sorts of arcane financial measurement including ROI, only to find myself right back in the same type of conversation in the culture space. When ROI is mentioned more frequently in a music conversation than it is on a trading desk we have a problem. ROI can be a useful measure when comparing one investment alternative (or opportunity) to another but I find it less effective when measuring cultural impact. Ultimately, this is what makes culture so damn frustrating. We intrinsically know culture is important to us but we can’t quite put a finger on why. Brands know they must be in the culture space but very rarely know how to do so effectively. Hence the reliance on co-opting financial measurements for use in a space that is at its most basic human and emotional. Its very nature defies the type of measurement that financial models rely on. So why is ROI thrown about so frequently? The answer is because it’s easy and convenient. If you can assign a measurement (even a flawed one) to a variable it makes your decision making process somewhat justifiable. The dirty secret about ROI, whether in a financial setting or not, is that it is only as good as the inputs that make up the ratio. Additionally one can modify ROI to suit your specific purposes, it all depends on what is included as return and costs. So a measurement that is held up as unassailable it actually quite subjective. Is this the most effective way we have to gauge impact for something as vital as understanding culture and how we interact with it?
Culture is messy, hit & miss, alluring and intoxicating. Culture drives our conversations and often times our passions. It encompasses music, film, visual arts, fashion and beyond. It’s easy to understand why brands would want to play a role in these multiple worlds. What is the best way to accomplish that without being perceived as an interloper? That remains the central debate but whatever the answer I know it does not involve dissecting cultural opportunities with an arbitrary method like ROI.
The Deep Dive
- Episode 205: Running Out of Everything w/ Peter S. Goodman November 21, 2024Philip welcomes global economic correspondent for The New York Times Peter S. Goodman to the show to discuss his new book How The World Ran out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain. In this conversation they look at the fragility of the global supply chain and what it means for our long term economic, […]
- Episode 204: Making New Worlds w/ Aida Mariam Davis November 7, 2024Philip welcomes writer/scholar Aida Mariam Davis to discuss her latest book Kindred Creation: Parables and Paradigms for Freedom. In their wide ranging conversation they explore how building ties of kinship and surfacing varying knowledge systems can make new worlds possible. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest share tasty […]
- Episode 203: Leadership & Making a Masterpiece w/ Charles Spinosa October 31, 2024Philip welcome Charles Spinosa, author Leadership As Masterpiece Creation to The Deep Dive. In their conversation, they discuss what it means to be a leader, how we organize ourselves and what it looks like when masterpiece language and thinking applies itself to our work. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and […]
- Episode 202: Solving the Climate Crisis w/ John Berger October 24, 2024In this episode of The Deep Dive, Philip welcomes John Berger, the author of Solving the Climate Crisis. In this conversation, they examine the growing climate emergency against ongoing global movements to stem the tide and reverse course. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest share tasty morsels of […]
- Episode 201: Wrestling with Gender & Leadership w/ Susan Madsen October 17, 2024Philip welcomes researcher and author Susan Madsen to the show. In their conversation, they explore her new book focused on gender and leadership and dissect the consistent myths and impediments to women led leadership. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest share tasty morsels of intellectual goodness and creative […]
- Episode 200: The Resilience Myth w/ Soraya Chemaly September 12, 2024On episode 200, Philip welcome author and activist Soraya Chemaly to the show. They discuss her latest book The Resilience Myth and how our belief systems on resilience, grit and strength impact us as individuals and as a society. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest share tasty morsels […]
- Episode 199: Black Scare/Red Scare w/ Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly August 22, 2024Philip welcomes Charisse Burden-Stelly author of Black Scare//Red Scare to the show. In their conversation, they examine the historical connection between the criminalization and fear mongering in radical politics through the lens of anti-communist and anti-Black thinking and policy. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest share tasty morsels […]
- Episode 198: End of the World w/ Jon Mills August 8, 2024Philip welcomes Jon Mills the author of End of The World: Civilization and Its Fate. In their conversation, they discuss whether or not extinction is an inevitable event and what are the underlying conditions of a future that seems more precarious. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest share […]
- Episode 197: St. Augustine & the Christian Master w/ Matthew Elia August 1, 2024Philip welcomes Matthew Elia to discuss his new book, The Problem of the Christian Master. Taking a turn into the theological we discuss how St. Augustine’s relationship with the master/slave duality has impacted modern Christian thinking. We dissect how this connects to Black Studies, liberation politics and on the other side of the equation Christian […]
- Episode 196: Out of Time w/ Colin Strong July 11, 2024Philip welcomes Colin Strong to the show where they discuss his book Out of Time. In their conversation, they tackle the meaning of time, literally and figuratively, and how it impacts how we know and understand our place in the world. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest share […]